NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCKNOW* VOL. 18 NO.

152

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Five state-run banks plan Centre proposes to give rice as

livemint.com QIPs to reduce govt stake uP1 part of MGNREGS wages uP1
 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCKNOW* VOL. 18 NO. 152

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Think Ahead. Think Growth.

mint primer QUICK EDIT

How China beat Don’t hold

the US to No.1 in
trade with India
BY SUMANT BANERJI
In FY24, China overtook the US to become India’s largest trading
partner after a gap of two years. Mint looks at how trade between the
two Asian giants has evolved and why it is proving to be so difficult for
India to decouple itself from its neighbour.
Trade ties
China now accounts for 10.6% of India’s global trade and 15% of its import bill
Trade deficit (in $ billion)
100
India's bilateral trade with China
80
60
40
20
0 -30
2008-09
How big are India’s
1 trade ties with China?
In FY24, bilateral trade grew 4% to
$118.4 billion from $113.8 billion in
FY23. India-US trade in the same
period declined by 8.6% to $118.3
billion. Trade between the Asian
giants has grown robustly in the
past five years from around $80
billion. India-China and India-US
trade ties are also a story of
contrasts. While India enjoys a
hefty $36.7 billion trade surplus
with the US—it exports more than
it imports—the reverse is true for
China, where it suffers from a
debilitating deficit. This shows
that campaigns such as boycott of
made-in-China goods or firms of
Chinese origin have had negligible
impact on trade.
BLOOMBERG
Y-o-y growth in trade (in %) (right-hand scale)
45
30
15
0
-15
2023-24
Source: Ministry of commerce and industry
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
How did the trade
2 deficit widen?
Last fiscal, the deficit touched a
record $85 billion having doubled
in the past four years (see table).
During the year, imports from
China grew 3.3% to cross $100
billion even as India’s overall
imports declined 5.6% at $675
billion. This undermined an 8.8%
growth in exports to China during
the year at $16.7 billion, which
came off a low base courtesy a 28%
decline in FY23. China now
accounts for 10.6% of India’s global
trade and 15% of its import bill.
The high trade deficit has been a
subject of friction between the two
countries amid allegations of
dumping of goods by China from
different sectors in India.
up work
The first session of Parliament
since Modi 3.0 took charge saw
sparks fly on Monday. Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi alleged
that Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and home minister Amit
Shah were attacking the Consti-
tution. He waved a copy of it in
protest as Modi took his oath as
a Lok Sabha member. Earlier,
Modi said the country expects
“debate and diligence” from
opposition leaders and not “dis-
turbance”, and called the impo-
sition of an Emergency by the
Congress on 25 June 1975 a
“black spot” on Indian democ-
racy, which it undoubtedly was.
With such acrimony at the out-
set of the 18th Lok Sabha’s term,
confrontation seems likely. The
opposition plans to raise issues
such as leaks of examination
papers and the overlooking of
convention in the appointment
of a pro-tem speaker. As the
government gets set to present
its full budget, it will be under
pressure to take people-friendly
steps, with the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party’s own strength in
the House now reduced to less
than the half-way mark and
allies needed for majority sup-
port. While opposing sides may
be bristling for a face-off, work
must go on. Our democratic sys-
tem, which all claim to uphold,
must function as envisaged.
MINT METRIC
by Bibek Debroy

A meal on a Vande Bharat train

3 What are India’s main
imports from China?
Machines and electric appliances made up
Can be quite a strain.
over half of all Chinese imports in FY24.
A passenger found a cockroach,
China sold machinery worth nearly $54 Protein supplement beyond reproach.
billion—an over 10% growth on-year. India
also imported chemicals worth $11.5
On eating, perhaps best to abstain.
billion, plastic goods worth $5.7 billion,
iron and steel products worth $4.7 billion
and fertilizers worth $2.2 billion from
across the border in the previous fiscal. QUOTE OF THE DAY
This is India’s moment...we are
4 How has India tried to
address this problem? 5
It has taken multiple steps like
Why have these
measures not worked?
There is no easy fix. No other
now the force for stability,
increasing import duties or country makes goods across a wide
cooperation and progress in a
putting items on restricted lists. In range of industries at a scale and complex world. And it is India’s
2019, duties were raised on air- price like China. A growing macroeconomic stability and
conditioners, CDs, DVDs, CRT economy like India needs to strike
monitors and TV display panels. a balance. In a number of sectors ambitious growth plans that
The list was expanded to include like renewable energy, electronics inspire our confidence.
fans, water heaters, ovens, electric and EVs, Indian industry lacks
vehicles, and compressors for technology and scale to compete
refrigerators. After the Galwan with China. Curbing imports in
clash in 2020, FDI rules were such cases would mean burdening
amended to curb Chinese the consumer with high-priced, GAUTAM ADANI
investments. And production- globally uncompetitive products. CHAIRMAN,
linked incentives were launched to PLI schemes, where drafted well, ADANI GROUP
boost local production of goods should show results, but that’s only
heavily imported from China. in the medium term.

MINT PODCASTS

HEALTH TECH DILEMMA URBAN RENT DECLINE APPLE BOARDS AI TRAIN

Hosts Leslie D’Monte and Shouvik Das The growth of residential rentals has Join Mint’s Leslie D’Monte and Jay-
discuss layoffs in a funded company declined in Q2 of 2024 in top cities, anth N. Kolla, co-founder and princi-
and challenges in according to Ana- pal analyst at Con-
health tech, edtech rock Group. In this vergence Cataly-
and fintech. They episode of Why Not ston, on AI Rising as
emphasize health Mint Money, we are they discuss Apple’s
tech’s convenience, joined by Prashant new artificial intel-
data accuracy con- Thakur, regional ligence (AI) features
cerns, and reflect on director and head of from WWDC, the
Doctors’ Day. They foresee improve- research at Anarock Group, to discuss world’s first AI beauty pageant featur-
ments in rural healthcare through what has led to this slowdown and ing models created by generative AI,
remote surgeries and consultations. how it is expected to continue. and the rising tide of AI-led startups.
 PLAIN FACTS

Global news wrap: G7,

climate, interest rates
BY PAYAL BHATTACHARYA

E
very month, Mint’s Plain Facts section brings out an update on key global data to thread together the biggest develop-
ments in the world that are worth paying attention to. The accompanying analysis and charts explain how each story
is creating ripples on the global stage, where it is headed in the coming weeks, and whether it can impact India. This
month, we track the upcoming monetary policies, the G7 summit held in Italy, and how rising temperatures are ringing
alarm bells.

Several countries now see softer

inflation, barring Russia 1 Policy Pivots
Year-on-year inflation, in %, in select countries scheduled to MONETARY POLICIES around the world are diverging, with
deliver monetary policy decisions over the next six weeks the US Federal Reserve tilting towards a hawkish stance, while
8.3 other countries have already started or are mulling interest rate
cuts.
To begin with, inflation in the UK finally reached the Bank of
England’s aim of 2% in May, but it has not materialized in a rate
cut, yet. (There are expectations of one in August.) On the
contrary, war-hit Russia, where inflation was as high as 8.3% in
2.7 2.7 2.7 2.8 May, has signalled a rate hike in the upcoming meeting in July.
2.0 The Bank of Canada, which kickstarted the rate cuts this month,
may hit a pause in the upcoming meeting in July.
Indonesia’s central bank, which delivered a surprise rate hike
UK Singapore Canada South Indonesia Russia
in April, may stay put in the upcoming meeting, while South
Korea Korea and Singapore, which are facing inflationary pressures,
*Data for Singapore and Canada are for April 2024. For the rest, are also expected to keep interest rates unchanged at their
data are for May 2024. Source: Bloomberg, Mint research
meetings in July.

2 G7 and Guests The G7 group has been deepening ties

with key emerging economies
THE 50TH summit of the Group of Seven (G7) nations, held in GDP in $ trillion, 2023 current prices
Italy earlier this month, concluded with a strong stance against 50
the Russia-Ukraine war. The group extended its unwavering Canada
Italy
support for Ukraine, pledging financial aid through a $50- 40 France
billion loan framework using interest from frozen Russian UK
sovereign assets. The group also addressed unfair trade Japan
30 Germany Türkiye
practices and global food insecurity, while China was cautioned Argentina
about its alleged support for Russia’s war. The highlight for UAE
India was the invitation extended to Prime Minister Narendra 20 Algeria
Modi as a guest to the summit. The G7 consists of developed Ukraine
countries—the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy and 10
US
France, with a total gross domestic product worth $47 trillion Brazil
and nearly 45% share in the world—but the presence of 0 India
emerging economies as guests signals the group’s intention to G7 Top 7 guests*
bring more diversity to its summits. Along with India, Brazil, *Based on the size of economy
Source: International Monetary Fund, Mint research
Türkiye, among others, were invited as guests.

3 Battleground 2024 2024 has been year of elections; all eyes

on France, UK, US
FROM MEXICO to India, Russia to South Africa, and Status of 2024 national elections in select countries
Venezuela to Sudan, more than 60 countries have
Concluded Jun-Sep Oct-Dec
either concluded or will hold elections this year. Thus,
2024 holds a key year for human rights, economies,
international relations and peace prospects in a volatile
world. While Vladimir Putin won the polls in Russia
with a landslide, incumbent Narendra Modi in India has
had to form a coalition government. France, set to vote UK
starting next week, saw President Emmanuel Macron 4 July
US
announce snap polls after a defeat for his party in the 5 November
European Union elections. The UK polls, scheduled on Iran
28 June
4 July, will be closely watched, as Nigel Farage’s Reform
UK Party is giving a tough fight to Prime Minister Rishi Venezuela
28 July
Sunak’s Conservatives. The next big election is in the France
US, scheduled in November, while several other 30 June-7 July
Source: Mint research
countries will go to polls as well by December.

US dollar stays king of global payments

despite yuan's rising popularity 4 Dollar Unplugged?
Share of currency in global payment (in %) IN RESPONSE to a new wave of US sanctions aimed to cripple
Apr 2021 Apr 2024 Russia’s war funding, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has halted
39.8 the trading of US dollars and euros. The suspension means banks,
US dollar
47.3
companies and investors will no longer be able to trade either
currency via a central exchange. Instead, they will be forced to
Euro 36.3 use over-the-counter markets, which are generally less
22.6 transparent and have wider bid-ask spreads, translating to higher
transaction costs. The suspension marks an escalation in the
British 6.0 ongoing economic friction between Russia and the West, and
pound 6.8 aligns with Russia’s longer-term strategy of reducing reliance on
2.0 Western currencies. Russia is actively promoting the Chinese
Yuan
4.5 yuan, which reportedly became the most traded currency on
MOEX. Some other countries like Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina
Yen 3.5 have also tried to reduce their dependence on the dollar by
4.0 paying for trade in yuan. However, the dominance of US dollar in
Source: Swift RMB Tracker
global payments has increased compared to the pre-war period.

5 Burning Up Rapidly rising global temperatures

add to worries over climate crisis
THE WORLD is increasingly reaching the tipping point with Average temperature anomalies*, in degree Celsius
climate change. Scientists at the World Meteorological 1.19
1.2
Organization (WMO) warned earlier this month that there is
an 80% chance that global temperatures will surpass the 1
critical threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in at least
one of the next five years (2024-2028). Crossing this threshold 0.8
would mean more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts,
0.6
floods and storms. Countries around the world have already
recorded hotter-than-usual temperatures this year, which 0.4
may impact agricultural activities and impact food prices. This
may set a tough backdrop for the COP29 summit scheduled in 0.2
November in Baku, Azerbaijan, ironically a country heavily
reliant on fossil fuels. Some progress was made at the COP 0
2000 2023
summit held last year, with countries agreeing to transition *Anomalies in temperature are with respect to the average
away from fossil fuels, which were targeted as the causes of the temperature recorded from 1901 to 2000.
Source: National Centers for Environmental Information
climate crisis for the first time.
PARAS JAIN/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 New Delhi, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCKNOW* VOL. 18 NO. 152 Rs. 10.00 . Price with Hindustan Times Rs. 15.50 18 PAGES

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Will hybrids spoil India’s How NRIs can avoid hassles in

livemint.com electric vehicles party? uP10 selling property in India uP11

SENSEX 77,341.08 131.16 NIFTY 23,537.85 36.75 DOLLAR ₹83.47 ₹0.07 EURO ₹89.50 ₹0.12 OIL $84.24 $0.85 POUND ₹105.75 ₹0.37

Five state-run banks plan Centre weighs rice

as part payment of
DON’T MISS
REUTERS

QIPs to reduce govt stake MGNREGS wages

The banks have also sought two more years for full compliance with Sebi norms Puja Das
puja.das@livemint.com
NEW DELHI India records a current account
Subhash Narayan & Rhik Kundu ment’s stake. surplus as services exports jump
Not so public
S
NEW DELHI This process is likely to be made welling granaries and India’s current account recorded a surplus
more structured this year with rising rural distress may of $5.7 billion, or 0.6% of the GDP during the

F
ive state-owned banks are
likely to sell shares
through qualified institu-
tional placements (QIPs)
in the second half of FY25
to reduce the government’s stake
to the maximum 75% permitted by
the market regulator, two people
aware of the matter said.
In addition, with the deadline of
1 August to raise public sharehold-
ing fast approaching, the public
sector banks (PSBs) have sought at
least two years more from the
Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) to enable them to
gradually achieve the target, the
people said.
Currently, these five banks—
UCO Bank, Central Bank of India,
Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of
Maharashtra, and Indian Overseas
Bank -- have public shareholding
of 1.75% to 13.54%, against the min-
imum requirement of 25%.
“The quantum of share sale
would be worked out closer to the
offers, but it is likely to remain
between 5% and 10% of the bank’s
paid-up equity capital this year,
with further sales likely to be stag-
gered over the next two years,”
said the first person mentioned
above, who spoke on the condition
of anonymity.
Public shareholding in UCO Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab &
larger capital-raising exercises by prompt the government March quarter, compared with a deficit of
Sind Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and IOB ranges from 1.75-13.54%. $8.7 billion, or 1% of GDP in the previous
banks. to give away rice as part pay-
Shareholding 4.6 6.9 However, there are currently no ment for workers under the quarter due to higher services exports,
structure of public plans for a direct share sale in the national job guarantee Reserve Bank of India said. >P2
sector banks market through an offer for sale scheme, two officials aware of
(in %) (in %)
Promoter or (OFS) or public offer route in any the plans said.
promoter group
public sector banks, the first per- The food department under Govt sets wheat stock limits to
Public 95.4 93.1 curb hoarding, aid food security
son said. the consumer affairs ministry
UCO Bank Central Bank of India According to data from BSE, the has requested the rural devel- The plan has been sent to rural The government on Monday imposed stock
value of government shares to be opment ministry to consider development ministry. MINT limits on wheat wholesalers, retailers and
1.8 3.6
13.5 sold (to reach 75% public share- utilizing excess rice for part- processors effective from 24 June in a bid
holding) in the five PSBs is around payment of wages, two offi- domestic availability of rice, to crack down on hoarders and speculators
(in %) (in %) (in %) ₹64,500 crore at current market cials aware of the plan said. “A including an ban on export of and prevent the food security situation from
prices. The value of the shares is proposal on the same has been non-basmati rice in July, 20% worsening. >P2
98.3 86.5 96.4
highest in Indian Overseas Bank at given to the rural development export duty on parboiled rice,
about ₹26,750 crore, while it is ministry. Discussions are still and a floor price for basmati
Punjab & Sind Bank Bank of Maharashtra Indian Overseas Bank lowest in the case of Bank of Maha- going on, and the government rice exports in August. The Indian steel exports run into
As of 24 June 2024 Source: BSE India rashtra at around ₹5,350 crore. is yet to take a call,” one of the well-intentioned measures, Chinese flood of cheap alloy
“Banks have asked the finance two officials said on the condi- though, have led to a surplus Indian steel exports are struggling and
READY TO PARE ministry to request Sebi to give tion of anonymity. rice stock 14 million tonnes are likely to face continued challenges, as
The sale quantum It could range 5-10% Further sales may further forbearance to PSBs to The Mahatma Gandhi (mt), raising warehousing overcapacity and weak domestic demand
would be worked out of the bank’s paid-up be staggered over comply with its minimum public National Rural Employment costs. in China prompt the world’s second largest
closer to the offers equity capital in 2024 the next two years shareholding norm that is expiring Guarantee Scheme “Food for work pro- economy to flood the global market with
in August. While banks are look- (MGNREGS) promises 100 gramme—allocation of rice ultra-cheap steel. >P5
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
ing at least at a two-year window, days of paid work in a year to through the rural develop-
“The government may also con- Emailed queries sent to spokes- they have cited a three-year exten- households whose adult mem- ment ministry for payment of
sider diluting a portion of its persons of the ministry of finance, sion given to public sector insurer bers volunteer for unskilled wages under MGNREGS— Investors pick holding co shares
equity at a later stage. However, Sebi, and the five PSBs remained Life Insurance Corp. (LIC) to manual work. The latest plan which is one of the options to after Sebi’s call auction plan
such a decision is still being dis- unanswered till press time. achieve 10% public shareholding,” comes ahead of assembly elec- dispose of our surplus rice, is
Shares of listed holding companies such as
cussed and no road map has been State-run lenders such as Union the first person quoted above said. tions in Haryana, Maharashtra, being explored,” the official Pilani Investment Industries Corporation
drawn up in this regard so far,” the Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank In May, Sebi gave LIC an addi- Jharkhand, Jammu and Kash- cited earlier said. and Nalwa Sons Investments jumped as
first person said, adding that a of India, Federal Bank, IDFC First tional three years, till 16 May, mir. When asked about whether much as 20% on Monday, following a
decision to this effect could be Bank, and J&K Bank have raised 2027, to increase its public share- The Centre took a series of the rice distribution will be on regulatory move that is expected to aid
announced in the upcoming capital through the QIP route in measures last year to curb price discovery and increase liquidity. >P4
Union budget. 2023, bringing down the govern- TURN TO PAGE 6 price rise and to increase TURN TO PAGE 6

Prosus writes off investment in Masdar, Marubeni among

Byju’s, seeks governance change cos eyeing Hygenco stake
Mansi Verma A few months later, in Utpal Bhaskar above said on the condition of
mansi.verma@livemint.com November, Prosus further utpal.b@livemint.com anonymity. “While the process
MUMBAI slashed its valuation of Byju’s to NEW DELHI involves a 49% stake sale, there
$3 billion. are interested companies who

D S
utch technology inves- “We continue to be very everal companies have want to acquire as much as
tor Prosus Ventures has interested in the education evinced interest in 74% in Hygenco Green Ener-
given up on its space, with high digital adop- acquiring 49% stake in gies.”
entire $530 million investment tion of education globally...But Gurugram-based green “The next stage of sale pro-
An NSUI activist protests against alleged irregularities in NEET-UG in Byju’s, six years after it first all three education companies hydrogen manufacturer cess will involve submitting
and the cancellation of UGC-NET, in New Delhi, on Monday. PTI backed what would become in our portfolio have not per- Hygenco Green Energies Pvt. NBOs, after which the short-
India’s most-valuable startup formed—Stack Overflow, Skill- Ltd for an estimated equity listed bidders will be taken to

Exam mess casts before a collapse that’s cast an

ominous shadow on the coun-
try’s edtech sector.
Prosus invested $530 million in
soft and Byju’s,” a spokesper-
son for Prosus said during the
firm’s earnings call on 24 June.
value of around $400 million,
two people aware of the devel-
opment said, with some
The estimated equity value of
Hygenco’s 49% stake is $400
the next stage for submitting a
binding offer,” said the person
cited above.

cyber scare over

Prosus, announcing its Byju’s. REUTERS “Byju’s has been a challenge to potential buyers aiming for an million. BLOOMBERG The fundraise will help
annual report on Monday, said our performance in the last even higher stake. Hygenco, which plans to
it had written off the “fair value series of reported business and year.” Among the interested par- (IFC), private equity firm Actis develop 10 gigawatt (GW) of
of its 9.6% effective interest in financial missteps, including While Prosus’ investment in ties are UAE’s Masdar (Abu Llp, and Gentari, a unit of production and distribution

education sector Byju’s, due to the significant

Devina Sengupta & emerge when more aspects of
Krishna Yadav education become digital.
“Cybercrimes mimic physical
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI crimes. The attacks are now on
question papers, databases,
decrease in value for equity
investors”, and that it had
recognized a loss of $493 mil-
lion on the investment in the
2023-24 financial year.
The Dutch investor’s stake in
the online tutor was estimated
accusations of misselling and
billions in unpaid debt.
Almost a year ago, Pro-
sus slashed its valuation of
Byju’s to $5.1 billion, shortly
after its representa-
tive resigned from the board of
Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, the
Byju’s turned in a 100% nega-
tive internal rate of return,
US-based Stack Overflow and
Skillsoft have registered a neg-
ative IRR of 39% and 59%,
respectively, the firm said in its
report.
The Prosus spokesperson,
Dhabi Future Energy Com-
pany), Beijing-headquartered
Asian Infrastructure Invest-
ment Bank (AIIB) and Austra-
lia’s Macquarie Group, which
have signed non-disclosure
agreements (NDAs).
Others which have signed
Malaysia’s state-run oil and gas
company Petroliam Nasional
Bhd or Petronas.
Mumbai-based investment
management firm Avendus
Capital is running the primary
equity raise process.
“It’s not that everyone who
assets by 2030, complete its
portfolio.
“As a matter of policy, Mas-
dar is unable to comment on
market speculation,” a Masdar
spokesperson said in an
emailed response.
Spokespersons for Avendus,

M
illions of students
vying for coveted col-
leges and courses
makes India’s vast education
sector a prime target for cyber-
crime, experts said, at a time
when authorities have pointed
to leaked question papers
appearing in the so-called dark
net. Besides, data of innumera-
ble students may also be vul-
nerable to unauthorized access
and misuse.
Amid widespread student
protests over the past two
weeks, the government has
etc., but in the future, we may to be worth about $2 billion just edtech firm’s parent company. however, added that the invest- NDAs include Japan’s Sojitz has signed the NDA will sub- Marubeni, Actis and IFC
see cyberattacks leading to two years ago, when Byju’s was Representatives of Peak XV ment firm still had hope for Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy mit an NBO (non-binding declined to comment.
unauthorized score card riding a peak valuation of $22 Partners and the Chan Zucker- Byju’s. Industries Ltd (MHI) and offer), but there is a significant Queries emailed to the
changes and deepfakes,” he billion. The company has since berg Initiative also resigned Marubeni Corp., World Bank’s interest in the transaction,”
cautioned. fallen from its perch amid a from Byju’s board. TURN TO PAGE 6 International Finance Corp. one of the two people cited TURN TO PAGE 6
The national entrance exams
faced criticism after an aston-
ishing 67 students secured full
marks in the latest National Eli-
gibility-cum-Entrance Test
(Undergraduate), or Neet,
Those ‘healing’ quartz crystals have stories of pain to narrate
which ranks students for medi-
cal, dental, nursing and related Alexandra Wexler Johannesburg, South Africa’s collector websites alongside this town, the only place where
courses. The controversy feedback@livemint.com economic capital. jewelry and trinkets. Polished, cactus quartz has been discov-
heightened with the surfacing BOEKENHOUTHOEK, SOUTH AFRICA “It’s hard work, back break- jewel-colored as well as color- ered. She earns an average of
of grace marks and the arrest of ing. My back, hands and shoul- less quartz can sell from a few about $4 a day digging for cac-

