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livemint.com
mint primer QUICK EDIT
Should RBI pay Curves we

attention to IMF must bend
As far as trends go, four curves
advice on forex? need to be bent decisively right
now. While human agency can
achieve all, they risk being left
By Jagadish Shettigar & Pooja Misra to fate by our neglect. First up is
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently asked central banks the seven-day rolling average of
of emerging economies to use their dollar-denominated forex daily covid cases. A global pla-
reserves prudently and allow the exchange rate to adjust. Mint teau of about 400,000 is well
examines how rupee has fared in the background of the IMF advice. below its 3.4 million peak in
early 2022, but this is still too
Volatile Times high for comfort. The second is
The domestic currency has depreciated by 11.36% in this calendar year while global emissions of planet-
the US dollar index has zoomed. warming gases. On current
₹/$ ₹/£ ₹/€ Dollar index efforts to cap these, this upward
120
112.98 trend is projected to bend
110
downwards only after 2030, an
100.19 indication of how late we
100 already are in fending off the
93.09 threat that pushed the “Dooms-
96.21
90
84.00 day Clock” (of the Bulletin of
82.83
the Atomic Scientists) closer to
80
74.37 81.12 a calamitous midnight. Rising
autocracy among nuclear-
70
3 Jan 2022 20 Oct 2022 armed powers is the third curve
For rupee vs pound/dollar/euro, a higher value denotes a weaker rupee Source: investing.com that must be pushed down.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT Given the Indian economy’s
What has been the How has the rupee need to secure a durable post-
1 trend so far?
With the US Dollar Index surging
2 performed?
Multiple interest rate increases by
pandemic recovery, what our
own policymakers should push
above the 113 mark amid the the US Fed has affected countries down is the fiscal glide path we
strengthening US currency, the worldwide. While the rupee has have in sight beyond this fiscal
rupee slid to a new low of ₹83.073 depreciated by approximately year. Growth fragility would
on 20 October. The rupee has now 11.36% in 2022, other currencies make it a tough call, no doubt,
weakened by approximately 11.36% have also slumped. The Japanese but a late reversal of pandemic
in this calendar year while the yen is weaker by 26.90%; pound
spending mustn’t fritter away
Dollar Index has zoomed from sterling 15.76%; euro 12.09%;
96.21 on 3 January to 113.08 on 20 Argentine peso 51.09%; and our policy progress on inflation
October. The Dollar Index Chinese yuan 12.91%. Interestingly, moderation and debt sustaina-
measures the value of the US the Indian rupee has appreciated bility. The covid virus may have
dollar against a basket of six versus some foreign currencies— mutated, but economics hasn’t.
currencies— euro, Swiss franc, the rupee is up against the pound
Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, sterling by 7.08%; euro by 3.42%;
British pound and Swedish krona. and yen by 13.11%. Currencies
However, current week’s numbers which have been more stable than
show one US dollar equal to
₹81.901, and the Dollar Index at
Indian rupee are the Indonesian
rupiah, the Singapore dollar, and
MINT METRIC
109.71. the Hong Kong dollar. by Bibek Debroy
Amou Haji, the world’s dirtiest man,

3 How have central banks
responded?
To minimize the volatility and counter
Didn’t bathe for a 67 year span.
currency depreciation, central banks have
When a wash he finally tried,
intervened in the forex market and have Soon after he sadly died.
been selling dollars from their forex
reserves. While India has spent 13.9% of its
Requiem for an old man from Iran.
forex reserves, countries such as France,
Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea have
used less in terms of both percentage and
absolute numbers.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
...The UK and India share so
4 What was the IMF’s
advice to countries?
The IMF, in its most recent World
5 Should the RBI go by
the IMF advice?
In the background of increasing
much. I’m excited about what
Economic Outlook update, global inflation and slowdown in
our two great democracies can
lowered India’s economic growth world trade, export performance achieve as we deepen our
forecast for 2022 to 6.8%, citing has been unsatisfactory. Revised
reasons such as lower than IMF growth projections show that
security, defence and economic
expected Q1FY23 growth and India’s major exports markets are partnership in the months
external headwinds. With the US expected to either record meagre
dollar strongly appreciating, the growth or contract. Had the RBI
& years ahead.
IMF also urged emerging not intervened, depreciation
economies to preserve vital would have been much steeper.
foreign exchange reserves to deal However, the RBI need not heed
with potentially worse outflows the IMF’s advice as long as it is
and turmoil in future. As stated by comfortable in terms of its import RISHI SUNAK
the IMF, a sharp strengthening of capacity for at least six months. UK PRIME MINISTER
dollar has sizable macroeconomic Jagadish Shettigar and Pooja Misra
implications for all countries. are faculty members at BIMTECH
MINT PODCASTS
WHY NOT MINT MONEY? BIZ OF ENTERTAINMENT INVESTOR HOUR

Do you need a new financial plan that Do box office collections still matter Do you want to know more about the
suits your current needs or maybe or can movie producers just rely on core principles of investing. Look no
even avenues that streaming. In this further. In this
can fetch good divi- podcast, Lata Jha weekly podcast,
dends for your takes you through Equitymaster chief
investments? Here the financial per- executive Rahul
is a way that helps formance of all Goel speaks to the
you navigate the that’s buzzing in the best investment
tricky world of sala- entertainment minds on a host of
ries, taxes, insurance, mutual funds, world, be it films or shows from your issues, including India’s economy
and more. This podcast covers ideas favourite TV channel or even the and its challenges, and even the next
that help you make and save money. streaming platform. stock rally.
PLAIN FACTS
Data recap: Diwali AQI,

forex dip, Google vs CCI
CURATED BY SHUJA ASRAR & MANJUL PAUL
E very Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights, complete with easy-to-read charts, to help
you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint in the week gone by. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
initiated a drive earlier this month to stop the use of single-use plastic. Delhi reported an improvement in its air quality
index a day after Diwali compared to the previous year.
Plastic Out Diwali Diary

Actions taken during CPCB's special drive* to Air quality index in Delhi around Diwali time.
monitor single-use plastic Day before On Diwali Day after
500
46 tonnes 400
Seizure quantity
300
20,036 4,000 2,900
41 lakh 200
Fines levied Challans
Violations 100
Inspections 0
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
*17-19 October. CPCB: Central Pollution Control Board AQI for Delhi is the average of all stations, and is the 24-hour average as of 4 pm
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Source: Central Pollution Control Board
THE CPCB conducted a special drive from 17 to 19 THOUGH THE day after Diwali in Delhi reported its
October to implement the ban on certain single-use cleanest air in the last few years, the air quality index
plastic (SUP) items in the country. Officials seized a (AQI) stayed in the “very poor” category. As of 4 pm on
huge cache of banned items from entities Tuesday, the 24-hour AQI in the national capital was
manufacturing SUP, the government said. The 303, according to the CPCB. Despite the fall in AQI, the
government is also conducting checks at state borders city was one of the most polluted among major cities on
to prevent movement of SUP items. CPCB has also Tuesday. The improvement was primarily a result of
undertaken several enabling measures to help a better wind speed. This paints a sorry picture of the
switchover to alternatives to SUP. national capital.
Google’s Woes
936 crore
THAT’S THE quantum of fine Competition Commission of
India imposed on Google this week citing abuse of market
position to promote its payment app and in-app payment
system. This was the second antitrust penalty imposed on
Google within a week. The commission had earlier imposed
a fine of ₹1,337.6 crore on the company for perpetuating its
position in the online search market resulting in denial of
market access for competing search apps.
Depleting Kitty PM of Colour

Change in forex reserves ($ billion) Number of heads of state/government* since 2000.
China UK
7
India
Last 1 month India 3
Last 3 months
Japan
Last 6 months Russia Italy Australia
11 7
11
Thailand Russia
2 China
3
Brazil Germany Brazil US
France 5
3 Canada 4 5
-200 -150 -100 -50 0 4
*Presidents for US, France, China, Brazil and Russia; chancellor for Germany;
Latest data upto 30 September Source: Bloomberg prime ministers for others. Source: Mint research
INDIA’S FOREIGN exchange reserves slid to $528.4 RISHI SUNAK on Tuesday became the first Indian-
billion as of 14 October, the lowest since July 2020. This origin prime minister of the UK. The recent political
suggests intervention by the Reserve Bank of India to upheaval in that country has resulted in Sunak being
defend the rupee against its depreciation in comparison appointed as the third PM within a year. In July, a
to the US dollar. The reserves declined $85 billion in the scandal-ridden Boris Johnson government had
first half of the fiscal year, the worst among key collapsed. His successor Liz Truss resigned last week
emerging markets, next only to China, a recent Mint after serving for just a month and a half, thus paving the
analysis showed. China’s reserves depleted by $159 way for Sunak to take the top post. Sunak faces a series of
billion from 1 April to 30 September. challenges, including a deteriorating economic situation.
Strategic Growth
$2-3 billion
FLIPKART PLANS to raise this amount at a valuation of
more than $40 billion in India, Mint reported. The e-
commerce firm carried out its first capital infusion round
after Walmart’s 2018 acquisition only in July last year. That
round valued Flipkart at around $37 billion. The fresh
funds will help Flipkart meet the challenge posed by rivals
such as Amazon India, Reliance Industries’ Jio Mart, and
the Tata group.
Flight Delays Chart of the Week: Phone Fetish

On-time performance (%) of IndiGo Average time spent, by age group (hours per day)
On TV* On smartphone
95.4
93.9 93.9 90.1 All 2.92 4.22
15-17 2.87 5.33
84.5 85.5
84.1 18-25 2.70 4.73
82
80.8 26-35 2.88 4.12
36-45 2.93 3.96
46-55 2.95 3.60
56+ 3.18 2.95
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep *among daily TV viewers
Source: DGCA Based on a survey of 7,463 respondents in 19 states. Source: Lokniti-CSDS
INDIA’S LARGEST airline, IndiGo, is finding it hard to PEOPLE IN the age group 15-17 years claim to be
be on time. The airline’s punctuality rate dropped to spending as much as five hours a day on their
84.1% behind Vistara (91%), AirAsia India (89.8%) and Air smartphones, according to a survey conducted by
India (87.1%) . Before April, IndiGo had the highest Lokniti-CSDS. The popularity of
punctuality rate in the country, which touched 95.4% in smartphones was the least among the
February. The directorate general of civil aviation listed older generation (age 56+ years).
“reactionary delays”, or late departures because of late
arrivals, as the main reason for IndiGo’s poor show. Follow us on #MintCharts on our
Unrest among the crew was also a reason, Mint reported. social media handles.
PARAS JAIN/MINT
PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz
NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 16 NO. 258 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 10.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR) 20 PAGES
In Gujarat, AAP throws a US economy rebounds,

livemint.com challenge uP10 expanding 2.6% uP9
SENSEX 59,756.84 212.88 NIFTY 17,736.95 80.60 DOLLAR ₹82.50 ₹0.23 EURO ₹82.80 ₹1.20 OIL $94.49 $0.25 GOLD ₹49,818 ₹0
Centre may revamp No hellscape, buying Twitter

to help humanity: Elon Musk
DON’T MISS
Trai on lines of FCC AP

feedback@livemint.com
Regulator may get powers to penalize firms that fail to meet standards
E
lon Musk attempted to
soothe leery Twitter
advertisers Thursday, a RBI to hold special monetary
Gulveen Aulakh day before a deadline to close policy panel meeting on 3 Nov
gulveen.aulakh@livemint.com CHANGE OF CALL out on his $44 billion acquisi- An additional meeting of the monetary policy
NEW DELHI tion of the social media plat- committee (MPC) will be held on 3 November to
form, saying that he is buying discuss RBI’s response to be sent to the Centre over
T
he government may the platform to “help human- failure to keep inflation within its 2-6% target. This will
introduce a separate draft ity” and doesn’t want it to be the first time since the MPC’s launch in 2016 that
law to make the Telecom become a “free-for-all hell- RBI will be made to explain its actions in a letter. >P3
Regulatory Authority of scape.”
India (Trai) a permanent The message reflects concerns UK pushes for sharp tariff cuts
technical body, on the lines of the among advertisers—Twitter’s Let that sink in! A video grab of Tesla chief Elon Musk carrying a on Scotch whisky under FTA
UK and US communications regula- chief source of revenue—that sink as he enters Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. AFP
While negotiations for the India-UK free trade
tors, with powers to penalize compa- Musk’s plans to promote free accord are set to gather pace with Rishi Sunak as
nies that fail to meet quality stan- speech by cutting back on mod- on it, suggesting more empha- “You do not want a place where British PM, consensus over Scotch whisky tariff
dards, a top official said. erating content will open the sis on other business models consumers just simply are appears elusive, with the UK seeking a sharp cut in
The official said that the draft tele- floodgates to more online toxic- such as paid subscriptions that bombarded with things they do tariff to 30% over three years in the proposed deal
com bill would drop the controver- ity and drive away users. won’t allow big corporations to not want to hear about, and the and 75% when the pact comes into effect. >P6
sial provisions related to the dilution “The reason I acquired Twit- “dictate policy” on how social platform takes no responsibil-
of powers of the telecom regulator. ter is because it is important to media operates. But on Thurs- ity,” Yildirim said. Wall Street says it’s too early
The contentious draft telecom the future of civilization to have day, he assured advertisers he Musk said Twitter should be
bill proposed to delete provisions of a common digital town square, wants Twitter to be “the most “warm and welcoming to all”
to bet on king dollar’s demise
the Trai Act that provide checks and NEW LOOK where a wide range of beliefs can respected advertising platform and enable users to choose the It’s too soon to write off the dollar’s dominance as
balances via a consultation process be debated in a healthy manner, in the world.” experience they want to have. the US rate-hike cycle may not be near its
CENTRE may introduce DRAFT telecom bill may A revamped Trai is likely peak. That’s the firm conviction of money managers
between the regulator and the tele- draft law to make Trai a drop provisions related to to have global ideals and without resorting to violence,” The note is a shift from “I didn’t do it to make money,”
at JPMorgan Asset Management and Fivestar Asset
com department. permanent technical body dilution of Trai’s powers a dedicated team Musk wrote in an characteristi- Musk’s position that Twitter is he said of the pending acquisi- Management even after a gauge of the greenback
Some contended this would cally long message for the Tesla unfairly infringing on free tion. “I did it to try to help touched a one-month low on Thursday. >P4
diminish Trai’s power and turn it CEO, who typically projects his speech rights by blocking mis- humanity, whom I love. And I do
into a recommendatory body with resolved after officers of the tele- removed almost all of the amend- thoughts in one-line tweets. information or graphic con- so with humility, recognizing
no real powers. com department and members of ments,” the person said. He continued: “There is cur- tent, said Pinar Yildirim, associ- that failure in pursuing this goal, ECB doubles key rate despite
Differences between Trai and the Trai held several meetings over the The draft bill will have a second rently great danger that social ate professor of marketing at despite our best efforts, is a very fears of looming recession
government over the draft bill sur- past few weeks to discuss the provi- version, which is likely to incorpo- media will splinter into far right the University of Pennsylva- real possibility.” The European Central Bank (ECB) doubled its key
faced over the past few weeks, with sions, the official said. rate the changes, the official said. wing and far left wing echo nia’s Wharton School. Friday’s deadline to close the interest rate to the highest level in over a decade,
some reports saying Trai was “It’s been decided that we wait The proposed bill would make chambers that generate more But it’s also a realization that deal was ordered by the Dela- intensifying its broadside against record inflation in
uneasy with the proposed changes for the bill to be absorbed by the Trai a powerful body, similar to hate and divide our society.” having no content moderation ware chancery court in early the face of a likely recession.Officials in Frankfurt
in the draft telecom bill. industry and come up with a new the Federal Communications Musk has previously is bad for business, putting October. It is the latest step in delivered a second straight three-quarter-point
However, the differences over bill for Trai after three to four expressed distaste for advertis- Twitter at risk of losing adver- hike on Thursday. >P9
the provisions were amicably years. Therefore, we have TURN TO PAGE 6 ing and Twitter’s dependence tisers and subscribers, she said. TURN TO PAGE 6
Zuckerberg calls for CleanMax plans