raced to withdraw grace marks
in the pre-medical entrance
exam for MBBS and related
courses, cancelled an exam for
junior research fellowships at
universities, and postponed
another exam to admit stu-
dents to post-graduate medical
courses.
“So far, the use of digital
technologies in assessments
has been limited,” said Akh-
ilesh Tuteja, global head for
cybersecurity at KPMG. “Only
the management and storage of
assessment papers is digital,
but technology is moving faster
and security needs to catch up.”
He said bigger risks may
several individuals believed to
have sold leaked question
papers for millions. The Cen-
tral Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) is now investigating the
matter.
“Cyber threat in the educa-
tion sector is one of the most
lucrative forms of making
money…where people can pay
millions to access database that
will impact anyone from age 3
years to 30 years (school going
to entrance tests),” said Pra-
sanna Kumar, head of financial
services & professional group
for India at Aon, a consultancy
TURN TO PAGE 6
C
rouched in the mouth of
a hand-dug tunnel here,
Linki Mugidi chisels the
walls in search of a crystal used
by Western wellness practi-
tioners and of the sort pro-
moted by
celebrities
who s a y
they believe
quartz has special healing
properties.
The 50-year-old mother of
two is one of hundreds of
opportunists drawn to dig in
backyards and on hillsides for
cactus quartz, the rare type of
crystal found in this dusty vil-
lage about 90 miles from
ders are always in pain by the
end of the day,” says Mugidi
dressed in a sun hat, rubber
Mary Janes and pink socks.
In recent years, endorse-
ments from celebrities like
Gwyneth
Paltrow,
Kim Karda-
shian and
Adele have helped turn crystal
quartz from a New Age fad into
a growing slice of the booming
wellness industry.
That has set off a rush to find
quartz, one of the most com-
mon minerals on Earth, but one
for which scientists say there is
no evidence for healing or
dollars to tens of thousands of
dollars, depending on the color
and size of the crystal.
A thumb-sized pale purple
amethyst on one website costs
$42, for example, while special
pieces of cactus quartz, which is
typically a large central crystal
encrusted with smaller crystals
growing around it, can sell for
A global craze driven by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow has as much as $40,000, says Rob
caused a rush to dig up quartz in rural South Africa. REUTERS Lavinsky, founder of The
Arkenstone, a Texas-based
other powers. “Right now the “The serious risks can range website targeted at rock collec-
global crystal market is kind of from tunnel collapse, sudden tors.
like the Wild West,” says Cris- flooding, free fall or asphyxia Mugidi moved to Boeken-
tina Villegas , director of sus- due to lack of ventilation.” houthoek just over a year ago,
tainable markets at Pact, a Crystal quartz is often sold hoping to make a living from
Washington, D.C., nonprofit. via online crystal stores and finding crystals that underlie
tus quartz, also known as spirit
quartz or fairy quartz, though
that depends on how much of
the mineral she finds. She digs
for around 10 to 12 hours a day
and takes just one Sunday off
each month.
“When the earth is wet, it can
easily fall on you,” says Mugidi.
“I fear that.”
The unregulated working
conditions of many crystal
quartz miners are often in con-
trast to how the crystals are
used to try to quell anxiety or
boost energy levels.
Cactus quartz “is thought to
TURN TO PAGE 6
02 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI
Current account
sees surplus in Q4,
deficit dips: RBI
Rhik Kundu
rhik.kundu@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
I
ndia’s current account
recorded a surplus of $5.7
billion, or 0.6% of the GDP
during the March quarter,
compared with a deficit of $8.7
billion, or 1% of GDP in the pre-
vious quarter due to higher ser-
vices exports.
The current account deficit,
or CAD, which is the difference
between exports and imports of
both goods and services, nar-
rowed to $1.3 billion or 0.2% of
GDP in the year-ago quarter.
The merchandise trade defi-
cit narrowed during the March
quarter to $50.9 billion, from $
52.6 billion during the year-ago
period, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) said on Monday.
Services exports and trans-
fers saw an improvement in the
fourth quarter, helping tame a
widening trade balance.
Services exports grew by
4.1% on a y-o-y basis during the
fourth quarter of FY24 on the
back of rising shipments of
software, travel and business
services, the RBI data showed.
Net services receipt at $42.7
billion was higher than its level
a year ago, at $39.1 billion,
which contributed to the sur-
plus in the current account bal-
ance during Q4, FY24, it added.
To be sure, India remains a
net importer on account of its
huge energy needs and the lat-
est surge in crude oil prices, ris-
ing to about $85 a barrel, is
likely to widen the CAD in the
next quarter.
Meanwhile, the net outgo on
Don’t treat us like villains: unions tell FM Govt’s generic pharmacy stores
Rhik Kundu &
Manas Pimpalkhare
to stock top 200 medicines
NEW DELHI
T
op trade union leaders
met finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman on
Monday for consultations
ahead of the annual budget
and urged her to push rural
development, infrastructure
and exports, set up the 8th pay
commission and reconvene
the Indian Labour Confer-
ence.
At least two labour union
leaders present said the meet-
ing discussed reconvening
the Indian Labour Confer-
ence, an apex tripartite con-
sultative committee in the
labour ministry that advises
the government on issues
concerning the working class.
“We asked the finance min-
ister to hold the Indian
Labour Conference again, for
the first time since 2015. This
would be the proper forum to
address labour issues,” said
Harbhajan Singh Siddhu,
general secretary of the Hind
Mazdoor Sabha
“In the conference, we will
take up our issues with the
new labour laws which have
m MINT SHORTS
Maiki South Mining wins India’s
first lithium block in auction
New Delhi: Maiki South Mining Pvt. Ltd bagged India’s
first lithium block in Chhattisgarh that was put up for sale.
REUTERS The Katghora lithium and rare
earth elements block in
Chhattisgarh was awarded to
the company at an auction
premium of 76.05%. The
result was declared during the
launch of the fourth round of
auctions of critical and strate-
gic minerals.
Eastern Coalfields starts
underground coal gasification
New Delhi: The government on Monday said Eastern
FOR ANY QUERIES/DELIVERY ISSUES
CALL: 60004242, Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Pune and Lucknow) MAIL: delivery@livemint.com TO SUBSCRIBE: Give a missed call on 7039035039 or visit www.mintreaders.com or write to us at subscription@livemint.com
First published in February 2007 to serve as an unbiased and clear-minded chronicler of the Indian Dream.
RAVI KRISHNAN (EDITOR); PUBLISHED/PRINTED BY MANHAR KAPOOR ON BEHALF OF HT MEDIA LTD, 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001
Printed at HT Media Ltd presses at •Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Distt Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201306; •MNSPrinters Pvt. Ltd, 345/4, Bhatrahalli, Near KR Puram RTO, Old Madras Road, Bangalore 560049; •Saraswati Print Factory Pvt. Ltd, 789, Chowbhaga (W), Near China Mandir, Kolkata 700 105; •MNSPrinters Pvt. Ltd, 76/1, Poonamallee High Road, Velappanchavadi, Chennai 600077; •
Bhaskar Print Planet, Survey No. 148P, Changodar Bavla Highway, Sanand (Tal), Distt Ahmedabad, Gujarat. •Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No. D75 & E52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Rangareddy Distt. Hyderabad 500037 *Also available in Chandigarh, Pune and Lucknow.
RNI Registration DELENG/2007/22485; Mint welcomes readers’ responses to all articles and editorials. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. Send in your views to the editor at letters@livemint.com. ©2024 HT Media Ltd All Rights Reserved
RBI said merchandise trade
deficit narrowed to $50.9
billion in March quarter.
the primary income account,
reflecting payments of invest-
ment income, increased to
$14.8 billion during the Q4,
FY25 period from $12.6 billion
in the year-ago period.
Private transfer receipts,
representing remittances by
overseas Indians, amounted to
$32.0 billion, registering an
11.9% growth.
Net foreign direct invest-
ment flows fell to $2 billion in
the Q4, FY24 period compared
with $6.4 billion during Q4,
FY23.
Foreign portfolio invest-
ment recorded a net inflow of
$11.4 billion during the March
quarter, against a net outflow of
$1.7 billion during the year-ago
period.
“For FY25, going by the early
trends, the CAD should be
manageable at 1-1.5% of GDP
and the steady capital inflows
should ensure that the balance
of payments, which reflect the
fundamentals remain comfort-
able,” Bank of Baroda said in a
statement.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a pre-budget meet
with members of trade unions and labour bodies on Monday. PTI
brought worker safety under
threat,” he added.
The latest stakeholder
meeting conducted by Sithar-
aman saw the minister, top
finance ministry officials and
eminent trade union leaders
discuss ideas and suggestions
that could push the growth
momentum and improve the
conditions of the country’s
labour force amid a govern-
ment focus on manufacturing
as a growth vehicle.
“We proposed that the
focus of the budget should be
on major issues like rural
development, infrastructure,
exports, and skill develop-
ment,” said B. Surendran, all
India organizing secretary of
the Bharatiya Mazdoor
Coalfields Ltd, a Coal India subsidiary, has commenced its
first-ever pilot project for underground coal gasification
in Jharkhand.The move indicates the Centre’s proactive
diversification efforts within the coal mining sector.
Underground coal gasification is a method of converting
coal still in the ground to a combustible gas that can be
used for various purposes.
‘Continue anti-subsidy duty on
imports from China, Vietnam’
New Delhi: The commerce ministry’s investigation arm
Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has rec-
ommended the continuation of countervailing or anti-
subsidy duty on welded stainless steel pipes and tubes
PTI
ECONOMY & POLICY
Govt limits wheat stocks to
stop hoarding, speculation
Permitted stockholding limits imposed on wholesalers, retailers, and depots of big chains
Puja Das
puja.das@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
T
he government on Monday
imposed stock limits on
wheat wholesalers, retailers
and processors effective
from 24 June in a bid to
HT crack down on hoarders and specula-
tors and prevent the food security sit-
uation from worsening.
The permitted stockholding limit
was notified as 3,000 tonnes for
wholesalers, 10 tonnes for retailers, 10
tonnes for each outlet and 3,000 ton-
nes at all depots for big chain retailers,
and 70% of monthly installed capacity
multiplied by the remaining months
of the current financial year in the case
of processors.
“The decision has been taken to
take care of hoarders and black mar-
keters who are trying to gain as senti-
ment around wheat prices (are) going
up amid rumours of the country not
having adequate wheat. We want pri-
ces of wheat to be stable,” food and
public distribution secretary Sanjeev
Chopra told reporters.
Chopra said the stock limit has been
imposed in view of recent media
reports that the prices of essential
commodities, including wheat, are
increasing.
“There is no shortfall of wheat in the
country. Wheat production is 4-5 mil-
lion tonnes higher than the previous
year,” he added.
The government estimates wheat
production in the 2024-25 season to
be on par with last year at 112.9 million
Sangh, who was present at the
meeting.
“We also asked the finance
minister to constitute the 8th
pay commission immediately
and to convene the Indian
Labour Conference again,” he
added.
“We asked the finance min-
ister to not see trade unions as
villains. Instead, workers
should be lauded as heroes
and engines of growth,” said
Vidya Sagar Giri, vice presi-
dent of the All India Trade
Union Congress, the labour
union affiliated to the opposi-
tion Congress party.
“I have asked the honoura-
ble finance minister to pass the
e-migration bill as soon as pos-
sible. We have also requested
PTI
REUTERS from China and Vietnam to
guard domestic players. It said
that there is a likelihood of
injury to the domestic indus-
try in the event of cessation of
present countervailing duty
on the imports from these two
nations. PTI
LIVEMINT.COM
ors 60% of monthly installed capacity Arvind Panagariya, chairman
multiplied by remaining months till of the 16th Finance
April 2024. Commission of India. PTI
Chopra said there is no proposal to
Finance
review the export ban on sugar and
wheat.
On plans for open market sales for
wheat, Chopra said, “All options are
open to maintain stability in price. We
panel to
will use one of these tools as and when
it is required.” address
Meanwhile, consumer affairs secre-
tary Nidhi Khare said pulse prices have
cooled off since Friday after stock lim-
freebies,
its on tur and chana were imposed.
Prices in key wholesale markets came
down by ₹50-200 per quintal for
green cover
chana and tur and by ₹100-300 per
quintal for Kabuli chana. PTI
The government estimates wheat production in the 2024-25 season to be on par The government has come up with feedback@livemint.com
with last year at 112.9 million tonnes. PTI a plan to increase the sowing area SHIMLA
under tur, urad and onion. “There was
T
LUCKNOW* VOL. 18 NO. 151
HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*,
tonnes. security Act (NFSA) no buffer stock for tur in the past two he 16th Finance Com-
KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD,
New Delhi, MUMBAI, BENGALURU,
Monday, June 24, 2024
Chopra said the and other welfare seasons. This will not only moderate mission will address
opening stock of schemes is 18.4mt pulses, especially tur prices, but will issues pertaining to the
wheat was 8.2 mil- & POLICY and closing stock LIVEMINT.COM
also help us build a buffer stock of 1 distribution of freebies and
livemint.com
lion tonnes (mt) on 1 requirement as of 31 EURO
million tonnes of tur this year,” Khare compensation for providing
April 2023 while it India plans March 2025 is
₹83.54 ₹0.00
told reporters. green cover, chairman Arvind
pla nning glo bal tra de to reduce
was 7.5mt on 1 April 15.7mt. Additionally, “farmers are getting Panagariya said on Monday.
2 0 2 4 . H e s a i d body for
MSMEs import duty wheat
Quoting govern- higher realization from Rabi onion Speaking with reporters
Puja Das
26.6mt of wheat has s rising trade deficit, urgent need to boost exports ment officials, Mint puja.das@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
ndia is set to resume wheat
and the area under kharif onion is after deliberations with the
been procured this I on Sunday reported
from April.
Merchandise exports increased to
$38.13 billion in May, up from $34.95
imports by lowering the duty
on inbound shipments while
also imposing stock limits on
expected to be higher at 353,000 hec- Himachal Pradesh govern-
in the grain, three officials said, in
billion in May 2023 and $34.99 billion
season against that the government
April.
Imports, however, saw a sharper rise,
reaching $61.91 billion in May, up from
a new attempt to tame prices
and boost supplies.
Additionally, the govern-
tares against last season’s 285,000 ment, Panagariya said the
ment is planning to kick off
26.2mt procured E was considering
$57.48 billion in May 2023 and $54.09 n market operations sales.
hectares,” Khare added. expectations and needs of the
last season. WE BROK such a move. The pace of onion procurement for state have been discussed and
Therefore, the THE NEWS As per February the government buffer this year is a 90-slide presentation was
shortage of wheat in stock limits, whole- comparable with last year, despite a given by the officials which
the opening stock
mint DATED 24 JUNE 2024 salers were permit- 20% decline in estimated rabi produc- emphasized that the cost of
for the next year is ted to keep only tion. Till 20 June, the quantity of everything is much higher in
300,000 tonnes, which he claimed is 500 tonnes, retailers 5 tonnes, big onions procured was 70,987 tonnes the state due to its difficult ter-
not a concern as the annual require- chain retailers 5 tonnes for each outlet compared with 74,071 tonnes in the rain.
ment of wheat for the national food and 500 tonnes at all depots, process- corresponding period last year. Replying to a question, the
chairman said, “The issue of
freebies would also be
addressed by the commission
as we are aware that freebies
have proliferated and there is a
competition among the states
the government to hike the
benefits of social security
and the political parties to give
freebies.”
The Congress government
schemes like EPFO (employ- in the state had promised to
ees provident fund) and ESIC Priyanka Sharma testing at empanelled govern- give ₹1,500 per month to
(employees’ state insurance),” priyanka.sharma@livemint.com ment-accredited laboratories. women aged 18 to 59 in its poll
said S.P. Tiwari, national gen- NEW DELHI “The government’s target is manifesto released on the eve
eral secretary, TUCC. to cover all districts in India. of the last assembly polls held
T
“The benefits that workers he 200 most used drugs By the end of this year, the aim in 2022.
get from these schemes are will be stocked at the is to increase the number of He said that the finance
not adequate, so we proposed government’s generic Jan Aushadhi stores to 15,000 commission has been a neutral
an increase corresponding to pharmacy stores, known as followed by 20,000 stores in body since 1952 and works
the inflation in the country,” Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi 2025 and finally reaching the professionally. This is the first
Tiwari added. Kendras, two officials aware of set target of 25,000 by end of state consultation and the
The allocation for welfare the matter said. 2026 or early 2027,” added a commission would visit other
schemes (Central sector and These stores have brought second official. states before deciding the
Centrally sponsored schemes down the prices of quality The Pharmaceuticals and parameters on which the rec-
combined) in the FY25 medicines, making them avail- Medical Devices Bureau of ommendations would be
interim budget announced in able for the poor. Jan Aushadhi stores have India (PMBI) has been given based.
February was increased by A plan approved in the brought down the prices of the mandate to ensure the Himachal was chosen as the
just 4.7% over the revised esti- recent governing council quality medicines. MINT availability of quality medici- first state as monsoon is arriv-
mates for FY24. meeting of the department of nes at affordable prices at Jan- ing and the state government
According to the India pharmaceuticals aims to of the matter requesting ano- aushadhi Kendra stores. has to attend to monsoon-re-
Employment Report 2024, ensure round-the-clock avail- nymity. Generic medicines are lated issues, the members said,
jointly published by the Inter- ability of these 200 medicines Currently, there are over 50-90% cheaper than branded adding that the old pension
national Labour Organisation that include insulin, painkill- 12,000 generic drug stores, medicines. scheme is also an issue which
(ILO) and the Institute of ers, multi-vitamins, antibiot- with plans to increase their According to the govern- would impact the expenses.
Human Development (IHD) ics, diabetes management count to 25,000 by 2026 as ment, average sales per these Addressing reporters later,
in March, the Labour Force drugs and hypertension medi- announced by Prime Minister outlet per month have grown chief minister Sukhvinder
Participation Rate (LFPR), cines. Narendra Modi last year. upto ₹1.50 lakh. Singh Sukhu said, “We have
Worker Population Ratio “The plan is to retain mini- The drugs at these stores are Queries sent to the depart- explained the condition of the
(WPR), and the Unemploy- mum stock for at least 200 procured from WHO-GMP- ment of pharmaceuticals' state and debt liability to the
ment Rate (UR) witnessed a commonly used medicines at certified pharma companies. spokesperson remain unan- members of the 16th finance
sustained decline between Jan Aushadhi stores 24/7. This To ensure safety and quality swered till press time. commission and apprised
2000 and 2018, but showed is the next big step the govern- of the medicines, the govern- Meanwhile, PMBI has also them that the previous BJP
signs of improvement post- ment aims to do and will be ment conducts random sam- doing comparative study of government took huge loans
2019. implemented in a phased pling for every batch of drugs branded products and Janasu- and we have to take loans to
rhik.kundu@livemint.com manner,” said an official aware delivered to warehouses for hadhi generic products. pay the debt.”
Railway minister reviews
India cancels 14 critical
mineral block auctions advanced version of Kavach
PTI
CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
BLOOMBERG New Delhi: Railway minister Mint welcomes comments,
Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed suggestions or complaints
the progress of the advanced about errors.
version of the Automatic Train
Readers can alert the
Protection System (ATP)
newsroom to any errors in the
Kavach 4.0 at the Rail Bhawan paper by emailing us, with your
here on 22 June, officials said full name and address to
on Monday. Kavach 3.2 is
being installed on approved high-density routes. PTI
feedback@livemint.com.
It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
Readers dissatisfied with the
Govt to equip states with tools response or concerned about
India has cancelled the auction for 14 blocks of criti-
cal minerals launched in the second tranche of such
for 21st Livestock Census Mint’s journalistic integrity may
write directly to the editor by
auctions, a notice by government agency MSTC New Delhi: The government will organise a workshop on sending an email to
showed.India, in February, had launched the sec- the 21st Livestock Census on Tuesday to equip states and asktheeditor@livemint.com
ond part of its critical minerals auction worth an Union Territories with advanced tools for the census, Mint’s journalistic Code of
estimated $362 billion, listing 18 critical mineral which will be held between September and December Conduct that governs our
blocks in eight states, in a bid towards clean energy 2024. The initiative involves using mobile technology for
transition. REUTERS data collection for the first time in the 105-year history of
newsroom is available at
www.livemint.com
the census, an official statement said. PTI
LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI 03

m MINT SHORTS
MapmyIndia founders set up data
Husk Power explores IPO, Healthtech
startup bags
analytics, consulting firm ClarityX
New Delhi: The founders of digital navigation firm MapmyIndia
have set up a new entity called ClarityX that will operate in the
domain of artificial intelligence-based data analytics and consult-
new markets in growth push funds from
Peak, Elevar
ing services, a top company official said. Rakesh Verma, Mapmy-
India’s co-founder and, chairman and managing director, who K. Amoghavarsha
also founded the new firm, said MapmyIndia had initially started k.amoghavarsha@livemint.com
as a data analytics company, and with ClarityX, the founders want Husk plans to triple the minigrids it operates and grow its pipeline of rooptop solar projects BENGALURU
to start afresh with their vision around data analytics and the con-

C
sulting services associated with it. PTI loudphysician Health-
Aman Malik care Pvt. Ltd, a health-
aman.malik@livemint.com care technology com-
Meta AI rolled out in India on NEW DELHI pany focused on critical care,
said on Tuesday that it has
WhatsApp, Facebook, Insta
H
REUTERS
usk Power Systems, an India- raised $10.5 million (₹88 crore)
and Africa-focused renewable in a Series A funding round.
energy company that supplies The round, which was led
electricity to rural areas through mini- by Peak XV Partners, also saw
grids, is exploring the possibility of a participation from Elevar
public listing even as it moves forward Equity and venture debt firm
with an aggressive expansion plan, its Panthera Peak Capital.
founder and chief executive officer The startup will deploy the
(CEO) Manoj Sinha told VCCircle. funding to grow Cloudphysi-
The company also plans to more than cian’s presence within India
triple the number of mini-grids it oper- and expand into emerging
ates and increase its pipeline of rooptop markets and established mar-
solar projects for commercial and indus- kets such as the US. Addition-
trial clients by fivefold by end-2026, ally, the funds will be used to
New Delhi: Meta on Monday announced the availability Sinha said in an interview. further improve its proprie-
of its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, Meta AI, in India Husk Power, which raised $103 mil- tary artificial intelligence (AI)
on WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and the lion in equity and debt in a Series D platform, RADAR, along with
meta.ai portal. Users can now use Meta AI in feeds and chats funding round in October, will look to hiring talent.
across its apps to get things done, create content and dive tap into the capital Founde
deep into topics without having to leave the app they are markets to raise up At present, Husk Power operates around 300 mini-grids with a cumulative capacity of about 30MW across India and Nigeria. d in 2017
using, according to a statement by Meta. The tech giant first to $350 million by by Dhruv
announced Meta AI at last year’s Connect event. PTI 2027, he said. will just be a stepping stone to get addi- mobilized $43 million in equity and $60 Sinha said the last round was closed in Joshi and
Apart from India, Husk Power could tional capital to be able to deliver on that million in debt financing. a tough fundraising environment as the Dileep Raman, Cloudphysi-
also look at listing on the New York promise,” Sinha said. The equity part of the round was led market was in the midst of a funding cian is a healthtech company
Observe.AI, Zuper backer creates Stock Exchange, Sinha said. He did not, To be sure Husk Power hasn’t yet by new investors STOA Infra & Energy, winter, but added that the company had that partners with hospitals to
however, provide any details on the val- hired a banker for the IPO and will likely the US International Development to raise the money as it wanted to scale improve their intensive care
fund to invest in AI startups uation that Husk Power could seek do so next year or in 2026. Finance Corp. (DFC) and French devel- rapidly. unit (ICU) and neonatal inten-
Bengluru: Customer engagement software provider Zendesk, while going public. Sinha, however, said that if Husk opment financial institution Proparco. The Series D round would give Husk sive care unit care for their
which has backed companies such as conversational intelligence Sinha said the firm is in a “very early Power’s IPO plans do not materialize Along with these funders, Husk Power’s Power enough runway till the end of patients.
company Observe.AI and field service management software stage of discussion” with key sharehold- owing to adverse market conditions, it existing backers—Shell Ventures, 2026 or early 2027, to build 1,400 mini- The care centre collaborates
provider Zuper, has set up a global venture capital (VC) fund, cre- ers and board members, even as it grids across India and Africa, and with hospitals to ensure better
ating an official arm to invest in early-stage artificial intelligence looks to deploy the money raised POWERING UP also enter new African markets outcomes for patients. Cloud-
(AI)-first companies. Zendesk, which was taken private in 2022 last year to scale up its business. beyond Nigeria. These new markets physician’s RADAR helps
by American private equity firms Hellman & Friedman, and Per- The renewable energy company HUSK Power raised THE firm will look to HUSK plans to THE company is would include the Democratic manage critically ill patients
mira in a $10.2 billion deal, will allocate capital from its balance plans to mobilize $500 million to $103 million in
equity and debt in a
tap into the capital
markets to raise up
mobilize $500 mn to
reach its goal of
also building a debt
pipeline of $25-30
Republic of Congo, Uganda and remotely and in real time.
sheet as it looks to enhance its AI offerings and add more AI-first reach the goal of setting up as many Series D funding to $350 million by setting up as many mn to help fund its Madagascar. At present, Husk Power The startup claims to have
companies that help improve customer and employee experien- as 2,500 mini-grids, of which it still round in October 2027, its CEO said as 2,500 mini-grids expansion plans operates around 300 mini-grids served 100,000 ICU patients
ces under its umbrella. Zendesk Ventures will invest in startups needs to raise $350 million. This with a cumulative capacity of about across 200 hospitals to date.
from the seed through Series A stages. While Zendesk did not dis- money will be raised via the IPO. 30MW across India and Nigeria. “Cloudphysician is a conflu-
close the size of the fund, the corporate VC is likely to invest tens Husk Power has a pipeline of projects will look to tap into the private equity Swedfund and FMO—also pitched in. Sinha said Husk Power is also build- ence of AI and human clinical
of millions of dollars, with cheque sizes of up to $1 million, chief in the commercial and industrial seg- (PE) market instead, and will begin talk- The company mopped up debt from ing a debt pipeline of $25-30 million to expertise coming together to
executive Tom Eggemeier told Axios. “Every organization is on ment, as well as an appliances business, ing to large PE players next year. several financial institutions including help fund its expansion plans. This will save lives. We aim to scale our
a path to becoming AI-driven, and we’re eager to form partner- which it plans to ramp up significantly. Husk Power has raised around $155 the European Investment Bank and ensure that the company does not have business across India and
ships with companies leading this new era,” said Ben Barclay, Husk Power’s goal is to deliver 5,000 million in equity and debt over multiple International Finance Corp. (IFC), the a financing problem that could prevent global markets,” said Joshi and
senior vice-president of strategy, corporate development and minigrids in Asia and Africa by 2030, he funding rounds, of which the last major private sector investment arm of the it from scaling for at least the next 18 Raman, co-founders, Cloud-
transformation, Zendesk said in a statement. MALVIKA MALOO said. “The IPO (initial public offering) one was in October. As part of that, it World Bank Group. months. physician, in a joint statement.

Futura Surgicare gets $25 mn funding

Ranjani Raghavan Futura Surgicare founder
ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com Setty said that with healthcare
BENGALURU systems around the world
reorienting their supply

J
ashvik Capital has invested
in Bengaluru-based Futura
Surgicare, which sells
medical products, accord-
ing to a statement from both
firms on Monday.
The fund has made a $25
million investment in the
medtech firm and expects to
invest more to fund future
acquisitions, according to a
person familiar with the deal.
The capital will be used to
build innovative devices and
consumables across multiple
specialty areas, drive organic
and inorganic growth, and to
deliver affordable access to
high-quality medical products
in India and various interna-
tional markets, the press state-
ment said.
Established in 1994 by A.D.
Setty, Futura Surgicare makes
Established in 1994 by A.D. Setty, Futura Surgicare makes wound-
closure and surgical consumables and devices.
wound-closure and surgical
consumables and devices. The
firm has nearly 400 employ-
ees and a manufacturing facil-
ity in Bengaluru. It sells its
products in 10,000-plus hos-
pitals in India across 26 states
and has regulatory authoriza-
tions to sell its products in over
70 countries globally, accord-
ing to the statement.
Both the firms pegged the
Indian medical devices oppor-
tunity at roughly $11.25 billion
for domestic demand. In addi-
tion, a $3 billion market can be
serviced from India, the firms
said in the press statement.
chains post covid, “India has a
big opportunity to help meet
the needs of the world.”
Naresh Patwari, founder
and managing partner of Jash-
vik Capital, said the firm would
help Futura expand further
through organic and inorganic
growth.
Patwari, a former partner at
TA Associates, founded Jash-
vik Capital to focus on health-
care and consumer compa-
nies. The firm’s first fund is
sized at a target corpus of $350
million. Mint reported in 2022 (Statutory Body under Govt. of India)
that Jashvik had invested in The National Housing Bank, apex institution for housing finance in the country, invites
snacks firm Jabsons Food. applications for the following posts from eligible and enthusiastic persons on regular
In an earlier interview, Pat- and contract basis:
wari said that Jashvik will Advt. No. – NHB/HRMD/Recruitment/2023-24/03
invest in “only in profitable OBC-
Regular Positions Scale SC ST EWS UR Total
NCL^
businesses growing at more
General Manager (Project
than 18% annually in large VII - - - - 1 1
Finance)
addressable markets.” Assistant General Manager
V 1 - - - - 1
(Credit)
Deputy Manager (Credit) II 1 - 2 - - 3
Assistant Manager (Generalist) I 4 - 5 3 6 18*

Apparel maker Zyod raises Series A funds Total

Re- Advertised Contractual Contract
Positions Period
6

SC ST
-
OBC-
NCL^
7 3 7

EWS UR Total
23

Chief Economist (on contract/

K. Amoghavarsha 3 Years - - - - 1 1
quantity. operations at the factory deputation)
k.amoghavarsha@livemint.com “With this funding, we will level,” said Nishit Garg, a part- Application Developer 3 Years - - - - 1 1
BENGALURU continue to collaborate closely ner at RTP Global’s Asia Senior Project Finance Officer 3 Years 1 1 5 2 1 10
with local manufacturers. Our investment team, comment- Project Finance Officer 3 Years 1 1 3 2 5 12

B
usiness-to-business
(B2B) apparel sourcing
and manufacturing
startup Zyod on Tuesday said
it has raised $18 million (₹150
crore) in a Series A funding
round led by early-stage ven-
ture capital (VC) firm RTP
Global.
The round, which was a mix
of equity and debt infusion,
also saw participation from
existing investors like multi-
stage venture capital firm
Lightspeed and venture debt
firm Alteria Capital, and new
investors Stride Ventures,
Stride One and Trifecta Capi-
tal.
The exact split of
equity and debt was
not disclosed.
Gurugram-based Zyod
plans to utilize the funding to
expand its operations across
geographies. It will also use the
Ankit Jaipuria, co-founder of
Zyod.
logical stack and hire more tal-
ent.
Founded in 2023 by Ankit
Jaipuria and Ritesh
Khandelwal, Zyod
partners with small-
and medium-sized
apparel manufacturers and
suppliers, and allows fashion
brands to use their platform to
source products at the best
focus will remain on tech ing on their investment. Protocol Officer (Delhi) 3 Years - - - - 1 1
advancements and bringing in RTP Global is an early-stage Total 2 2 8 4 9 25
more talent,” said Jaipuria. venture capital firm that has *(Includes 01 post for PwBD (VI))
Applicants may also apply for the position of Chief Economist on deputation.
This is the second funding backed companies like Cred, For detailed advertisement, please visit Bank’s website www.nhb.org.in
round for the Rebel Foods, Online registrations start from 29.06.2024. Last Date for receiving applications is
startup within a The $18 million DeHaat, Delivery 19.07.2024.
span of just over Hero, Practo and Head Office: Core 5A, 3rd-5th Floor, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road,
funding round, New Delhi 110 003 | Regional Office: Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru,
a year. In April which featured a Mobile Premier Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jaipur,
2023, Z y o d mix of equity and League, among Chandigarh, Raipur, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram & Patna.
raised $3.5 mil-
debt infusion, was others.
lion in a seed
led by VC firm
Last year, the JAWAHARLAL NEHRU KRISHI VISHWA
funding round
RTP Global
firm floated a VIDYALAYA, JABALPUR (M.P.)-482004
led by Light- fourth vehicle email : registrarjnkvv@gmail.com (Phone (O) 0761-2681778)
speed. with a target cor-
The round pus of $1 billion. No. Acd/II/A-11(B)/2024-25/1199 Dated : 21 June, 2024
also saw participation from FJ The fund targets investments SECOND ADMISSION NOTICE
Labs, Panthera Peak Capital in 20 Indian startups with a
and angel investors including primary focus on seed and Have fun with facts Applications on plain paper are invited from Non Resident
India NRI / NRI Sponsored candidates for admission to B.Sc.
(Hons) Agriculture/Horticulture/Forestry and B.Tech. (Agril. Engg.)
Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Series A rounds across regions
Abhinav Sinha (Oyo), Gaurav like North America, Europe, on Sundays degree programmes for the session 2024-2025 under NRI /
NRI SPONSORED quota. Intending NRI / NRI SPONSORED
Hinduja (Gokaldas Exports) India, and Southeast Asia. Catch the latest column of candidates may apply along with NRI Certificate (Format 10-A) and
and Ravi Khandelwal (Yufta), RTP Global aims to invest in NRI Sponsored Certificate (Format 10- B) and relevant documents
among others. sectors such as artificial intelli-
“Zyod uses tech to refine gence, enterprise software, A in original with copies (2 sets) such as Marks-sheet, NRI / NRI
Sponsored residential proof, NRI / NRI Sponsored Passport and
Bank Account, NRI Sponsorship Letter up to 17th July, 2024 (5.00
every facet of the production fintech and e-commerce, A quiz on the week’s development. pm) details are available at website www.jnkvv.org
process, from a modular among others, from the fourth
IPRO/Reg.NRI/2024/47 REGISTRAR
hindustantimes htTweets www.hindustantimes.com

funding to develop its techno- possible minimum order design approach to optimizing fund.
04 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM

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

77,341.08 0.17 23,545.20 0.19 22,297.00 0.27 71,673.50 0.79 24,629.25 0.30 46,137.90 0.37 52,077.63 0.27
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

77,209.90 76,885.65 23,501.10 23,382.30 22,236.20 22,150.65 71,111.80 70,944.85 24,555.50 24,443.75 45,967.07 45,855.36 51,936.53 51,969.28
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

77,423.02 76,745.94 23,558.10 23,350.00 22,309.10 22,073.65 71,693.10 70,383.10 24,635.85 24,382.15 46,210.71 45,521.23 52,265.56 51,630.14

m MINT SHORTS
German business expectations
Office leasing may be picking up
fall, hindering recovery hopes Harsha Jethmalani
Making a comeback related to floor-wise special economic with occupancies in the range of
Germany’s business outlook declined for the first time in harsha.j@htlive.com zone (SEZ) denotification was resolved 82-89%. The trajectory of contract expi-
Office occupancy at an all-India level Gross leasing has been better for most
five months—a sign that the gradual recovery in Europe’s has improved companies in FY24
in December 2023, when the govern- ries is important in this context.

D
biggest economy faces headwinds. An expectations emand for Grade-A office
gauge by the Ifo institute fell to 89 in June from 90.3 in spaces is seeing a gradual
the previous months—defying analyst predictions for an revival. At an all-India level,
improvement. A measure of current conditions held gross leasing and net leas-
steady. “The German economy is having difficulty over- ing each rose 7% to 84.1 mil-
coming stagnation,” Ifo president Clemens Fuest said on lion square feet (msf) and 42.1 msf,
Monday in a statement. In manufacturing, “companies respectively, in FY24, according to
were again more skeptical for the months ahead. They Propstack data compiled by Kotak Insti-
were particularly concerned by the declining order back- tutional Equities. Gross leasing refers to
log, but were somewhat more satisfied with current busi- new plus renewals, while net leasing is
ness.” The reading highlights the challenge in moving new excluding exits.
past the recent years’ economic malaise, with consumers With occupancy rising, vacancy lev-
remaining hesitant despite rising incomes and cooling els in office assets dropped 20 basis
inflation. Output expanded 0.2% in the first quarter, points to 14.5% in FY24 (one basis point
helped in part by mild weather. BLOOMBERG is 0.01%). This was led by demand for
office space from global capability cen-
ters (GCCs), flexible space operators,
and the manufacturing and industrial
sectors.
Leasing of office assets is poised to get
a leg up in FY25, with GCCs likely to
remain centrestage in driving demand.
GCCs are typically set up by foreign
companies to conduct back-office oper-
ations and R&D activities. Grade-A
commercial assets in India are cost-ef-
fective and the availability of a skilled
workforce is an additional advantage for
these companies. GCC leasing
Office stock (in million sq. ft)
Vacancy (in %) (right-hand scale)
700
660
620
580
540
500
Q1FY23
increased around 17% in FY24 to 22.5
msf, according to property consultant
CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd, which
expects leasing by GCCs to hit 40-45
msf between 2024 and 2025.
The slowdown in the Indian informa-
tion technology (IT) sector—once a
large contributor to office leasing
Gross leasing (in million sq. ft)
ment decided to amend the SEZ rules With demand expectations firming
and to allow commercial realty compa- up, there has been an increase in supply.
Embassy Reit Mindspace Reit
nies to convert vacant SEZ areas, which In FY24, the commercial real-estate
Brookfield Reit DLF Cyber City Developers
16 still account for the bulk of vacancies for sector saw new office space supply of
10 large commercial office owners, into 47.5 msf, up 14%, showed Propstack-Ko-
non-SEZ areas. This is expected to boost tak data. But with demand still lagging
15.6
8
occupancy levels. supply, office-space rentals
There has already been LEASING may not see a quick turn-
some progress on this front. REVIVAL around in FY25.
15.2
6 In the listed space, Brook- For investors in listed
field India Real Estate Trust LEASING of office Reits, trends in net debt and
14.8 Ltd has received in-princi- assets is poised to
get a leg up in FY25,
borrowing costs are crucial.
4
ple approval to convert 1 msf with GCCs likely to To capture a potential rise in
of SEZ space into a non-pro- drive demand demand, most Reits are cur-
14.4 2 cessing area. The company rently expanding their port-
has already leased half of THE latest folios. “Consequently, the
commentary by
this space and has received listed Reit managers net debt/GAV is slowly ris-
Q4FY24
14 0 several inquiries for the rest, indicates robust ing. Nevertheless, it remains
FY23 FY24
Source: Propstack, Companies, Kotak Institutional Equities
management said in the Q4 demand in FY25 below the regulatory cap of
FY24 earnings call. Mind- 49% for all Reits,” said a
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
space Reit applied for the Nuvama Research report.
demand—persists, but this pressure is denotification of an additional 1.5 msf of GAV is gross asset value. A high net
expected to ease as more large IT com- space at Airoli in Q4 FY24 and expects debt/GAV is not desirable as it indicates
panies push for employees to return to approvals within two quarters. balance-sheet weakness. Also, borrow-
offices. Recall that following the out- The latest commentary by listed Reit ing costs for these firms remain high at
break of the covid-19 pandemic, office managers indicates robust demand in around 8.5%. “A potential interest-rate
assets saw increased exits as IT/ITeS FY25, with companies eyeing occupan- cut over the next year should act as a
companies rationalised costs. cies of over 90% in office assets by the re-rating trigger for Reits,” added the
Meanwhile, the regulatory overhang end of FY25. Listed Reits ended FY24 Nuvama report.

Spot prices of lithium carbonate in China have slid to the

lowest since August 2021.
Lithium’s ongoing slump has
traders seeking recovery signs
Lithium industry watchers hoping the battery metal was
AFP Ujjivan SFB’s investors appear focused on short-term challenges
Manish Joshi interest margin guidance at 9%, priority sector lending norms the balance sheet size and mar-
feedback@livemint.com the adverse impact of the gui-
Speedbreaker ahead? and also a relief from the obliga- ket capitalization. Whether
Ujjivan's microfinance book has showed a steady rise consistently
dance change on the two with a two-year CAGR of 30% tion of small ticket loans. But based on historical numbers for

U
poised to rebound from an epic slump have been hit by jjivan Small Finance parameters will also mean a Microfinance loans (in  crore) most importantly, the SFB’s FY24 or as per Centrum Brok-
25,000
the realization prices have fallen again this month, with Bank Ltd (SFB) stock fell reduction in return on equity minimum capital adequacy ing’s projections for FY25, Ujji-
inventories piling up as electric vehicle demand signals 5% on Monday following (RoE) guidance to 20% from 20,000 requirement (CAR) will come van’s valuation continues to lag
stay gloomy. Spot prices of lithium carbonate in China the double whammy of the 22%. down to 9% (11.5% if it wants to Equitas, despite having a higher
have slid to the lowest since August 2021 and the most- downward revision in loan The management attributed 15,000 declare a dividend) from 15%. RoA and RoE. Ujjivan’s RoA is at
active futures on the Guangzhou exchange have lost 12% growth guidance and upward it to a detailed review of the This will significantly free up its 3.5% for FY24 and estimated at
10,000
so far this month. In top producer Albemarle Corp.’s lat- revision in credit cost for FY25. portfolio and a report from RBI- capital. Though it is believed 2.7% for FY25 as against Equitas'
est auction on 19 June, the winning bid was down 6.9% Surprisingly, the guidance was licensed credit bureau, Centre 5,000 that the trust of depositors is 2% and 2.1%, respectively. Ujji-
from the previous sale on 5 June. The declines follow a revised within five weeks of giv- for Research in International higher in universal banks vis-à- van’s earnings per share is
plunge of more than 80% in 2023. Although prices stabi- ing the previous one. Finance (CRIF), that indicated 0 vis small finance banks, it expected to drop in FY25 com-
Q4FY22 Q4FY24
lized earlier this year, the supply-chain is still working to The bank had earlier guided stress at the ground level in the remains to be seen how far it pared to Equitas'.
Note: CAGR is compound annual growth rate Source: Company
clear inventories, with customers holding off purchases. for 25% loan growth and a credit microfinance lending segment. will help in terms of mobilizing Against this backdrop, Ujji-
SHREEYA AGGARWAL/MINT
The bearish sentiment has also been wreaking havoc on cost of 1.5%. However, during its The segment accounts for additional deposits. van’s stock price correction due
the stock prices of producers. Rising lithium production recent analysts meeting, these nearly 75% of Ujjivan SFB’s loan Additionally, regulatory condi- under ₹25 lakh. The negative reaction of the to the adverse change in gui-
and expectations of a summer lull are weighing on prices, figures were revised to 20% and book, largely owing to the tions require SFBs to maintain As Ujjivan plans to apply for Ujjivan stock has widened its dance could be a case of inves-
according to Susan Zou, an analyst at researcher Rystad 1.7%, respectively. Notwith- requirement of meeting the pri- 50% of their portfolio in small- universal banking license, it will valuation gap with Equitas SFB, tors focusing on near-term
Energy. BLOOMBERG standing the unchanged net ority sector lending norms. ticket loans, defined as loans get a breather in terms of lower its closest peer in terms of both earnings drop.

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

Niva Bupa plans FIIs lap up long-dated bonds Quant MF to answer Sebi queries
$360 million IPO Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
over front-running allegations
The prospect of the Reserve June, and Goldman Sachs
Bank of India keeping its pol- Group Inc. sees at least $30
icy rate at a five-year high to billion more of flows in com-
Reuters Staff writer

F
oreign bond investors in combat sticky inflation is add- ing months as India’s weight- from anticipated price move-
feedback@livemint.com India are locking in ing to the allure. ing on the index steadily rises feedback@livemint.com ment when the large trade is
MUMBAI yields amid signs the “Duration is our clarion to 10%. executed.

Q
central bank is sticking with call,” said Lakshmi Iyer, chief That’s likely to keep bond uant Mutual Fund, Sandeep Tandon-owned

H
ealth insurer Niva Bupa
is planning to raise
$360 million in an IPO,
potentially valuing the busi-
ness at up to $2.5 billion,
according to two people famil-
iar with the matter and a docu-
ment seen by Reuters, the latest
company to cash in on a stock
market surge.
British United Provident
Association (Bupa), which
holds a 63% stake in the ven-
ture, plans to sell a small stake
worth up to $38 million and
private equity firm True North
is planning a stake sale worth
up to $225 million, the docu-
ment detailing the initial public
offering (IPO) plans showed.
It will file papers with the
markets regulator the Securi-
ties and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) to seek IPO
approval in the next week, the
people cited above said.
Niva Bupa, Bupa UK and
True North declined to com-
ment.
Niva Bupa has partnered with
more than 10,000 hospitals in
India. ISTOCKPHOTO
strengthen its balance sheet
and for operating expenses,
according to the document.
Niva Bupa has hired Morgan
Stanley and Indian banks
ICICI, Kotak, Axis, HDFC and
Motilal Oswal for the IPO, the
document shows. The banks
did not respond to queries
seeking comment.
India is among the nations
with the lowest insurance pen-
etration rates among large
countries but adoption is grow-
ing fast after the covid pan-
demic “increased risk aware-
its high interest rates in the
run-up to the securities being
included in JPMorgan Chase
& Co. indexes.
Global funds increased the
proportion of notes due in 10
years or more to the highest in
nine months in June, accord-
ing to calculations by Bloom-
berg.
The share held in short-
dated securities has fallen
steadily in that time frame.
The country’s debt has
become a hot play among
emerging markets, with
investors attracted to its solid
finances and stable currency.
Investors pick holding co shares after Sebi’s new framework
Dipti Sharma
dipti.sharma@livemint.com
MUMBAI
executive officer of Kotak prices buoyant. which is facing front- Quant MF confirmed it had
Investment Thanks to fis- running charges, has received inquiries from the
Advisors. Global funds cal belt-tighten- said it is “fully commit- markets regulator.
“Incremen- increased the ing and RBI ted to cooperating with the reg- Quant MF received inquiries
tally adding proportion of interventions to ulator”. from Sebi, and “we want to
duration to your notes due in 10 keep the cur- The statement came after address any concerns you may
portfolio and
years or more to rency on an even Moneycontrol reported that the have regarding this matter,” it
adding bonds keel, investors at Securities and Exchange Board said in a statement. “We want
beyond t h e the highest in nine Goldman, Bank of India (Sebi) had conducted Sebi is investigating allegations to assure you that Quant
10-year paper, in months in June of America Corp. search and seizure operations against Quant MF. MINT Mutual Fund is a regulated
the 15-30 year and BlackRock at Quant MF’s offices in Mum- entity, and we are always fully
segment, seems Inc. are bullish bai and Hyderabad on suspi- pegged profits from the alleged committed to cooperate with
to be the best value for the on the country’s debt and cur- cion of front-running. front-running at ₹20 crore. the regulator throughout any
buck right now,” Iyer said. rency. But that newfangled Sebi has also questioned Front-running takes place review. We will provide all nec-
Foreigners have already popularity, as traders seek Quant MF dealers and persons when fund managers, dealers essary support and continue to
plowed roughly $10 billion alternatives to China, risks connected with the case, Mon- or brokers who are aware of furnish data to Sebi on a regular
into the securities eligible to causing a bubble that may eycontrol reported, quoting large trades place their own and as-needed basis,” the com-
join JPMorgan’s index on 28 burst. persons in the know who have orders beforehand to profit pany said in the statement.
value due to low trading volu- holding companies benefit and investment holding com-
Boost to the spirits
mes and limited float. On Special call auction framework has sparked a surge in shares of from robust participation and panies (IHCs) are traded infre-
Thursday, the Securities and holding companies trader interest, enabling effi- quently and at prices much
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Gains from Thursday closing till Monday Monday’s gains (in %) cient price discovery on the lower than the book value dis-

Niva Bupa’s plans are the lat-
est example of India’s booming
IPO markets, where investors
are pouring record amounts of
money into small and big com-
panies. Earlier this month,
Korean auto major Hyundai
filed for what could be the
country’s biggest-ever IPO. Of
the $360 million offering, Niva
Bupa will be raising $96 million
by issuance of new shares,
while $264 million worth of
shares will be sold by existing
investors, the document shows.
It will use funds raised to
ness,” Niva Bupa said in its
2022 annual report.
Insurance sales are rising
with soaring healthcare costs in
India, where most citizens rely
on private healthcare as gov-
ernment hospitals tend to be
overburdened.
Niva Bupa has partnered
with more than 10,000 hospi-
tals in India.
However, it is one of the
smaller players with a market
share of 1.8% in a sector domi-
nated by insurance ventures of
Allianz and Generali.
S
hares of listed holding
companies such as Pilani
Investment and Indus-
tries Corp., Kalyani Invest-
ment Co. and Nalwa Sons
Investments jumped as much
as 20% on Monday, following a
regulatory move that is
expected to aid price discovery
and increase liquidity.
Holding companies typi-
cally hold various investments,
including shares of other listed
companies, but have no daily
operations. They also trade at
a steep discount to their book
proposed special call auctions
with no price bands to check
this anomaly.
Shares of Pilani Investment,
Kalyani Investment, Nalwa
Sons Investments, Vardhman
Holdings, Bombay Burmah
Trading Corp., Summit Secur-
ities, Maharashtra Scooters
and JSW Holdings hit all-time
highs during the day’s trading.
An effective price discovery
mechanism will narrow the
gap between the market value
and book value of holding
companies, said Nirav Kark-
exchange, the call auction closed by them. The gap bet-
Kalyani Investment 25.4
Co. 20.0 method could prove particu- ween market price and book
24.3 larly advantageous for holding value hurts liquidity, fair price
Bombay Burmah Trading
19.8 companies grappling with discovery, and investor inter-
Pilani Investment and 22.6 liquidity challenges. est. To address this concern,
Industries Corp. 20.0 “What was once a challenge the regulator has put in place a
Summit Securities
20.3 for these companies, such as framework for special call auc-
20.0 low float, has now turned a key tion with no price bands for
Nalwa Sons Investments
19.7 lever driving prices higher. effective price discovery.
20.0
Investors are eagerly snapping Kranthi Bathini, director of
Source: BSE
up these shares ahead of the equity strategy at WealthMills
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
first special call auction, push- Securities, said this new fram-
era, head of research at Fis- believes that the special call ing many to their upper circuit ework was a positive initiative,
dom. He said this will, in turn, auction will increase partici- limit today,” said Karkera. but the key issue lies in deter-
boost the value of the holding pation in these shares. On 20 June, Sebi said some mining which companies will
company’s listed shares. He Moreover, while prominent investment companies (ICs) qualify for this auction.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI 05

New airport
at Noida hit Indian steel exports run into
by delay, ops
likely by Apr
Chinese flood of cheap alloy
Anu Sharma
anu.sharma@livemint.com
NEW DELHI Export prices of hot-rolled coil from China have fallen to $520 per tonne, versus India’s $660

N
oida International Air-
port, which had
planned to start flight
operations by the end of 2024,
is facing construction delays
I
and now expects to launch ser-
vices by April 2025, it said in a
statement on Monday.
The construction work—on
the runway, passenger termi-
nal and the control tower—is at
an advanced stage and the next
few weeks will be crucial, the
statement added.
In February, the NCLT had approved IIHL’s resolution plan worth
Naman Suri ₹9,861 crore for turning around Reliance Capital. MINT
naman.suri@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
Plea against delay
ndian steel exports are struggling
and are likely to face continued
challenges, as overcapacity and
weak domestic demand in China
in RCap resolution
prompt the world’s second largest
economy to flood the global market Priyanka Gawande rowing from lenders, ₹2,500
with ultra-cheap steel. priyanka.gawande@livemint.com crore through equity infusion
India’s steel exports in May were MUMBAI by IndusInd International from
recorded at 0.5 million tonnes (mt), outside India, and another

“In view of the current con-
struction status, we expect to
begin commercial operations
by the end of April 2025. We
are working together with our
EPC (engineering, procure-
ment and construction) con-
tractor Tata Projects Ltd and
with other stakeholders to keep
the pace of construction activi-
ties and preparations for opera-
tional readiness high,” the air-
port said.
The airport has also awarded
concessions for ground han-
dling, operation of commercial
areas and important mainte-
nance contracts, it said.
In the first phase, the airport
is expected to handle 12 million
passengers and manage
96,400 flights every year.
Noida International Airport
is coming up across 1,334 hec-
tares at Jewar in Uttar Pra-
desh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar.
It is about 72km from Indira
Gandhi International Airport
in New Delhi, 52km from Noida
and 130km from Agra. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi laid
the foundation stone for the
airport in November 2021.
Modelled on Switzerland's
Zurich Airport, the Noida air-
port is being built by Zurich
Airport International AG.
L
nearly 25% lower month-on-month enders to a bankrupt Reli- equity infusion of ₹250 crore
(m-o-m) from around 0.66 mt in April, ance Capital (RCap) have by Cyqure India—a Hinduja
per provisional data available with filed an affidavit before the Group associate. Lenders have
BigMint, a market research and con- National Company Law Tribu- prayed before the NCLT to not
sultancy firm. nal (NCLT) opposing the allow extension of the imple-
“The steel export market is cur- 90-day extension sought by the mentation deadline unless
rently distorted and lacks attractive- Hinduja group-owned Indus- IIHL reveals its tie-up of funds
ness due to China’s continued strategy Ind International Holdings Ltd for the entire resolution
of flooding the global market with (IIHL) to implement its resolu- amount, including equity and
low-priced steel. Low domestic tion plan. debt, and places the proposed
demand in China is leading to sub- In a recent affidavit filed equity component of ₹2,750
stantial exports at prices below the before the bankruptcy tribunal, crore in an escrow account.
cost of production,” Ranjan Dhar, India exported steel worth ₹98,117 crore in FY24, down from ₹1.07 trillion in FY23. MINT the committee of Following cer-
director and vice-president, sales and creditors (CoC) Lenders urged the tain changes in
marketing, ArcelorMittal Nippon 2022, according to a recent Crisil on-week to $239 per tonne FOB (free increasingly focusing on the domestic cited a slew of NCLT to not allow IIHL’s proposed
Steel India, told Mint. report. “This number may likely rise to on board) on 21 June, according to demand,” said Dhruv Goel, chief exec- concerns. These extension of the implementation
According to a report by BigMint, more than 100 mt this calendar year,” BigMint. utive officer of BigMint. included delay in implementation structure, the len-
export prices of hot-rolled coil coming said Dhar. This has prompted Indian steel However, domestic demand envi- implementation ders said IIHL has
deadline unless
from China have fallen to $520 per This also means an uptick in exports mills to focus on domestic demand, as ronment is not particularly strong, of the resolution sought some
tonne from $525 per tonne within a from China to India. According to a exports remain a margin-dampening either, as monsoon rains and budget- plan; IIHL’s ina- IIHL reveals its additional regula-
week, leading to a continued steel ministry report, the value prospect. While competitive related uncertainties weigh on bility to get the tie-up of funds tory approvals
pressure on global steel pri- of Chinese steel exports to prices in West Asia and prices. India exported steel necessary regula- from the Reserve
ces. In comparison, Indian India rose from $391.67 Southeast Asia remain a worth ₹98,117 crore in tory approvals; Bank of India,
export prices hovered in
a range of $650-$660 0.5
mt
India’s steel
million in March to concern, the situation
$434.01 million in April in Europe is deteriorat- mn FY24,
Chinese steel
$434
down from ₹1.07
trillion in FY23.
last-minute changes in transac- which were not envisaged in
tion structures; and uncer- the plan. Pertinently, the CoC
(₹54,500-₹55,000) per this year. ing due to weak “India stands out as a tainty over IIHL’s ability to said in its affidavit that a signifi-
tonne, higher than exports in May, vs According to provi- demand and a rigorous exports to India bright spot in the global tie-up funds for the resolution cant amount of public funds is
China’s rates. 0.66mt in April sional government data, regulatory environment in April steel market. Although plan. involved in this deal including
China’s crude steel pro- India’s finished steel in play. domestic demand is cur- Mint has seen a copy of the debt from LIC, EPFO, banks,
duction rose 8.1% m-o-m to imports stood at 8.3 mt in “Major competition for rently sluggish, it is expected affidavit. In February, the and retail bondholders, besides
92.86 mt in May, from 85.94 mt FY24, up 38%. China, South Indian steel exports is evident in to rise with a renewed focus on NCLT had approved IIHL’s res- others. “Therefore, any exten-
in April. In May last year, China’s Korea, Japan and Vietnam were the the Middle Eastern and Southeast capital expenditure by both the gov- olution plan worth ₹9,861 crore sion beyond 27 May, should
crude steel production stood at major contributors, the Crisil report Asian markets, where China continues ernment and the private sector,” for turning around Reliance take into account a recom-
90.4mt. said. to flood the market with cheap added Dhar. “However, India must Capital. The approved plan was pense to the lenders, otherwise
China exported around 94 mt of Weak global demand and falling exports, putting pressure on Indian remain vigilant in its growth efforts, as to be implemented by 27 May. it will lead to unjust enrich-
iron and steel products globally in cal- input costs have weighed on steel pri- mills. With European demand also cheap Chinese imports pose a serious The proposal includes ment of IIHL at the expense of
endar year 2023, a 38% increase over ces. Coking coal prices fell 7% week- remaining weak, Indian producers are threat.” ₹7,300 crore in the form of bor- public monies.”