patience as costs soar to raise $250 mn
Bloomberg Swaraj Singh Dhanjal consumer goods and informa-
feedback@livemint.com swaraj.d@livemint.com tion technology. The company
MUMBAI provides power on a per-kWh
M
eta Platforms Inc. basis through long-term power
C
chief executive officer leanMax Enviro Energy purchase agreements.
Mark Zuckerberg Solutions, which sup- “CleanMax has been work-
asked investors for patience plies renewable energy ing with investment bank
with the social-media giant’s to commercial establishments, Rothschild for this fundraising.
swelling investments in is in talks with investors, They have been in talks with
unproven bets at an already- including pension funds, to various investors for the same.
challenging time for digital-ad- raise as much as $200-250 mil- They are only looking at finan-
vertising companies. lion, two people aware of the cial investors for the fundraise,
Facebook’s parent company development said. especially pension funds,” one
plummeted 22.1% on Thursday Meta Platforms chief executive CleanMax operates more of the two people cited above
after reporting a second
straight quarter of revenue
officer Mark Zuckerberg. AFP than 600MW of large-scale
solar and wind farms and sup-
said, requesting anonymity.
The other person added that Empowering Indian
SMEs & Scaling Enterprises
decline amid falling advertising sent the stock down 61% this year, plies clean energy to corporate the company might be willing
sales and stiff competition from so far aren’t buying it. Zucker- customers. CleanMax has to sell a majority stake if it finds
TikTok. berg said he is confident that installed over 600 rooftop solar the right investor. “The exist-
On a call Wednesday, Zuck-
erberg sought to justify Meta’s
Meta’s largest bets in areas such
as short-form video, business
projects for companies and has
a total rooftop solar operating
ing investor Augment Infra-
structure, which has a majority with The Power of Cloud
ballooning costs to fund its ver- messaging and the metaverse capacity of more than 350MW stake in CleanMax, may be will-
sion of virtual reality, the were headed in the right direc- across India, the United Arab ing to sell some part of its stake
metaverse, as well as the artifi- tion—he just couldn’t say for sure Emirates and Thailand. Its cli- in this current round, which
cial intelligence fuelling major how big the payoff would be. ents are spread across sectors could take up the deal size to
changes to its social networks. such as automotive, education,
Investors, who have already TURN TO PAGE 6 pharmaceuticals, packaged TURN TO PAGE 6
‘India will be a massive part of Spotify biz’

Lata Jha ing that one of every four massive part of the Spotify The year long program Digital Bharat 2.0 in association with AWS, puts a spotlight
lata.j@htlive.com music listeners on Spotify in business if you fast-forward on cloud capabilities across functions to accelerate the scalability and growth of
NEW DELHI India tunes in to podcasts. the next five to 10 years. We’re
In an interview soon after its going to be long-term about Indian businesses and prepare them for a digital-first era.
I
ndia has become one of Spo- earnings release, Spotify India; this is not something
tify’s key growth markets founder and chief executive we’re going to try for a quarter In conversation with
three years after it entered officer Daniel Ek spoke on why or a year, and then, if we don’t
the country, but “not one of its India needs a long-term focus get the results that we want,
better markets from a profita- and the company’s struggle we’ll stop investing. We will
bility standpoint,” according with paid subscriptions. invest for as long as we need to
to Paul Vogel, chief financial Edited excerpts: in order to succeed in India.
officer of the Swedish audio How much of a priority is I’m just super excited about
streaming platform. the Indian market for you? the region, and I hope to be
India found mention in Spo- Is there an estimate on how able to visit in person early
tify’s global much it’s next year.
earnings pre- m INTERVIEW gespecially rowing, The Indian market is
sentation ear- in known for users who like to
lier this week terms of paid Spotify founder and chief access music for free. Plus, SHRUTI MISHRA PUNEET CHANDOK
CNBC-TV18 President India & South Asia, AISPL
when the company told share- users? executive Daniel Ek there is a huge piracy issue
holders that “quarterly per- It’s a very big priority for us here. How are you combat-
formance was positively in the long-term obviously, very close track of, and we’re ing these challenges? Watch the highlights and a special interaction
impacted by better-than-ex- because it is the most populous feeling really good about the Yes, it’s very much a ‘free’
pected intake in India as a country in the world. If you progress we made (here) in market, and it is the only mar-
result of a multimedia market- want to be the most accessible
ing campaign driving activa- audio service in the world, you
2022 and where that sets us up
for 2023 and 2024. It’s still
ket in the world where we
have such an extensive free-
Saturday, 29th October at 6pm
tions and reactivations.” should continue investing in a early if you think about the on-demand service offering
The platform has claimed market like that...it is a key pri-
leadership in podcast content ority of ours to really succeed
impact India has on the overall
Spotify business. However, it is
(Spotify offers free music for a
CNBC-TV18
in the country in the past, say- in India. It’s a market I keep my belief that India will be a TURN TO PAGE 6
New Delhi ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM
Soaring gas prices

to bloat fertilizer
Merger of anti-profiteering
subsidy by ₹40k cr body with CCI faces hurdles
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
The challenges include lack of funding and infrastructure and short time left in NAA’s term
T
he fertiliser subsidy bill
may overshoot the bud- Farmers have been using the
geted ₹2.15 trillion by Gireesh Chandra Prasad Directorate General probing anti-com- herbicide for weed control. MINT
₹40,000 crore this fiscal due to gireesh.p@livemint.com petitive behaviour could be from a much
the surge in pooled natural gas
prices, taking the total financial
NEW DELHI broader set of disciplines. The DG, CCI
need not even be from the discipline of Restriction
T
support to over ₹2.55 trillion, he government’s idea of competition law.
according to a report.
Natural gas is the key raw
merging the National Anti-
profiteering Authority (NAA),
This diversity would call for rule
changes for implementing the CCI-NAA
on use of
material for manufacturing
urea. And the price has jumped
manifold since the war on
Urea makers are compensated
through subsidy payments. MINT
which penalizes businesses
for goods and services tax
(GST)-related profiteering, with the
merger plan. Also, a Cabinet decision
needs to be taken to expand the top
brass of the CCI, which is currently lim-
glyphosate,
Ukraine began in late February
as Russia is the world’s largest
sia-Ukraine war, the price of
pooled gas increased 10%
anti-trust regulator Competition Com-
mission of India (CCI) has run up against
ited to three members and a chairper-
son, said the first person quoted above. derivatives
supplier of gas. However, the sequentially in the September a host of administrative challenges, A smooth transition of the anti-profit-
western world has been trying
to ban it as part of their eco-
quarter against earlier expecta-
tion of prices softening. Each
including the short span of about a
month left before the expiry of the
eering ecosystem would require urgent
appointments given that recruitments
in farming
nomic blockade. dollar’s increase in the price of NAA’s term. take a long time in regulatory bodies, the
Following this, the govern- pooled gas raises the subsidy The challenges include lack of fund- A Cabinet decision is needed to expand the top brass of the CCI, which is person said. PTI
ment since 1 April has increased burden by ₹7,000 crore on ing and infrastructure needed for the currently limited to three members and a chairperson. MINT Emails sent on Wednesday to the feedback@livemint.com
the price of domestically pro- domestically produced urea, CCI to take on an additional mandate; spokesperson of the finance ministry NEW DELHI
duced gas by a whopping 150%. which accounts for 85% of the differences in the design of the investi- ecosystem to a closure. yet to be completed, means there could and to the CCI and GST Council
T
The government has been production volume. gating arms of the two regulators; and This despite the fact that the NAA was be more profiteering complaints on real remained unanswered at the time of he government has
proactive in addressing the The price of imported urea, the existing cap of three members in the set up as a temporary measure to pre- estate developers in the future, said a publishing. restricted the use of the
subsidy requirements of the which accounts for the remain- CCI in addition to a chairman, said a per- vent profiteering by businesses at the second person, who is also privy to the Experts said the main challenge faced herbicide glyphosate
industry. ing 15% volume, remains ele- son informed of the discussions on the time of transition to the new indirect tax discussions in the government. by businesses in complying with the and its derivatives, fearing
In addition to ₹1.05 trillion vated at over $650/tonne, matter in the government. system in 2017. The plan being explored by the gov- anti-profiteering regime is the lack of health hazards and risks to
approved in the budget, an almost double the historical While the government is not in favour In addition, there are petitions chal- ernment as suggested by the federal specific guidelines and standard proce- humans and animals, a move
additional ₹1.10 trillion was levels. Together, this means of extending the term of body, the GST Council, is dures to calculate the commensurate opposed by an industry associ-
announced in May to offset sur- overall subsidies rising to ₹2.55 the NAA, originally set up CHANGE OF GUARD to merge the investigating price reduction warranted by a tax cut or ation which cited endorse-
ging feedstock and product pri- trillion this fiscal. for two years in 2017 and wings of the CCI and NAA, availability of tax credits. Sanjay Chha- ments from global studies and
ces. The retail selling price of Notably, this estimate has extended twice till end of THE term of the THE NAA was set up THE government’s transfer pending profit- bria, director, indirect tax at Nexdigm, a regulatory bodies.
urea is fixed by the govern- not factored in any revision in November 2022, the country’s anti
profiteering body
in 2017 to prevent idea is to merge the
profiteering amid the NAA with the
eering cases to the CCI for consultancy, said an unfavourable order Glyphosate and its formula-
ment. It is kept as low as 85% the nutrient-based subsidy alternative arrangement runs until the end of transition to the GST competition adjudication and repatri- from the regulator creates a negative tions are widely registered and
below the market price to (NBS) rates for the second half, of merger with the CCI is November regime regulator ate officials in the NAA is impression about the value of a business currently used in more than
encourage farmers to use fertil- which comprises the rabi sea- facing several administra- to their parent cadres. in the minds of customers. 160 countries, including the
izers for better crop yield. Urea son. tive issues. However, the investi- Officials admit that computing the EU and the US. Farmers across
makers are compensated For non-urea fertilizer mak- There are complaints on profiteering lenging the anti-profiteering regime’s gation wings of the NAA and CCI have extent of profiteering, the benefit of tax the globe have been using it
through subsidy payments. ers, the government pays subsi- that are yet to be dealt with even amid constitutional validity, which are now some differences. The Directorate Gen- rate reduction or availability of input tax for weed control for over 40
According to Naveen Vaidy- dies according to the NBS rates, chances of new complaints coming up, sub judice. The fact that real estate pro- eral of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP), the credit that has not been passed on to years.
anathan, a director at credit rat- which are reviewed in April and making it hard for the government to jects have long gestation periods , with investigation wing of the NAA, has to be consumers, is a tough task, especially in “The use of glyphosate is
ing agency Crisil, amid the Rus- October every year. bring the GST-related anti-profiteering some projects that started prior to 2017 an expert in indirect taxes, while the the case of tax credits. hereby restricted and no per-
son shall use glyphosate
except pest control operators
(PCOs),” said a notification
No takers for green power worth 5 GW States told to enforce action issued by the agriculture min-
istry on 25 October.
Companies have been
Rituraj Baruah
rituraj.baruah@livemint.com
for not achieving assigned
yearly targets for installation of
plan over stubble burning asked to return certificates of
registration granted to gly-
phosate and its derivatives to
NEW DELHI renewable power. the Registration Committee
Module prices, which were Swati Luthra comprehensive action plan was for incorporation of the warn-
A
mid the government’s around 17-20 cents in Decem- swati.luthra@livemint.com prepared by the government of ing in bold letters, “the use of
ambitious energy tran- ber 2020, are now around 35 NEW DELHI Punjab. The action pillars are glyphosate formulation to be
sition goals, as much as cents in the case of imported diversification to other crops; allowed through PCOs” on the
T
5 GW of electricity from modules, including the 40% he Commission for Air diversification to low straw- label and leaflet, it said.
renewable energy projects basic customs duty and the cost Quality Management generating and early-maturing Companies have been given
remains unsold, two people of domestic cells are 36-37 (CAQM) in the national paddy varieties; in-situ crop three months to return the
aware of the development said. cents on an import parity basis, capital region and adjoining residue management including certificate or face strict action
The reason: A government-run analysts said. The basic cus- areas on Thursday issued statu- bio-decomposer application; under the Insecticides Act,
nodal agency has been unable toms duty of 40% on modules tory directions for implemen- ex-situ crop residue manage- 1968.
to find distribution companies and 25% on cells effective from tation of state-specific action ment; and monitoring and State governments should
willing to buy the power from April 2021 has lifted the prices plans, following a spike in stub- effective enforcement. take steps for the execution of
these projects. The renewable energy situation may be easing as power of modules in the country. ble burning in Punjab. “For effective implementa- this order, it added.
State-run Solar Energy Corp. purchase agreements are being signed MINT The plunge in green power According to the CAQM, tion of the plan of action, the The final notification
of India (SECI), the nodal tariffs came largely on the back remote sensing data up to 24 commission held consultative restricting glyphosate use
agency for renewable energy, been good progress,” said one around ₹2.2-₹2.3 per kWh. In of highly competitive bidding October shows that about 39% About 70% of farm fires were meetings with major depart- comes more than two years
signs PPAs with winning power of the two officials cited above, recent auctions, tariffs have under the reverse auction proof the sown area in Punjab has in six districts of Punjab. HT ments concerned of govern- after a draft was issued by the
developers in auctions, and both of whom spoke on the been in the range of Rs 2.5-2.9 cess. In a reverse auction, once been harvested. “Rising num- ment of Punjab... The commis- ministry.
subsequently signs power sale condition of anonymity. per kWh,” said Vikram V., vice the lowest bid is found after the ber of fire events is a matter of and Tarn Taran. sion has held nine meetings The draft was issued follow-
agreements (PSAs) with dis- However, the situation may president & sector head of cor- bids are opened, there is a fur- concern. As per the Standard “These districts account for with officials of government of ing a report from the Kerala
coms for the sale of this power. be easing as PPAs are being porate ratings at ICRA Ltd. ther auction for even lower Protocol developed by ISRO for 4,899 cases as against a total of Punjab from time to time government for prohibiting
However, discoms are increas- signed.“The “A slow pace of bids. In renewable energy, the CAQM, for the period from 15 7,036 incidents in Punjab. regarding various issues the distribution, sale and use
ingly reluctant to sign PSAs, as backlog of unsold The main reason signing of PPAs mechanism of reverse auctions September to 26 October, 2022 These traditional six hotspot related to stubble burning, of this herbicide.
they notice tariffs keep declin- power came on is that the and PSAs would has been used largely to dis- total paddy residue burning districts had also accounted for including five meetings with Opposing the move, Agro-
ing in subsequent auctions. the backdrop of govt-run nodal impact the capac- cover the lowest tariff. events reported in Punjab are about 65% of the total burning the chief secretary,” the minis- Chemical Federation of India
However, this is still an anticipation of a agency has been ity installation in Green energy players have 7,036 compared to 6,463 for incidents during the last year try said. (ACFI) director general Kalyan
improvement from the earlier further decline in the country. How- urged the government to revert the same period during the last for the same period. Out of total In Haryana, the total number Goswami said, “Glyphosate-
unable to find
part of the year when the quan- tariffs since it ever, the situation to closed bids on the grounds year,” the ministry of environ- 7,036 reported cases, 4,315 of farm fire events reported for based formulations are very
tum of such projects was 16 touched a low of distribution has improved in that reverse auctions hurt busi- ment, forest and climate said in stubble burning incidences the period 15 September to 26 much safe to use. This has
GW. ₹1.99 per kWh companies the past few nesses due to low tariffs discov- a press release. were reported during the last October is 1,495 compared to been tested and validated by
“Eight months earlier, there (kilowattt hour) in months,” he ered through the process. The CAQM said that about six days alone i.e., about 61%,” 2,010 for the same period last leading regulatory authorities
was a stock of almost 16 GW of November-De- added. Queries sent to the ministry 70% of farm fires during the the ministry added. year. There has been a 26% worldwide including India.”
unsold power, where letter of cember 2020. However, on the In March this year, the stand- of new and renewable energy, current paddy harvesting sea- Based on a broad framework reduction in paddy residue He said it makes “no logic to
award was done but the PPA backdrop of the rise in module ing committee on energy ministry of power and SECI son were reported from just six developed by the commission burning events in Haryana so restrict the use of glyphosate
was not done. That has dwin- prices, tariffs have now gone up pulled up the Union ministry remained unanswered till press districts—Amritsar, Firozpur, and learnings from previous far during the current year, the only through PCOs which are
dled to 4 or 5 GW, which has and have largely remained for new and renewable energy time. Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Patiala paddy harvesting seasons, a ministry added. non-existent in rural areas”.
HM, European partner finish