RESPONSIBLE FOR

Excerpts from the Chairman’s Speech at the 37th Annual General Meeting
Dear Stakeholders,
I extend a warm welcome to each of you to the 37 Annual General
th
Meeting of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.
(IREDA). I am happy to share that your Company was granted the
prestigious Navratna status in 2024 in recognition of continued
excellence in business performance and governance. The
Navratna status grants significant autonomy to your Company
in shaping its business targets and ambition which in turn will
translate into responsive support to the renewable energy sector.
Further, your Company aims to become a Maharatna CPSE by
FY30 subject to Government guidelines and applicable approvals.
HIGHLIGHTS OF FINANCIAL
& OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Robust business growth and profitability
In FY 24, your Company achieved the highest ever annual loan
book, sanction, disbursement, profit, and net worth. A snapshot
of our performance:
• Gross Loan Book: ` 59,698.11 Crore in FY24 as against
` 47,075.52 Crore in FY23 (up by 26.81%)
• Loan Sanction: ` 37,353.68 Crore in FY24 as against
` 32,586.60 Crore in FY23 (up by 14.63%)
• Loan Disbursement: ` 25,089.04 Crore in FY24 as against
` 21,639.21 Crore in FY23 (up by 15.94%)
• Profit Before Tax: ` 1,685.24 Crore in FY24 as against
` 1,139.25 Crore in FY23 (up by 47.93%)
• Profit After Tax: ` 1,252.23 Crore in FY24 as against ` 864.63
Crore in FY23 (up by 44.83%)
• Net worth: ` 8,559.43 Crore in FY24 as against ` 5,935.17 Crore
in FY23 (up by 44.22%)
Key performance highlights
In addition to robust financial performance, your Company
delivered several other notable achievements in FY24; some key
highlights are:
Initial Public Offering launched at 38.59x subscription
Your Company completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) listing
on the BSE and the NSE on 29th November 2023. Your Company
raised `2,150.22 Crores through a mix of fresh issues and an
offer for sale by the Government of India, with the Government
retaining a 75% stake post-IPO.
Your Company’s IPO received an overwhelming response from
investors across all categories with the issue over-subscribed
by a staggering 38.59 times excluding anchor investors. The
portion for qualified institutional bidders (QIBs) witnessed a
significant 105.18 times subscription, while the portion reserved
for non-institutional investors saw 22.98 times bidding.
Fastest publication of Audited Annual Financial Results in the
Indian Banking & NBFC sector
Your Company has set a new benchmark by publishing its Annual
Audited Financial Results within just 19 days, which is the fastest
publication of Audited Results in the Banking and NBFC space in
India, significantly ahead of SEBI's 60-day deadline.
This landmark achievement in financial reporting is just one
of many initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of excellence
in corporate governance and accountability. In addition,
this achievement reflects your Company’s efÏcient internal
processes and advanced digital data management capabilities.
Opening of ofÏce in GIFT City, Gandhinagar for Foreign currency
financing
Post ending FY 24, your Company has opened an ofÏce in GIFT
City which will specialize in providing debt options denominated
in foreign currencies. This facilitates natural hedging and
significantly reduces financing cost for Green Hydrogen & its
derivatives as well as Renewable Energy Manufacturing projects.
This strategic initiative will play a pivotal role in advancing
the nation's progress toward an environmentally friendly and
‘Atmanirbhar’ future.
Opening of paperless Business Centre at NBCC OfÏce Complex,
Delhi
Your Company inaugurated its state-of-the-art Business Centre
at NBCC OfÏce Complex, East Kidwai Nagar, New Delhi on 24th
June 2023. The new ofÏce incorporates digital technologies
to eliminate the use of paper, driving sustainability as well as
transparent and efÏcient digital workflows.
Further, the new space has been designed to foster employee
productivity, collaboration, and well-being with dedicated
spaces and amenities for Yoga, Meditation, and Fitness enabling
employees to prioritize their physical and mental well-being.
Credit Rating
The domestic debt instruments of your Company are rated 'AAA'
RENEWABLES
stable by ICRA Ltd., India Ratings & Research Private Limited,
Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited and CareEdge Ratings.
Further, term loan & short term loan from banks & financial
institutions have been assigned “AAA” stable rating by Acute
Rating & Research Ltd., India Ratings & Research Private
Limited and Brickwork Ratings India Private Ltd. GOI Fully
Serviced Bonds are rated “AAA” “Stable” from India Ratings &
Research Private Limited, ICRA Limited and CareEdge Ratings.
Healthy asset quality
In addition to business expansion, your Company has prioritized
enhancement of its asset quality. A rigorous recovery and
monitoring framework has been established, which includes
monthly internal reviews and quarterly discussions with
borrowers. Furthermore, your Company has improved its
recovery effectiveness by revising its asset sale policy under the
SARFAESI Act, 2002.
With a focused approach, the reduction of `102.50 Crore in Gross
NPA has been realized during FY24 through a net reduction of 3
NPA accounts thereby reducing the total number of NPA loan
accounts to 61. Further, `212.70 Crore has been recovered from
NPA accounts which includes `90.68 Crores from Principal
recovery and `122.02 Crore from Interest Income recovery.
This has resulted in healthy improvement in NPA ratios at the
close of FY24 as can be seen below:
• Gross NPA: 2.36 % (vs. 3.21% in FY23)
• Net NPA: 0.99% (vs. 1.66% in FY23)
‘Excellent' Performance expected on MoU with MNRE
Your Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
setting financial and operational targets for FY24. Your Company
is expecting an ‘Excellent’ rating for FY24 basis its performance
(subject to assessment by the Government of India). Historically,
your Company has consecutively achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating in
FY21, FY22, and FY23.
Recognitions and Awards
Your Company received recognition for its stellar performance in
India’s green financing sector:
• Upgradation from Schedule B to Schedule A category CPSE
followed by Navratna status awarded by the Department of
Public Enterprises in April 2024
• ‘CMD of the Year’ award under the Mini-Ratna category at the
13th PSE Excellence Awards organized by the Indian Chamber
of Commerce
• Runner-up Awards in four key categories: ‘Operational
Performance Excellence’, ‘Corporate Governance’, ‘Corporate
Social Responsibility & Sustainability’, and ‘Inclusivity-
Contribution of Women and Differently Abled In’ under the Mini-
Ratna category at the 13th PSE Excellence Awards organized by
the Indian Chamber of Commerce
• 'Excellent' rating under MoU signed with the Ministry of New &
Renewable Energy for the FY 23.
PRODUCTS & SERVICES OFFERED
New products launched and financing policies updated
Your Company dynamically reviews its policies and procedures to
meet the evolving needs of the renewable energy sector, thereby
ensuring the availability of a comprehensive range of financial
products and related services from project conceptualization
to post-commissioning for renewable energy projects across
sectors.
Your Company offers support to renewable energy projects
across a range of traditional & emerging sectors including but
not limited to Solar energy, Wind energy, Hydropower, Biofuels
(CBG, Ethanol, etc.), Biomass, Briquettes & Pellets, E-mobility,
Transmission, Battery Storage, Pumped Storage Hydro, Green
Hydrogen & its derivatives, and RE-related manufacturing.
In FY24, your Company updated its financing policies in
response to the needs of its borrowers; some key changes can
be seen below:
• Empanelment of Lender’s Financial Advisors (LFA) for
continued monitoring of borrower accounts and movement of
funds
• Product launch for Commercial Bus or Passenger Vehicle fleet
with B2B contracts
• Increase in maximum loan tenor for Electric Mobility segment
from 8 years to 10 years
• Debt coverage for greenfield & brownfield Hydropower
projects enhanced up to 80%
In addition, your Company sanctioned loans across 3 new
emerging renewable energy sectors in FY24 including Smart
Meters, Green Hydrogen & its derivatives, and PM KUSUM.
Implementation support provided for key MNRE Schemes
Your Company has been closely involved in the development and
implementation of various policies pertaining to the renewable
energy sector. Further, your Company has served as the
implementing agency for the following key MNRE schemes:
• Central Public Sector Undertaking- Phase-II for setting up
grid-connected Solar PV projects
• National Bio-energy Programme
• National Programme on High EfÏciency Solar PV Modules
under Production Linked Incentive, Tranche-I
• Generation Based Incentive (GBI)
Co-lending and consulting services offered to partners
During FY24, your Company entered into MoUs with the following
institutions:
• For co-lending & co-origination support to leading Indian
Financial Institutions such as IIFCL, Union Bank of India, Bank
of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, and
Punjab National Bank
• For consulting services to support R&D and renewable energy
requirements for IIT, Bhubaneswar and AIIMS, New Delhi
KEY OPERATIONAL INITIATIVES LAUNCHED
Your Company has launched several major initiatives for its key
stakeholders geared towards improving borrower experience,
developing its human resources, enhancing Corporate
Governance, driving impactful CSR actions, and offsetting the
carbon footprint of its operations.
• Initiatives to improve borrower experience
Close connect with borrowers
Physical and virtual interactions with borrowers, industry
experts and IREDA management were held across cities to
understand and proactively address borrower concerns,
build a strong rapport with our borrowers, and usher in
transparency.
We have also expanded our physical presence across India with
four strategically located branches in Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Chennai, and Bhubaneshwar to maximize geographical
coverage and have deployed on-ground personnel at
Bengaluru and Guwahati.
Digital Process Optimization
Your Company possesses a robust IT infrastructure, including
an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System specifically
tailored to meet our business requirements.
To streamline the loan application process, the Company
offers an online platform for customers that serves as a
single point of contact for filing applications, uploading
documentation, and receiving alerts. Borrowers can track
the progress of their applications in real time and view any
outstanding tasks or next steps via the Customer Portal. This
enhances borrower experience, offering both ease of doing
business as well as transparency.
Your Company has standardized its loan sanction mechanism
and adopted simplified templates for both pre-disbursement
and post-disbursement documentation to further streamline
processes.
• Initiatives to develop human resources
The following key HR initiatives were undertaken in FY24 to
enhance organizational capabilities and drive forward key
objectives for your Company’s growth:
Strategic workforce expansion
Your Company is expanding in line with its robust growth
with 25 new personnel inducted during FY24 across various
functions such as Technical, Finance, Company Secretariat,
Legal, etc. The total employee strength of your Company was
173 as on 31st March 2024 excluding Board Level Executives.
Promotion of diversity
The strength of female employees is a crucial aspect of
workforce diversity and gender equality. The number of female
ofÏcials as on 31st March 2024 was 46, i.e., 26.6% of the total
employee strength. Your Company ensures due compliance
with the Directives and Guidelines issued by the Government
of India pertaining to the welfare of SC/ ST/ OBC employees.
Employee engagement and wellness
Throughout FY24, your Company hosted a variety of cultural
and wellness events, including cleanliness drives, social
gatherings, and wellness meets. These events are aimed at
boosting employee connect and morale as well as fostering a
cohesive corporate culture aligned with the Company’s mission.
Best-in-class employee trainings
Your Company implemented a comprehensive training plan,
including programs at renowned institutes in India and abroad
as well as tailored in-house sessions by experts, resulting in
2,081 training man-days, demonstrating a commitment to
professional development and global engagement.
Initiatives for robust Corporate Governance
Your Company is dedicated to adhering to the highest standards
of Corporate Governance complying with all relevant regulations
under the Companies Act 2013, the SEBI LODR Regulations
2015, the Guidelines on Corporate Governance for Central Public
Sector Enterprises 2010 issued by the Department of Public
Enterprises, as well as the Secretarial Standards established by
the Institute of Company Secretaries of India amongst others.
Committed to ethical practices, your Company prioritizes
transparency and stakeholder value in all business operations
and relevant legal disclosures. Notably, your Company has set
a new benchmark by publishing its Annual Audited Financial
Results within just 19 days which is the fastest publication
of Audited Results in the Banking and NBFC space in India,
significantly ahead of SEBI's 60-day deadline. This reflects your
Company’s efÏcient internal processes and advanced digital
data management.
Initiatives for impactful Corporate Social Responsibility
In FY 24, your Company embraced the ‘Health & Nutrition’ theme,
sanctioning 16 CSR projects with 9 specifically dedicated to this
theme.
During FY24, your Company sanctioned `16.65 Crore for 16
projects under CSR funds (including administrative costs) and
disbursed `10.29 Crore based on project progress over the year
(including disbursements from unspent account for previous
years). Your Company has launched an online CSR Portal to
facilitate transparency in receipt & disposal of CSR requests.
Initiatives for offsetting carbon footprint of operations
In addition to supporting the country’s decarbonization goals,
your Company strives towards achieving carbon neutrality in
its operations. Your Company owns and operates a 50 MW Solar
plant at Kasaragod, Kerala which produces renewable energy
which resulted in reduction of ~72,577 Tonnes of CO2 for FY 24.
VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Outlook for India's green financing sector & key Government
initiatives to promote RE
India's green financing sector is on a robust growth trajectory
buoyed by significant Government of India initiatives and a
global commitment to increase renewable energy capacity.
Over ` 46 Lakh Crore investment is expected towards renewable
energy sectors till 2030 in India. In line with this requirement, the
FY25 Union Budget outlay for renewable energy has increased
46% over last year reaching `14,980 Crore.
Further, various supportive policies and financial incentives
have been launched by the Government to ensure well-rounded
development across various clean energy sectors.
Business growth
To maintain our leadership in traditional renewable energy
sectors such as Solar energy, Wind energy, Hydropower,
Biomass, Biofuels, etc., your Company intends to play a critical
role in meeting the expanding financing requirements, set to
increase notably with the Government of India's target of 500
GW installed non-fossil fuel-based power capacity by 2030. We
will continue to innovate with new financial products in line with
evolving business models and enhance presence in consortium
financing with the help of new MoUs signed with leading financial
institutions.
Your Company is also focusing on new and emerging green
technologies. This includes strategic growth areas aligned
with India's renewable energy goals such as Green Hydrogen,
Pumped Hydro Storage, Battery Storage, Offshore Wind, Green
Energy Corridors, Rooftop Solar, and Green Mobility. We have
established a dedicated team to develop and assess projects in
these new sectors. In addition, we dynamically launch innovative
financial products and continuously invest in training our
employees on new green technologies and financial structures.
Borrowing optimization
Your Company is dedicated to reducing borrowing costs to boost
both competitiveness and profitability. We are leveraging our
established reputation, strong credit rating, relationships with
key financial institutions as well as constantly evolving our fund
raise strategy to maximize funding efÏciency. This approach
ensures that your Company continues its efforts in raising
financing at competitive rates from domestic and international
capital market issuances, including green bonds. We also
leverage our partnerships with national financial institutions
and multilateral/international development organizations given
our position as a pure-play green financier.
Digitally enabled organization
To support its non-linear growth, your Company is advancing
a digital transformation to streamline operations and enhance
profitability. This includes expanding digital offerings, scaling
automation and data analytics, and incentivizing digital channel
use throughout the loan lifecycle.
Concurrently, your Company is focusing on further digitizing
enabling functions such as Treasury Management, Legal
Documentation, Recovery, Risk Management, Internal Audit, and
Compliance/Governance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Government of India,
especially Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management
(DIPAM) for their invaluable support. Thanks to the Department
of Public Enterprises, NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance, Ministry
of Power, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and other government
bodies.
I appreciate the support of the OfÏce of the Comptroller &
Auditor General, RBI, SEBI, NSE, BSE, and other regulatory
authorities. Special thanks to our auditors for their contribution
towards enhancing governance standards.
I am grateful for the trust of our customers, lenders,
shareholders, and investors including power utilities, green
energy entrepreneurs, and funding partners.
Thank you to my colleagues on the Board for their contributions,
and to our dedicated employees for their tireless efforts and
commitment.
Thank you.
With warm regards,
Sd/-
Pradip Kumar Das
Date: 24 June 2024
th
Chairman & Managing Director
Place: New Delhi DIN: 07448576
(This does not purport to be a record of the proceedings of the
Annual General Meeting)
06 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

India’s green discount MGNREGS workers may get rice as pay

FROM PAGE 1 e-auctions were discontinued

draws funds: Leapfrog top of MGNREGS wages, the

official said, “We can give it as
part of their wages. Instead of
giving the full value of their
labour wage for the day, we
can give some quantity of rice.
For example, if they work for
LeapFrog’s $500-million climate fund focuses on emerging markets seven days in a week, rice can
be given as their wage for some
days. That is the kind of thing
Alisha Sachdev that can be worked out. Details
alisha.sachdev@livemint.com will be worked out once the
NEW DELHI decision is made. This is one of
the options; there could be
as an anti-inflation measure on
13 June last year, barring
North-eastern and hilly states
and those facing law and order
situation and natural calami-
ties, the second official said.
“If it is at all done, I think it
will have marginal importance
in the sense that even if rice is
given, it will only go into the
market. If it is an excess
demand for rice, I don’t think
it will help much. What is
needed is to expedite exports
Under the government proposal, workers could get a kilo of rice of rice. I don’t think at the end

A
s a large and fast-growing various combinations. The for one day and wages in cash for the remaining days. AP of it, it will have any financial
emerging market, India is wage for one day will definitely implication because the pay-
becoming a hotspot for global be more than ₹200–300. One from ₹234–374 per day. Rural employees of MGNREGS and ment is made in cash; in terms
climate investors, even as kilo could be given for one day wage rates over the last decade reducing the price of rice of rice, it will have a financial
tough conditions in private and the rest will be paid in have been consistently lower under OMSS operations to dis- value,” said D. K. Srivastava,
markets worldwide have slowed down cash.” compared with the previous pose of rice sitting in godowns. chief policy adviser at Ernst
investments in climate-related businesses The job guarantee scheme decade. Despite food inflation Queries sent to secretaries and Young and member of the
in other regions. recorded 3.05 billion person being recorded at about 10% in and spokespeople of the advisory council to the 15th
Unlike the western markets where days in FY24, up from 2.94 bil- December and remaining over departments of expenditure, Finance Commission.
green technologies often come at a pre- lion in FY23, indicating ongo- 5–6% over the past few years, rural development, and con- State governments and UTs
mium, India offers a green discount, creat- ing rural distress and a lack of rural wage rates have not sumer affairs remained unan- were allowed to purchase rice
ing an economic incentive that is hard to job opportunities in cities. increased correspondingly. swered till press time. from the Food Corp. of India
ignore, a top executive at LeapFrog This indicates ongoing rural Mint had earlier reported The government may also (FCI) for their own schemes at
Investments, a private equity firm looking distress, an issue that has also that the government was sell rice to states and Union the specific price fixed for the
to deploy $500 million in green solutions been echoed by major FMCG exploring options, including territories, without requiring provision under the OMSS at
in Asia and Africa, told Mint. firms. the allocation of rice under them to participate in e-auc- ₹3,400 per quintal for FY24
This green discount, as opposed to the MGNREGS wage rate varies Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan tion under the open market and ₹2,000 per quintal for
green premium seen in developed coun- from state to state, ranging Yojana, giving free food to sales scheme (OMSS). The FY23.
tries, is drawing substantial climate India’s urban transportation dynamics where two-wheelers and three-wheelers lead
investments into the country, reshaping personal and commercial use enhance its attractiveness for climate investments. REUTERS
the landscape of green finance here,
Nakul Zaveri, partner and co-head of the
firm’s climate investment strategy said.
“Electrification, especially in the mobil- eri argued, adding that the battery swap-
ity sector, is a secular trend we are very ping model addresses two critical barriers
LeapFrog’s $500-million climate fund convinced about. The green discount in to EV adoption: high upfront costs and the
Five public sector banks are planning QIPs
is primarily focused on high-growth com- India means the cost of adopting electric lack of adequate charging infrastructure.
panies in emerging markets, particularly vehicles (EVs) is significantly lower than By enabling rapid battery swaps, the FROM PAGE 1 Sebi’s views are going to be. ing FY24 led by healthy loan
in Asia and Africa, with some of the firm’s traditional combustion engines, making model offers a cost-effective and conve- However, since these are gov- growth.
largest exposures being in India. it an economically viable choice for con- nient solution, fitting in with the needs of holding to 10%. This was after ernment-owned banks, any The total net profit of listed
The fund’s strategy revolves around sumers,” Zaveri said. emerging markets. the finance ministry gave LIC decision taken will be in line public sector as well as private
investing $30-50 million in India’s urban transporta- an exemption from complying with the overall policy,” said sector banks in FY24 jumped
segment leaders across APPEAL TO ECONOMICS tion dynamics further with the 25% minimum public Madan Sabnavis, chief econo- 39% year-on-year (y-o-y) to
energy, mobility, the envi- enhance its attractiveness for shareholding norms until May mist at Bank of Baroda. “We cross ₹3 trillion for the first
ronment, and food and agri- THE green discount IT means the cost of BATTERY swapping climate investments. The 2032. may even see a mention of the time.
culture sectors. These invest- is pushing adoption
by offering benefits
adoption of EVs is
significantly lower
can cut upfront
costs and address
country has a unique trans- Promoter holding in five planned divestment in the While the 26 private lenders
ments are not only aimed at on economic rather than that needed for the lack of charging portation ecosystem where PSBs currently stands at upcoming budget.” posted a net profit of ₹1.78 tril-
achieving financial returns than moral grounds combustion engines infrastructure two-wheelers and three- 93.08% for Central Bank, The central government has lion, the 12 PSU banks
but also at creating a signifi- wheelers dominate, not only 86.46% for Bank of Maharash- not been providing capital to reported a net profit of ₹1.41
cant positive impact, a con- for personal use but also for tra, 95.39% in UCO Bank, Promoter holdings need to be banks through the Union bud- trillion in FY24
cept LeapFrog terms “double materiality”, LeapFrog’s recent investment in New- commercial applications such as delivery 98.25% for Punjab & Sind Bank brought down to 75% in the get for some time now. It Banks could use the capital
Zaveri said. Delhi-based Battery Smart’s $65-million services. and 96.38% in Indian Overseas PSBs under Sebi norms. REUTERS instead wants banks to raise to further shore up their capi-
Zaveri says the green discount in India Series B round was the first in its newly Zaveri points out that the electrification Bank. capital from the market tal adequacy ratio, improve
is getting “accelerated” by not asking cus- formed climate fund. Despite the lack of a of these vehicles can have a dispropor- Bringing these down to 75% norms. The QIP route is being directly on the strength of their provisioning, to step up
tomers to make choices based on moral comprehensive policy for battery swap- tionate positive impact on emerging con- would mean a big chunk of preferred as it has less regula- their vastly improved financial lending, and to write off bad
grounds but on economic ones; economic ping in India, the company’s ability to sumers. shares to be offloaded, which is tory obstacles and capital can position. debts.
rationalization makes the transition to achieve positive unit economics and scale For a longer version of this story, go to why the banks have sought be raised faster. Indian banks have reported subhash.narayan@live-
greener solutions more appealing. has made it an attractive investment, Zav- livemint.com. more time to comply with Sebi “It’s hard to predict what decent earnings growth dur- mint.com

Prosus gives up on Masdar, Marubeni, AIIB among Exam mess casts cyber scare
Byju’s, writes off its firms eyeing stake in Hygenco FROM PAGE 1 nature makes it challenging to
track without a high-level
firm. “The databases are availa- probe, the minister had said.
investment in firm FROM PAGE 1

spokespersons of Hygenco,
in EV (electric vehicle) adop-
tion post-2045 as greener fuel
options such as green hydro-
ble with institutions and it can
be breached to share mislead-
ing advertisements, send tar-
Dark net is a series of encrypted
networks used to store infor-
mation and communicate.
FROM PAGE 1 AIIB, Macquarie, Sojitz, Mit- gen will become more preva- geted information and to more According to legal experts,
subishi and Gentari on late lent and technological serious cybercrime with infor- the newly enacted Public
“There are a number of Thursday night remained advancements will enhance mation available,” Kumar said. Examinations (Prevention of
actions that the company’s unanswered till press time. fuel efficiency”. Cybersecurity experts said Unfair Means) Act, 2024, aimed
management has taken. We Green hydrogen is gener- Avendus Capital in a 4 April hackers may break in at the at curbing paper leaks and
have hope for the company’s ated by breaking down water report added that India offers time the papers are set, when exam malpractices, lacks provi-
outlook,” the spokesperson in an electrolyzer using a $125 billion investment they are sent for printing, dis- sions to effectively address
said during the earnings call. renewable power. It can be opportunity across the green patched to distribution and compromises over the dark net
“The key for us (is) to change combined with nitrogen to hydrogen value chain by when they reach the exam cen- Dharmendra Pradhan, Union or encrypted messaging apps.
the governance of the com- make ammonia, without using 2030. tre. They may then demand minister of education. PTI “While we acknowledge the
pany. That is the first step.” hydrocarbons in the produc- India’s hydrogen push has got India has set a target to pro- money in exchange for not Act’s positive efforts in crimi-
Several investors have reval- tion process. Green ammonia global interest. ISTOCKPHOTO duce 5mtpa of green hydrogen releasing the papers and create to access more information nalizing tampering with com-
ued their stake in Byju’s is used to store energy and in by 2030. The Centre launched disruption. going ahead.” puter systems, networks, and
recently. US investment Black- fertilizer manufacturing. Malaysia’s Gentari also the national green hydrogen Dhiraj Gupta, chief technol- On 20 June, education min- sources, as well as creating fake
Rock earlier this month slashed India’s push to tap green plans to invest $1.5 billion for mission last year with an out- ogy officer of mFilterIt, a fraud ister Dharmendra Pradhan said websites for cheating and mon-
Byju’s valuation to zero, while energy sources such as green 30% stake in AM Green lay of over ₹19,000 crore, detection and prevention firm, a CBI inquiry was ordered after etary gain, the Act falls short in
asset management company Byju Raveendran, founder, hydrogen has generated a sig- Ammonia Holdings, a unit of including support for manu- said while security breaches are his officials found that the comprehensively addressing
Baron Capital Group reduced it Byju’s. MINT nificant interest among global AM Green, set up by Greenko facturing electrolyzers and more common at banks and leaked question papers from ...cyber fraud in exams,” said
by 99.85%, valuing the com- players. Recently, Mint Group founders Mahesh Kolli producing green hydrogen. financial institutions, the hack- the dark net matched the origi- Rishi Sehgal, advocate-on-
pany at about $24 million. billion. reported that state-run NTPC and Anil Kumar Chalamala- Several state-run majors ing of an IT system is the same nals made by the National Test- record, Supreme Court. “Such
“In a bull market, everyone is But Byju’s relationship with Ltd’s subsidiary NTPC Green setty. AM Green Ammonia will such as Indian Oil Corp. Ltd for an examination, too. “The ing Agency. The ministry was laws need to be more adaptable
happy. As soon as it’s a bear its investors has soured over Energy Ltd (NGEL) was in produce 5 million tonnes per and GAIL Ltd, and private sec- standard phishing, honeypot alerted about the leaked ques- to effectively counter the
market, all big funds tend to the past year. talks to supply green hydrogen annum (mtpa) of green ammo- tor firms such as ACME, techniques are used and groups tion paper by the Indian Cyber- increasingly sophisticated
aggressively mark down valua- Prosus and other investors in to state-backed oil refiner and nia, which is equivalent to ReNew Energy, Larsen & reach out to students in the crime Coordination Centre unfair means and tactics
tions as low as they can. And Byju’s, including Peak XV Ven- marketer Hindustan Petro- about 1 mtpa of green hydro- Toubro Ltd, Reliance Indus- darknet with the details that under the home ministry. employed by cheaters in the
then try to salvage it through tures, General Atlantic and leum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and gen. tries Ltd and the Adani Group they have. After the question Leaked question papers surface ever-evolving digital age”.
legal routes in the worst cases. Sofina, are seeking to oust Byju copper and aluminium maker Deloitte India in a 20 June have announced plans for paper leak stories, more stu- on messaging channels such as devina.sengupta@live-
Whatever they get out of it is a Raveendran as the chief execu- Hindalco Industries. report said it expects a “decline green hydrogen production. dents may flock to the dark net Telegram, and their encrypted mint.com
win,” said an industry expert, tive of the company he founded
declining to be identified. 13 years earlier.
In Byju’s case, the expert At the core of this is Byju’s
added, while all major investors contentious $200-million
have written it down, it’s only rights issue at a throwaway val-
their perception and the com- uation as funds dried up. This
Those ‘healing’ quartz crystals have stories of pain to narrate
pany’s actual worth can only be threatened to wipe out the
judged from an stakes of most of FROM PAGE 1 forced boots or helmets. selling it, I probably would,” licenses are difficult to obtain, come through at irregular backyard.
external round of Prosus and other the company’s top Some retailers say their crys- she says. says Kgothatso Nhlengetwa , intervals to buy their discover- “I found that they have meta-
funding. For investors in Byju’s investors unless be a master healer,” says tals are responsibly sourced, In Boekenhouthoek, mining who consults and advises com- ies in bulk, for between 120 and physical powers,” he says.
Byju’s, it has been are seeking to they participated Michelle Roques-O’Neil , the but the opaque supply chain, for quartz is a cottage industry. panies and nongovernmental 350 South African rand, equiv- “Because I was in a calm state, I
more than two oust Byju in it. Investors founder of Therapie Life Lon- especially in developing coun- Mining here often requires dig- organizations on artisanal min- alent to about $6.50 to $19, a was able to find them.” He now
years since it wanted more clar- don, who has worked with tries, makes it difficult to trace gers to crawl through a sprawl- ing. Miners who dig illegally kilogram , miners say. The size employs 34 villagers to mine
raised money
Raveendran as ity and oversight crystals for more than 20 years. the origin of most crystals, ing network of tunnels extend- are generally more susceptible and color of the crystals make crystal quartz in his backyard.
from new inves- the edtech firm’s on the funds amid But, she says, “You don’t want according to experts. ing out from to police brutality no difference in the price they Each makes between 2,000
tors. chief executive alleged misman- to use something that has been Conditions and risks for 20-foot-deep Dealers, who and receive get, many miners say. and 3,000 South African rand a
“Investors usu- agement by the detrimental to the people who miners “won’t change until hand-excavated clean and process b e l o w - m a r k e t Dealers, who clean and pro- month, and as a crew they
ally mark down on company’s are working there or to the consumers tell the market they pits. the quartz, sell it prices for their cess the quartz, sell it at a recover about 100 kilograms of
the basis of the fund’s risk pol- founders. land.” want sustainable healing crys- Miners and the at a markup minerals, she says. markup locally or to interna- quartz a week, he says, selling it
icy, progress of the business The Bengaluru bench of the Locals say that miner num- tals,” says Villegas, of Pact. village council of The Depart- tional buyers from countries to buyers on social media or to
and macro conditions. All three National Company Law Tribu-
locally or to
bers here have increased Orchid Sunrise , a crystal traditional lead- ment of Mineral including the U.S. Some crys- people who come directly to
of which have not worked in nal, however, has restrained around 20% in recent years, healer who sells cactus quartz ers—part of the international Resources and tals are traded several times the village.
Byju’s favour, forcing Black- Byju’s from using the proceeds likely thanks to celebrity in her online crystal shop, local government buyers Energy issues the before reaching the consumer. Lucky Chauke , a 34-year-
Rock, Baron and Prosus to take from its rights issue. Byju’s also endorsements as well as the Priestess Provisions, says she is in rural South permits but Erns Jiyana , 31, grew up in old freelance miner who was
this step,” the expert added. could face bankruptcy pro- country’s 42% unemployment concerned for the miners and Africa—say no doesn’t as a rule Boekenhouthoek and worked born in Boekenhouthoek, says
Prosus had first invested ceedings in the US over a rate. Most of the world’s crystal their working conditions. But one has been seriously injured have inspectors checking for in trucking near the South Afri- waiting for buyers is worse than
$383 million in Byju’s in 2018, $1.2-billion term loan. quartz is mined in developing selling the mineral, she says, or killed digging here, but the illegal mining, Nhlengetwa can capital until Covid hit. the punishing work to extract
leading a $540-million funding Prosus was among the inves- countries, including China, supports both the families that nature and location of the work says. When he returned home, he the crystals. No one has come
round that included General tors that called for an extraordi- India, the Democratic Republic mine it in South Africa and her carries inherent risks. The mining ministry didn’t saw people digging for crystal for two weeks, he says. “We are
Atlantic and the Canada Pen- nary general meeting of Byju’s of Congo and Myanmar, largely own family in Denver, N.C. Artisanal or small-scale min- respond to a request for com- quartz and thought he would running out of food.”
sion Plan Investment Board. shareholders earlier this year to by informal miners without “If I was in a financial situa- ing is legal in South Africa, if the ment. try his luck. It took him about ©2024 DOW JONES & COM-
Byju’s was then valued at $3.3 seek Raveendran’s ouster. protective equipment like rein- tion where I could afford to stop miners have a permit. Such Local diggers say dealers two weeks to find crystals in his PANY, INC.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI 07

‘Adani well-placed
to capitalize on L’Oréal India eyeing €1 bn biz
new opportunities’ Suneera Tandon
suneera.t@htlive.com
MUMBAI
beauty and personal-care seg- higher.
ment. How big is it for the com- What does this shift entail for
pany? L’Oréal India and for the beauty
PTI E-commerce is more than one fifth industry?