m MINT SHORTS Warburg Pincus, will open for public subscription on 2
November. The initial public offering (IPO) will con-
clude on 4 November. The bidding for anchor investors
WhatsApp submits report
to IT ministry on outage due diligence for EV project
CORRECTIONS AND
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Cairn Oil & Gas gets extension prospectus. The IPO comprises fresh issuance of equity Hindustan Motors Ltd and its suggestions or complaints
shares worth ₹600 crore and an offer of sale of European partner have com- about errors.
for R’sthan block till May 2030 13,695,466 equity shares by promoters and existing pleted due diligence for the
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LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE FriDay, 28 OctOber 2022
New Delhi 03
MPC meet
on 3 Nov Over 900 eateries exit Swiggy
to discuss
letter to govt
Dineout citing deep discounts
Gopika Gopakumar
gopika.g@livemint.com
MuMBAI Restaurants say discounts, cashbacks during post-pandemic recovery hurt dine-in business
A
n additional meeting of
the monetary policy Varuni Khosla & Suneera Tandon
committee will be held NeW DelHI
on 3 November to discuss the
I
response to be sent to the Cen- n the ongoing tussle between
tre over the Reserve Bank of online food aggregators and res-
India’s failure to keep inflation taurants, about 900 outlets across
within its 2-6% target, the cen- brands have delisted themselves
tral bank said on Thursday. from Swiggy’s table-booking plat-
This will be the first time since form Dineout.
the launch of the medium- The restaurant chains, largely in the
term inflation framework in casual dining space, raised concerns
2016 that RBI will be made to over their aggregator’s table-booking
explain its actions in a letter. app, alleging it offers heavy discounts
Under Section 45ZA of the
RBI Act, the Centre, in consul-
tation with RBI, sets the medi-
and cashbacks on in-restaurant din-
ing. This move, they said, hurts the
restaurant business, which was bat-
NHAI InvIT to be
um-term retail inflation target
once in five years.
Failure to meet the target for
tered for over a year by the pandemic
and is now dealing with rising food
inflation.
listed on BSE today
three consecutive quarters Several restaurants Mint spoke to
requires the central bank to said they have not enlisted on PTI funding,” the ministry said.
write a letter to the govern- Zomato’s dine-out program, called feedback@livemint.com “This round is special
ment explaining why it missed Zomato Pay. NeW DelHI because 25% of the NCDs are
the goal. In May, SoftBank-backed Swiggy reserved for retail investors,” it
N
Retail inflation has been acquired Times Internet-owned table The move comes a month after NRAI cautioned its partner-members against programmes being offered by Swiggy. BLOOMBERG HAI’s Infrastructure added.
hovering above the upper booking platform Dineout in a deal Investment Trust With this option retired citi-
band target of 6% for nine which was said to be valued at around NRAI cautioned its partner members way under the unsubstantiated prom- on Swiggy Dineout, and only a handful (InvIT) which has been zens, salaried individuals,
months in a row. $150 million. These 900 restaurants against programmes being offered by ise of more footfalls,” NRAI said then. of restaurant partners have expressed subscribed by about five times small and medium business
The central bank has raised include Mamagoto-parent Azure Hos- Swiggy and Zomato that offer promo- In response to queries sent by Mint, their desire to delist from the platform will be listed on the Bombay owners have “a great opportu-
policy rates by 190 basis points pitality, Wow! Momo, Impresario tions on dining out. a Swiggy spokesperson said Swiggy (No penalty for delisting). We con- Stock Exchange today. nity to invest in building a new
since May this year in a bid to Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd- In a notification issued in Septem- Dineout works with about 15,000 res- tinue to engage with restaurant part- Infrastructure Investment India” and at the same time get
bring down inflation. owned Social and Smoke House Deli ber, the restaurant body said the offers taurant partners in about 20 cities and ners and NRAI representatives to Trusts are instruments mod- healthy returns of at least
The letter will have three and The Beer Cafe. The companies impact the overall restaurant ecosys- engages with them to improve its revisit their choices.” lled on mutual funds, designed 8.05% per annum, it said.
parts: reasons for failure to said they logged out this month, pro- tem in the long run. “Both Zomato and offering and make this partnership Amlani added that the company to pool money from investors On 13 October, Gadkari had
achieve the inflation target, testing the steep discounts. A also did not log into its competitor, and invest in assets that will said that NHAI’s InvIT is look-
remedial actions proposed by majority of these businesses are DININg OuT Duel Zomato Pay’s product that allows provide cash flows over a ing to raise an additional
the central bank, and an esti- members of the National Restau- customers to seek discounts on period of time. ₹3,800 crore.
mate of the deadline within rant Association of India (NRAI). IN May, Swiggy TheSe restaurants SwIggy Dineout NRAI said the offers dining out. “This is not a restau- “The round#2 of InvIT has Addressing an event orga-
which the inflation target shall “We do not understand what acquired Times
Internet-owned
include Azure
Hospitality, Wow!
works with about
15,000 restaurant
can impact the
overall restaurant
rant friendly practice. Swiggy’s been subscribed almost 5 nised by the National High-
be achieved. problem the company is looking to table booking Momo, and The partners in about ecosystem in the delivery business has plateaued times in 10% of the scheduled ways Infra Trust, Gadkari had
This meeting comes imme- solve for anymore. There must be platform Dineout Beer Cafe 20 cities long run and now they’re trying to find new tenure,” the ministry of road said that of the additional fun-
diately after the US Federal a purpose for giving discounts. ways to eat into the dining out transport and highways draise, around ₹1,500 crore
Open Market Committee Customers are aware of our res- business,” he said. (MoRTH) said on Thursday. are being garnered through an
(FOMC) meets on 1-2 Novem- taurants anyway and enjoy the dining Swiggy have built a payment gate- viable for everyone. But not all companies are unhappy “Tomorrow is the historic issue of NCDs with a long-
ber and before the next MPC out experience Once they have fin- way—Zomato Pay and Swiggy Dine- “Restaurant partners on the plat- with the programme. The marketing day as these InvIT NCDs will dated maturity of 24 years.
meeting scheduled on 7 ished, they start looking for deals on out—which incentivises our custom- form have complete liberty to decide manager of a hotel chain said the com- be listed on the Bombay Stock Gadkari had said that the
December. these platforms to get discounts,” said ers to use their payment gateways by on how much discount they wish to pany gets about 150 covers a month Exchange and MoRTH minis- InvIT so far has raised more
The rate-setting committee Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of L Catterton discounting, offering 100% cash backs offer to customers through their list- using the table booking app at a nomi- ter Nitin Gadkari will ring the than ₹8,000 crore from for-
typically meets six times in a Asia-backed Impresario. and bank offers and urge partner res- ing on the app. Thousands of partners nal fee. bell marking a great beginning eign and Indian institutional
year to decide on interest rates. The move comes a month after taurants to adopt this payment gate- continue to join us each month and list varuni.k@livemint.com for public participation in infra investors.
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
59,756.84 0.36 17,736.95 0.46 15,244.25 0.57 42,395.30 1.15 17,989.00 0.57 25,151.71 0.44 28,866.12 0.41
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN
59,543.96 59,792.32 17,656.35 17,771.40 15,158.10 15,246.55 41,914.80 42,169.10 17,887.40 18,002.05 25,040.86 25,054.24 28,747.94 28,806.51
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
59,959.94 59,496.80 17,783.90 17,654.50 15,273.30 15,172.15 42,489.05 42,034.45 18,027.95 17,899.65 25,184.95 25,046.67 28,927.87 28,784.34
m MINT SHORTS Masala buy not enough Kotak Mahindra Bank’s

Bonds have few takers even as investors have worries
Germany battles energy crisis
Munich: Germany, considered Europe’s most reliable
debtor, is having trouble selling its bonds, just as it seeks
billions to tackle the energy crisis. Recent weak auctions
to spice up Dabur India beyond sustaining NIMs
have demonstrated the challenges of issuing debt in mar- Vineetha Sampath Samarth Gupta
Sustained pressure On a high
kets racked with uncertainty about interest rates and vineetha.s@livemint.com samarth.gupta@livemint.com
Dabur India’s Ebitda margin dropped year-on-year for the third consecutive Kotak Mahindra Bank’s NIM rose to
state spending, and made it harder for Germany, typically a multi-quarter high in Q2FY23
D
quarter in Q2FY23.
K
a reluctant spender, as it seeks to fund its 200 billion abur India Ltd is spicing up otak Mahindra Bank Ltd’s aided by loan repricing and
euros ($201.40 billion) scheme to cut domestic energy its portfolio. It plans to enter Consolidated Ebitda margin (in %) Year-on-year change (in basis points) (right-hand scale) shares have lagged broader improving asset mix.
costs. Demand was soft at an auction of German 5-year the more than ₹25,000 25 200 markets. In the past one year, 5.2
government bonds Tuesday, but other recent auctions crore branded spices and the stock has declined by 15%, while 5.17
NIM (in %)
have been “very, very, very bad”, said Michael Leister, seasoning market in India the Nifty Bank index has dropped 1%.
head of rates strategy at Commerzbank, likening the situ- with the acquisition of Badshah Masala 20 100 Analysts reckon the valuations of the 5
ation to a “buyers’ strike”. Germany’s finance agency sold Pvt. Ltd. This would help Dabur widen stock were pricey to start with. Sec-
1.78 billion euros of a new 2029 bond, for example, with its footprint in the foods business. ond, the impending management
total bids covering less than half of the 4-billion euro tar- In the September quarter (Q2FY23) 15 0 change is said to be an overhang for 4.8
get. The 0.47 bid-to-offer ratio at the sale was the lowest earnings call, Dabur said that the market the stock.
of any 7-year German bond sale. REUTERS size is larger and more lucrative than a “The change in management will
few other categories. In other words, 10 -100 be a significant catalyst, as we believe 4.6
there is enough room for growth in this the Street places a significant pre-
segment. Also, the overall spices market mium on Uday Kotak being at the
is largely unorganized, leaving scope for 5 -200 helm, as he has steered the group 4.4
the segment to shift to organized. since the bank’s inception and drives 4.40
Investors approved, taking Dabur’s the core narrative,” said analysts from
4.2
shares up 3% on Thursday. The com- 0 -300 Nomura Financial Advisory and Secu- Q1FY21 Q2FY23
Q1 FY20 Q2 FY23
pany would acquire 51% stake in Bad- rities (India). Uday Kotak’s term as Note: Standalone quarterly data; NIM is net
shah before FY23 ends and the remain- Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and Source: Company, IDBI Capital managing director and chief execu- interest margin
amortisation; one basis point is 0.01% Markets and Securities Source: Company
ing after five years. The enterprise value tive officer ends in December 2023.
is ₹1,152 crore, which translates into a SATISH KUMAR/MINT
The bank’s September quarter SATISH KUMAR/MINT
revenue and Ebitda multiple of 4.5 times margin is likely to be relatively small. In pany. This is the first time in the past five (Q2FY23) results announced recently y-o-y is not sustainable. We expect it
and 19.6 times, respectively, based on Q2, gross margin fell sharply by almost quarters that rural markets lagged do little to boost investor sentiment to drop to below 20%.” said Krishnan
estimated FY23 financials. 350 basis points (bps) y-o-y to 45.4%. urban. even as net interest margin (NIM) rose ASV, institutional research analyst,
“Badshah Masala’s acquisition price One basis point is 0.01%. This is despite Dabur’s shares are around 12% below by 25 basis points (bps) sequentially to BFSI, HDFC Securities. “To fix the
for 51% stake is higher than what ITC flow-through of price increases and their 52-week highs of ₹625 apiece seen 5.17%, a multi-quarter high. In its deposit momentum, we believe the
paid for 100% stake in Sunrise in mid- additional hikes taken during Q2. in November. The stock trades at 42 earnings call, the management said bank has to raise pricing of their sav-
China’s industrial profits in the January-to-September 2020,” said analysts from JM Financial However, Dabur curtailed the drop in times its FY24 estimated earnings, the expansion in NIM was largely ings accounts deposits, implying
period fell 2.3% compared to the year-ago period. AFP Institutional Securities. ITC paid around Ebitda margin to 190bps by lowering according to Bloomberg data. It helps because of repo rate hikes, loan book higher cost of funds,” he said.
3.5 times FY21 sales, about 17-18 times advertisement spends and implement- that the company is seeing market share mix of fixed and floating rate book, Investors should track branch
Ebitda for 100% of Sunrise (nearly 3 ing cost control measures. Q2 Ebitda gains across 95% of the portfolio. Sepa- and growth in the unsecured book. expansion. The management said
China industrial profits decline times Badshah’s current size even then), margin stood at 20.1% and Dabur aims to rately, the company announced capital The bank’s loan book branches would be
again on covid and property pointed out the broking expenditure of nearly ₹326 grew 5% sequentially The bank’s steadily added but the
Beijing: Profits at industrial firms in China shrank in the firm. MORE, PLEASE crore for its Indore project and 69% of the loans loan book density requirement
first nine months of the year, as covid disruptions and a Overall, the Badshah for red toothpaste, one litre were on floating rates. increased 5% would be less now.
property slump continued to weigh on bottom lines of acquisition does not move DABUR’S HOWEVER, overall THE demand juice and portion packs High-yielding unse- sequentially and There is comfort on asset
companies. Industrial profits in the January-to-Septem- the needle in terms of reve- acquisition of margin headwinds environment, juice. cured retail advances quality. In Q2, gross non-
Badshah is likely to continue to persist especially in rural 69% of the
ber period fell 2.3% compared to the same time frame a nue. Badshah’s FY22 turn- be margin accretive with elevated markets, remains Dabur is seeing green (including retail microfi- performing assets (NPA)
year ago, data from the National Bureau of Statistics over is ₹189 crore. In com- to its food portfolio inflation levels subdued shoots of demand recovery nance) rose to 8.7% of loans were on and net NPA ratios fell by
(NBS) showed on Thursday. That compared with a parison, Dabur’s FY22 thanks to the festive sea- advances versus 7.9% in floating rates 16bps and 7bps, sequen-
decline of 2.1% in the first eight months. The NBS has not operating revenues stood son, but it remains to be Q1. Here, the manage- tially, to 2.08% and
released single-month data since June. Firms continue at ₹10,890 crore. However, it helps that maintain this metric in the range of seen if this persists. ment believes that they 0.55%, respectively,
to be affected by high costs and some businesses face Badshah’s Ebitda margin, estimated at 20-21% in FY23. “None of the fast-moving consumer have reasonable room for growth and aided by strong recoveries and
operational challenges, said Zhu Hong, a senior statisti- 23% in FY23, would be accretive to Subdued rural demand is another goods companies are calling out a sus- targets to reach mid-teens. upgrades.
cian at the NBS, in a statement accompanying the data, Dabur’s foods portfolio. pressing worry, with patchy monsoon in tainable recovery in demand. We expect On the flipside, overall deposits “We believe that Kotak continues
adding that profits are still impacted by an “increasingly However, margin headwinds con- areas such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar the momentum to take one more quar- grew 3% sequentially. The current to be a fantastic franchise but it is in an
complicated external environment.” Profits at foreign tinue to persist for Dabur. It expects being a dampener. Dabur derives a sig- ter to improve,” said an analyst, request- accounts and savings accounts ratio investment phase and with the cur-
companies remained weak, though the declines nar- inflation in Q3 to be 6% year-on-year nificant portion of sales from rural mar- ing anonymity. Against the backdrop of was muted at 56% versus 58% in Q1. rent scramble for deposits, it might
rowed from the January-to-August period. Those profits (y-o-y). Price hikes would aid growth, kets and hence, demand recovery here is subdued demand and muted margin “There are concerns on deposit trac- have to work harder than larger banks
were down 9.3% in the first nine months, compared to a which could mean better margins crucial. In Q2, rural business grew by 1%, outlook, near-term triggers for the stock tion as Kotak is operating at 90% loan- like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank,”
12% drop in the first eight months. BLOOMBERG sequentially. Y-o-y, the drop in gross while urban grew by 6%, said the com- are few and far between. to-deposit ratio. Loan growth at 25% contended Krishnan.
Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here
Shell extends profits Derivative volumes touch record ₹17,350 trillion in Apr-Oct
on high energy prices Sharp rise Ram Sahgal
ram.sahgal@livemint.com
the market share of proprie-
tary trades as a proportion of Surge in derivatives volumes
prietary trades rose from 49%
to 50.9%, while FPI market
index futures such as Nifty or
Bank Nifty, or by buying put
calls and puts. A call option
facilitates the purchase of an
mumBaI notional turnover increased was led by proprietary traders share fell from 12% to 7.8%, options. underlying index or share at a
AFP by 2.8 percentage points to and retail investors. according to NSE data. Proprietary traders nor- fixed price called premium. A
E
feedback@livemint.com quity derivatives volumes 50.9%, while that of retail 20,000 Derivatives derive their mally act as counterparties to put option allows sale of an
on the National Stock increased by 10 basis points to Turnover (in ₹ tn)
value from underlying indices those wanting to hedge or underlier in exchange for a
B
ritish energy giant Shell Exchange (NSE) hit a 28.5% in the first half of the 16,000 such as Nifty, Bank Nifty or speculate, said Rajesh Baheti, premium.
on Thursday announced record ₹17,350 trillion so far in current fiscal from the same stocks. They include futures managing director of Crosseas Retail or individual inves-
12,000
net profit totalling $6.7 the fiscal year, led by proprie- period of the previous fiscal, and options contracts, which Capital, one of the largest tors have largely been
billion in the third quarter, as tary and retail investors. This according to NSE data. 8,000
can be used to hedge underly- high-frequency traders in attracted to index futures and
oil and gas prices remain strong compares with ₹16,952 trillion “Clearly, retail and pro (pro- ing stock portfolios or simply India. index options more lately, the
despite recent slides on easing for the whole of FY22. The prietary) interest is predomi- 4,000 to speculate on markets. “Pro traders normally act as data showed.
supply fears. number of contracts traded nant in the derivatives seg- Participants include propri- counterparties to both hedg- The share of retail has risen
The result compared with a also hit a record 19.58 billion ment, primarily index futures 0
2015-16 2022-23*
etary traders, brokers who run ers and speculators, providing by 1.7 percentage points to
loss after tax of $447 million in during the period, against 18.6 and options, over the past few *Data for April-October. The rest are for their own trades, retail (indi- the liquidity needed to make 31.9% in index futures and 1.8
the July-September period last billion over the whole of the years,” said Rajesh Palviya, full fiscal years. Option turnover is notional vidual domestic investors, the market efficient and percentage points in index
Source: NSE
year, Shell said. Shell’s share price rose 3.5% FY22. derivatives head at Axis Secu- NRIs, sole proprietorship ensuring healthy price discov- options to 35.8% in index
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Flush with cash from reve- following the results. BLOOMBERG In comparison, average rities. “In October, too, one firms and Hindu undivided ery. They normally do intraday options in H1FY23 from the
nue surging to almost $100 bil- daily cash market volumes expects the retail and pro par- The market share of retail families), foreign portfolio trades and act as sellers of corresponding period of
lion, Shell said it would buy windfall tax on energy compa- over the same period were ticipation to have risen.” investors as a percentage of investors, domestic institu- options,” Baheti said. FY22. In the case of proprie-
back shares at a cost of $4 bil- nies as millions of Britons lower at ₹55,173 crore against Market analysts attribute notional turnover in deriva- tional investors, and corpo- Futures contracts facilitate tary, the share in index
lion. “We are delivering robust struggle with a cost-of-living ₹70,338 crore because of the surge to the introduction tives rose from 23% in FY16 to rates. FPIs cumulatively hold the purchase or sale of under- futures rose by 3.8 percent-
results at a time of ongoing vol- crisis. reduced retail and proprietary of weekly Bank Nifty and Nifty 28.5% in FY23 till the end of around $565 billion of Indian lying indices or shares at a pre- age points to 35.2% and 1.1
atility in global energy mar- “A proper tax on Shell’s trades. options in 2016 and 2018 September 2022. During the equities and normally hedge set price for delivery on a percentage points to 43.4% in
kets,” said Shell’s outgoing reported Q3... profits as well as In the derivatives segment, respectively. same period, the share of pro- their portfolios by shorting future date. Options include index options.
chief executive Ben van Beur- the billions made in Q1 and Q2
den. by all the fossil fuel giants
The latest profit, however, would already have generated
was far lower than its second-
quarter net income of $18 bil-
lion. Shell alerted the market
enough cash to insulate thou-
sands of homes,” Greenpeace
UK’s senior climate advisor
Wall Street says it’s too early to bet on king dollar’s demise
on the comparison earlier this Charlie Kronick said.
month, blaming the drop on a “Responding to the cost-of- Bloomberg fears of a global recession and step in, with policy makers While the greenback may con-
slump in refining margins. living crisis is well within the feedback@livemint.com heightened geopolitical ten- from Japan to Chile interven- solidate ahead of the Fed’s pol-
Although oil and gas prices government’s control.” sions in Europe should only ing to shield their currencies icy meeting next week, “the
I
have surged from a year ago fol- Britain’s new prime minis- t’s too soon to write off the bolster demand for the US cur- even though the measures have fundamental backdrop for the
lowing the invasion of Ukraine ter, Rishi Sunak, unveiled a dollar’s dominance as the US rency, investors say. yielded limited results. dollar remains positive,” Win
by major energy producer Rus- windfall tax on the profits of rate-hike cycle may not be “At the moment it is difficult The dollar’s winning streak Thin, head of currency strategy
sia, hydrocarbon values have British energy companies ear- near its peak. to see kind of what causes the has encouraged the likes of at Brown Brothers Harriman &
seen some recent cooling as the lier this year in his role as That’s the firm conviction of dollar to weaken from here,” Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Co. in New York, said.
northern hemisphere experi- finance minister, but it was money managers at JPMorgan said Iain Stealey, international Ltd.’s Ayako Sera to argue that Fed officials appear divided
ences mild temperatures and deemed as far too small by cam- Asset Management and Five- chief investment officer for the currency’s strength may on the pace of further tighten-
countries shore up supplies. paigners. star Asset Management even fixed income at JPMorgan. soon come to an end. “It will ing. Philadelphia Fed President
Shell’s share price jumped Van Beurden recently indi- after a gauge of the greenback “The Fed hasn’t hit the termi- take some time to get confirma- Patrick Harker said officials are
3.5% following the results, cated that governments should touched a one-month low on nal rate yet, the US economy The dollar’s winning streak has encouraged the likes of Ayako tion as to whether the dollar has likely to raise interest rates to
which also included a raised “probably” tax energy firms Thursday. Signs that aggressive looks like it’s probably a bit Sera to argue that its strength may soon come to an end. REUTERS peaked but conditions have “well above” 4% this year while
dividend following underlying more to help protect the poor- Federal Reserve tightening is more resilient than some other started to align for the dollar to his Chicago counterpart
profits ahead of analyst expec- est from rocketing energy bills starting to take a toll are fueling economies out there.” speculation of a dovish pivot by multi-year lows while import top out,” she said. Charles Evans said overshoot-
tations. amid decades-high inflation, bets for a slower pace of rate Investors are pondering the other central banks. A four- costs in developing nations The Bloomberg Dollar Spot ing can be costly “and there is
The group’s latest earnings although critics said the com- increases. dollar’s direction after a small- month rally in the greenback soared. Index rose 0.1% Thursday to great uncertainty about how
reignited calls for the UK gov- ments did not carry much But dollar bulls remain er-than-expected rate increase has rippled across the globe as a The US currency’s strength head for its first gain in three restrictive policy must actually
ernment to slap a much bigger weight ahead of his departure. undaunted: a hawkish Fed, by the Bank of Canada spurred host of currencies tumbled to has prompted authorities to sessions. Other are less certain. become.”
LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS FriDay, 28 OctOber 2022
New Delhi 05
m MINT SHORTS Startups step up fight Udaan investors

KKR agrees to acquire Ness Digital put in $120 mn
Engineering for over $500 mn
Bengaluru: Global investment firm KKR on Thursday said it has
signed definitive agreements to buy digital solutions provider
Ness Digital Engineering from The Rohatyn Group (TRG). The
against Google’s fees in pre-IPO round
deal is valued at over $500 million, according to people familiar Sneha Shah
with the development. The investment by KKR is from its Asian sneha.shah@livemint.com
Fund IV. “KKR believes that Ness is well-positioned for growth,” MUMBAI
said Gaurav Trehan, Partner and CEO, KKR India. ANUJ SUVARNA Firms are bolstering lobbying efforts against Google after CCI rulings
B
usiness-to-business
(B2B) marketplace
Northern Arc secures $50 mn Shouvik Das & Prasid Banerjee Udaan raised $120 mil-
lion capital in convertible
from development bank FMO NEW DELHI
notes, and debt led by its exist-
S
ISTOCK
tartups and developers in India ing shareholders and bond-
are stepping up lobbying against holders, the company’s chief
service fees levied by Google for financial officer Aditya Pande
services and digital items sold said in a mail to employees.
through its Play Store. The Having raised funds, the
Competition Commission of India (CCI) company aims to go public over
ruling earlier this week, which imposed a the next 12-18 months, Pande The company aims to go
₹936 crore fine on the technology major said in the email reviewed by public over the next 12-18
for anti-competitive billing practices on Mint. With this round, the total months. ISTOCK
the Play Store, has spurred startups who funds raised by Udaan through
were already pushing for lowering the convertible notes and debt in tial, Kaiser Permanente, Nom-
company’s intended commission rate, the last four quarters have ura, Tor Investment, Arena
said industry stakeholders. crossed $350 million, making it Investors, Samena Capital and
New Delhi: Private equity-backed debt financier Northern The tiff between app store operators one of the largest structured Ishana Capital.
Arc Capital Ltd on Thursday said that it has raised $50 mil- Google and Apple and developers isn’t a instrument fundraises in the Founded in 2016 by former
lion (around ₹400 crore) through non-convertible deben- new one. country. Flipkart employees Amod Mal-
tures from Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO. Founders of firms such as Paytm and “Despite the funding-related viya, Sujeet Kumar, and Vai-
The fintech lender will deploy half of its proceeds to serve Bharat Matrimony have spoken up against challenges being experienced bhav Gupta, Udaan offers a
MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and women Google’s fees for more than a year. The by the larger startup ecosys- platform for traders, wholesal-
entrepreneurs. AMAN RAWAT original informa- tem, this fundraising reflects ers, retailers, and manufactur-
tion filed with the the confidence of investors in ers to come together, allowing
CCI that led to the our business model and their them to find clients, suppliers,
Nearly two-thirds of users’ data fine this week is a Google said on 26 October that it is “reviewing” the CCI’s order on fines. MINT endorsement of the journey to and products across categories
result of the back-and-forth that started unit economics, driven by great and interact with one another
available on dark web, shows study over a year ago. Google and Apple have Google is “reviewing” the CCI order, it and force them out of the app economy. progress in the evolution of our directly for the lowest price.
New Delhi: The number of personal data breaches has increased also faced such pushback in the US and the said on 26 October . This can be seen as a gross abuse of oper- business model and cost effi- The company counts inves-
dramatically in recent years. Recently released data from virtual EU. The company started allowing third- ating system market dominance, since the ciency, that we initiated last tors such as Octahedron Capi-
private network (VPN) provider NordVPN’s Dark Web Monitor “We’re against being forced to pay party payment services on Play Store apps typical use of a payment gateway interface year,” the mail read. tal, Moonstone Capi-
notes that nearly two-thirds (62%) of users have had their data commission on all transactions. It’s like in September this year. for any online transaction is ideally “These steps have tal, Lightspeed Ven-
breached on the dark web, which refers to encrypted online con- a tax. Why should you pay commission to Industry stakeholders, however, around 1-3%. This commission rate is thus not only helped us ture Partners, DST
tent that is not indexed on conventional search engines.Dark Google for anything you sell,” said the alleged that Google still charges a com- likely to be challenged by startups, in line achieve positive unit Global, GGV Capital,
Web Monitor is a cybersecurity feature of NordVPN that runs in founder of an Indian firm with what the CCI order has economics last quarter but also Altimeter Capital and Tencent
the background to help prevent hackers from exploiting user who was among the first to BATTLING IT OUT ruled,” Kailasam said. improved efficiency in the sys- on its cap table. It raised $280
account information leaked to the dark web. SOHINI BAGCHI speak up against Google in Google mandates the use of tem, with huge cost benefits, million in an equity funding
2021. The person noted that FOUNDERS of firms FOR many startups, FROM 31 October, the Google Play Billing Sys- which is key to building a sus- round in January 2021 and has
the CCI’s order is a “clear like Paytm and
Bharat Matrimony
CCI’s orders are a
“clear direction” to
Google may suspend tem (GPBS) for developers
non-compliant
tainable business,” he added. so far raised more than $1.5 bil-
BluSapphire raises $9.2 mn in direction” to Google, and if have spoken up Google and they apps from the who offer in-app purchases. In January, the company lion in equity and debt.
the tech giant doesn’t com- against Google’s fees may seek court help Play Store From 31 October, non-com- raised $250 million by selling The company spokesperson
Baring PE-led round ply, then startups could turn pliant apps may face suspen- $200 million worth of convert- declined to comment on the
New Delhi: BluSapphire Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates to “other remedies”, includ- sion from the Play Store. ible notes or short-term debt new debt raise. According to
cybersecurity startup BluSapphire, has raised $9.2 million ing going to court. mission, which many consider too high The company also introduced a pilot that can be converted into the mail from Pande to the
(around ₹75.6 crore) as a part of its Series A funding led by Baring The CCI’s ruling doesn’t affect the com- and unfair. Rameesh Kailasam, president programme for using third party pay- equity and $50 million of debt. employees, the company’s unit
Private Equity India. The round also saw participation from Dal- missions firms like Google charge. It only and chief executive of industry body Indi- ments in India and other countries, on Microsoft Corp. joined the economics improved by
las Venture Capital, Binny Bansal-backed xto10x, RPG Ventures mandates that the company cannot force aTech, said Google offers a 4% merchant September 2. However, developers partic- company’s fundraising in April. around 10 percentage points,
and Merisis Venture Partners. “We will use the funds to scale up its own billing systems on the Play Store, discount rate, even when a developer uses ipating in the pilot will need to also com- The $225 million round was with equally significant
across India and North America,” said Kiran Vangaveti, founder and should allow other app stores on its a third-party billing service. ply with the use of GPBS in India. stitched together from inves- improvements in gross mar-
and chief executive officer of BluSapphire. PRIYAL MAHTTA platforms. “This may kill the startup ecosystem shouvik.das@livemint.com tors including M&G Pruden- gins and operating costs.
The promise of Web3: A decentralised tomorrow