I
feedback@livemint.com ndia's beauty market will con- of our business in terms of value. It The shift entails two things. What
NEW DELHI tinue to report growth—both continues to grow very rapidly. does it mean for the consumer to buy
online and offline—helped by Today, there are about 200 million inside a shop versus buying online? It

B
illionaire Gautam Adani demand for personal-care prod- Indian consumers who buy anything starts from the shift in consumer
on Monday cited his ucts such as skin cream, lipsticks, on e-commerce. The beauty consum- behaviour in the last few years, espe-

‘
group’s record earnings, and perfumes, according to Aseem ers on e-commerce are close to cially among younger consumers
robust cash positions and low Kaushik, managing director, L’Oréal about 50 million. The vis-a-vis how they make
debt ratios to state that his India. penetration of the their purchase deci-
ports-to-energy conglomerate Kaushik has spent close to three beauty category in Modern trade is sions. So, you start with
was stronger than ever and its decades at the French firm, and took e-commerce is still very becoming more a discovery on social
best is yet to come. charge of its India business last year. low versus the total evolved. Offline media and maybe buy
With India marching L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty number of people who online or offline. But
towards becoming a $10 trillion Gautam Adani cited his group’s company, entered the Indian market are buying anything on and online today that does not mean that
economy by 2032 and infra- record earnings, robust cash in 1994 and sells a range of beauty and e-commerce. We are important for the relevance of offline
structure expected to grow at positions, low debt ratios. PTI personal-care products under brands expect that the 50 mil- any brand. is becoming less. In fact,
20-25% to reach $2.5 trillion, such as Garnier, Maybelline New lion Indian consumers offline is becoming
Aseem Kaushik,
the Adani group, being an regulatory norms. The Adani York, L’Oréal Paris and Kiehl’s. In who are buying beauty managing director,
more relevant. The
infrastructure company “at the group denied all allegations, FY23, L’oreal India Pvt Ltd reported segment serving 300 million peo- term? online will in the next L’Oréal India overall brand presence
very core,” is “well-positioned but this did not prevent its mar- a 33% jump in revenues at ple—so we are shielded. Other com- Yes. The idea is that we want to be 3-4 years become 150 has to be exactly in line
to capitalize on the upcoming ket value from dropping by ₹4,994 crore and a 17% increase in net panies are also reporting growth in a Euro 1 billion business in the next million, at least. So with what you’ve seen
opportunities,” he said. $150 billion at its lowest point. profit at ₹488 crore. Edited excerpts. their beauty portfolio, which is a good 3-4 years. We are on track for that. there will be an addition of almost 100 via an influencer video etc. So your
Speaking at the annual “Typical short sellers target sign because it corroborates our over- Will this require investments? million beauty buyers on e-com- offline experience becomes very
shareholders meeting of his gains from financial markets. Volumes of fast-moving con- all estimation of the We have two manu- merce. We want to lead this shift, with important within the category. And
group’s flagship firm, Adani This was different. It was a two- sumer goods have been under market. There will be m INTERVIEW facturing plants in our brands and as a group in India. this is what you are seeing pan out
Enterprises Ltd (AEL), India’s sided attack— a vague criticism pressure in recent quarters—how headwinds in India, India, and we have How big can e-commerce become with this evolution in modern trade.
second richest person reflected of our financial standing and, at has growth been for L’Oréal but from an overall enough capacity for in the next five years for the com- Modern trade is becoming a more
upon the crisis his conglomer- the same time, an information India? macro level of 3-5 years, I think it’s the next 2-3 years to take care of this pany? evolved space in terms of experience.
ate faced last year following a distortion campaign, dragging Yes, there has been a slowdown in going to be quite a dynamic industry doubling of business. But will we be Our internal estimate is that 50% of Offline and online today are both pro-
damning report by US short us into a political battlefield,” the FMCG industry. Because we don’t and category. investing more in it. our growth in the next 4-5 years is foundly important for any brand.
seller Hindenburg Research. he said. The report came two play in rural India; and within urban Is the company on track to double Increasingly e-commerce is going to come from e-commerce. So For a longer version of this story, go
“We were faced with base- days before AEL’s ₹20,000 India, we are on the top-end of the India business in the mid-to-near becoming a growth driver for that one-fifth obviously will go much to livemint.com.
less accusations crore follow-on
made by a foreign Gautam Adani public offer—the
short seller that was speaking at largest ever in
questioned our
decades of hard
work. In the face
the annual
shareholders
meeting of his
India—closed in
January 2023.
“Amplified by a
Sony India appoints Disney executive Gaurav Banerjee as CEO
of an unprece- segment of vested
dented attack on group’s flagship media, it was Lata Jha head of content for Hindi shows. He holds a Master’s cess and innovation in the port the transition. He said he He was promoted to general
our integrity and Adani Enterprises designed to lata.j@htlive.com entertainment and Disney+ degree in filmmaking and TV entertainment industry. I am was proud of the success and manager of Star Plus in 2013
reputation, we defame us, do NEW DELHI Hotstar at Star India, and busi- production from Jamia Millia excited to lead talented teams innovation SPNI has achieved. and took over as head of the
fought back and maximum dam- ness head for Star Bharat, Hindi Islamia university as we explore new “I am confident that Gaurav content studio in 2015.

S
proved that no challenge could age and erode our hard-earned ony Pictures Networks and English movies, kids and and an under- A former frontiers in origi- will elevate SPNI’s impressive Ravi Ahuja, Global Televi-
weaken the foundations on market value,” Adani said, add- India (SPNI) has infotainment, and regional graduate degree journalist, nal programming, portfolio to new heights. I look sion Studios chairman and
which your group has been ing that “given the noise,” the appointed Gaurav Baner- (east). In these roles, he over- in history from St Banerjee will enhance our forward to supporting him and president and chief operating
established,” said Adani. group returned the proceeds jee as its new managing director sees content curation across Stephen’s Col- succeed viewers' experi- our talented team as we further officer of Sony Pictures Enter-
Hindenburg Research came from the offering after success- (MD) and chief executive officer several languages and also lege, Delhi. ences, drive our our impact in content creation, tainment, said, “N.P. Singh’s
N.P. Singh, who
out with a litany of findings, fully raising ₹20,000 crore. (CEO), effective on or before 26 spearheads original series and He said in a distribution foot- audience engagement, and dig- leadership has been instru-
accusing the Adani group of Dwelling upon the strategy, he August. Banerjee will succeed films. A former journalist, Ban- statement, “I am stepped down print across India, ital media initiatives,” he said. mental in shaping SPNI into
stock manipulation, account- said the group raised ₹40,000 N.P. Singh, who stepped down erjee began his career in the deeply honoured last month and significantly Appointed head of content the powerhouse it is today. I am
ing fraud, inflating valuations, crore to cover debt repayments last month after a 25-year stint. media as an assistant producer to take on the role boost our reve- strategy for Star Plus in 2009, confident that Gaurav Baner-
siphoning out money and cre- for the next two years, prepaid Mint had first reported that and anchor at Aaj Tak. From of MD and CEO at nues.” Banerjee played a vital role in jee, with his proven track
ating a complex web of shell ₹17,500 crore of margin-linked Sony would hire Banerjee to there, he moved to Star News, SPNI. Under N.P. Singh’s Singh will take on the role of revitalizing the channel with record and visionary approach,
companies that invested in financing, cut down debt and replace Singh on 28 May. where he produced and remarkable leadership, SPNI non-executive chairman until shows such as Diya Aur Baati will continue to drive SPNI’s
group entities, and flouting improved its business focus. Banerjee currently serves as anchored prime-time news has achieved tremendous suc- the end of the fiscal year to sup- Hum and Sasural Genda Phool. success.”

CIN: L74899UP1995PLC043677
Regd. Office: Plot No. 1A, Sector -16A, Noida – 201 301, U ar Pradesh
Corporate Office: 15th Floor, Tower-E, Skymark One, Plot No. H-10/A,
Sector - 98, Noida – 201301, U ar Pradesh
Tel: +91-120-6927500; +91-120-6935400
Website: www.jubilan oodworks.com, E-mail: investor@jublfood.com
NOTICE TO THE SHAREHOLDERS
Transfer of equity shares to the Investor Education
and Protection Fund (“IEPF”) Authority
In terms of Sec on 124(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”), any money
transferred to the Unpaid Dividend Account of the Company, which remains
unpaid or unclaimed for a period of seven (7) years from the date of such
transfer shall be transferred to the IEPF, a fund established by Central
Government under Sec on 125 of the Act. Further, pursuant to the provisions of
Sec on 124(6) of the Act read with the Investor Educa on and Protec on Fund
Authority (Accoun ng, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016 (“IEPF Rules”) as
amended from me to me, all shares in respect of which dividend remains
unpaid or unclaimed for seven (7) consecu ve years or more shall also be
transferred by the Company to the Demat Account of IEPF Authority.
Individual communica on has been sent to the registered address of all the
shareholders whose dividends are lying unclaimed for seven consecu ve
years i.e. from FY 2016-17 ll date and whose shares are liable to be
transferred to the IEPF Authority under the IEPF Rules. The details of such
shareholders have been uploaded on the website of the Company at
h ps://www.jubilan oodworks.com/unclaimed-dividend-and-shares-liable-to-be-
transferred-to-iepf.
Shareholders are requested to forward the requisite documents as per
above-men oned communica on, to the Company’s Registrar and Share
Transfer Agent i.e. Link In me India Private Limited to claim the unclaimed
dividend for FY 2016-17 and onwards. In case the dividend(s) are not claimed by
September 25, 2024, necessary steps will be ini ated by the Company to
transfer the unclaimed dividend along with the underlying shares to IEPF
Authority, in the manner provided under IEPF Rules, without any further no ce.
Please note that no claim shall lie against the Company in respect of the shares
so transferred to IEPF.
Please note that both the unclaimed dividend and the underlying shares
including all benefits accruing on such shares, if any, once transferred to IEPF can
be claimed back only from IEPF Authority by following the procedure prescribed
in this regard on the website i.e. www.iepf.gov.in.
For any queries in respect of the above, shareholders may contact the Company
at investor@jublfood.com or Registrar and Share Transfer Agent, Link In me
India Private Limited at Noble Heights, 1st Floor, NH-2, C-1 Block, LSC, Near Savitri
Market, Janakpuri, New Delhi – 110 058, Telephone: +91 11 49411000,
E-mail: delhi@linkin me.co.in., Website: www.linkin me.co.in.
Have fun Catch the latest column of

For Jubilant FoodWorks Limited

Sd/-
with facts A
Date: 24.06.2024
Place: Noida
(Mona Aggarwal)
Company Secretary on Sundays A quiz on the week’s development.

hindustantimes htTweets www.hindustantimes.com

08 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

Why it pays for startups

Apple hit by fresh EU to move to Silicon Valley
warning over alleged Lisa Ward
feedback@livemint.com

C
an U.S. startups

app store abuses

improve their chances
of success by moving
to a tech hub?
A recent paper suggests the
answer is often yes, but cer-
tain locales offer bigger bene-
fits than others.
Silicon Valley, in particu-
lar, is the best destination
EC said Apple must allow app developers to steer users to cheaper deals outside of App Store for startup companies
because it has what the
paper calls an “entrepre-
Bloomberg neurial ecosystem”—that is, Silicon Valley has an extensive network of organizations from VC
feedback@livemint.com an extensive network of firms to other startups that help foster new ideas. ISTOCKPHOTO
organizations from venture-

A
pple Inc.’s antitrust feud
with the European Union
(EU) over allegedly illegal
practices on the App
Store intensified as
watchdogs issued a fresh warning that
could lead to more fines—just months
after they slapped the iPhone maker
with a €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) penalty
for thwarting music-streaming rivals.
The European Commission (EC)
said Monday that Apple must allow
app developers to steer users to
cheaper deals and offers outside of the
App Store, in order to comply with the
bloc’s Digital Markets Act, which lays
out a raft of dos and dont’s for some of
the world’s largest technology plat-
forms.
The Brussels-based regulator also
said that it had opened a fresh investi-
gation into Apple’s new App Store fees
for developers in the EU, to examine
whether they are in line with the Digi-
tal Markets Act. Failure to comply the
law could come with fines for the com-
pany—as much as 10% of global annual
revenue.
Monday’s announcement—which
is a preliminary step—follows a
similar move the EU made against
Apple in March under its standard
competition rules, which came with
the first wave of fines.
The Brussels-based regulator is
due to come to a final decision in the
Digital Markets Act case by the end of
March 2025. That move could unleash
another legal battle between Apple
and the EU through the bloc’s courts.
“We are confident our plan com-
plies with the law, and estimate more
than 99% of developers would pay the
capital firms to other start- states. He then identified understand what compo-
ups that help foster new companies that relocated nent of an entrepreneurial
ideas and innovation. their headquarters to other ecosystem matters most to
Specifically, the study states within two years of startup growth. He looked at
found that startups increase the enterprise being regis- indicators such as the
their odds of achieving tered. He chose this subset amount of venture-capital
equity growth via an initial of companies because pre- dollars, patents per capita
public offering or an acqui- vious academic research and entrepreneurs per cap-
sition by 277% by moving to had found that firms regis- ita. He found that patents
Silicon Valley versus tered in Delaware are more per capita is the metric most
remaining at home. Such a likely to file for an IPO, strongly linked with startup
move also r e c e i v e growth. This suggests that
boosts v e n t u r e local idea generation is more
t h e i r c a p i t a l important than the availa-
probabil- funding or bility of financing or the
ity of getting venture financ- get acquired. presence of other startups,
ing by around 218%, and He used several tech- he says.
receiving a patent by 60%, niques to control for the fact The startups Guzman stud-
according to Jorge Guzman, that the highest-quality ied relocated over a decade
an associate professor at firms may be the most likely ago, and many new tech hubs
Columbia Business School to relocate to tech hubs have emerged and grown in
and the paper’s author. around the other areas of the
Other hubs country. He While moving to nation since
While moving to other tech used machine- tech hubs other then. Still, Guz-
The EC said that it had opened a fresh investigation into Apple’s new App Store fees for developers in the EU. REUTERS hubs, such as Denver, Los learning algo- than Silicon Valley man believes that
Angeles, Boston and New rithms to esti- also benefits Silicon Valley
same or less in fees to Apple under the how the app store operates. to download apps from rivals plat- York, also benefits startups to mate a firm’s may continue to
startups, the
new business terms we created,” Under the Digital Markets Act, it’s forms. varying degrees, the benefits growth had it hold an edge over
Apple said in a statement in illegal for certain services operated by As well as challenging the designa- in most cases aren’t as big as stayed in its benefits in most o t h e r areas
response to the EU the likes of Apple, Alpha- tion of a number of its services under those conveyed by moving to original loca- cases aren’t as big because the
announcement. The EC is due to bet Inc.’s Google, Meta the rules, Apple blamed the Digital Silicon Valley, the paper tion. He also region remains
The EU’s focus on how come to a final Platforms Inc., Microsoft Markets Act for a separate announce- found. compared firms an innovation
Apple allegedly abuses its decision in the Corp. and Amazon.com ment on Friday to halt the rollout of its “Silicon Valley simply has that moved to the same tech center. In his paper, he cites a
dominance on the app Digital Markets Inc. to favour their own artificial intelligence technologies in the highest level ecosystem hub at different periods, and 2022 study from Pricewater-
store was originally services over those of the 27-nation EU. under any measure—venture he identified variables that houseCoopers and CB
sparked by a 2019 com-
Act case by
rivals. The company said that it would capital, patenting and startup could offer alternative expla- Insights that found the share
plaint from Spotify Tech- the end of The companies are block the release of Apple Intelli- formation,” says Guzman. nations for a firm’s decision of venture capital going to Sil-
nology SA. March 2025 barred from combining gence, iPhone Mirroring and Guzman analyzed to relocate, such as the icon Valley has remained at
The Swedish service personal data across their SharePlay Screen Sharing from users 405,536 companies founder’s age, state income- about 50% for over a decade.
claimed it was forced to different services, prohib- in the EU this year, because the Digital between 1988 and 2014 that tax rates and even weather “Silicon Valley really is the
ramp up the price of its monthly sub- ited from using data they collect from Markets Act allegedly forces it to registered their business in patterns. exemplary location for inno-
scriptions to cover costs associated third-party merchants to compete downgrade the security of its products Delaware but had head- Key metrics vation,” he says.
with Apple’s alleged stranglehold on against them, and have to allow users and services. quarters located in other Guzman also sought to ©2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC.

Holiday travel is booming. Why China, EU willing to hold talks on plans

are airlines doing so badly? to increase tariffs on China-made EVs
Jon Sindreu AP country’s battery electric vehi- China’s commerce ministry
feedback@livemint.com feedback@livemint.com cle “value chain” benefits from on Thursday accused the EU of
BANGKOK “unfair subsidization” that making unreasonable

G
lad you have a trip to hurts EU rivals. demands in its investigation

the beach booked? So
is your airline. Those
who invested in its stock,
however, can’t seem to get a
break.
It is shaping up to be the
busiest summer season ever
in the U.S., and about as
strong as 2019’s in Europe,
airport passenger data sug-
gests. Yet U.S. airline stocks
are down roughly 40% over
five years, and European ones
about 25%. And this isn’t
about capricious investors
applying lower valuations to
airlines as they rush into arti-
ficial-intelligence plays: Car-
riers are reporting much nar-
rower profit margins.
Budget operators such as
Southwest Airlines, Spirit Air-
lines and Frontier Airlines
offer the most painful exam-
ples. They used to be money-
printing machines, and Wall
Street believed they were
poised to take market share
from legacy players as the
industry emerged from the
Covid-19 crisis. Instead, they
are struggling to stay airborne.
Being low-cost is hard
when costs aren’t low. Today,
the price of an oil barrel hov-
ers around $80, compared
This is set to be the busiest summer holiday season ever in the U.S.
aircraft deliveries have
grounded planes, increased
maintenance bills and slowed
the introduction of more fuel-
efficient models.
European budget power-
house Ryanair is the excep-
tion: Its decisions to exten-
sively hedge fuel costs and
limit job cuts during the pan-
demic have proven prescient.
It has been able to capture a
lion’s share of Europe’s “basic
economy” trips, particularly
in sunny spots such as Italy,
where its market share has
risen from 27% to above 40%.
But most
others
boom is partly replacing busi-
ness-class travel, which was
even more of a moneymaker.
When travelers book on a
company’s dime, they care
less about price.
While videoconferences
haven’t made business trips
redundant and airlines have
been reporting higher com-
pany bookings for a couple of
years now, actual spending on
corporate travel has hit a wall.
The latest forecast by the U.S.
Travel Association suggests
that, in inflation-adjusted
terms, it will be 13% lower this
year than in
2 0 1 9 —
REUTERS
ple, American Airlines, which
has long focused on price and
range of destinations ahead of
premium offerings, announced
an ambitious intra-U.S. expan-
sion in April. Its shares are
down 18% this year.
Today’s unbundled “basic
economy” tickets allow legacy
operators to compete head-
to-head against low-cost ones.
Another problem is that high-
er-capacity narrow-body
planes have replaced regional
jets on many routes since
2019, an analysis of Cirium
data suggests. The result is
that U.S. airfares, which rose
as the recovery gathered pace
C
hina and the European
Union (EU) are open to
holding talks on the
EU’s recent decision to sharply
raise tariffs on imports of Chi-
nese-made electric vehicles
(EVs), officials from both sides
say.
China’s commerce ministry
and Germany’s economy min-
ister said over the weekend that
each side was willing to hold
talks on the issue. Meanwhile,
Chinese state media said Mon-
day that Beijing is pushing for
the EU to give up plans to
sharply raise provisional tariffs
on imports of Chinese-made
electric vehicles by 4 July.
Escalating a trade dispute
over Beijing’s subsidies that
Brussels worries are hurting
European automakers, the EU
plans to impose provisional tar-
iffs of 17.4% to 38.1% on EVs
South Korean battery plant blaze kills 22
AP
feedback@livemint.com
SEOUL
The new tariffs will be imposed
on top of the 10% duties for all
imported EVs. AP
from China for four months
starting on 4 July. That’s on top
of the 10% duties for all
imported EVs. They would
apply to vehicles exported to
Europe by both Chinese and
foreign brands, including
Tesla. The European Commis-
sion (EC), the EU’s executive
arm, said preliminary results
from an investigation into Chi-
nese EV subsidies showed the
one Laotian, local fire official the site. He said that two of the
Kim Jin-young told a televised eight injured were in serious
briefing. He said the national- conditions.
ity of one of the dead couldn’t
Commerce minister Wang into imports of Chinese EVs
Wentao held a video confer- before it announced it was rais-
ence with European Commis- ing tariffs by as much as 38%.
sion executive vice-president Ministry spokesman He Yad-
and trade commissioner Valdis ong said the European side had
Dombrovskis, the demanded exces-
Chinese com- The EU plans sive amounts of
merce ministry to impose information from
said in a notice provisional tariffs Chinese auto-
Saturday on its of 17.4% to 38.1% makers and then
website. unfairly accused
on EVs from China the Chinese com-
“The two
sides agreed to for four months panies of failing to
launch consulta- starting on 4 July cooperate.
tions on the EU’s Beijing said last
anti-subsidy week that it was
investigation into Chinese opening an anti-dumping
electric vehicles,” it said. investigation into pork exports
“The doors are open for dis- from Europe. In announcing
cussions. And I hope that this that, the commerce ministry
message was heard,” did not mention EV tariffs. But
Germany’s economy minister the investigation into various
and vice-chancellor, Robert pork products was widely seen
Habeck, said Sunday while on a as a response to the EU meas-
visit to China. ures on electric cars.
minister Lee Sang-min visited
the site later Monday.
Han asked officials to
The fire started at one of the provide government assist-

with about $55 before the
pandemic. Other expenses
have surged too. Take Spirit:
In 2021, analysts forecast that
its unit costs excluding fuel
would fall from 6.7 cents to 5.7
cents by 2024, with the travel
rebound sharing the burden
of fixed expenses across a
broader base, according to
Visible Alpha. Instead, they
are now expected to be 7.3
cents, close to the Covid peak.
Shortages of pilots and
cabin crew have pushed up
wages, while weather events
and a dearth of air-traffic con-
trollers have led to costly
operational disruptions.
Problems with engines and
have strug-
gled to
attract cost-conscious fliers.
Since the pandemic, the real
boom has been in “premium
economy”—offerings with
extra space and amenities that
no-frills operators don’t usu-
ally provide. Full-service car-
riers, on the other hand, have
invested heavily in them. This
helps explain why Atlanta-
based Delta Air Lines, which
has refined the art of provid-
ing a premium experience,
isn’t doing as badly on the
stock market as its peers.
So why aren’t legacy air-
lines soaring? The catch is
that the premium economy
many ana-
lysts pre-
dicted a 15% shortfall at the
onset of the pandemic—and
then remain flat.
The bigger issue, however,
is that airlines have forgotten
the lessons learned before the
pandemic and have taken hot
tourism demand as a signal to
expand aggressively. For July,
the scheduled supply of seats
is running 8% and 0.4% ahead
of 2019 levels in the U.S. and
Europe respectively, accord-
ing to Cirium Diio Mi.
Indeed, overcapacity is a
bigger problem for U.S. air-
lines, which explains their
worse performance. For exam-
in 2022, are now back where
they were in 2019.
Many airlines are now tak-
ing steps to curb supply.
Also, Boeing’s woes, com-
bined with Airbus’s inability
to produce aircraft faster,
should constrain the supply
of seats for years to come.
Many analysts theorize that
this will result in perma-
nently higher fares.
Still, investors should tread
cautiously when venturing
beyond best-in-class names
such as Ryanair and Delta.
Just like summer flights, air-
line stocks often come with
hidden charges.
©2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC.
A
fire likely sparked by
exploding lithium bat-
teries swept through a
manufacturing factory near
South Korea’s capital on Mon-
day, killing 22 mostly Chinese
migrant workers and injuring
eight, officials said.
The fire began after batter-
ies exploded while workers
were examining and packag-
ing them at the second floor of
the factory in Hwaseong city,
just south of Seoul, at around
10:30 a.m., fire officials said,
citing a witness. They said they
would investigate the cause of
the blaze.
The dead included 18 Chi-
nese, two South Koreans and
be immediately verified. factory buildings owned by a ance for funeral services
In the past few decades, company named Aricell. Kim and support programs for vic-
many people from China, said the victims likely failed to tims’ relatives, according to
including ethnic escape via stairs Han’s office.
Koreans, have The fire began to the ground. TV footage also showed
migrated to after batteries He said that President Yoon Suk Yeol,
South Korea to exploded while authorities will wearing a safety helmet and
seek jobs. Like workers were investigate a mask, visiting the site
other foreign whether there with other officials.
examining them
migrants from were fire extin- Monday’s blaze is one of
Southeast Asian at the Hwaseong guishing systems the deadliest in South Korea
nations, they city factory at the site and if in recent years.
often end up in they worked. In 2020, a fire at a ware-
factories or in Kim said a house being built in Icheon
physically demanding and total of 102 people were work- city, south of Seoul, killed 38
low-paying jobs shunned by ing at the factory before the construction workers. In 2018,
more affluent South Koreans. fire occurred. 46 people died after a fire
Kim also one factory worker Prime Minister Han Duck- ripped through a small hospi-
remained out of contact and soo, the country’s No. 2 offi- tal with no sprinkler systems in
rescuers continued to search cial, and interior and safety the southern city of Miryang.
LIVEMINT.COM NEWS WRAP TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI 09

NEWS
₹1,500 cr
THE AMOUNT the Indian Renewable
₹1,815 cr
THE AMOUNT invested by FPIs in realty
₹9.26 cr
THE TOTAL remuneration received by
$493 mn
THE LOSS the Dutch investor Prosus
14.5%
VACANCY LEVEL in office assets in FY24,
IN Energy Development Agency raised sector shares between 1 and 15 June—the Gautam Adani, India’s second richest Ventures attributed to Byju’s as it wrote down by 20 bps from a year ago, as leasing
NUMBERS through bonds at a 7.44% interest rate to
help finance green energy projects
biggest recipient—followed by telecom
and consumer services sector shares
person, in FY24, lower than his top
executives and other industry peers
off the fair value of its 9.6% stake in the
Indian edtech company in FY24
demand from global capability centres
and flexible space operators went up

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

All staff accept VRS PICKING UP THE PIECES JPMorgan India

at a Britannia plant Bank CEO quits

F P
MCG major Britannia Industries Ltd said rabdev Singh, chief executive officer of
all permanent workers at its Taratala JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s bank in India, has
factory in Kolkata have accepted the stepped down before the end of his term.
voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). “Pranav Chawda, head of commercial banking
Despite this significant workforce change, a for India, will expand his current responsibilities
company official claimed that there would be to become the head of India corporate banking
no material impact on the business operations and can confirm that P. D. Singh is leaving the
of Britannia Industries. firm,” a JPMorgan representative said by email
However, according to senior Centre of in response to queries from Bloomberg News.
Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leader Gautam Singh, popularly known as P. D., had received
Ray, production has been stopped at the plant. regulatory approval in January 2023 for a three-
“There has been no production at the year term as CEO of JPMorgan Chase Bank
Taratala plant for over 20 days. All 122 India. He had replaced Madhav Kalyan who—in
permanent employees have accepted VRS, and October 2022—was named head of payments
negotiations are ongoing for 250 contractual for Asia Pacific.
workers,” said senior CITU leader Gautam Ray. The Wall Street firm started commercial
Britannia did not respond to PTI’s queries banking operations in the country about 17
on stopping the production. years ago. JPMorgan has four commercial
The Taratala plant, one of Britannia’s oldest bank branches in the country, data on its
biscuit manufacturing units, has been website shows. BLOOMBERG
operational for over seven decades. PTI