Neeraj Kandelwal, Co-founder of CoinDCX, says Web3, popularly known as the decentralised web, promises to give its users unprecedented power
A
rguably the great- to our current interactive from $ 3.2 billion in 2021 to industries. The “User been a prominent challenge. produce massive yields.
Neeraj
est invention in Web2. Now, the quicker India $81.5 billion in 2030. A recent Experience” is one of the main DeFi is thought to have around As a part of our overall solu-
Kandelwal
human history, can embrace Web3, the faster report,TheIndiaWeb3Startup obstacles that has been 15 million monthly users. tion, we have integrated multi-
Co-founder,
the internet has we can become a thriving CoinDCX Landscape from NASSCOM, preventing widespread adop- Despite the huge quantity, the party computation, or MPC,
r e vo l u t i o n i s e d Web3 ecosystem. mentions that Web3 received tion, however this is changing majority are significant busi- technology to resolve private
everyaspect of our world. From Web3 truly has the potential $30.5 billion of VC funding in as more developers place a nesses that profit from this key-related concerns, assisting
the simple, read-only web to add over 1 trillion dollars to 2021 alone, and over $14.5 bil- strong emphasis on it. I antici- environment. DeFi is still customers to recover their
pages of Web1 to the highly India’s GDP. We must start our lion in just Q1 of 2022, led by pate a decentralised offering mostly unreachable for com- passkey and funds easily, with-
interactive and social Web2 journey by quickly moving investments in DeFi (decen- on all CeFi platforms in the mon users. To track your out compromising on the secu-
that we have today, the internet away from centralised systems. tralised finance) and NFTs. near future. accounts, you must go through rity of their data. This is all
has changed by leaps and Large organisations use cus- By opening up a new world a lot of steps that involve done in order to make decen-
bounds, since its inception, in tomer data as a massive source Decentralised finance uses of financial services at a frac- learning cryptography, utilis- tralised investment opportuni-
order to cater to diverse human of revenue. For example, food security protocols, connection of the cost we currently ing access keys and surfing ties even more accessible.
needs. As amazing as our cur- delivery services store cus- t i v i t y, a n d s o f t w a r e pay in our Web2 ecosystem, several websites. This still These are our solutions for an
rent version of the internet is, tomer data is sold to restau- advancements to increase DeFi will undoubtedly empow- presents an obstacle. easy-to-use DeFi experience
we have already set the wheels rants and organisations to access to financial services er the future of Web3. To open in Web3.
in motion for the next iteration regulate the advertisements and reduce transaction up the world of DeFi, we have Taking that thought for- Disclaimer: This article is a
of its evolution - Web3. you see. By decentralising our times. What is the role of created Okto as the first step ward, how can these chal- paid publication and does not
Web3, popularly known as data and removing large cor- DeFi in Web3? of a much grander expansion. lenges be overcome? What have journalistic/ editorial
the decentralised web, prom- porations from their roles as DeFi is the financial back- We will continue to build effi- is the solution? involvement of Hindustan
ises to take centralised control middlemen, we can achieve an bone of Web3. In the next cient, convenient, and secure The solution to this chal- Times. Hindustan Times does
away from large companies to ecosystem based on transpar- decade, I have absolutely no platforms that put customer lenge is creating a platform that not endorse/ subscribe to the
give power to average users. ency, efficiency and security. doubt that DeFi will be monu- experiences at the centre. simplif ies the process of contents of the article/adver-
The ultimate goal of Web3 is mental and will sweep across Fundamentally, this ties back accessing and utilising DeFi. t i s e m e n t a n d /o r v i e w s
to establish trust on the inter- What are the main compo- multiple facets of our digital to CoinDCX’s mission to build It is for this very reason that expressed herein.
net by ensuring the users’ data nents of Web3 that will businesses. The most promi- services allowing value distri- we have developed Okto, a Thereaderisfurtheradvised
always stays their own. drive this change? nent benefit of DeFi is that it bution, increasing transpar- DeFi app for our end users that crypto products and NFTs
The global Web3 market was At its core, the decentralised makes the financial world a lot ency and giving control back and customers. are unregulated and can be
worth $3.2 billion in 2021 and world of Web3 revolves around fairer for end users. This is to the users. This space is We envisage this app to be highly risky. There may be no
it is expected to reach an eye- certain core technologies: achieved through sophisti- ever-evolving and our eventual completely hassle free. Users regulatory recourse for any
watering figure of $81.5 billion blockchain platforms, NFTs, cated security protocols, goal is to capture the full can simply log in and start loss from such transactions.
by 2030. These numbers paint virtual digital assets, AI and unparalleled connectivity and Web3 spectrum. investing without any trouble Hindustan Times shall not
a vivid picture: Web3 is rapidly ML. However, the central com- total transparency with the use of learning cryptography and in any manner, be responsible
becoming the next big thing ponents of this decentralised transaction fees whilst main- around the world to embrace of distributed public ledgers. As CoinDCX, one of India’s protocols or having to follow and/or liable in any manner
and to remain competitive in internet involve both techno- taining overall transparency these offerings. For users with Transaction level data is always leading and most valued any complex steps. We are whatsoeverforallthatisstated
this modern age, we need to logical and social aspects. and fairness. a footprint in Web3, their assets visible with DeFi and that adds crypto companies, expands making efforts to make DeFi in the article and/or also with
embrace all it has to offer. For me, there are three criti- Second on this list is a com- have to be recognised by the to its overall appeal. its footprint into the Web3 completely user-friendly. regard to the views, opinions,
Neeraj Khandelwal, Cofounder cal pillars: blockchain technol- munity-led approach to Web3. laws of the land. This means DeFi has remained remark- ecosystem, what are the We’ve already spent nine announcements, declarations,
of C oinDCX, shares his ogy, community ownership For this new era of the country and its ably underutilised despite challenges you face in this months on this project and are affirmations etc., stated/fea-
valuable insights on the ins and and compliance. First and t h e i n te r n e t to government need to holding numerous benefits. journey? now ready for a global launch. tured in the same. The decision
outs of this decentralised foremost, the technology become a success, accept the growing There are currently about 300 The Web3 use cases are dis- Our DeFi app will provide a to read hereinafter is purely a
phenomenon. empowering Web3 is a digital the community has phenomenon of million crypto investors world- persed throughout several plethora of opportunities by matter of choice and shall be
ledger called the blockchain. to come together to Web3 and welcome wide. Yet there are only about chains, and consequently, granting access to more than construedasanexpressunder-
Web3 reportedly has the Blockchain platforms are establish the neces- the ownership of 15 million active DeFi users. potential investors and enthu- 20 chains and over 100 differ- taking/guarantee in favour of
potential to add over 1 tril- sophisticated systems of sary guidelines. This digital assets. Now, I think that in the follow- siasts in the DeFi area are usu- ent protocols as a first step Hindustan Times of being
lion dollars to India’s GDP. recordinginformation,making can be done with the While a paradigm ing three to five years, this ally unsure of the discovery toward accomplishing its mis- absolved from any/ all poten-
Do you think India has the them efficient and immutable. establishment of CoinDCX shift is expected number of 15 million will easily process or starting point for sion.To securely navigatethese tial legal action, or enforceable
potential to lead the Web3 These decentralised, distrib- decentralised from this third increase to over 100 million, Web3 and the DeFi prospects opportunities in DeFi, Indian claims. The content may be for
revolution? uted ledgers maintain trans- autonomous organisations in phase of the internet, various and by 2030, Web3 will have a to carry out a transaction. Right customers will be able to access information and awareness
This question has a simple parent records that show irre- the Web3 space to create trans- studies are very optimistic significant impact on billions now, the only ways to learn the Okto wallet through the purposes and does not consti-
answer - yes! India can abso- futable ownership of digital parent rules of operation. Then about its growth. As per of lives. Finance and entertain- about these possibilities are CoinDCX Pro app. With the tute financial advice.
lutely lead the Web3 revolu- assets. Moreover, blockchain finally, we have the pillar of Emergen Research, the global ment are two industries that through social media or word help of this app, users can
tion. But for that, the first step eradicates the roles of interme- compliance. Since Web3 is all Web3 market is expected to Web3 will unavoidably encom- of mouth. access thousands of tokens
is acceptance. We have come a diaries on the internet, subse- about the ownership of digital register a CAGR of 43.7 % and pass, providing a decentralised Building a user-friendly from various DEXs and
long way from the static Web1 q u e n t l y l o we r i n g a ny assets, we need countries revenueisprojectedtoincrease backbone for a wide range of strategy for new clients has find possibilities that will Created by Mint Brand Studio
New Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM
India will
be a massive UK pushes for sharp tariff cuts m
MOVES
part of
Spotify biz,
on Scotch whisky under FTA A weekly list of C-Suiters who have moved up
the corporate ladder either within or outside
their companies.
Ambrish Appointed as managing director

says CEO Ek Singh at Davidson Kempner Capital
The new India-origin British prime minister has been vocal about the India-UK trade pact Anshu Appointed as chief technology
FROM PAGE 1
Sharma officer at UOLO
month other than an ad-sup- Dilasha Seth

Appointed as supply chain and
ported model in India). That
obviously impacts the moneti-
dilasha.seth@livemint.com
NeW DelhI
FTA in focus as Ashish
Agarwal
group procurement director
at Amcor
zation levels that we can get
relative to some other mar- PM, Sunak talk Ashutosh Appointed as partner, banking and
W
kets. However, this is not a hile negotiations for finance team at INDUSLAW
new story for me. This was Shashank Mattoo Narang
the India-UK free
very much the case in my own trade accord are set shashank.mattoo@livemint.com
country (Sweden), too, which to gather pace with Dr. Mahesh Appointed as executive vice
was the No. 1 pirate market in Rishi Sunak as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inder Veer Singh president UpHealth International
the world. British prime minister, consensus over and newly appointed British
The key recipe for success is Scotch whisky tariff appears elusive, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Hameed Appointed as vice president &
the same, which is you provide with the UK seeking a sharp cut in tariff spoke on Thursday. Jung group head- L&D at DCM Shriram
much better legal services to 30% over three years in the proposed The focus of the conversation
and, over time, introduce deal and 75% when the pact comes into was on strengthening the Com-
more benefits and increase
the quality of the experience.
As you do that, people don’t
mind paying.
And that’s what we’ve seen
before in Sweden, as well as in
China, which is now one of the
fastest-growing music mar-
effect.
New Delhi has proposed a tariff
reduction to 100% in the first year and
then cut to 50% in 10 years. India has
also likely proposed a minimum
threshold of $5 per 750ml on cost,
insurance and freight (cif) basis on UK The 150% tariffs on alcoholic beverages by India comprises a 50% basic customs
whisky to qualify for concessions under duty and 100% agriculture infrastructure development cess REUTERS
prehensive Strategic Partner-
ship between the two countries.
Further, the two leaders stressed
the importance of “an early con-
clusion of a comprehensive and
balanced FTA”, according to
Modi.
Hina
Dhamija
Kirandeep
Chakrabarti
Manish
m Appointed as head HR at Religare
Broking
Appointed as head of HR IKC

at United Airlines
Appointed as chief executive
MOVES
kets in the world when you the proposed FTA, sources aware of the Sapra officer at Kama Ayurveda
think about revenue back to matter said. that the pact benefits them. We are tak- structure development cess. reduced to 100% now and then down to
creators and the whole music The Indian industry is also seeking ing into account their views…talks may The two sides have provisionally 50% over a 10-year period, all subject to Appointed as vice president,
Nupur communications for South Asia
industry. easier entry of Indian whisky into the gather pace with a stable government closed 16 of the 26 chapters so far. a minimum import price of $5 per 750
Archarya at Moody’s
So, I’m very bullish on India UK market through the removal of con- in the UK,” said a government official. Agreement on subject issues, including ml (at cif) to prevent dumping.
in the long-term. But it’s defi- ditions related to the three-year mini- Indian alcoholic beverage industry is tariffs on Scotch whisky and visas, is “We are also agreeable with more
nitely going to take some time mum maturation period for all liquor, of the view that a “fair tariff rate” must still awaited. concessions on whisky imported in Appointed as head corporate
Pankaj
to get there. including whisky that is exported from remain in the range of 100-75% in the The new India-origin British prime bulk and bottled here since that sup- business affairs at Dr. Reddy's
Mahajan Laboratories
Are there trends that stand India. Indian whisky is sold in the UK near term and 75-50% in the long term, minister has been vocal about the ports some local economic activity in
out in India? What are the market as ‘spirits’. India-UK trade pact and India. But for the deal to work for both
languages or categories Besides, the UK is also FREEING UP SPIRITS has supported further sides, we believe that the UK must Siddharth Appointed as country head India
that are doing particularly seeking relaxation in the easing the British visa remove its condition that spirit must be Narayan at Permira
well? rules of origin for alco- NEW DELHI has THE Indian industry BESIDES, the UK is regime for Indians. matured for a minimum of three years
We’re early on in our jour- holic beverages while proposed a tariff cut is also seeking easier also seeking “As far as we are aware, to be called a whisky because that effec- Appointed as vice president-
to 100% in the first entry of Indian relaxation in the Subhransu
ney in India, but one of the India insists on 40% value year and then cut to whisky into the UK rules of origin for the British side is seeking tively rules out the bulk of exports from human resources at Interarch
most fascinating things is the addition norms to avail 50% in 10 years market alcoholic beverages a reduction in customs India and is neither supported by Mohanty Building Products
wealth of languages. So, we’re concessional tariff. duty on Scotch whisky Indian laws nor suitable for Indian cli-
improving our search experi- While Scotch Whisky and other alcoholic bev- mate conditions,” Giri said. Sudhir Appointed as chief operating
ence on not just Hindi but will be able to meet the condition, other as any rate below this would create a erages from current 150% to 75% Queries emailed to India’s depart- Kamath officer at Nazara Technologies
some of the local languages, liquor items may not be able to meet distorted field in favour of imports immediately and then to 30% in three ment of commerce remained unan-
too. the criteria. where the cost advantages would years’ time,” said Vinod Giri, director swered till press time.
Voice search is another “We have had several rounds of con- adversely affect Indian industry. general, Confederation of Indian Alco- India and the UK formally launched Vikaas Appointed as managing director
Sachdeva at Sundaram Alternatives
thing that’s extremely well sultations with the industry on various The 150% tariffs on alcoholic bevera- holic Beverage Companies. talks for a free trade agreement in Janu-
used in India but not used to sectors, including alcoholic beverage ges by India comprises a 50% basic cus- He added that the association has ary this year and have so far concluded
Source: Accord India, executive search worldwide
the same extent in other mar- and are ensuring in the negotiations toms duty and 100% agriculture infra- suggested that the duty may be five rounds of negotiations.
kets.
We’re doing a lot of cus-
tomization for the Indian
market, which I think will
serve us really well as we
think about other Southeast
CleanMax plans to Trai may get to
penalize firms
Acquiring Twitter to
Asian markets besides Africa
going forward.
How big is your Indian
raise $250 million that don’t meet help humanity: Musk
library right now? And
what are your plans in FROM PAGE 1 standards FROM PAGE 1 in shares of Twitter before the
terms of expansion, con- opening bell on Friday in antic-
tent or distribution part- $300 million. But nothing is FROM PAGE 1 an epic battle during which ipation of the company going
nerships? finalized on that front, and they Musk signed an April deal to private under Musk.
Much of our global cata- may seek to retain majority Commission (FCC) of the US acquire Twitter, then tried to Musk is expected to speak to
logue, which is 70 million-plus stake if needed,” the second and Ofcom of the United back out of it, leading Twitter to employees directly on Friday if
tracks, is available in India. person said seeking anonymity. Kingdom, the person said, sue the Tesla CEO to force him the deal is finalized, according to
A lot of popular Indian con- In 2021, US investment firm adding that the revamped to conclude the acquisition. If an internal memo cited in several
tent should be on the service Augment Infrastructure regulator would have inter- the two sides don’t meet the media outlets. Despite internal Supplies of products in high demand are still gradually
now as well, and we’re con- acquired a majority stake in national ideals and dedicated Friday deadline, the next step confusion and low morale tied to improving, indicating November will avert a post-festive dip MINT
stantly filling out the catalogue CleanMax for ₹1,650 crore after human resources instead of could be a November trial that fears of layoffs or a dismantling of
and adding more content.
That’s fantastic because (other
than listeners in the home
buying up the stakes held by
Warburg Pincus and Interna-
tional Finance Corp.
government officials on dep-
utation to supervise the sec-
tor effectively.
could lead to a judge forcing the company’s culture and opera-
Musk to com-
plete the deal.
tions, Twitter leaders
The NYSE notified this week have at least
Auto firms expect
market), there’s a huge Indian
diaspora in the UK and US as
well, and this resonates really
Emails sent to CleanMax
Enviro did not elicit a response.
India’s renewable energy mar-
India’s renewable energy market
is seeing a flurry of deal activity.
Trai was set up as a regula-
tory body in 1997.
Any changes to the regula-
But Musk
has been sig-
nalling that the
investors that it
will suspend
outwardly welcomed
Musk’s arrival and
trading in shares messaging.
sales momentum
well with them. ket is seeing a flurry of deal activity ₹2,500-3,000 crore. tor’s structure would have to deal is going Top sales execu-
We’re hard at work on intro-
ducing more local partner-
ships both on the content side
as investors and corporates seek
access to green energy assets.
Mint reported on 20 October
In addition, Torrent Power
Ltd and Singapore’s Sembcorp
Industries Ltd are in the field to
be undertaken through
amendments to the Trai Act
or—as is the case with the draft
through. He
strolled into the
company’s San
of Twitter before
on Friday
tive Sarah Perso-
the opening bell nette, the company’s
chief customer offi-
to continue in Nov
and also in getting Spotify to that private equity firm KKR is buy US PE firm Global Infra- telecom bill—through a new Francisco cer, said she had a Alisha Sachdev able income dampened
more places where Indians are seeking buyers for its maiden structure Partners’ Indian bill for the sector regulator. headquarters “great discussion” alisha.sachdev@livemint.com demand for entry-level two-
listening to music, be it cars, renewable energy platform clean energy platform Vector It makes recommendations Wednesday carrying a porce- with Musk on Wednesday and NeW DelhI wheelers and cars.
devices or wearables. ‘Virescent’, which would mark Green Energy at a valuation of to the government to levy lain sink, changed his Twitter appeared to endorse his Thurs- As a result, a pile-up of
A
We have some really excit- the first exit for KKR’s inaugu- around ₹5,000 crore. Private fines or penalties on telecom profile to “Chief Twit”, and day message to advertisers. utomobile companies inventory running into several
ing things coming up that I ral Asia-Pacific Infrastructure equity firm Actis Llp has won operators if they fail to meet tweeted “Entering Twitter HQ “Our continued commitment expect sales momen- months for entry-level vehi-
believe will have a pretty major Fund from India. Virescent, the bid to acquire Kolkata- the quality of service norms. —let that sink in!” to brand safety for advertisers tum to remain strong in cles is likely to be a drag on
impact on the take-up from which has around 500MW of based Atha Group’s 400MW However, the recommenda- And overnight the New York remains unchanged,” Perso- November despite the end of automotive dealers after the
the average Indian consumer solar assets, is likely to fetch an solar power assets at an equity tions are not binding on the Stock Exchange notified inves- nette tweeted Thursday. “Look- the festive season as supplies festive season winds down.
of Spotify in early 2023. enterprise value of around value of about $100 million. government. tors that it will suspend trading ing forward to the future!” of popular car models However, a pick-up in
improve, industry executives demand during the latter half
said. of the festive season in the
Supplies of products in high run-up to Dhanteras and
Zuckerberg calls for patience as Meta costs spook investors demand are still gradually Diwali is expected to continue
improving, indicating Novem- well into the marriage season
ber will avert a post-festive starting early November in
season dip as customers con- north India, which will help in
FROM PAGE 1 that number will grow to an virtual future that’s still years off. apps, which also includes Mes- versus proven bets in the core,” tinue to visit showrooms, auto the liquidation of some entry-
expected $96 billion to $101 bil- In the past year, Meta has senger and WhatsApp. Brent Thill, an analyst at Jeffer- dealers and origi- level models.
“I think we’re going to resolve lion, the company said on changed Facebook and Insta- On Wednesday, the com- ies LLC, said on the earnings nal equipment Commercial Commercial
each of these things over differ- Wednesday. gram’s experiences to show pany touted that Instagram call with Meta executives. manufacturers vehicle sales, vehicle sales,
ent periods of time,” Zuckerberg Meta has already been grap- more algorithmically chosen surpassed 2 billion monthly Zuckerberg has asked for (OEMs) said. industry industry execu-
said. “And I appreciate the pling with both a contraction in content and fewer posts from active users, and said those patience before. In 2015, inves- Vehicle sales executives said, tives said, were
patience and I think that those marketer spending due to eco- the people users follow. It’s also people are spending more time tor questions focused on when typically drop now near-peak
were now near-
who are patient and invest with nomic uncertainty, and a prioritizing short-form videos, watching Reels—and market- WhatsApp, Instagram and Mes- after peaking levels in the fes-
us will end up being rewarded.” change in Apple Inc.’s privacy called Reels, in response to ers are spending senger would during the festive peak levels in the tive season. Still,
It’s proving to be a hard sell policy that made all social media ByteDance Ltd.’s popular Tik- to advertise there, The company, make money. The season, when it is festive season sales of variants
when the company expects its ads less effective. The company Tok app, which has won users’ at an implied rate which changed its difference then considered auspi- with compressed
already-falling revenue to be less has cut costs by slowing hiring time and accustomed them to a of $3 billion a year name from was those applica- cious to make natural gas (CNG)
than analysts expected, and costs and narrowing priorities to feed of vertical videos based on in revenue. But Facebook to Meta tions already had high-value purchases. Manu- in many states where the gas
to be more. On Wednesday, focus on keeping its social media Monthly, the tech giant saw specific interests. Reels is dragging hundreds of mil- facturers also cut production costs upwards of ₹90 per litre
a year ago, is
Meta said third-quarter revenue platforms relevant and expand- 3.71 billion active users. REUTERS Meta’s legacy social media on revenue, to the lions of users each. during the end of the year, and are declining sharply as buyers
fell 4.5% from a year prior, only ing virtual reality offerings. products need to remain popu- tune of $500 mil- betting big on “Meta needs to dealers push to liquidate old prefer diesel variants. Simi-
the second time the company’s The company, which erse business next year. lar enough to generate the lion in the recent the metaverse turn its business stocks. While passenger vehi- larly, demand for CNG vari-
sales have ever declined—the changed its name from Face- Meta’s not the only internet advertising revenue that will quarter, as the around,” said cle sales during the Navratri to ants across passenger vehicle
first being last quarter. In the book to Meta a year ago, is also company suffering from a weak fund Zuckerberg’s metaverse newer product Debra Aho Willi- Deepawali period in October models has also taken a signifi-
final three months of the year, betting big on the metaverse, advertising market; both Alpha- vision. In the third quarter, 4% cannibalizes other ad spaces amson, an analyst at Insider rose to a record level for car- cant beating. Automotive
Meta expects that trend to con- virtual-reality-fuelled gather- bet Inc. and Snap Inc. got ham- more people spent time on that monetize at faster rates. It Intelligence. “As Facebook Inc., makers with new premium makers saw a sharp segment
tinue. The company’s fourth ing places that Zuckerberg mered on similarly lacklustre Meta’s platforms every day, could be as much as 18 months it was a revolutionary company sport utility vehicles (SUV), shift towards premium prod-
quarter forecasts came in at the thinks will host the future of results. It is the only company compared with the same before that changes, Zucker- that changed the way people demand in rural areas, tier-3 ucts when it comes to two-
low end of analysts’ estimates. work and communication. The that’s overhauling how its social period last year, with 2.93 bil- berg said. communicate and the way mar- and tier-4 towns was still wheeler sales, mimicking a
Meta now expects total effort is losing Meta billions, media platforms work while lion daily active users. Monthly, “How investors are feeling keters interact with consumers. below pre-covid peaks as the trend that has been evident in
expenses for this year to be $85 and the company expects to spending about one in every 10 the tech giant saw 3.71 billion right now is that there are just Today it’s no longer that innova- impact of the uneven rainfall the case of passenger vehicle
billion to $87 billion. For 2023, lose more money on the metav- dollars it generates in sales on a active users for its family of too many experimental bets tive groundbreaker.” on farming and lack of dispos- sales for a while now.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE FRiDay, 28 OctObeR 2022
New Delhi 07
‘AstraZeneca covid jabs NO LEFT TURN PLEASE; WE’LL SAVE FUEL good approximate solutions, even with millions of cities.
saved over 6 mn lives’ A M AT T E R

OF NUMBERS
No doubt you’re wondering why solving the TSP matters,
besides wondering which salesman would visit millions of
cities anyway. But like with so many other themes in mathe-
matics and CS, this one is really an analogy for other optimi-
zation problems. Define what a “city” stands for and what
Priyanka Sharma we bring either diagnosis or treatment for DILIP D’SOUZA “distance” means, and you can apply the same techniques
priyanka.sharma@livemint.com patients. not just to travel but to DNA sequencing, or the layout of
new delhi How many covid-19 vaccines has Astra- Respond to this column at electronic chips, or much more.
Zeneca supplied across the world in the feedback@livemint.com Generalize the TSP to multiple salesmen, and you have the
A
straZeneca plc is working on last two years? Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). Just as you’d expect, solving
A
next-generation covid-19 vacci- The vaccine is estimated to have helped s some of you who read this column know, I like ants. the VRP is NP-hard as well. But again, there are mathemati-
nes in the continuing battle save over six million lives between 8 Decem- Their antics—forgive the pun—have given me plenty cal techniques that produce acceptable results. And what
against the pandemic, said ber 2020 and 8 December 2021. Our shared of material to write about in this space: How they UPS is faced with every day is a VRP. They have a fleet of
Gagandeep Singh Bedi, manag- commitment to global equitable access has measure distance and what happens with ants that die, for vehicles and their drivers and a number of depots from
ing director of the UK-based pharmaceutical helped protect lives in low and lower middle- example. which a whole lot of packages must be delivered to expectant
company’s India unit. During the pandemic, income countries. To date, AstraZeneca and And, pertinently, the curious behaviour that a particular customers. How can UPS route all its vehicles so as to deliver
covid-19 vaccines manufactured by the com- our partners have released supply of more species of ant, Temnothorax albipennis, exhibits while all the packages while minimizing the total cost?
pany helped save more than six million lives than 3 billion vaccine doses to more than 180 exploring “unknown nest sites”. They turn left (https:// Of course, that “cost” can mean fuel used, or the time
worldwide till December 2021, Bedi said in an countries across every continent. Approxi- bit.ly/3Ni5xzm). spent, or the distance travelled, or the number of drivers
interview. So far, AstraZeneca and its partners mately two-thirds of these went to low-and More correctly, when they are scurrying through those needed, or maybe even wear and tear on the delivery trucks.
have supplied more than three billion vaccine lower-middle-income countries, including unknown sites and are faced with a choice of which way to All of those are the costs of using the fleet to make deliveries.
doses to more than 180 countries. Approxi- more than 470 million doses delivered to 130 turn, they choose left over right most of the time. Here’s one Which one should UPS minimize? That depends—which
mately, two-thirds of these went to low-and countries through the Covax facility. reason for this behaviour, according to ant researchers. If all one matters most to UPS?
lower-middle-income countries, including What is the status of the AstraZeneca ants out on a scouting expedition are inclined to choose left Their no-left-turn policy suggests that fuel costs matter
more than 470 million doses delivered to 130 nasal covid vaccine? in an unknown, possibly hostile space, the ones who enter most. Now that is possibly counter-intuitive. That’s because
countries through the Covax facility. Talking The intranasal covid formulation is always later “would be more likely to encounter their nest-mates.” making a left turn, when it’s required for delivery but not
about the recent contaminated cough syrup an option for a vaccine and it showed accepta- Friends, that is, rather than foes. allowed by company policy, may mean making three right
incident, Bedi said there is a need to under- ble tolerability profile, but it did not induce a There was lots to savour in the scientific paper where I first turns in a row in a detour to the right. The distance travelled
stand the regulatory processes around it to consistent mucosal antibody response or a read about these Temnothorax creatures. And I was posi- in that manoeuvre adds up and will no doubt exceed what a
prevent such events in the future. Edited strong systematic response. For this reason, tively charmed when I found that there are other creatures simple left turn amounts to. Over
excerpts: are a country with a protected economy with we along with Oxford University, have that do something similar. Well, sort of similar. Well, sort of UPS claims that several turns, over the whole UPS
early access to covid vaccines. In July 2020, decided to discontinue this project. creatures. in the US, not fleet, over even a single day of
Is AstraZeneca working on a next-gen AstraZeneca decided to tech-transfer it to What is the company doing on oncology? I refer to certain humans. Certain humans are in uniform, package deliveries, that can add
covid vaccine? Serum Institute. The second part of it was We have invested significantly on oncology driving a certain kind of vehicle. I refer to UPS drivers. I refer allowing left up to tens of thousands of excess
We have got multiple offerings when it establishing the entire clinical development intervention in the last five years. We are run- to them because UPS has a policy that they should avoid turns saves it km.
comes to the battle against covid, particularly programme, which was run at an unprece- ning 30-plus clinical trials across the world on turning left as far as possible. More correctly, they should 35 million litres Yet UPS claims that in the US,
for the vulnerable population, to offer a dented pace. Third, it was the most affordable the oncology front. The latest we are doing avoid turning left across oncoming traffic. (Of course, this of fuel a year not making those turns across
remarkable set of protection that can be really vaccine in the world. The firm decided not to now is new intervention in the treatment of applies in countries where they drive on the right; in the sen- oncoming traffic—meaning not
‘
long-lasting. As variants change, so do the vac- charge any profit for the years 2020 and lung cancer for early access and diagnosis. sible countries where people drive on the left, the policy having to wait for a gap in the traf-
cine generation chances and that’s an 2021 and that made it very How do you see the recent advises that UPS drivers should avoid turning right.) fic—saves about 35 million litres of fuel a year. This is while
immense amount of work that is being done. accessible to governments controversy over contam- Why would a package delivery service institute such a pol- managing to deliver 350,000 more packages annually.
Every time you have a new variant, you test across the world. Our part- Indian pharma inated cough syrups? icy? Won’t it result in longer routes to be driven and more What’s more, this increased efficiency in delivering packa-
your vaccine against that. So, it’s a part of the nership with Serum has been industry’s reputation It’s a very unfortunate fuel consumed? Well, on the face of it, yes. But the shortest ges means UPS was able to pare 1,100 trucks from its fleet. So
clinical devel- legendary in terms of the was built over decades development which hap- route may not necessarily use less fuel than longer ones. even though each necessary but unmade left turn makes
m INTERVIEW opment pro-
gramme. You
capacity, scale and profes-
sionalism they brought. So, and we have more
pened recently. Let us not
jump the gun and wait for
That’s because turning left can mean waiting for a break in
the flow of oncoming traffic, which wastes fuel. It also
each delivery route longer, the UPS fleet in the US, as a
whole, actually drives nearly 50 million fewer km per year.
then develop that was a very meaningful audits happening investigation into the drug increases the chances of an accident. Think of what’s actually a triple whammy: less fuel, fewer
the variants of these vaccines to counter. collaboration we have done. at all levels manufacturing process, find What happened here is a real-life example of a generaliza- trucks, fewer kilometres travelled. All by following a simple
Hence, yes; we are working on next-gen covid Apart from this, we have got where the gaps were, and let tion of a classic problem that every computer science student no-left-turn policy.
Gagandeep Singh Bedi
vaccines and work is in progress. multiple collaborations at Managing director of us first understand that. learns about: the travelling salesman problem (TSP). It goes There’s a lot more to explore in this story, including the
What sort of collaborations has Astra- the global level. Our acquisi- AstraZeneca India India’s pharma industry’s something like this: Given a list of cities a salesman must visit, question of whether more vehicles should start avoiding
Zeneca done in the recent past? tion of Alexion Pharmaceuti- reputation was built over and given the distance between each pair of cities, what is the turns across traffic. All Uber drivers? All non-commercial
The most impactful collaboration that we cals is also a success to decades and we have more shortest route the salesman can take so that he visits each city vehicles? All of us? What would happen then?
saw in India, as well as globally, was the answer the need of rare diseases. In India, we audits happening at all levels. By and large, we no more than once and returns to where he started? I’ll leave that for you to ponder. Me, I’ll bask in the rather
Oxford-AztraZeneca partnership, which have collaborated with Sun Pharma for two of have been the largest supplier of generics and Solving this is, in CS terms, “NP-hard”. That means what delightful thought that this might just be the first time in
really turned the tide in our battle against cov- our drugs like Dapagliflozin, for which we have been hailed as the pharmacy of the world you might guess: that it is essentially impossible. Sure, you human history that the same column takes in UPS vans, left
id-19. Particularly, if you look from the context really need their capabilities to go beyond for years. I don’t think that it’s a reputational would probably be able to do it for three or four cities. But turns and ants.
of a developing world and India specifically, metros. We have also partnered with the gov- damage; it’s more about understanding the increase that number, and the time a computer takes to find
our covid vaccines have been used by more ernments of Sweden and India and have set up regulatory process around it that we could a solution increases accordingly, exponentially. Yet since the Once a computer scientist, Dilip D’Souza now lives in Mum-
than 90% of the adult population, which is a centre of excellence at AIIMS Delhi and have done differently, in terms of strong vigil, TSP has been so intensively studied for so long, there are var- bai and writes for his dinners. His Twitter handle is @Death-
humongous. A lot of it is due to the fact that we Jodhpur, where we are trying to see how can to avoid a situation like this. ious known algorithms to tackle it that can produce pretty EndsFun.
DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