Slumdwellers search for their belongings after a fire broke out near the railway station in Jammu on Monday. PTI

Tata Motors chairman N. Chandrasekaran said the

Modi pledges to work 3 times Hero MotoCorp said it will hike prices of select
models by up to ₹1,500. REUTERS
demerger will bring synergy across verticals. MINT

‘Demerger to yield harder, advocates teamwork Hero MotoCorp to

hike prices from Jul
superior outcome’
H
ero MotoCorp on Monday said it will

T
he proposed demerger of existing
automotive businesses into two listed
entities will help in securing synergies
across its passenger vehicle (PV) and Jaguar
Land Rover (JLR) verticals in areas of EVs and
autonomous vehicles, Tata Motors chairman
N. Chandrasekaran said on Monday. Speaking at
the auto major’s 79th annual general meeting
hike prices of select motorcycle and
While majority is required to run govt, consensus is important to run nation, says PM scooter models by up to ₹1,500 with
effect from 1 July 2024 in order to partially
offset the impact of higher input costs.
Dhirendra Kumar to the 18th Lok Sabha. matter of pride,” he added. The price revision will be up to ₹1,500
dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com Emphasizing the challenges of running a coali- This third-term mandate, he said, reflects the and the exact quantum of increase will
NEW DELHI tion government during his third term, Modi said people’s approval of the government’s intentions, vary by specific model and market, the
while a majority is required to run a government, policies and dedication. Modi also said that the country’s largest two-wheeler maker

(AGM), he noted that the initiative will lead each
company to deliver a superior experience for
customers, better growth prospects for
employees and enhanced value for
shareholders. “This (demerger) will also help
secure the considerable synergies across PV, EV
and JLR particularly in the areas of EVs,
autonomous vehicles, and vehicle software,”
Chandrasekaran said.
In March 2024, Tata Motors announced the
demerger of its commercial and passenger
vehicle segments into two separate entities to
better capitalize on growth opportunities. As
part of the initiative, the CV business and its
related investments would be housed in one
entity, while the PV business, including EVs and
JLR, will come under a separate listed entity. PTI
T
he first day of the 18th Lok Sabha “consensus is very important” to run the country, public expects meaningful debate and diligence said in a statement.
session witnessed mixed reactions highlighting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s reliance from the House, and not disruptions and drama. “The revision has been necessitated to
from both the treasury benches on allies and like- “People seek sub- partially offset the impact of higher input
and the Opposition. Prime Minister minded opposition stance, not slogans. costs,” the statement added.
Narendra Modi hailed it as a historic parties to advance PM took a swipe at the Opposition, The country needs a Hero MotoCorp sells a range of bikes
moment for India’s parliamentary democracy, India's objectives. especially the Congress, referring to strong, responsible including high selling Splendor range, HF
with the newly elected MPs taking oath in The BJP secured Opposition, and I Deluxe and Glamour.
the new Parliament building for the first time 240 seats in the the 25 June 1975 Emergency as a am confident that Scooter range includes Xoom and
since Independence. 543-member Lower ‘black spot on the Constitution’ the MPs elected to Destini 125 XTEC.
However, while promising to work “three House, falling short the 18th Lok Sabha Shares of Hero MotoCorp were trading
times harder”, the PM also took a swipe at of an absolute will strive to meet 0.46% up at ₹5,477.20 apiece on the BSE. PTI
the Opposition, especially the Congress, referring majority of 272 seats in the recently-concluded the expectations of the common man."
to the 25 June 1975 Emergency as a “black general elections. Emphasizing the collective responsibility
spot on the Constitution”. “It’s for the second time after Independence needed to achieve India's development goals and
In response, the Congress accused Modi
of ‘diversionary’ tactics, saying the PM had
that a government has got the opportunity to lift 250 million citizens out of poverty, Modi
serve the country for the third time in a row, this extended an olive branch to the Opposition, invit-
Hyundai’s union in
nothing new to offer in his inaugural address opportunity has come after 60 years which is a ing them to participate in nation-building.
S. Korea may strike

H
yundai Motor’s unionized workers in
Investors sell 13.7% South Korea voted for possible strike
S&P retains India’s FY25 growth view action after talks with the company over
stake in CarTrade wage increases and an extension of the
retirement age stalled, the automaker’s union
growth continues to surprise on the said on Monday. The union, one of the biggest

W
arburg Pincus, Temasek Holdings and
JP Morgan Investment on Monday
divested a total of 13% stake in
CarTrade Tech for ₹535 crore through open
market transactions.
Highdell Investment, an arm of US-based
Warburg Pincus, sold the shares of CarTrade
Tech while Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund
Temasek Holdings’ affiliate MacRitchie
Investments offloaded shares of the company on
the BSE. CMDB II, a private equity fund run by
JP Morgan Investment Management also sold
the shares of CarTrade Tech through a bulk deal
on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
A total of 6.45 million shares or 13.77%
S&P Global Ratings retained India’s GDP
growth forecast for FY25 at 6.8% BLOOMBERG
upside with the economy growing 8.2% in
FY24. “We expect growth to moderate to
6.8% the current fiscal year, with high
interest rates and lower fiscal spur
tempering demand in the non-
agricultural sectors,” it said.
For the FY26 and FY27, S&P projected
growth rates of 6.9% and 7%, respectively.
S&P’s estimates for FY25 is lower than
that of the Reserve Bank of India, which
earlier this month projected the Indian
economy to expand at 7.2% in this fiscal,
on the back of improving rural demand
and moderating inflation.
While another rating agency Fitch
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said 16.5 mn
passport-related services rendered in 2023.
‘Passport-related
in the country with more than 43,000
members, said that almost 90% of its members
had approved strike action unless the company
accepts the union’s demands.
A strike would mark the first such action in
six years related to wage negotiations at the
carmaker and could disrupt production of
some popular vehicles at home, which
Hyundai has been exporting to offset its
sluggish domestic sales. “We are open to have
negotiations with the management if they are
AFP willing to change their stance,” a union official
told Reuters, adding that the union plans to
carry out talks with the management. REUTERS

stake were pared by Warburg Pincus,

Temasek and JP Morgan.
According to the bulk deal data available on
the BSE, Highdell Investment sold 4.06 million
shares, amounting to an 8.66% stake in
CarTrade Tech. MacRitchie Investments sold
2.03 million shares or 4.33% stake in Mumbai-
S &P Global Ratings on Monday
retained India’s GDP growth
forecast for this fiscal at 6.8% and
said high interest rates and lower fiscal
spur would temper demand.
In its economic outlook for Asia Pacific,
S&P Global Ratings said India’s economic
estimates India’s growth at 7.2% in FY25,
the Asian Development Bank estimates
India’s GDP to grow at 7%. Moody’s
services grow 15%’
Allied Blenders
T
Ratings and Deloitte India estimates he ministry of external affairs (MEA)
India’s GDP to grow at 6.6% in 2024-25
fiscal, while Morgan Stanley projects
rendered 16.5 million passport-related
services to citizens in 2023, registering an raises ₹449 crore
growth rate of 6.8%. PTI annual growth of nearly 15%.

based CarTrade Tech. PTI External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said
this while commending the personnel for
efficient passport-related service delivery.
The MEA commemorated the 12th Passport
Vedanta mulls first dollar bond sale of $500 million Seva Divas on Monday to mark the enactment of
the Passports Act on 24 June 1967. Coinciding
with this, a three-day regional passport officers
A
llied Blenders and Distillers Ltd, the
maker of Officer’s Choice Whisky, on
Monday said it has raised ₹449 crore
from anchor investors a day before its initial
share-sale opening for public subscription.
Nippon India Mutual Fund (MF), LIC MF, JM
Financial MF, Jupiter India Fund, Societe

T
he mining company controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal is considering (RPO) conference was organised in Delhi. Generale, Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte,
tapping bond markets for at least $500 million in a debut overseas “I am happy to note that in 2023, the ministry Wipro Commercial (India) Ltd and Troo Capital
issuance, according to two people familiar with the proposal. rendered 16.5 million passport-related services were among anchor investors who were allotted
Vedanta Ltd is discussing the plan with lenders and seeking legal opinions to our citizens,” Jaishankar said in a message to shares, according to a circular uploaded on BSE
about the potential sale, according to the people, who asked not to be identified the conference. “The year 2023 noticed a website. The firm has allotted 16 million equity
discussing non-public issues. The bond sale could climb to $1 billion depending commendable annual growth of nearly 15% in shares to 17 funds at ₹281 apiece, which is also
on the response from investors, according to one of the people. The company is passport and other related services,” he added. the upper end of the price band. This translates
also exploring other avenues of fundraising, including equity sales and local The monthly submission of applications into a transaction size of ₹449 crore, it added.
currency loans from domestic banks, the people said. crossed the 140,000 mark in 2023, he said. The ₹1,500-crore issue with a price band of
Officials at Vedanta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The external affairs minister also underlined ₹267 to ₹281 per share will open for public
The move comes at a time when four high-yield dollar bonds sold by the need for leveraging the power of the latest subscription during 25-27 June.
Vedanta’s parent company, Vedanta Resources Ltd, are the top technologies to further improve the experience The initial share sale comprises fresh
performers from India so far this year, according to data compiled by of the citizens. The MEA has so far issuance of equity shares worth ₹1,000 crore
Bloomberg. The holding company earlier this year successfully restructured The bond sale could climb to $1 billion depending on the response operationalized an expansive network of 440 and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of shares worth
its offshore bonds. BLOOMBERG from investors. BLOOMBERG post office passport seva kendras (POPSKs). PTI ₹500 crore by promoters. PTI
10 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

WILL HYBRIDS SPOIL

THE EV PARTY IN INDIA?
Hybrids are in demand and the clamour to lower taxes on them is rising. But will the government agree?

MAHINDRA XUV4OO
ELECTRIC SUV
Dimensions: 4,200mm L x
1,821mm W x 1,634mm H
Sumant Banerji graphic), which Nigam global portfolio they have already
EV RANGE: 375-456 KM mint HYBRID VS EV
sumant.banerji@livemint.com found appealing. SHORT announced production of localized EVs
NEW DELHI Indeed, despite attracting STORY Sales of Hybrid cars have picked up for India over the next two years.
higher taxes, hybrids outsold recently “Electric is the final destination that can
TATA NEXON.EV

I
n January, Utkarsh Nigam, a resident EVs in the first and last quarter of Hybrid Electric (in units) solve India’s problem of pollution and
ELECTRIC SUV
of Bengaluru, was convinced his next calendar year 2023 and were Dimensions: 3,994mm L x WHAT 30,000 import of oil. The government has also
car would be electric. The 38-year-old almost at par in the first quarter of 2024 1,811mm W x 1,616mm H encouraged EVs, so we have put all our
had test-driven all the electric vehicles (see table). While EVs have a GST levy of Despite attracting higher 20,000 investments into electric,” said Tarun
EV RANGE: 325-465 KM
(EVs) in the market, zeroed in on one, just 5%, hybrid cars in India today attract taxes, hybrids outsold electric Garg, chief operating officer, Hyundai
vehicles in the first and last 10,000
and discussed financing options with the GST of 43% (there are currently no small Motor India Ltd. “It will not be easy to
dealer. Then, in March, as he was return- hybrids). In fact, the tax outgo on the quarter of calendar year 2023, change suddenly. If the government says
0
ing from Kodagu (Coorg) after a long hybrid versions of Maruti’s Grand Vitara and were almost at par in the Q1 2023 Q2 2023 Q3 2023 Q4 2023 Q1 2024 hybrids will be incentivized, we will bring
weekend, he met a middle-aged couple and Toyota’s Hyryder, both SUVs, is a first quarter of 2024. The shift hybrids but it will be a step back. They
stranded 80 kilometres from Bengaluru. mere two percentage points lower than the global trend, where most key econo- Japanese carmakers are most conservative should have thought of it earlier.”
Their electric car had run out of juice. For- their comparable petrol or diesel models. mies are aggressively moving towards in their EV forecast But given that hybrids are doing so well
tunately, the battery had died near an eat- Even so, the current hybrids in the mar- majority EV adoption by 2035.” AND EV share (in %)* already, is all this just posturing by the
ery that had a charging point, but they ket are aggressively priced. The bestseller, Tesla 100 industry or do they really need incentives
would have to wait an hour while it Hyryder, costs between ₹19.34-23.44 lakh A DIVIDED HOUSE While EVs have a GST levy of for growth? “Without incentives, pene-
Mercedes Benz 71
just 5%, hybrid cars attract GST
recharged. on-road in Delhi. The price of the bestsel-
The incident made Nigam nix his plans ling electric car, the Tata Nexon EV, is
to buy an EV. It wasn’t just because of the ₹16.82-22.63 lakh. However, they are not
T he clamour for a cut in tax on hybrids
is largely emanating from the three
large Japanese carmakers: market leader
of 43%. And while hybrids may
be greener, their tax outgo is
BMW Group
Volkswagen Group
Tata Motors
57
56
69 tration of strong hybrids is likely to
remain below 15% even by 2030. How-
ever, with incentives this could poten-
time it would take to recharge as opposed strictly comparable as the Nexon is a sub- Maruti Suzuki, Toyota and Honda. They only a tad lower than that of Ford 54 tially rise to a third of the total market,”
to filling petrol or diesel. 4-metre SUV and one contend that a tax cut would make the petrol or diesel vehicles. Stellantis 53 said S&P’s Gupta.
Rather, it was the uncer- segment below the technology more affordable and enable GM 46 For some, hybrids could just be a ploy to
tainty of being able to EVs have no tailpipe larger Hyryder. them to offer it in smaller mass-market Hyundai 40 buy time to get ready for electrification,
find a charging point— emissions and are far cleaner. According to a models, as well. Currently, there are no NOW Nissan 39 say observers. A study done by London-
the couple Nigam Deloitte study, the pref- small hybrid cars available in India. Renault 34 based think tank InfluenceMap found
encountered had been But the bulk of electricity erence for hybrids “The cost of fitting the electric power- With sales surging and a marked Mazda 30 Japanese carmakers Toyota, Suzuki and
lucky, and he didn’t preference among potential Toyota 29
powering the batteries in an among potential con- train to a conventional car to make it a
consumers for hybrids, Honda 24
Mazda to be the least prepared for an elec-
want to rely on luck. sumers is rising. In 2023, hybrid is between ₹2.7-3.1 lakh. That is tric transition and pushing the hardest
“While many charging EV in India is produced by 24% of consumers in what needs to be bridged. Without that it manufacturers are seeking a Suzuki 10 against it.
stations have come up, India said they would is difficult to offer hybrids under ₹10 lakh, cut in taxes to make these *As % of overall sales by 2030

they are not as reliable as burning dirty coal. prefer a hybrid car where most of the sales happen,” said vehicles more affordable. Source: Vahan dashboard, InfluenceMap
GOVERNMENT UNDECIDED

your petrol bunk,” against 20% in 2022. For Toyota’s Gulati. “It is not hybrid versus
Nigam told Mint. “That was the deal- electric vehicles, that number has gone up EVs but an overall fight against combus-
breaker for me.” from 8% to 10%. This is now being touted tion engines. Every clean technology has
In May, Nigam got delivery of the next by manufacturers to seek a cut in taxes so a role to play.”
best thing to an EV—a hybrid, specifically, that hybrids become more affordable. The current tax regime incentivizes
the Toyota Hyryder. While electric cars “Taxes should be based on emissions. hybrid cars over petrol/diesel cars to a
have a bulky lithium-ion battery and run Putting hybrids in the same bracket as negligible extent. Should Toyota or any
purely on electricity, hybrids are a mix, petrol or diesel is not fair,” said Vikram other company launch a small hybrid car
with a petrol/diesel combustion engine Gulati, executive vice president, Toyota less than 4 metres in length, the GST
mated to an electric motor powered by a Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. “Electric is the would drop to 28%. But that is just 1%
relatively smaller lithium-ion battery. The cleanest and so should get the most incen- lower than a small petrol car and 3% lower
Hyryder has a 1.5 litre petrol engine with tives, but hybrids should also get some.” than a small diesel car. The industry wants
a tiny 0.76 kwh battery pack. To put that in However, there is a fear that incentiviz- the lower tax slab of 18% instead to cover
context, the all-electric Nexon EV has a ing hybrids might end up undermining the additional cost.
30.2-40.5 kwh battery pack. the EV story in India. However, homegrown carmakers Tata
While a hybrid lacks the rock bottom “Offering additional benefits for Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra are
running cost and zero tailpipe emissions hybrids could hinder the growth of EVs,” against extending any sops to hybrid cars.
of an EV, it does not need to be plugged in said Puneet Gupta, director, S&P global They argue that since hybrids are not as
to be charged—the battery recharges mobility, an automotive consulting firm. environment-friendly as electric vehicles,
automatically using power from the “Manufacturers might then divert their they do not deserve an incentive.
engine and regenerative braking (see resources to hybrids, isolating India from “We have seen that the government has
been firmly behind EVs, given most of the
issues that the country faces in terms of
acute pollution, import dependence on
fossil fuels, and the net carbon zero stand
that India has taken. Therefore, it’s an
imperative to accelerate EV adoption,”
said Shailesh Chandra, managing
director, Tata Motors Passenger
TOYOTA INNOVA
HYCROSS
HYBRID SUV
Dimensions: 4,755mm L x
1,850mm W x 1,795mm H
FUEL ECONOMY: 23.24
KILOMETRE PER LITRE
MARUTI GRAND
VITARA
HYBRID SUV
Dimensions: 4,345mm L x
1,795mm W x 1,645mm H
FUEL ECONOMY: 27.97
KILOMETRE PER LITRE
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric
Mobility, during an investor call last
month.
“Governments around the world
haven’t incentivized hybrid technology
for the last 20 years because it is more
expensive as you’ve got two powertrains
(engine and electric motor). And emis-
sions are really not that much better than
internal combustion engines,” said Anish
Shah, Group chief executive officer,
Mahindra Group, also at an investor call
last month. “In EVs you get zero emissions
and fuel use, which is why governments
are incentivizing them and want the
industry to transition to EVs.”
Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia are
also backing EVs even though they
haven’t quite taken to the EV market the
way Tata Motors has. With an expanding
bouquet of electric and hybrid cars in their
I
f the industry is split down the middle,
so is the government. Road transport
and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has
repeatedly made a pitch for a tax cut on
hybrid cars. The department for promo-
tion of industry and internal trade
(DPIIT) had also written to the ministry of
heavy industries recommending some
benefits for hybrid cars in view of them
being more fuel efficient—by 36%, the
companies claim—and environment
friendly than conventional petrol and
diesel vehicles.
The ministry of finance, however, is not
convinced. “We are aware of their argu-
ments and are not convinced. EVs attract
lower taxes and the guidance is clear.
Manufacturers should focus on develop-
ing electric cars instead,” a finance minis-
try official told Mint.
To be fair, the finance ministry did offer
hybrids incentives in the past, before the
GST era, but that did not go as anticipated.
In the first iteration of the government’s
flagship Faster Adoption and Manufactur-
ing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme,
launched in 2015, incentives were offered
TURN TO PAGE 11
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI 11

Navigating tax dilemmas: NRIs’ POWER

POINT
guide to property sales in India A N U R AG G J H A N WA R

We welcome your views and comments at

mintmoney@livemint.com

ACTIVE VS INDEX
Meticulous planning is necessary to understand tax implications, comply with Indian and international tax laws
FUNDS: IMPACT ON
Shipra Singh
shipra.singh@livemint.com Tax compliances in a property sale for NRIs
is levied on property sale, NRIs
should take advantage of the Double
Taxation Avoidance Agreement
YOUR PORTFOLIOS

F
or non-resident Indians File ITR for at least (DTAA) to obtain tax credit. For

(NRIs), managing real estate
in India can be a maze of
unexpected challenges and
hidden tax complexities. For
instance, imagine selling your prop-
erty, only to realise that a hefty 20%
tax is deducted at source, and the key
to reducing this tax burden lies in past
tax returns, you never knew you were
required to file.
This oversight is common among
NRIs, and can turn what should be a
straightforward transaction into a
bureaucratic nightmare. “Not volun-
tarily filing ITRs is a mistake many
NRIs make, especially those who own
properties in India,” said Urvil Modi,
founder and chief executive, Samrid-
dhi Wealth Management, a Sebi-reg-
istered investment advisor. Assess-
ment officers (AO) rely on past ITRs to
evaluate income and decide the TDS
rate. I advise NRIs who have property
in India to voluntarily file ITRs even
if they don’t have an income (in India)
just to maintain the records.”
Without these records, your chan-
ces of reducing TDS rate diminishes,
leaving you with significant capital
tied up for almost a year till the refund
is processed. The complications don’t
end there. NRIs often struggle to find
buyers willing to pay via bank trans-
fers, as cash transactions are preva-
lent in the Indian real estate market.
Ajay R. Vaswani, founder of Aras and
Co. Chartered Accountants, said this
can force NRIs to sell at below-market
prices. “Cash in real estate transac-
tions is quite prevalent but NRIs can’t
use the cash. For this reason, in many
cases, they end up selling property at
a lower price than the market value as
finding a buyer becomes difficult.”
Navigating tax implications, secur-
ing necessary certificates, and ensur-
ing compliance with both Indian and
international tax laws require careful
planning. From understanding the
benefits of the double taxation avoid-
ance agreements (DTAA) to handling
joint ownership, NRIs must tread
carefully to avoid costly mistakes.
As the real estate market in India
evolves, staying informed and pre-
pared is crucial for NRIs to manage
investments and maximise returns.
The 20% TDS on the sale amount
I
3-4 years before instance, in the US, long-term capital nvesting in the stock market can be both rewarding and chal-
selling property gains tax on property is 0%, 15%, or lenging. Investors often face the dilemma of choosing between
20%, depending on the tax slab. India active funds and index funds. While index funds offer simplic-
Submit Form 13 to has signed DTAA with 89 countries. ity and low fees, active funds provide a dynamic approach that
lower 20% TDS Therefore, if you make capital can be particularly advantageous during market corrections.
gains of ₹10 lakh on a property and This article explores how the active management strategy can
Lower TDS certificate have paid ₹2 lakh as tax in India, but shield investors from sharp market downturns, which is inher-
issued withing in the US, your tax bracket requires ently difficult for index funds to achieve. Active funds are man-
1-6 weeks 15% capital gains tax (₹1.5 lakh), you aged by fund managers who make decisions based on research,
will get a tax credit of ₹2 lakh for the market conditions and forecasts, aiming to outperform the mar-
Sell property tax paid in India. ket by selecting stocks that are expected to perform better than
Besides, be informed about the tax average. Most importantly, active funds adjust holdings based on
sops available on the sale of a prop- market conditions, while index funds are passively managed and
Get certificate 15CB
to remit sale amount
erty in your country of residence. designed to replicate the performance of a specific index (such
“One example is the US that allows as S&P BSE 500 or Nifty 50). They hold a fixed portfolio of stocks
deduction of $500,000 for a married as per the index composition. Low cost and simplicity are major
couple and $250,000 for a single per- advantages of passive funds, but they lack flexibility.
son, if the taxpayer has lived in that Active fund: Downside protection
Form 13 Certificate 15CB house for at least two years in the last Tactical asset allocation: Active fund managers have the
A TDS certificate that helps lower tax outgo COMPULSORY to remit sale amount abroad five years," said Modi. discretion to alter a fund’s asset allocation. During signs of a mar-
NOT mandatory, but helps NRIs lower TDS liability A chartered account issues it “So, for an Indian who has moved ket correction, they can reduce exposure to equities and increase
to the US, the best time to sell their holdings in more stable assets such as bonds or cash. This tactical
MUST be applied online TYPE of audit where CA checks validity of the property in India is within the first shift can mitigate losses when the market takes a downturn.
PAN, sale agreement, TAN of the buyer, bank transaction
five years, if they plan to eventually Example: During the 2008 financial crisis, some active fund
statements, and copies of ITR of the last 3-4 years FOR amount taken as cash, difficult to get 15CB as sell it. Being aware of such perks managers significantly reduced exposure to financial stocks and
must be submitted no proof of funds helps plan better for tax efficiency.” moved into more defensive sectors like consumer staples and
IF capital loss is set off against capital gains on sale IF furniture and fixtures are sold separately, original However, to claim the tax credit in healthcare, reducing the impact of the sharp market decline.
of house property, AO can issue 0% TDS certificate bills required to get 15CB your country of residence, you must Stock selection and sector rotation: Active fund managers
file an income tax return in India. can rotate out of overvalued sectors and into undervalued or less
According to Urvil, claiming of tax volatile sectors. This stock selection
of the property could mean locking TAN of buyer, copies of bank state- cate can be challenging. “Often, when credit even in a foreign jurisdiction Understanding can help cushion the fund’s perform-
away significant capital for up to one ment for proof of funds, and ITR cop- buyers insist on paying cash to save requires a proper paper trail. ance during market corrections. In
strengths and early 2020, as the covid-19 pandemic
year. For example, an NRI selling a ies of the past 3-4 years. stamp duty, NRIs accept it and Estate Planning
property for ₹1 crore have to set aside The AO can take up to five weeks to deposit the amount in their NRO Many Indians jointly purchase limitations of unfolded, certain active funds reduced
₹20 lakh with tax department till the issue the certificate, so it is advisable accounts separately,” said Vaswani. property most often with parents, both is crucial holdings in travel and leisure stocks,
refund is processed. However, TDS to submit the application in advance, "This creates challenges when even while paying for the full cost of for taking an and increased investments in better
issues extend beyond this. said Vaswani, adding that the online remitting the money because the CA the property. However, complica- informed call positioned technology and healthcare
Buyers may mistakenly deduct 1% application should be filed in the city requires proof of those funds to issue tions arise when one shifts base, and firms to thrive during lockdowns.
TDS, which applies to where it is located. form 15CB. NRIs should avoid accept- the co-owner becomes incapacitated Cash allocation: Active fund man-
residents, due to lack of Understanding In cases of capital loss ing cash payments if they intend to or passes away. agers can raise cash holdings during volatile periods. It provides
awareness, resulting in a the benefits of or negligible capital gain remit the entire sale amount," added In such a circumstance, updating a buffer and allows them to buy stocks at potentially lower prices
penalty of 100-300% of DTAA to handling or instances where capi- Vaswani. ownership records across municipal during a correction. Index funds are always fully invested, limit-
outstanding tax, if any, joint ownership, tal loss from an asset is Similar issues arise when an NRI corporations, city survey offices, and ing this strategy. For example, Aequitas is sitting on 20% to 25%
along with a 1% monthly
NRIs must tread set off against the capital sells furniture and fixtures separately. utility boards is essential. "None of cash, and Buoyant increased its cash holding to 15%-20% in the
interest.While absence gain on the sale of house Considering sellers don't need to sub- these departments communicate first quarter of 2024.
of past ITRs doesn't pre- carefully to avoid property an AO can issue mit bills for furniture and fixtures at effectively and often require affida- Why index funds fall short?
vent you from being costly mistakes a 0% TDS certificate. the time of sale, NRIs often proceed vits from surviving heirs and a will to Lack of flexibility: Index funds are tied to their benchmark
issued a lower TDS cer- Remittance Rules without original invoices or bank relinquish rights," said Modi. "It indices. They do not have the flexibility to move out of sectors or
tificate, it reduces the To remit the sale statements supporting the sale. How- becomes an ordeal for the NRI." stocks that might be heading towards a downturn. This rigidity
likelihood of the TDS being lowered amount to the country of residence, ever, the CA requires these invoices "Therefore, for those planning to means that during a market correction, index funds will follow
to the minimal rates of 1-5%. This is a NRIs must obtain a 15CB certificate to issue certificate 15CB for the move abroad, I recommend ensuring the market without any form of protective manoeuvring.
consequence of not filing ITRs, which from a chartered accountant (CA). amount received separately for furni- clear ownership titles for such prop- Also, if a stock becomes overvalued, it actually starts carrying
the law does not explicitly state. This process involves an audit where ture and fixtures. NRIs who fail to erties before departure. The owner- more weight in the index. Unfortunately, this is just when astute
Many NRIs are unaware that the the CA verifies the transaction's valid- submit these bills will have to pay tax ship can be transferred through a gift investors would want to be lowering their portfolios' exposure to
default 20% TDS rate can be lowered ity, and ensures all conditions for on this amount if they want to remit deed,” he added. that stock. So, even if you have a clear idea of a stock that is over-
by submitting Form 13 online prior to remitting money abroad are met. the money. Note, if you transfer a property via valued or undervalued, if you invest solely through an index, you
the sale of the property by furnishing If part of the property sale amount DTAA to Your Advantage a gift deed, NRIs are liable to pay the will not be able to act on that knowledge.
documents like PAN, sale agreement, is paid in cash, obtaining the certifi- In countries where capital gains tax stamp duty on the transferor's share. Inherent market risk: Since index funds are fully invested
in the market at all times, they are exposed to market risks. When
the market undergoes a sharp correction, index funds mirror the
decline of the market, leading to significant losses for investors.

Can I still claim Section 54 benefits after relocating to the UK?
Harshal Bhuta
I am working with an MNC.
after relocating to UK from
India in late 2023. In April
2023 I exited a 2010 invest-
ment in a startup, and used
the proceeds to buy a house
to claim tax benefits. Am I
still eligible for this exemp-
tion, or will I lose the bene-
fit since I moved to UK?
—Name withheld on request
I assume you made investment
in equity shares of an unlisted
ASK MINT
m N R I TA X AT I O N
FIRM which you sold in April
2023. Notwithstanding deter-
mination of whether TDS pro-
visions will be applicable upon
sale of equity share of the firm,
capital gains from the sale will
be taxed at 20% (plus applica-
ble surcharge and cess) along
with indexation benefit.
Since you left last August for
employment in UK, you would
be treated as NRI. So, for FY24,
capital gains from the sale of
unlisted firm’s shares would be
taxed at 10% (plus surcharge
and cess) without indexation
benefit. I assume you invested
in a residential house to claim
exemption from capital gains
tax on sale, as per section 54F,
and you were able to satisfy the
conditions like investment up
to net consideration amount,
not owning more than a house
property at time of sale. There
is no bar on NRIs to claim capi-
tal gains tax exemption under
section 54F.
Besides, irrespective of the
differential tax rates between a
resident and an NRI for capital
gains derived from the sale of
unlisted share, there is no need
to pay any tax (advance or self-
assessment tax) in India since
you can claim tax exemption as
per section 54F. You may also
obtain professional advice if
you should opt for remittance-
based taxation in the UK so
that capital gains exemption
benefit in India does not get
nullified because of tax pay-
ment obligations in the UK on
the capital gain from such sale.
Harshal Bhuta is a partner at
P.R. Bhuta and Co.
Do you have a personal
finance query? Send in your
queries at
mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
industry experts.
No defensive strategies: Index funds do not engage in defen-
sive tactics like reducing equity exposure, sector rotation, or
hedging. This absence of defensive strategies leaves investors
vulnerable during periods of high volatility.
The Dot-com Bubble (2000-2002): During the dot-com
bubble burst, active funds with limited exposure to technology
sector moved to more traditional value stocks, performing better
than the tech-heavy indices like NASDAQ.
Covid-19 (2020): At the onset of the pandemic, active funds
with managers who recognized the impending economic impact
reallocated their portfolios, moving to technology stocks, which
benefited from the shift to remote work and digital services.
While index funds offer a low-cost, straightforward investment
strategy, their inherent inflexibility can be a disadvantage during
sharp corrections. Active funds, with dynamic management, pro-
vide a proactive approach that can protect investors from signifi-
cant losses. Understanding the strengths and limitations of both
is crucial for investors in making informed decisions.
Anuragg Jhanwar is partner and co-founder, Upwisery Privaye
Wealth. Views are personal.

Will hybrids spoil the electric vehicle party in India?

FROM PAGE 10
for all types of hybrids—mild,
strong and plug-in. But they
were discontinued in 2017
after mild hybrids cornered the
lion’s share of the incentives.
The Maruti Ciaz, Ertiga and
Mahindra Scorpio were the
cars that benefited the most.
Apart from killing the
incentive, the government
also levied a 15% cess on
hybrid cars under the GST
industry for a reduction on
GST on hybrid vehicles to 18%.
The government has been
non-committal on incentives
for hybrids ever since.
WHICH IS CLEANER?
A t the core of this lobbying
for incentives are two
questions. How clean are
hybrids, and are EVs really as
clean as they claim? Japanese
carmakers say hybrids are sig-
nificantly cleaner than con-
other narrative, muddling the
debate.
An IIT Kanpur study says
manufacturing, usage and
scrapping of EVs in India pro-
duces 15-50% more green-
house gases than conven-
tional fuel and hybrid cars.
Similarly, a report by HSBC
Global Research says total
carbon emissions at ‘well to
wheel’ level for an EV in India
currently stand at 158g/km
against a hybrid car’s 133g/
electricity is produced by in terms of local air quality,” Himani Jain, Senior Program since 2021. At nearly 329,000 with charging infrastructure
burning coal, lifetime emis- said Sharif Qamar, Associate Lead, Council on Energy, units, hybrids registered an not keeping pace with
sions from battery electric Director, Transport & Urban Environment and Water 18% increase over the first demand.
vehicles were 19-34% lower Governance Division, at sus- (CEEW). “This disparity quarter of 2023 and 50% over “A lot of people tend to com-
than those of internal-com- tainability think tank TERI. occurs because in real life, 2022. Electric car sales pare India with the rest of the
bustion-engine vehicles. The “Even with the current grid these vehicles are driven more increased by only 3.8% and world. I don’t think that’s right
gap would widen as renewable electricity emission factor, EVs on ICE fuels and minimally on 39%, respectively, over those as our EV penetration is 2%,
energy replaced thermal score better than ICE technol-
power in the grid over the next ogy.”
decade, it added. What makes policymaking
the EV drivetrain, unlike in
test conditions.”
periods.
In the US, too, hybrid sales
have risen five times faster
while others are reaching
some kind of saturation at
15-25%,” said Rajesh Jejurikar,
“If we go even more ARE EV SALES SLOWING? than EVs so far this year, with chief executive officer, auto
with the pol-
luter pays The lack of charging outlets— that hybrids
difficult is

p r i n c i p l e , there are about 12,000 public may not be

regime, which increased the
tax incidence from 30.3%
excise to 43% GST. Hybrids
suddenly became more
expensive, leading to protests
from the industry.
“We have done a detailed
study on auto industry
demand and a paper has been
made. The fact (lower emis-
sions) that is being presented
(by the industry), according to
the paper, is not correct,”
former finance minister Arun
Jaitley had said in June 2017,
responding to a demand by the
ventional combustion engine
vehicles, with carbon emis-
sions almost 36% lower—the
Honda City hybrid has a certi-
fied CO2 emission of 89.5
grams per kilometre (g/km)
against the petrol version’s
128.8g/km.
EVs have no tailpipe emis-
sions whatsoever and are far
cleaner. However, the bulk of
the electricity that powers the
batteries in an EV in India is
produced by burning dirty
coal. Multiple studies are
quoted to embellish one or the
km, and it may take up to 10
years for both to converge.
Under the well-to-wheel sce-
nario, power generation
emissions are factored in for
EVs, while crude oil mining/
refining and tailpipe emis-
sions are measured for
hybrids.
Other studies counter these
arguments. For instance, a
widely circulated study by the
International Council on
Clean Transportation (ICCT)
in 2021 found that even with a
dirty grid, where over half the
I n India, the growth in hybrid
sales is largely being driven
by market leader Maruti Suz-
which is fol- that clean uki. The company drove into
lowed in stations against the million- either. Real- the hybrid arena with the
many geo- plus needed by 2030—has world emis- Grand Vitara strong hybrid
graphies and sion tests of model, sourced from Toyota,
industries, raised range anxiety among a b o u t in 2022, and followed that up
the govern- 600,000 with the Invicto last year.
ment should those considering EVs in India. hybrid cars India is not the only country
not extend in the EU witnessing a surge in the sale
any tax benefits to strong found that their emissions of hybrids.
hybrid vehicles as these are were 3.5 times higher than In the US, Europe and even
not zero-emission vehicles. claimed. China (the world’s biggest
The logic of EVs getting tax “The variation in the real electric car market), hybrids
benefits is precisely on the world and lab tests implies that are witnessing a resurgence of
point that it is a zero tailpipe emissions from hybrid vehi- sorts. In the first quarter of
emitting vehicle technology, cles are closer to the emissions 2024, demand for hybrids in
which has positive externality from ICE vehicles,” said Dr the EU was at its highest level
inventories of the latter piling
up at dealerships, forcing
manufacturers to realign and
increase production of
hybrids. In China, plugin
hybrid sales shot up 80% in
2023 against 23% growth for
EVs.
While the trends in India
and the rest of the world
appear to be similar, the rea-
sons are different. Globally,
governments have clamped
down on the subsidies that
have propelled sales of EVs in
the last decade, leading to a
rise in costs and a proportion-
ate cooling of sales.
In India, it has more to do
and farm sectors, Mahindra &
Mahindra. “In India, we don’t
do anything 10 years ahead of
when it’s needed. So, as sales
pick up, charging infrastruc-
ture will come. India needs a
really wow product. Today’s
electric offerings are very
functional.”
While their sales are sur-
ging, a tax cut will be the icing
on the cake for hybrid makers.
But will the government bite
the bullet and extend its EV
largesse to them? The
announcement of the FAME-3
scheme in the budget next
month should reveal the
answer.
12 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI VIEWS
OUR VIEW
ISTOCKPHOTO
Having life insurance coverage is
one thing, its adequacy another
The sum assured should be around 10 times one’s annual income to secure the future of dependents
TARUN CHUGH
is managing director and chief executive
officer, Bajaj Allianz Life.
Let pump dams fill gaps
A
s a football enthusiast, I find the
sport exhilarating. It demands
patience, persistence and timing.
in clean power supplies Its unpredictability adds to its allure.
Life, much like a football match, is
inherently a series of unpredictable
events, emphasizing the necessity of
having adequate defences in place, both
on field and in terms of financial plan-
Adani’s investment in pumped storage hydropower projects should be viewed in the context ning. Appropriate strategies and calcu-
lated moves can make all the difference
of India’s need to tackle wind and solar power intermittency for a smooth green transition in securing our life goals.
Bear Bryant famously said: “Offence
sells tickets, defence wins champion-
ships.” A solid financial plan with the
A
s India pushes forth with its tran- significant way. Their reservoirs, built as usual right mix of investment tools builds the
sition to clean energy, storage is at some height, are self-fed with water that’s defence that you need to secure your
financial future. With increasing finan-
a challenge that confronts us. routinely pumped back up after use (using less cial literacy, rising income levels and
Windmills and solar panels serve power of course). Pumps relieve such dams of greater awareness, along with greater
well so long as the wind blows the need for natural water inflows. A steep hill- technological adoption and policy
and sun shines. To fill in the gaps side, for example, is all they need. So, while PSH reforms, more families in India are rec-
when they don’t and assure users a steady flow generators are capital intensive, they face fewer ognizing the need for long-term finan-
cial planning, including the importance
of electricity, we need to either store generated limitations of geography than classic river dams of incorporating life insurance early on
energy in chargeable batteries, which costs a built in hilly regions. Spotting the appropriate as a versatile tool for protection.
lot, or create clean capacity with a control knob topography to create a little lake is not short of As term life insurance serves as a
to raise or reduce output at will. In this back- its own challenges, but water recycling expands safety net for loved ones faced with
drop, the Adani Group’s latest investment plan the country’s scope for hydropower manifold. unforeseen circumstances arising from
a tragic demise, everyone should have a
is notable. According to a Mint report, Adani Although the basic idea has been around for policy. It doesn’t matter whether you
Green Energy Ltd plans to invest approximately long, technical advances in recent years are are in your early 20s, late 30s, a single
₹25,000-27,500 crore in pumped-storage said to have given it better energy efficiency in mother or a father with dependents.
hydropower (PSH) dams over the next five odd terms of its input-output ratio. The concept’s value explains why life
years, with PSH capacity of 5 gigawatts as its To fully appreciate the value of a control knob insurance is among the top three most
preferred savings instruments in the
initial goal. Having already invested heavily in to plug gaps in clean supply, consider India’s
wind and solar projects, Adani expects to move current scenario. Peak electricity demand this
fast on this, aiming to scale up its PSH capacity summer overshot our fossil-fuel capacity of
to 25GW eventually. Players like Tata Power, around 237GW, and even though we have over
JSW and the state-run NTPC also plan pump 179GW of other capacity, large parts of India
dams. Earlier this year, the Union environment suffered outages. While patchy grid link-ups
ministry had cleared PSH projects worth over explain much of this discrepancy between what www.livemint.com
₹80,000 crore, but Adani’s outlay is now the we can produce and what users get to use, over-
largest. Its entry will boost the country’s drive all, what’s needed for us to rely on clean sources
for sustainable power generation. in the future—as we must—is a mission to back SENSEX 25,368.90 Æ 337.58
SPEEDY APPROVALS
Centre plans
What sets PSH units apart is that the power up renewable power with generators whose
single-window
nodfor projects
they generate can go by the sum of our needs output is easy to vary. A robust network of PSH
New facility, aimed at
capital-intensive steel,
coal and power
projects, will include
rather than the vagaries of nature. This means plants would fit the bill. Water-driven turbines
forest clearances
B Y P RANAV N AMBIAR,
A MAN M ALIK & N EHA S ETHI
····························
NEW DELHI
T he new government on
they can be linked to grids to solve the problem only need large volumes of this fluid kept in
Tuesday signalled that it
would set up a single-win-
dow clearance system for capi-
tal-intensive steel, coal and pow-
er projects, as it seeks to lift flag-
ging economic growth by speed-
ing up approvals
investments.
The new facility, which could
of supply intermittency faced by other sources reserve, with wind and sunlight conditions in
potentially help accelerate the
execution of new and existing
projects, will include conten-
tious environmental and forest
clearances that have held up nu-
merous projects across the coun-
try.
“Getting all clearances at one
go from different departments is
that do not use fossil fuels. Regular old dams no position to play spoilsport. Granted, pump
not all that easy,” steel and
mines minister Narendra Singh
Tomar told reporters on Tues-
day. “There are different rules,
different issues pertaining to dif-
ferent departments. Some mat-
ters are also pending in the
courts. But the government
wishes to adopt a single-window
hold water in vast lakes; by opening sluice gates dams are expensive—which is why their ideal
clearance and we are moving in
that direction.”
While the contours are yet to
be worked out, it is likely, ac-
cording to a person familiar with
the development, that each
project will be set up as a special
purpose vehicle for which all
clearances would have been ap-
to let it cascade onto watermills that rotate role is as gap fillers. Of the 500GW that India
proved in advance.
The template would be like the
one adopted previously for the
so-called ultra mega power
projects or power plants with a
capacity of 4,000 megawatts or
more, but which met with limit-
ed success.
Tomar’s statement came after
under its force to create electricity, they can is aiming for from non-fossil-fuel sources by
an inter-ministerial consultation
between steel and mines, power
and environment ministries. En-
vironment and forest minister
Prakash Javadekar and coal and
power minister Piyush Goyal
were also present at the meeting.
A top environment ministry
official who did not wish to be
vary their output, going full pep to maximum 2030, more than just a sliver ought to be from
named said single-window
clearances were discussed in the
meeting. “But it needs to be fur-
ther discussed. We have said that
it will require further discus-
sions,” the official said.
Mint had reported on 11 June
that the steel ministry was work-
ing on a plan to revive investor
capacity if need be. The same applies to PSH pump dams. Seen from the sky, little lakes atop
interest in the sector by creating
SPVs that will acquire all the gov-
Mint is also available for R8 with
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
units, which are typically smaller but differ in a hills are the missing piece in our power puzzle.
MY VIEW | TRUTH, LIES, AND STATISTICS
Data users need a more responsive statistics ministry
inflation gauge. “Such details, though They may have follow-up questions that
PRAMIT BHATTACHARYA highly technical, can be of significant inter- can only be answered by data producers. A
est to forecasters, who compete to predict modern statistical agency needs to institu-
inflation figures to hundredths of a per- tionalize a mechanism for responding to
centage point,” wrote Casselman and Smi- such questions. One way forward is to fol-
alek. “Those estimates, in turn, are used by low the example of central banks that pub-
E
arlier this year, the US bureau of investors making bets on the huge batches lish responses to individual queries on their
labour statistics landed in an unusual of securities that are tied to inflation or websites. So, even if a
controversy. An email sent to a group interest rates.” hedge fund analyst raises a
of ‘super users’ about methodological Since professional forecasters and even query, that analyst gets the
tweaks in inflation calculations for the the Federal Reserve have been wrong on information at the same
month of January found its way to the press. the inflation trajectory in the US in recent time as the wider public.
Since the group of super users included years, the stakes in getting inflation fore- The need for such a
leading investment banks and hedge funds, casts right have increased significantly. mechanism is higher in
is a Chennai-based journalist.
it raised suspicions about the agency shar-
ing market-sensitive information with a
This seems to have driven up the volume of
questions faced by the American bureau of
emerging markets such as
India where official data-
closed group. The agency claimed that it
did not maintain any list of super users, and
labour statistics. The unnamed official who
created the super user mailing list presum-
bases are riddled with
gaps and inconsistencies,
that the mail sent by one of its officials was ably did so to help such analysts figure out and where statisticians
an isolated ‘mistake’. the data better. However, by creating a routinely make use of
A subsequent investigation by Ben Cas- closed and secret group, he managed to heroic assumptions to fill
selman and Jeanna Smialek of The New raise suspicions about whether the agency in database gaps.
York Times (‘New questions on how a key was providing an undue advantage to a Over the past few years,
agency shared inflation data’, 5 April) select group of investors. India’s official statisticians had clammed up
showed that the official concerned did The episode highlights the importance of in the face of growing criticisms. In a data
maintain a list of super users, and had regu- having standard communication protocols. user conference on national accounts last
lar email correspondence with them. The Statisticians must aim to present as many year, the press was warned not to identify
official did not share any data in advance. details as feasible—and in as clear a manner any official in their reports. No cameras
He simply provided contextual and meth- as possible—in their data releases. But were allowed. As this column had argued
odological clarifications on the US retail often, that won’t be enough for data users. earlier (‘Official statisticians must learn to
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune*
CONTENT PARTNER
NIFTY 7,580.20 Æ 86.85
ernment approvals required to
start a steel plant, and then hand
them over to private entities to
go ahead with project imple-
mentation. The steel ministry
has proposed that the National
Mineral Development Corp. Ltd
head the SPVs, along with the
state mineral development cor-
poration.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP)-led government, which
came to power in the April-May
general election, has put eco-
nomic revival at the top of its
policy agenda after two consecu-
tive years of sub-5% growth.
In the past two years, numer-
ous infrastructure projects have
for been stalled by delays in secur-
ing mandatory government and
regulatory approvals, such as en-
vironment and forest clearances,
and in completing land acquisi-
tion. These projects include
South Korean steel maker Po-
sco’s plant in Odisha that has
been awaiting approvals for min-
ing the Khandadhar iron ore
block since 2005, and Arcelor-
Mittal’s Jharkhand project, stuck
for eight years pending approval
of mining plans for the Sere-
garha coal block.
A steel company executive
who did not wish to be named
welcomed the proposed single-
window clearance system but
added that there should be clear
timelines for getting these clear-
ances.
Tomar added that the meeting
also took up issues related to
coking coal blocks for the steel
industry and that one block
would be kept aside for govern-
ment-owned steel plants under a
special dispensation.
“We have all decided that
those projects which are within
the law and which we can clear
as soon as possible, we will do
expeditiously so that steel pro-
duction can go up, coal produc-
tion can go up,” Tomar said.
Goyal said the environment
ministry would come out with a
draft list of coal mines located in
areas designated as “inviolate”
by August this year. This would
be put up for further discussion,
he added.
According to him, a separate
auction of coal blocks for the
steel industry will be done
speedily under a special dispen-
sation. Goyal added that steps
would be taken to increase the
capacity of washeries in the Jhar-
ia coal fields to improve the sup-
ply of coking coal to the steel in-
dustry.
Mint had reported earlier this
month that the environment
ministry was looking to dilute
parameters for identifying forest
areas as inviolate. The existing
six parameters were to be re-
duced to four.
TURN TO PAGE 24®
Even protocol
reforms could
enable better
communication
and raise trust in
India’s statistics
and economy
WSJ: Brooks cleared, Coulson
guilty in phone-hack trial >21
NATION: Teesta, border talks top focus as
Sushma Swaraj begins Bangladesh visit >4
RETAIL: India’s profile as destination for
retail investment diminishes >8
CAFÉ ECONOMICS: Lessons from a
recovery >22
DOLLAR `60.12 æ `0.09
OUTBOUND NO MORE
Outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) from India fell to its lowest level since
2001 at $1.7 billion in 2013, according to the World Investment Report 2014
released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
This was at a time when FDI outflows from developing countries reached a record
with an investment of $553 billion, or 39% of global FDI outflows. The sharp
depreciation of the rupee, a domestic economic slowdown and unwillingness of
investors to part with assets because of global uncertainties played a big role in
the fall in outbound Indian investments in 2013.
17.2
FDI OUTFLOWS
14.3
(in $ billion)
3
2.2
1.4
1.7 1.9
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Indian Railways
needs surgery,
not pep pills
MARK TO MARKET
R. SREE RAM
T he government’s bitter pill
on railway fares and freight
rates is not enough to nurse In-
dian Railways back to health.
The patient needs major sur-
gery, not pep pills.
In a largely knee-jerk reac-
tion, the decision to increase
railway fares has led to buying
in the shares of companies that
depend on the railways. Stocks
of Texmaco Rail and Engineer-
ing Ltd and Titagarh Wagons
Ltd gained a bit on Monday. The
expectation is that the new
funds will help the railways
spend more on spares and mod-
ernization.
“A positive fallout of the gov-
ernment decision would be that
the railways will be able to in-
crease their expenditure on
safety, signalling systems, mod-
ernize their rolling stock and
improve passenger amenities,”
said a note from HDFC Securi-
ties Ltd.
According to SBI Research,
the fare hike can increase reve-
nues of the railways by `8,753
crore. The new funds can help
bring down the operating cost
ratio (expenditure to revenue)
from an estimated 89% to
TURN TO PAGE 24®
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
EURO `81.88 Æ `0.08
21.1
16 15.9
12.5
8.5
1.7
2013
Source: UNCTAD
AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT
NEW REGULATIONS
In search of a woman on board
B Y A RUNDHATI R AMANATHAN,
A MRIT R AJ & A MAN M ALIK
·························
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI
O n 28 May, the board of In-
dia’s leading two-wheeler
maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd met
to approve financial results for
the March quarter. But the di-
rectors ended up spending
most of the time discussing a
process to induct women on
the board, a director said on
condition of anonymity.
It’s not a concern limited to
Hero MotoCorp alone. Dozens
of companies are discussing
the same topic and have begun
to search for female board
members.
A stipulation in the new
Companies Act, which was ap-
proved last year and came into
effect from 1 April, says that
every listed company or public
company with a minimum
paid up capital of `100 crore or
a minimum turnover of `300
crore needs to appoint at least
one woman on its board.
Further, according to new
corporate governance norms
finalized by the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
in February, all listed compa-
nies must have at least one
woman director on the board.
One person cannot be a direc-
tor on the boards of more than
seven listed companies, Sebi
said.
LIVEMINT.COM
GUEST VIEW
overall household financial savings mix. to facilitate ‘Insurance for All by 2047.’
It has grown at a compounded annual Its efforts include improving the busi-
rate of 11% from 2018-19 to 2022-23, ness and regulatory environment as
contributing 18% to total financial sav- well as instituting a risk-based capital
ings. Its penetration inspires optimism. regime and implementing International
Nearly 60-70% of families in India have Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
some or another kind of life insurance and the Risk-Based Supervision Frame-
cover (credit protection, individual life work—all towards deepening India’s
insurance products, PM Jeevan Jyoti insurance penetration within the next
Bima Yojana, etc). It’s a positive sign. few years. While IRDAI’s overarching
However, the key question is whether goal is to enable the sector’s growth and
the cover that people in India currently make insurance accessible to as many
have is enough. Indians as possible, the sector is also
Despite India being one of the world’s seeing constant expansion of the digital
fastest growing economies, World Bank ecosystem that is helping insurers pur-
data suggests that the total sum assured sue their objectives better.
as a proportion of GDP in India is barely Together, the insurance industry and
70%, as compared to 251% in the US, its regulator are taking numerous meas-
143% in Thailand and 153% in Malaysia. ures. These include the introduction
This indicates a significant gap in the
amount of insurance coverage. When
an insurance policy is purchased, the
buyer doesn’t always factor in the ade-
of simple and innovative products,
revamping of distribution channels and
the adoption of new technologies to
enable faster and more transparent
quacy of the life cover should the need processes. Not only must we increase
of its use arise. accessibility to life insurance, as stated
Insufficient coverage could mean earlier, we also need to promote cover-
that families receive inadequate finan- age adequacy. We should encourage
cial assistance, addressing only a frac- households to review their portfolios.
tion of their needs and rendering the Remember, like any other financial
purpose of term plans ineffective. instrument, a policy purchase needs to
Without adequate life cover, families be a very well-informed decision. It
may be forced to liquidate assets or must take into account one’s income,
redeem investments to pay for key debts and future family expenses. And
financial requirements, which could once a term plan is bought, one should
derail their life goals. periodically review the coverage, much
It is also a good sign that Indians are as we evaluate other expenses and taxes.
increasingly recognizing the need to Foreseeable life events—which can
stay sufficiently protected by insurance range from a marriage and birth of a
policies. But what is an optimal level child to buying a dream home—can sig-
of life-insurance cover? This can be nificantly alter one’s insurance needs.
determined through a comprehensive Regular evaluations can ensure that
assessment of current income, savings, one’s policy stays aligned with likely
liabilities and the family situation. The requirements. Revisiting your coverage
general rule-of-thumb is to secure doesn’t just safeguard policyholders
cover that is 10 times one’s annual against under-insurance, it also helps
income. This will keep the policy- rationalize premiums to be paid so that
holder’s family financially well sup- they are not needlessly high.
ported in the event of his/her death. Just as a robust defence game-plan in
In recent times, the sector’s regulator, football ensures a winning season, the
the Insurance Regulatory and Develop- right defence plan in your financial
ment Authority of India (IRDAI), has portfolio can see your family through
embarked on a programme of reforms and keep their life goals within reach.
Vol.8 No.150 `4.00 in Delhi-NCR/`5.00 outside Delhi-NCR 24 PAGES
As the saying goes,
Firms’ large
GOLD `28,350 Æ `125 OIL $114.72 Æ $0.60
QUICK EDIT the Stone Age did not end
capex plans Money
signal revival
because we ran out of
matters
in investment
B Y P . R . S ANJAI &
G old has rallied ever
since the advance of
Islamist fighters in Iraq
M ADHURA K ARNIK sent a shudder of fear
···························· across the world. These
MUMBAI
gains come in the wake of
R eliance Industries Ltd (RIL),
Tata group and the Aditya
a long decline in
international prices since
stones; we transitioned to
Birla group—India’s three big- the end of 2012. The local
gest conglomerates—have an- price has been steadier
nounced new investments or
capital expenditure adding up to
only because the rupee
fell against the dollar.
almost `3 trillion over the next Yet, there is good
3-4 years, signalling a revival of reason to believe that the
corporate spending plans stalled gold super cycle may have
by the economic downturn. ended. The International
Others, like the Adani Group Monetary Fund said this
and Larsen and Toubro Ltd month that India has
(L&T), have also indicated that been one of the weakest
better solutions. The same
they will make fresh invest- real estate markets in the
ments, but haven’t provided de- world. These two trends
tails. Many companies have could wean Indians away
started accumulating funds from salting away a large
ahead of the execution of chunk of their savings
projects by tapping equity or into physical assets, a
debt markets. habit that has worried
Corporate investment slowed policy makers.
during two consecutive years of Deutsche Bank asks in
sub-5% economic growth as de- a Tuesday report whether
layed government approvals India is at the cusp of a
opportunity lies before us
stalled the execution of many turnaround in savings.
projects and crimped company Real interest rates are
cash flows. now in positive territory.
In the year ended 31 March, The recent rally in the
Indian companies announced share market has also led
projects worth `4.29 trillion—the to visible signs of a
lowest in nine years, according recovery of flows into
to data from the Centre For equity funds. These are
trends to watch.
TURN TO PAGE 2®
with energy efficiency
RECENT HIRES
Due to a stipulation in the new Companies Act, companies have begun to search for female
board members. A look at some of the women who have joined company boards this year.
and clean energy.
First-time director
NITA AMBANI
Founder and chairperson,
Reliance Foundation,
PALLAVI SHROFF
Partner at Amarchand
& Mangaldas & Suresh
Dhirubhai Ambani A Shroff & Co.
International School Board: Apollo Tyres
Board: Reliance
On 15 May 2014
Industries Ltd NO
On 18 June 2014
Yes
VIBHA PAUL RISHI KIRAN
Former executive MAZUMDAR-SHAW
director, brand and Chairman and MD,
human capital, of Max
India Biocon Ltd
Board: Asian Paints Board: Infosys
On 14 May 2014 On 10 January 2014
NO NO
MOHSIN SHAIKH/MINT
These guidelines come into many countries. Some coun-
effect from 1 October. tries, including France and Ita-
As per data from New Delhi- ly, are considering significant
based financial and legal con- action to improve the repre-
STE V E N C HU
sultancy Corporate Profession- sentation of women. Others,
als India Pvt. Ltd, out of the including Norway, Spain and
top 100 companies by market Australia, have already done
capitalization on the Bombay so.
Stock Exchange (BSE 100), 52 “The stipulation in the Com-
did not have women repre- panies Bill will make a differ-
sentatives on the board as of ence,” said Vinita Bali, former
31 May. managing director, Britannia
Internationally too, it is no Industries Ltd. “Scandinavian
different. In 2010, women countries introduced similar
made up only 12.5% of the stipulations several years back
members of the corporate and now there is 30-40% wom-
boards of FTSE 100 companies en representation on the
in the UK. This was up from boards of these companies.”
9.4% in 2004. But the rate of in-
crease has been slow across TURN TO PAGE 2®
communicate better’, 25 September 2023), ings with shareholders, there is no reason
the reticence of the ministry of statistics why citizens in a democracy should not
and programme implementation (Mospi) expect the same standards from a statistical
was a defeatist response to the criticisms agency funded by them. If Mospi becomes
that were directed at it. more responsive to Indian citizens, it will
Mospi’s mandarins seem to have finally also be addressing the needs of non-citizens
realized that a culture of secrecy lowers interested in India and the Indian economy.
trust in official statistics. Some of them may then find it easier to
Last week, Mospi live- invest in the Indian economy. Statistical
streamed a data users con- reforms can lower the cost of doing busi-
ference on the household ness while improving the quality of public
consumption survey for discourse. This would also help India differ-
2022-23. This is a welcome entiate itself from China, where question-
departure from the recent ing official statistics is actively discouraged.
past. But it is not enough.
Mospi needs to publish a
Some statistical reforms will need legisla-
tive changes and wide stakeholder consul-
schedule of all its ongoing
surveys and forthcoming
tation (‘Statistical reforms will not get far
without a consensus’, Mint, 11 June 2024).
data releases. At the However, there is a lot of scope to improve
moment, such a schedule Mospi’s functioning even while that pro-
is maintained only for a cess unfolds.
few statistical products It only takes executive action to improve
such as the inflation index communication protocols, or to establish a
and gross domestic product (GDP) figures. code of practice for official statisticians.
After each release, Mospi must open a win- Such protocols will help Mospi respond
dow for data users to post queries online, effectively to the needs and queries of data
and address those questions in an open users within and outside the government. A
conference. responsive statistics ministry will also find it
If a listed company can be expected to easier to ask for bigger budgets and push for
meet basic transparency norms in its deal- more substantive structural reforms.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI 13

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

The 16th FC and Indian cities: A Marlboro maker’s Zyn nicotine

pouch can’t save Big Tobacco
blueprint for municipal finance Its safety is in question and Philip Morris has had to curb it sales

It can catalyse municipal-level financial reforms through decentralization, transparency in reporting and accountability

ISTOCKPHOTO

ANDREA FELSTED
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
consumer goods and the retail industry.