OFFICE OF THE ADDL. CE(DR) PROJECT-III
THROUGH EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (C)DR-XII
MU BLOCK, PITAMPURA, DELHI-110034
Ph. 011-27342465, E-mail :- executiveengineercdr12@gmail.com
NIT No. 07/ EE (C) Dr XII/2022-23
S. Name of Work Tender Amount Put to Tender Date of release Last Date and Time of
No. Tender Fee of tender through download and RTGS through
e-procurement solution e-Procurement Solution
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The tender has been uploaded on website http://delhi.govtprocurement.com
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) “STOP CORONA:WashYour Hands,Wear Mask & (Er. V. P. Sharma)
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INDUS TOWERS LIMITED

(FORMERLY BHARTI INFRATEL LIMITED)
CIN: L64201HR2006PLC073821
Regd. Office: Building No. 10, Tower A, 4th Floor, DLF Cyber City, Gurugram-122002, Haryana
Telephone no.: +91 124 4296766, Fax no.: + 91 124 4289333, Email id: compliance.officer@industowers.com
indus
TOWERS
Extract of Audited Consolidated Financial Results of Indus Towers Limited

for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2022 prepared in accordance with the Ind AS
(in Million except per share data)
Quarter ended Half Year ended Quarter ended
Particulars
September 30, 2022 September 30, 2022 September 30, 2021
Audited Audited Audited
Revenue from operations 79,666 148,639 68,765
Profit before tax for the period 11,750 18,181 20,334
Profit after tax for the period 8,718 13,491 15,585
Total Comprehensive Income for the period 8,713 13,486 15,600
Paid-up equity share capital (Face value ` 10 each) 26,949 26,949 26,949
Other equity 177,800 177,800 161,072
Earnings per share (Face value ` 10 each) (in `)
Basic and diluted EPS
i) Basic 3.236 5.007 5.790
ii) Diluted 3.235 5.006 5.789
Notes to financial results
1. The above financial results for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2022 have been reviewed by the Audit & Risk Management
Committee at its meeting held on October 27, 2022 and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on October 27, 2022.
2. Key Numbers of Standalone Financial Statement as per Ind AS:
(in Million)
Quarter ended Half Year ended Quarter ended
S.No. Particulars
September 30, 2022 September 30, 2022 September 30, 2021
Audited Audited Audited
1 Revenue from operations 79,666 148,639 68,752
2 Profit before tax 11,760 18,203 20,347
3 Profit after tax 8,730 13,519 15,598
3. The above is an extract of the detailed format of Quarterly Financial Results filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the SEBI
(Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full formats of the Quarterly Financial Results are available on the
Stock Exchange websites www.nseindia.com and www.bseindia.com and on the Company’s website www.industowers.com.
For Indus Towers Limited (formerly Bharti Infratel Limited)

Sd/-
Place: Gurugram N Kumar
Date: October 27, 2022 Chairman
"The Company", wherever stated stands for Indus Towers Limited (formerly Bharti Infratel Limited). For more details on the financial results, please visit our website www.industowers.com
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Indians have the ability to World Bank Group Diwali reception in No10. I’ll
Atmospheric levels of
the three main green- connect to internet directly World Bank is a key do everything I can in this job
house gases—carbon through their device...role of partner in India’s to build a Britain where our
dioxide, methane and satellite communications & quest for sustainable children, grandchildren can
nitrous oxide—reached space segment is an inher- development light their Diyas and look to
new highs in 2021 ent part of this the future with hope
Query deadline for FESTIVE RUSH IndiGo allowed to

IDBI Bank extended wet lease planes
T T
he finance ministry on Thursday extended he Directorate General of Civil Aviation
the deadline for potential bidders to (DGCA) has allowed IndiGo to wet lease
submit queries on IDBI Bank privatisation wide-body Boeing planes from Turkish
by 13 days till 10 November. Airlines for up to six months and has rejected the
The ministry on 7 October had floated the domestic carrier’s request for leasing the aircraft
preliminary information memorandum (PIM) for up to two years, according to sources. The
inviting bids for selling about 61% stake in IDBI DGCA turned down the request of the country’s
Bank. The deadline for raising queries and largest airline to wet lease the aircraft for a
submission of bids by interested bidder was 28 longer period, citing that the move could
October and 16 December, respectively. become diversion of traffic rights in collusion
The Department of Investment and Public with a strong foreign carrier that will mainly
Asset Management (DIPAM) on Thursday feed the latter’s hub abroad with more
issued a corrigendum to the PIM and extended passengers from India, the sources said. IndiGo,
the deadline for submission of queries till 10 which currently has only narrow-body planes in
November. The government is expecting to get its fleet, decided to lease wide-body aircraft to
the financial bids for IDBI Bank by March and operate more flights on international routes to
complete the process of privatization in the first meet rising demand. Meanwhile, the DGCA has
half of next fiscal beginning April 2023. also given aerodrome licence for the new airport
After the stake sale, the government’s and at Mopa in Goa, paving the way for starting
LIC’s stake jointly will come down to 34%, from commercial flights operations there soon. PTI
currently 94.72%. PTI
Passengers crowd the Patna Junction railway station in Bihar as they head for their home towns ahead of ‘Chhath Puja’ festival on Thursday. PTI
Unilever spots value growth in M3M is looking for sales of ₹2,000 crore from the
Gurugram project. MINT
Quarterly profit rose to ₹628 crore.
Tata Chem Q2 net

MINT
India amid decline in volumes M3M India to invest

₹700 cr in Haryana
jumps nearly 3-fold
R
ealty firm M3M India on Thursday said it
T
ata Chemicals Ltd on Thursday will invest ₹700 crore to develop a new
reported a second-quarter profit that Weakness in consumption reported due to impact of inflation, says CEO Alan Jope retail property in Gurugram, Haryana.
nearly tripled, helped by a strong The company said in a statement that it has
performance in its basic chemistry products launched a retail project— ‘M3M Capitalwalk’ in
segment. Staff writer broad-based despite a challenging demand envi- ance,” Jope said during an investors call. sector 113, Gurugram, on the 150-metre-wide
The chemical manufacturer’s consolidated feedback@livemint.com ronment. Meanwhile, commenting on future invest- Dwarka Expressway. The project will have 1,047
net profit for the three months ended 30 New DelHI Last week, the company’s local arm Hindustan ments, the company highlighted its investment units of different sizes, ranging from 100 to
September came in at ₹628 crore, compared Unilever Ltd., reported a 4% jump in domestic in digital—be in supply chain, marketing or in its 3,000 square feet.
I
with ₹221 crore a year ago. ndian markets are reporting weakness in con- volumes; profit was up 20% year-on-year, the relationship with customers and platforms. M3M is looking for a topline of ₹2,000 crore
The chemical industry in India has shown sumption due to impact of inflation that is company announced. HUL said its growth was This digital investment is enabling us to better from this project. Pankaj Bansal, director, M3M
robust growth and was among the few especially hurting demand in India villages, “significantly” understand con- India, said the company is making investments
industries that pulled through the covid-19 Unilever Plc’s chief executive officer Alan ahead of the market sumer needs to bet- to build a portfolio of 6 million square feet of
pandemic, as many industries pursued the Jope said on Thursday. Despite this Indian with more than 75% Unilever Plc is, however, making ter serve customers retail space. The new project will have 1 million
China-plus-one strategy. markets continue to grow in value even as vol- of the company’s “significant investments” in its supply and to run an effi- square feet of saleable space, he added.
The demand for soda ash and bicarb, used to umes are declining. business winning
make soaps and detergents and as a raising The company is, however, making “significant value and volume chain networks in India — among its cient supply chain,
Graeme Pitkethly,
The company’s residential project ‘M3M
Capital’ and retail project ‘M3M Capitalwalk’ are
agent in baked goods, has been witnessing investments” in its supply chain networks in market shares. “The priority markets the chief financial spread across 25 acres. The residential project,
strong growth for the company. India—among its priority markets. Indian markets are officer said. “We are comprising 1,700 units, is expected to generate a
The consolidated revenue from operations The maker of Dove soaps and Vim detergent growing in value, making significant revenue of ₹3,500 crore. PTI
rose 40.3% to ₹4239 crore, elevated by ₹3242 bar reported quarterly earnings on Thursday. The but market volumes are declining. This consump- investments in our supply chain networks in our
crore of basic chemistry products revenue. company’s sales volumes declined 1.6% during the tion weakness is due to the impact of inflation on priority markets with India and US network resets
Agri-input business Rallis India Ltd, a TTCH third quarter, it said. Turnover increased 17.8% the Indian consumers, particularly those in rural and a new multi- category site in China underway.
subsidiary, also reported a 25.9% rise in its
September quarter net profit to ₹71.05 crore
year-on-year. The company raised its full-year
sales forecast. Meanwhile, commenting on India
areas. We are confident of HUL’s ability to con- And we’re also investing to increase capacity for
tinue to grow ahead of the market and we see that premium ice cream in Europe and in North Amer-
ArcelorMittal, BHP
last week. PTI the company said market performance remained reflected in very strong market share perform- ica,” Pitkethly added.
to capture carbon
A
rcelorMittal and BHP Group will test a
Another bird hit, full-scale carbon capture operation in
India emissions below world average Belgium, in the latest sign of major
this time on Akasa steelmakers and miners working together to
curb emissions.
The “Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Steelmaking is one of the most polluting
A
n Akasa Air plane coming from Closing Window”, released ahead of the industries, approaching a 10th of all
Ahmedabad to Delhi suffered bird hit on UN Climate Change conference (COP27) greenhouse gas emissions. That’s put it in the
Thursday but landed safely in the in Egypt next month, also said the firing line of investors and environmentalists
national capital and the aircraft has been international community is still falling far who want to see credible plans for producers to
grounded for a detailed inspection. short of the Paris goals, with no credible reduce their environmental impact. Cutting
The airline said the Boeing 737 Max aircraft pathway to limiting global temperature emissions is existential for the steel industry,
landed safely and all the passengers were rise to 1.5 degree Celsius in place. To but it’s also a huge concern for some of the top
deboarded on arrival. address climate change, countries miners who make much of their profits from
This is at least the second incident of bird hit adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015 to iron ore, the key steelmaking ingredient. Scope
involving an Akasa Air aircraft. On October 15, a limit global temperature rise in this 3 emissions— created when customers such as
Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air plane from century to well below 2 degrees Celsius, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the Chinese steel mills use commodities dug up by
Mumbai returned to the city airport due to a preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, foundation stone of the project at Vadodara. PTI miners like BHP—are a big issue for miners as
burning smell in the cabin, which later turned The international community is falling short compared to pre-industrial levels. they seek to reassure investors that they can
out to be due to bird strike.
On Thursday, a senior official at aviation
of the Paris goals, the UN report said. MINT “World average per capita GHG
emissions (including land use, land-use
Tata, Airbus deal to become greener. BLOOMBERG
make C-295 aircraft