KESAVAN SRINIVASAN &

SRIKANTH VISWANATHAN
are, respectively, former deputy comptroller
and auditor general and senior adviser, and
chief executive officer, Janaagraha.

P
hilip Morris Inc, maker of Marlboro
cigarettes, has stopped online sales of
Zyn in the US after receiving a sub-
poena in the District of Columbia (DC) Flavoured nicotine pouches have been

T
he new Lok Sabha and Union govern-
ment are in place. It is now time to get
back to business as usual. In our first
two pieces on the 16th Finance Com-
mission (FC) and India’s cities, we
covered specific measures to make
the Finance Commission and its work more easily
accessible to citizens and the spatial aspects of
urbanization that need to be considered. In this
final piece, we focus on a substantive public
finance reform agenda for India’s cities and how
the 16th FC could catalyse it.
India’s cities have far less money than they need,
inadequate absorptive capacity for the money they
have, and no accountability for how the monies
they spend improve citizens’ lives. There are five
areas we need to reform:
Fiscal decentralization: Our cities need predicta-
bility in the quantum and timing of fiscal transfers.
This is directly a function of how well the central
FC and the various state FCs approach these tasks
and how well their recommendations are imple-
mented. While successive central FCs have estab-
lished a stellar track record, state governments are
not even constituting state FCs on time, let alone
implementing their recommendations. While the
15th FC has made the placement of Action Taken
Reports of state FCs a grant condition, the failure
of state governments to meet this condition will
hurt urban local bodies and citizens. We, there-
fore, need a different incentive mechanism to
ensure state FCs live up to the spirit of the 74th
Constitution Amendment, which can be built into
recommendations of the 16th FC.
In addition to predictable fiscal transfers, our
cities also need access to buoyant revenue streams.
Stamp duties and real-estate registration charges,
vehicle registration charges and GST—all of which
are related to the functioning of city governments
and their expenditure obligations—have not been
devolved to cities through a transparent mecha-
nism. We need to evolve mechanisms whereby a
fair share of such revenue streams are devolved to
cities, making them partners with stakes in eco-
nomic development.
An oft overlooked aspect of fiscal decentraliza-
tion is expenditure power. Very often, the mayor
and council of a city do not have delegated author-
ity to incur expenditure that is reasonable relative
to the city’s budget. They are required to seek
approval of the state government for relatively
small amounts, which militates against decentrali-
zation, besides causing avoidable delays. There is
no reason why elected governments at the city
level need to be subservient to state-level bureau-
crats. This needs to be corrected.
Revenue optimization: Cities do not presently
fully exploit the revenue powers devolved to them.
There are five stages in the life-cycle of own reve-
nues that cities need to reform: enumeration, valu-
ation, assessment or metering (in the case of user
charges), billing and collection, and reporting. Of
these, generally, valuation powers rest with the
state government. The spirit of decentralization,
which is often invoked zealously by the states with
the Union government, has not been extended to
the third tier. At the very least, states need to
update guidance values or circle rates to keep them
in line with market values. Cities need to under-
take reforms throughout the life-cycle.
Fiscal responsibility and budget management:
The legal framework around financial accounting,
reporting and budgeting in cities has to be signifi-
cantly improved. There is no standardized and
thus comparable format for budgets and audited
accounts in most states, no definite date for filing
audited annual accounts or penal consequences
for delays, no mandatory accounting standards
based on which accounts are to be prepared, and
no management accounting systems and pro-
cesses. Karnataka’s pioneering effort close to two
decades ago needs to be emulated nationwide.
Transparency and accountability: There is a need
for radical transparency and citizen participation in
municipal budgets and works. We need details of all
tenders, works and payments to be publicly dis-
closed in machine-readable formats. We also need
participatory budgeting to be meaningfully imple-
mented. If actionable information on neighbour-
hood-level projects is publicly available, it will
encourage citizen participation in governance and
unleash a virtuous cycle of accountability.
State capacity: The finance and accounts and
revenue functions are beset with staff shortages and
vacancies, apart from inadequate skills. They need
to be professionalized and brought up to private-
sector standards. Digitalization needs to be accom-
panied by process reforms. Parallel systems (one or
more digital systems alongside manual records)
prevalent in most Indian cities need to be replaced
with a single source of truth that is digital.
Most of these reforms fall within the remit of state
governments and a few within that of local govern-
ments (where too the de facto decision-maker is the
state government). The 16th FC needs to assume
thought leadership and provide guidance and
incentives like its predecessors, given the long
journey ahead on these reforms.
It should also incentivize the ministry of housing
and urban affairs to revise the National Municipal
Accounts Manual to bring it up to date with modern
standards in accounting, reporting and technology.
It should raise the bar further on the quality of
audited annual accounts, public disclosure of pro-
jects and works, and service-level benchmarks by
mandating machine-readable public disclosures.
Ensuring high-quality financial and performance
reporting would set in motion a virtuous cycle that
enables several of the other reforms. If there is one
reform that the 16th FC needs to focus on, this is it.
This is the third and final article of a three-part
series on the 16th FC and India’s cities.
related to flavoured products that are
banned there. It’s the latest nicotine-
pouch brand to hit the news and raises fur-
ther questions about not just this product,
but Big Tobacco’s ability to shift from ciga-
rettes to less risky alternatives.
The debate around Zyn looked eerily
similar to that which engulfed vaping five
years ago. The latest episode, combined
with soaring sales and the rise of social
media ‘Zynfluencers,’ could make tighter
curbs on the sale of pouches more likely.
Philip Morris said that it had got a subpoena
from DC’s attorney general asking for data
on Zyn owner Swedish Match’s compliance
with rules for flavoured nicotine products,
banned there in 2022. The firm said it had
investigated, and its preliminary findings
indicated that there had been sales of fla-
voured pouches—which do not contain
tobacco—in DC, predominantly via online
platforms and some independent retailers.
It added that this did not relate to youth use:
Zyn.com sales were age-restricted.
It also said that Zyn.com represented a
tiny percentage of US volumes since its
2022 acquisition of Swedish Match. Never-
theless, it said it faced an unspecified
“material liability” if there was an unfavour-
able outcome related to the matter.
Given that Philip Morris generated free
cash flow of about $8 billion last year, the
size of the fine is “largely irrelevant,” says
Duncan Fox, analyst at Bloomberg Intelli-
gence. And suspending online sales of Zyn
might actually be helpful right now.
Demand for these pouches has taken off to
such an extent in the US that Philip Morris
has struggled to keep up supply.
But the incident could mean further
scrutiny of Zyn’s sales and marketing prac-
tices, and, in the longer-term, greater regu-
lation. Philip Morris has asked Swedish
Match to conduct a full review of its sales
and supply-chain arrangements in DC and
other US states and municipalities where
flavour bans may apply. California and
Massachusetts have such arrangements—
and analysts at Jefferies estimate that bans
of some sort are in place in about 400 local-
ities across the US.
The discovery of further sales of fla-
voured pouches in locations where they
are prohibited can’t be ruled out, particu-
larly given how quickly demand for Zyn
has ramped up. There is a broader sense
that the product is coming under fire, not
just because of the spectacular sales
selling briskly in America ISTOCKPHOTO
growth, but because it has become part of
popular culture. As my colleague Lisa Jar-
vis noted, while pouches offer the kick of a
cigarette without the cancer-causing
smoke and chemicals of tobacco, they are
not risk-free. We know very little about
how they could affect health and addiction
trends in the US.
Philip Morris was hit with its first Zyn
lawsuit in March, alleging that it marketed
nicotine pouches to teens. The company
said the complaints were without merit
and would be vigorously defended. Indeed,
many of the concerns have centred on
whether young people who have never
smoked are getting hooked. Pouch use isn’t
yet as prevalent as vaping among teens,
with the most recent National Youth
Tobacco Survey showing that just 1.5% of
US middle- and high-school students were
using them, compared with 7.7% for elec-
tronic cigarettes.
Even so, if vaping is anything to go by,
the most likely outcome of the scrutiny on
Zyn will be restrictions on the flavours that
pouches can be sold in. Alternatives would
be limiting their potency, or even an out-
right ban in the US.
That looks far off for now. But what hap-
pens at Zyn—both in the DC case and
beyond—has huge ramifications for the
tobacco industry. While Philip Morris is
the market leader in modern oral tobacco
as it’s called, British American Tobacco and
Altria Group are also marketing these
products. With smoking rates falling in
many developed markets, and some gov-
ernments, such as the UK, seeking to stub
it out altogether, tobacco companies have
been investing their still prodigious cash-
flow into products that will continue to
generate sales and profit.
Zyn looks like just that, as does Philip
Morris’s other market leading alternative,
the IQOS device that heats rather than
burns tobacco. Indeed, the company has
been the most vocal in moving to what it
calls a smoke-free future. Sales of these
products, including Zyn and IQOS,
accounted for 39% of its revenue in the first
quarter. Philip Morris aims to generate
more than two-thirds of its revenue from
potentially reduced-risk products by 2030.
But the DC subpoena to Zyn is a stark
reminder that giving up smoking is easier
said than done. ©BLOOMBERG

MY VIEW | IT MATTERS

All generative AI output is essentially a hallucination

AI. While this is laudable, the fact that they
SIDDHARTH PAI can hallucinate and provide untrustworthy
output needs to be better understood.
We need to understand how GenAI
works to understand the problem of hallu-
cination. Given that GenAI seems to be
there is a pattern (such as the 2:1 pattern
described above), this becomes clear
through ‘fitting’ a line that shows this pat-
tern on a graph which approximates this
relationship. While the mathematics
behind this takes some understanding, the
80% chance that I will take the bait. This is
the mathematics behind the eerie ‘Google/
Meta/Amazon seems to know everything
about me’ feeling we sometimes have. They
don’t. All they have are patterns of your
browsing (and buying) behaviour, and the
These numbers predict the probability of
the next word in a sentence being a particu-
lar one. If the LLM sees ‘the boy hit,’ it is
likely to guess, say, ‘ball,’ after which it
would suppose that the article ‘the’ also
belongs in the sentence, thereby producing

N
ews about generative artificial intel-
ligence’s (GenAI) tendency to ‘hal-
lucinate’ is making the rounds. The
way large language models (LLMs) are con-
structed contributes to their tendency to
make things up. According to IBM, “AI hal-
lucination is a phenomenon wherein a large
language model (LLM)—often a generative
made of words (or images and videos), we
tend to think that these tools have a vast
data store of words and images they go back
to for reference. However, the decision to
use a particular word in a GenAI sentence is
not based on this data store or encyclopae-
dia. It is rooted in the mathematics that
GenAI models (and other forms of AI such
basic movement of two points on a graph in ability to mathematically predict what you ‘the boy hit the ball’ as its output. These
relation to each other is would most likely want to guesses are based solely on the probability
something most of us are buy/see/watch or search that the word should be next and not on an
taught in high school. The It’s all dreamt for next. encyclopaedic look-up of all existing words.
mathematical ability to As artificial intelligence However, these guesses are prone to the
predict that movement is up by machines becomes more sophisti- same mistakes as the smaller predictive AI
usually reserved for cated, such as in LLMs models. For instance, Google’s Gemini
higher education, usually
on the basis with ‘generative’ capabili- once generated images of Nazi generals

is co-founder of Siana Capital, a

venture fund manager.
AI chatbot or computer vision tool—per-
ceives patterns or objects that are nonexist-
ent or imperceptible to human observers,
creating outputs that are nonsensical or
altogether inaccurate.” (ibm.co/3KRWvsk).
LLMs are designed to understand and
generate human language by processing
vast amounts of data, literally every scrap
on the internet. They leverage specific
learning techniques to create sophisticated
models that can perform various language-
related tasks. The most prominent exam-
ples, such as OpenAI’s and Google’s, have
demonstrated remarkable proficiency in
functions like text and image generation,
summarization, and now, conversational
as predictive AI) use to run themselves.
Almost all AI is based on the ability to
predict patterns. The mathematics for
these predictions lies in the realm of statis-
tical analysis, which uses a tool called
‘regression analysis’ to predict how one var-
iable moves, given a specified change in
another (independent) variable.
For example, if variable X moves by a fac-
tor of 2, variable Y moves by a factor of 4,
and so forth. So a relationship is established
mathematically based on the observation of
how the two variables move in relation to
each other. This forms a set of plotted
points on a graph for variable Y that show
how it moves when variable X moves. If
in undergraduate or post-
graduate studies, where
of probability
such topics as the possibil-
ity of making prediction
analysis that
errors—such as false posi- could go wrong,
tives and false negatives—
are also taught. even if slightly
Simple predictive AI
models have been in use
for quite a while and do simple tasks such as
predicting that if I buy a pair of shoes, there
is a significant (let’s say 80%) probability
that I will buy a few pairs of socks as well.
This allows marketers to place pairs of socks
in front of me, whether online or at a store,
in the secure knowledge that there is an
ties, this regression analy-
sis extends to multivariate
regression analysis. This
means that I am no longer
simply predicting how Y
moves with X; I am pre-
dicting how A, B, C and D
also move as variables Y
and X change. This
broader regression analysis method is
sophisticated and involves stochastic calcu-
lus and various equations, which are
beyond the scope of this column.
Suffice it to say that the generative LLM
models are based on a set of numbers, not
words or images.
being multi-racial individuals, flipping his-
torical accuracy on its head. (bit.ly/4evqjbQ)
So, what does all this mean?
It means all GenAI output, in essence, is
a hallucination, since it is all dreamt up by
machines based on probabilistic analyses.
We call it out as a ‘hallucination’ only when
we notice an inaccuracy, though we often
gloss over it if we are not intimately familiar
with the topic. Researchers and AI compa-
nies are, of course, working on reducing
errors like the ones I described above, but as
long as artificial intelligence is based on
probability theory, we will always have the
chance that it can blunder, however slight
this chance may be.
14 TUESDAY, 25 JUNE 2024
NEW DELHI BUSINESS OF LIFE WELLNESS LIVEMINT.COM

Yoga Day is over, but Once a year for Yoga Day

isn’t the only time to twist
yourself into asanas. Take
baby steps, be consistent

show up on the mat

Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran
and show up daily to make
yoga a part of your routine

‘YOGA GAVE ME THIS MAGICAL SECOND LIFE’

mahalakshmi.prabhakaran@htlive.com – Anshuka Parwani, certified yoga and wellness expert and
founder, Anshuka Yoga, Mumbai

E
very June, International Yoga Day passes in a
flurry of excitement, as it did on Friday, nudg- How my journey into yoga began: I used to be a pilot and
ing everyone—from strict adherent to reluc- a near-fatal accident had left me immobile with multiple
tant exerciser—to crunch and twist them- fractures. I was bedridden for long and that’s when yoga
selves into knots to reap it’s benefits... for just came to me as therapy. It really transformed my life and gave
that one day. Instead of being a reluctant exerciser who me this magical second life. I love how beautiful this practice
leaves the yoga mat in a corner, waiting to be dusted until is and every philosophy of yoga resonates with me. It’s such
next year, we asked a few experts to suggest ways to incorpo- a great pathway of life and I have, over the years, gotten
rate yoga into a daily routing. While the idea of doing elabo- hooked to exploring different yoga styles and philosophies.
rate asanas may seem intimidating, there are simple prac- I also knew that I wanted to share this knowledge with as
tices you can follow, if you have the interest. Mint asked four many people as I can.
yoga practitioners and trainers to share their daily yoga ritu- Yoga practice(s) I follow everyday: I have a daily asana
als, and a few they’d recommend to a yoga novice. practice and I love doing inversions like the shirshasana and
viparita karani. I do the surya namaskar and I never miss my
pranayama. I also meditate daily. On the whole, I think yoga
is about being kind, not only with the way you move, but also
the way you think, how you act, what you eat, there has to be
a balance in everything.
Daily yoga practice(s) I’d recommend to beginners:
If you are just starting out in yoga, practice poses like the cat-
cow pose, the child’s pose and the downward dog, and of
course, the surya namaskar. Do the pranayama and include
a conscious yoga nidra practice. These practices are accessi-
ble and can help you get stronger. .

‘YOGA IS A LIFESTYLE THAT EXTENDS BEYOND

THE MAT’
– Saurabh Bothra, yoga trainer and CEO of wellness platform,
Habuild Wellness, Nagpur

How my journey into yoga began: My journey into yoga

didn’t begin with a desire to get fit, it started with a lot of curi-
osity. From the age of 20, I remember practising surya nam-
askar or sun salutation regularly. I actively go in the direc-
tion my curiosity points me to and this is why I also started
learning about yoga. From 2014 to 2020, I embarked on a
journey across India teaching and volunteering in Mumbai,
Kanpur, Banaras, Delhi and Pune. It started with that one
yoga class when I was 19 years old, and since then, my love for
yoga has only continued to grow.
Yoga practice(s) I follow everyday: Many people see
yoga as just poses (asana) and breathing exercises (prana-
yama), but for me, it’s a lifestyle that extends beyond the
mat. From getting enough rest at night to waking up on
time each morning and being intentional, everything to
me is yog. I organize my yoga practice to focus on different
parts of my body throughout the week. This includes
practices like power yoga for strength and restorative
yoga for relaxation. I also practise the surya namaskar
sequence on most days as it energizes my body and sets a
positive tone for the day. Alongside physical poses, I
incorporate pranayama techniques such as nadi shod-
hana, bhramari and kriyas like kapalabhati. They calm my
mind and sharpen my focus.
Daily practice(s) I’d recommend to beginners:
If you’re just starting yoga, dedicating 10-15 minutes each
day to simple routines can make a significant difference.
Start with basic stretches like the cat-cow stretch to gently
wake up your body and improve flexibility. Coming to the
mat everyday at the same time should be your focus rather
than thinking about how to perfect your yoga practice.
‘YOGA BRINGS CONSCIOUSNESS TO EVERY
MOMENT OF OUR LIVES’
- Saumya Mishra, Yoga and Wellness Teacher, Bengaluru
‘PRACTICING YOGA BRINGS ME IMMENSE JOY’ How my journey into yoga began: My journey into yoga
– Kala Adarsh, freelance yoga trainer, Bengaluru felt more like a calling, a purpose. In 2019 after a decade of
corporate life, I quit my job and started travelling across
How my journey into yoga began: I was informally intro- India, when I found the Sivananda Ashrams in Kerala. I went
duced to yoga as a child in my martial arts classes. I subse- there for a few weeks but decided to stay for many months.
quently started a regular practice at the age of 25. After my I completely fell in love with my practice and the study of
second child was born, I took a planned step towards adopt- yoga. Studying to become a teacher was an easy decision. I
ing a deeper sadhana by signing up for a formal teacher love the time when I am on my mat, doing my practice and
training course. In the last 18 years, yoga has evolved from equally love teaching. I love how yoga brings consciousness
being just a practice to an inseparable part of my life. Practic- to every moment of our lives.
ing and teaching yoga brings me immense joy and a better Yoga practice(s) I follow everyday: Over the years, I
connection to all the things that make up my daily routine. have developed the habit of doing my yoga asanas and
Yoga practice(s) I follow everyday: pranayama practice regularly. I consciously eat healthy
I have a warm glass of water while soaking in some sunlight and follow the circadian rhythm of my body with my sleep
prior to my practice. The routine also include six sets of surya cycles. Yoga as a lifestyle helps me accept where I am in my
namaskar, a well- rounded pranayama practice and life today and persevere towards growing into a better ver-
kaya sthairyam, which is sitting still in silence. sion.
Daily practice(s) I’d recommend to beginners: Daily yoga practice(s) I’d recommend to beginners: I
The key is to be consistent. It helps to have a set sequence would advise someone who’s just starting Hatha Yoga to
that allows you to commit to a daily yoga practice. Start with learn from an experienced yoga teacher. Be slow and steady.
baby steps and slowly build up your strength and flexibility. Practicing consistently is the key.

Six reasons to have this fitness weapon in your arsenal ISTOCKPHOTO

From reduced stress and Inverted postures such as sarvangasana as PAIN MANAGEMENT argues. “Whatever little aches that sur-
well as pranayama are helpful in tackling Yoga is a useful strategy in pain manage- face can easily be fixed with even a gen-
BP to improved flexibility, stress, says Manish Pole, a Bengaluru- ment and rehabilitation in conjunction tle session of yoga,” says Sharma. The
the whole world loves based yoga instructor. with other interventions, says Kashyap. increased flexibility, mobility, balance
A practice such as yoga nidra, a tech- While acute pain requires medical inter- and elasticity in muscles makes our bod-
yoga for the multitude nique in which one progressively relaxes vention, chronic (long-term) pain can be ies more resistant to injuries when we
the body from toes to head, is a great way effectively managed with yoga. Sukshma push ourselves or carry out strenuous
of benefits it offers to beat stress. “You focus on one part of vyayama (a relaxation technique involving tasks and movements.
the body at a time and consciously relax it. tightening your muscles and letting go) is
Shrenik Avlani By focusing on just one part of the body at useful in managing pain caused by liga- WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
feedback@livemint.com a time, we reduce the speed at which the ment tears and bone degeneration, he While yoga on its own is not an effective
mind works. This conscious slowing down adds. “This must be supported by exer- way to lose weight, in conjunction with

D
espite plenty of modern exercises,
sports and new fads, the ancient
form of yoga remains relevant and
is, in fact, growing in popularity the world
over. New yoga studios and schools are
popping up everywhere from Tokyo to
Toronto and from Sao Paulo to San Fran-
cisco. People from all walks of life, includ-
ing C-suite leaders, actors, athletes and
homemakers, are increasingly incorpo-
rating yoga in their fitness and wellness
routines because of the benefits it offers.
That yoga improves flexibility, mobility
and joint health is common knowledge. It
does a lot more. Here are some of the main
benefits of yoga.
BEAT STRESS
From your daily commute to work, family
and even social gatherings, stressors are
everywhere. Regular practice of yoga is
extremely useful in stress management.
of the mind helps us handle stress better,”
explains Karthik Kashyap, a yoga
instructor in Bengaluru.
IMPROVED HEALTH MARKERS
Doctors often prescribe yoga alongside
medicine for managing vital health mark-
ers such as blood pressure and choles-
terol. A research paper titled Effectiveness
Of Yoga For Hypertension: Systematic
Review And Meta-analysis, published in
2013, found that “overall, yoga was associ-
ated with a modest but significant reduc-
tion in blood pressure… with larger, more
clinically significant reductions in blood
pressure for interventions incorporating
three basic elements of yoga practice (pos-
tures, meditation, and breathing).” The
paper concludes that yoga is an effective
intervention for reducing blood pressure
among people with pre-hypertension or
hypertension.
BETTER BALANCE & STRENGTH
Research has shown that yoga is good for
improving athletic performance by
improving flexibility and balance, which
helps prevent common injuries and
increase mental concentration. Yoga
increases body awareness and strength
and enhances stability and balance, says
Cult.Fit fitness expert Rahul Huidrom.
Yoga postures such as the triangle pose
and tree pose don’t just help strengthen
the leg muscles, they also increase stabil-
ity and improve balance, says Girish
Bindra, a running coach in Mumbai. The
form of yoga that especially tests your
strength is Ashtanga Yoga. Yoga improves
elasticity of muscles, says Mumbai-based
yoga trainer Abhishek Sharma.
cises that help strengthen the muscles
around the affected area by moving them
regularly to relax the injured spot. This
process improves blood circulation and
reduces muscular stress,” adds Kashyap.
Also, yoga leads to a greater acceptance of
chronic pain rather than the obsession
with eliminating it, explains Sharma. “It is
our reaction to the pain that causes us
greater suffering. Yoga helps us to accept
the pain, it takes away our obsession with
it. Yoga helps you disconnect from the
negative emotions that come with pain
and that helps people cope better with the
perception of pain.”
INJURY PREVENTION
Yoga is preventive in nature, says
Sharma. If you regularly and consist-
ently do yoga the correct way, you are
unlikely to experience minor niggles
and pain in your day to day life, he
cardio and strength training, it is a very
good weapon in your arsenal to manage
your weight, say yoga teachers. The
newer, more dynamic forms of hybrid
yoga that are fast growing in popularity
are more effective for weight loss than tra-
ditional yoga, says Srivalli Cherla, a yoga
instructor and founder of Samsara Yoga in
Bengaluru. “Cardio-intensive forms of
yoga such as power or Vinyasa yoga are
best suited to those who want to address
their weight problems. Vinyasa yoga is a
combination of the dynamic and static
forms where you hold asanas for a little
longer before moving to the next while in
power yoga you move through postures
very quickly. Power yoga is a very dynamic
practice,” explains Cherla. It is also impor-
tant to eat healthier if weight manage-
ment is your end goal, she adds.
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com.