A
regulator DGCA said the aircraft VT-YAF t 2.4 tCO2e (tonne carbon dioxide change, and forestry—LULUCF) were 6.3
operating flight QP 1333 had a bird strike equivalent), India’s per capita tCO2e in 2020. The US remains far above
during climb out passing 1,900 feet. greenhouse gas emissions were far this level at 14 tCO2e, followed by 13
JSW Steel US arm
A
“Akasa Air flight QP 1333 flying from below the world average of 6.3 tCO2e in tCO2e in the Russian Federation, 9.7 consortium led by the Tata Group and
Ahmedabad to Delhi on October 27 suffered a
bird hit. The aircraft landed safely and all
2020, according to a new report released
by the United Nations Environment
tCO2e in China, about 7.5 tCO2e in Brazil
and Indonesia, and 7.2 tCO2e in the
Airbus will manufacture the C-295
transport aircraft in Gujarat, the raises $182 million
passengers were deboarded,” the airline said in Programme on Thursday. European Union,” it said. PTI government said in a statement on Thursday.The
H
a statement. PTI total cost of the project is ₹21,935 crore. Prime ome-grown JSW Steel on Thursday said
Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation its US arm has raised $182 million from
stone of the transport aircraft manufacturing two Italian banking institutions to fund
project for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at modernizing of its plate mill facility in
India’s women cricketers to be paid same match fee as men Vadodara, Gujarat on 30 October, the ministry of
defence said. As part of the contract, 16 aircraft
Baytown, US.
Its subsidiary JSW Steel (USA) owns and
will be delivered in flyaway condition and 40 will operates one of the largest plate mills of
I
ndia’s international women cricketers will be paid the same match fee as the be manufactured in India by the Indian Aircraft America having an installed capacity of more
men, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Thursday, hailing a Contractor, Tata Consortium of Tata Advanced than 1.2 million tonne per annum.
“new era of gender equality” in the nation’s favourite sport. Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy JSW Steel USA has tied-up long-term
The announcement by the cricket board follows pressure across sport Services (TCS) led by TASL, defence secretary financing with two Italian banking institutions,
globally to reduce the often vast differences in pay. Ajay Kumar said addressing a press conference in Intesa Sanpaolo and Banco BPM, for its Plate
Match fees are however separate from annual pay packets, where New Delhi. “This is the first project of its kind in Mill modernization project in Baytown, JSW
there are enormous differences between what Indian men and their which a military aircraft will be manufactured in Steel said in a statement on Thursday.
women counterparts earn. “We are implementing pay-equity policy India by a private company. The total cost of the The capital of $182 million has been raised,
for our contracted @BCCIWomen cricketers,” BCCI secretary project is ₹21,935 crore. The aircraft can be used the company said in a reply to a query on the
Jay Shah tweeted, calling it the “first step towards tackling for civilian purposes as well,” a defence ministry status of the transaction. The total cost of the
discrimination”. statement said. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, modernization project is $260 million. The
“The match fee for both men and women cricketers will be same as we move civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia remaining funding will be through internal
into a new era of gender equality in cricket,” Shah said. and Gujarat chief minister Bhupendrabhai Patel accruals, it said. In 2007, the JSW group
Despite some progress India remains a highly traditional and patriarchal are among those who will attend the function. bought the then bankrupt Baytown steel asset
society and has far fewer women in formal employment than men. AFP BCCI termed the decision as “new era of gender equality”. PTI SAURAV ANAND for $810 million. PTI
LIVEMINT.COM GLOBAL FriDay, 28 OctOber 2022
New Delhi 09
m MINT SHORTS
Samsung names 3rd generation
After 2 weak quarters, ECB doubles key
interest rate despite
heir Lee as chairman after pardon
Seoul, South Korea: Samsung Electronics has officially
appointed third-generation heir Lee Jae-yong as executive chair-
man, two months after he secured a pardon of his conviction for
US GDP recovers in Q3 recession fears
bribing a former president in a corruption scandal that toppled Bloomberg
a previous South Korean government. Meanwhile, the company feedback@livemint.com
on Thursday said its third-quarter operating profits were down
Trade deficit narrowed as slowing demand brought down import bills
T
31.39% year-on-year after a global economic downturn hit he European Central
demand for consumer electronics. AGENCIES Bank doubled its key
interest rate to the high-
Reuters est level in more than a decade,
Credit Suisse to raise $4 billion feedback@livemint.com intensifying its broadside
against record inflation in the
to fund sweeping overhaul WASHINGTON
face of a likely recession.
U
REUTERS
S economic growth Officials in Frankfurt deliv-
rebounded more than ered a second straight three-
expected in the third quarter quarter-point hike on Thurs-
amid a continued decline in day — as economists expected.
the trade deficit, but that Citing “substantial progress in ECB’s move matches the recent
overstates the economy’s health as the withdrawing monetary policy pace of the Fed. BLOOMBERG
Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate accommodation,” they
increases curbed consumer spending. brought the deposit rate, which Money markets pared tight-
Gross domestic product increased at a was below zero as recently as ening wagers by as much as 15
2.6% annualized rate last quarter, the July, to 1.5%. basis points, pricing the deposit
Commerce Department said in its “Inflation remains far too rate to peak just above 2.75%
advance GDP estimate on Thursday, end- high and will stay above the tar- next year.
ing two straight quarterly decreases in get for an extended period,” the Officials also toughened the
Credit Suisse Group AG took the most dramatic steps yet output, which had raised concerns that ECB said in a statement. The terms on more than €2 trillion
to repair the bank, unveiling a plan that will see a multi-bil- the economy was in recession. Governing Council said it ($2 trillion) of ultra-cheap pan-
lion dollar capital raise, thousands of job cuts and carve out The economy contracted at a 0.6% pace “expects to raise interest rates demic-era loans to banks
of the investment bank. The firm plans to raise $4.1 billion in the second quarter. Economists polled Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank believes the US will need a period of further,” dropping a prior ref- known as TLTROs. The agree-
through a rights issue and selling shares to investors includ- by Reuters had forecast GDP growth below trend growth and some softening in labour market to reach its inflation goal. AFP erence to hikes continuing for ments had become problem-
ing the Saudi National Bank, it said on Thursday. It is effec- rebounding at a 2.4% rate. Estimates “several meetings.” atic after the recent rapid rate
tively breaking up the investment bank, separating the ranged from as low as a 0.8% rate to as quarter. Wild swings in trade and invento- tures price index, an inflation measure fol- In plowing on hikes allowed len-
advisory and capital markets business and selling a majority high as a 3.7% pace. ries were behind the contraction in GDP lowed by Fed officials, grew an annualized with increases ECB reaffirmed its ders to park
of its SPG business to Apollo Global Management Inc. and While the economy may not be in in the first half of the year. Growth in con- 4.2% in the third quarter, the slowest pace even as energy- commitment to TLTRO cash in
Pacific Investment Management Co. BLOOMBERG recession, the risks of a downturn have sumer spending, which accounts for more since the end of 2020. Stripping out food market turmoil wrest back ECB accounts and
increased as the Fed doubles down on rate than two-thirds of US economic activity, and energy, the index rose 4.5%. Septem- batters the 19-na- control over earn a risk-free
hikes as it fights the fastest-rising inflation slowed to 1.4% rate from the April-June ber data will be released Friday. tion euro-zone income.
Egypt unexpectedly raises rates prices that are
in 40 years. The US central quarter’s 2.0% pace. US stock futures reversed losses follow- economy, the Changing the
bank has raised its bench- Wild swings in Consumer spending is ing the report, while short-term Treasury ECB reaffirmed surging at 5 times conditions retro-
by 200 basis points to 13.25% mark overnight interest rate trade and being supported by a strong yields fluctuated. Fed Chair Jerome Pow- its commitment the 2% target actively carries
Egypt’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest from near zero in March to inventories were labour market, which is driv- ell has said the central bank believes the to wrest back con- legal risks and
rate to 13.25% and said it was moving to a “durably flexible the current range of 3.00% to behind the ing up wages. The Labour US will need both a period of below trend trol over prices could make banks
exchange rate regime.” Egypt has been grappling with the eco- 3.25%, the swiftest pace of Department reported on growth and some softening in labor mar- that are surging at five times the wary of similar offers in the
contraction in
nomic fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BLOOMBERG policy tightening in a gener- Thursday a modest increase ket conditions to reach its inflation goal. 2% target. future, undermining their
ation or more. GDP in the first in the number of people filing While policymakers hope to avoid a reces- The move matches the effectiveness. Deutsche Bank
The report will have little half of the year new claims for unemploy- sion, the Fed’s latest forecasts have the recent pace of the Federal Chief Financial Officer James
Google to appeal 4.1-billion-euro impact on monetary policy, ment benefits last week. economy growing just 0.2% in 2022 and Reserve, whose assault on von Moltke said Wednesday
with Fed officials watching Initial claims for unem- 1.2% in 2023. The economy did soften in inflation began earlier, and has he’d be “disappointed” if the
Android fine at Europe’s top court September personal consumption ployment benefits increased 3,000 to a the first half of the year, but part of that boosted the dollar at the euro’s terms were adjusted as banks
Brussels: Alphabet unit Google will appeal its record 4.1-billion- expenditures price data and third quarter seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week weakness reflected drags from volatile expense. Canada, however, signed up “faithfully” to keep
euro EU antitrust fine at Europe’s top court after a lower tribunal labour cost numbers due on Friday, ahead ended 22 Oct. Claims have remained sig- categories like net exports and invento- wrong-footed investors on credit flowing.
threw out its challenge last month, the U.S. tech giant said on of their 1-2 November policy meeting. nificantly low despite reports of compa- ries. At the same time, the unemployment Wednesday by unexpectedly Officials also cut the interest
Thursday. The Luxembourg-based General Court broadly The trade deficit narrowed sharply in nies, mostly in the interest rate-sensitive rate has retreated to a historic low and lay- slowing the speed of its mone- they pay on the reserves banks
backed the European Commission’s 2018 decision but pruned part as slowing demand curbed the import sectors, laying off workers. offs remain scant, challenging the notion tary tightening as its economy are required to hold at the ECB
the fine to 4.125 billion euros from 4.34 billion euros. REUTERS bill. Exports also increased for much of last The personal consumption expendi- that the US is in a recession. flirts with a downturn. to match the deposit rate.
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REPORTAGE | TALkING POINTS | IDEAS | INSIGHT | THE BOTTOmLINE
IN GUJARAT, AAP
THROWS A CHALLENGE
AAP is making inroads in the western state but, in the short run, it could split the opposition vote-share
AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a public meeting in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. PTI
Parth M.N. exposing the BJP. ter at all. It makes you wonder if the Con- has always been a two-party state. The Isudan says people used to come to him
mint
feedback@livemint.com “I will vote for AAP this time,” she says. gress is even committed to defeating the SHORT Congress has disintegrated. So the entry with their problems because of his popu-
AHMEDABAD “How many more chances do the Con- BJP. With Arvind Kejriwal, at least you STORY of a third party will ensure the opposition larity. “I did what I could but there is only
gress want? If they couldn’t do anything feel like he is sincerely trying his best. He vote gets divided.” so much you can do when you have a job in
F
or more than 13 years, Kailash for over 20 years, why should this election deserves a chance.” Kejriwal is the Pandya is not off the mark. TV,” he adds. “But after covid-19, I
Gadhvi, 52, was associated with be any different?” national convenor of AAP and the chief WHAT Upon being asked about the outcome of thought I should quit my safe job and work
the Congress party in Gujarat. An minister of Delhi. the elections, Kartik Shukla, 40, a cab for the people. I am a religious man. My
other backward class (OBC) The rurAl window Besides the despondency within the Assembly elections in Gujarat are driver from Ahmedabad, says, “Aayega toh ideology aligns with AAP because they
expected by end-November or
leader and a chartered account-
ant by profession, Gadhvi was the state T he BJP first came to power on its own
in Gujarat in 1995. Back then, PV Nar-
president of All India Professionals’ Con- asimha Rao was the prime minister. Virat
Congress ranks, AAP’s campaign on
schools and electricity has struck a chord
with the electorate. Party workers have
early December—the Election
Commission is yet to announce
Modi hi.” also focus on issues. We are here with a
The current chief minister of Gujarat, different brand of politics.”
Bhupendrabhai Patel, who took charge in AAP’s focus in Gujarat is not on huge
gress (AIPC) and also the spokesperson of Kohli was seven years old. And Narendra been distributing ‘guarantee cards’, with the dates. The BJP, for now, has 2021 replacing Vijay Rupani, is not the rallies but door-to-door campaigns. The
the party. Modi was a name unheard of in India. multiple promises of jobs, women’s safety an aura of invincibility here. most popular man in the state. But several party understands the might of BJP’s
But the position he cherished most was Rao passed away 17 years back; Kohli and better schools, among others. people this writer spoke to said their vote cadre and the importance of having a per-
the chairman of Congress’s chartered has been an international cricketer for 13 Among those in favour of voting for the would go to the BJP because of Modi. sonal connect with the voter. “We have
accountant cell. “No political party had years; Modi is into his ninth year as the AAP is Shankar Makwana, 44, a Dalit. A NOW “Modi has awakened the Hindus,” our teams of party workers ready in at
thought of having a separate cell of char- prime minister of India. But the BJP is yet truck driver based in Ahmedabad, he Shukla says. “Until he became prominent least 16,000 of the 18,000 villages,” says
tered accountants in their structure,” he to lose a state election in Gujarat since it earns ₹30,000 a month and has three There’s an air of despondency in India, Muslims would marry Hindu Isudan.
says, sitting in his office in Ahmedabad. “It first came to power—27 years on, its grip children. The eldest is married, while the within the Congress ranks in the women and convert them. That has Many of those earlier worked for the
was exciting to set it up.” over the state remains strong. other two children have just stepped out state. AAP is thereby making stopped now. I believe in equality but it Congress.
Cut to April 2022. Gadhvi joined the However, because of the BJP’s aura of of college. “I sent them to private schools inroads. Its campaign on schools should work both ways. Our society and Jigar Thakore, 28, from the village of
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at its state office in invincibility in the state, it is possible to because the government schools here and electricity has struck a chord even Bollywood has glorified Muslims. I Dudka in Patan district, toils as a labourer
Ahmedabad in the presence of his sup- underestimate the presence of a pro-Con- aren’t that great,” he says. “But the private with the electorate. don’t agree with that.” during the day, earning ₹200-250. In the
porters—chartered accountants, small gress or an anti-BJP voter. In 2017–the schools keep asking for money. As a truck Shukla’s only gripe with the BJP is that evening, he gets people to register with
businessmen, and bankers, among others. closest election ever seen in Gujarat in the driver, I have had to borrow money and the schools in Gujarat are in bad shape. AAP. “I used to work for the Congress ear-
Along with him, he says, at least 400 Con- 21st century–the BJP was reduced to 99 get my kids educated. I wouldn’t have had BUT But that isn’t enough for him to switch his lier but it didn’t seem worth it,” he says. “I
gress workers switched to AAP. out of the 182 assembly seats. The Con- to do it if the government schools in Guj- loyalties. He believes that Congress lead- don’t mind working hard if the leaders at
“The Congress party promoted me and gress, at 77 seats, had put up a respectable arat were decent.” In the short run, AAP could split ers Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka the top also do it. I followed AAP on social
treated me with respect,” Gadhvi says, performance. Makwana has heard about the public the opposition voteshare and, in Gandhi are secretly devout Muslims. His media. I researched the party for a year.
gearing up for the The BJP owed its suc- schools in Delhi and is impressed with the process, make things easier belief, he claims, stems And then I decided to
assembly elections in cess to the voters in Kejriwal’s work. “He is the only leader dis- for the BJP. However, AAP has from a WhatsApp mes- join.”
the state expected by AAP’s focus in Gujarat urban areas. According cussing education,” he says. “He talks the potential to emerge as a sage that he received The Congress is aware of the Thakore sits at the
end-November or early is not on huge rallies to the Trivedi Centre for about giving free electricity to the poor. credible challenger. sometime ago. And, Kej- dangers AAP poses to its Patan bus stop for two-
December of 2022—the Political Data, the BJP He is focused on issues that affect our daily riwal, he says, is an out- three hours and reaches
Election Commission is but door-to-door won 85% of the urban lives. He looks like a better option than the sider. existence in Gujarat. But its out to travelers. “It is the
yet to announce the campaigns. The party seats and 67% of the Congress right now.” a trader,” he says. “Get involved only if leaders remain confident best place to add more
dates. “But it doesn’t semi-urban seats. Con- there are profits. It sounds good as long as A curiosiTy, sTill people to the fold,” he
have the fire in the belly
that is required to form
the government. A polit-
understands the might of
the BJP’s cadre.
gress, on the other hand,
riding on the back of a
raging Patidar agitation
‘BJP’s B TeAM’
T he Congress is aware of the dangers

AAP poses to its existence in Gujarat.
it works. But you can’t trust them.”
Gadhvi says Muslims feature in AAP’s
plan just like every other community does.
T o shed the image of since “AAP has no ideological says. “On an average, I
an “outsider”, AAP
is banking on two lead- commitment”.
register 300 people
every day. I have a simi-
ical party should strive (a pro-reservation agita- Manish Doshi, a Congress spokesper- “We campaign on issues,” he says. “We ers, Gopal Italia and Isu- lar network in nine villa-
for power. With Congress, it seems their tion), won 58% of the rural seats. Several son based in Ahmedabad, says that AAP is don’t want to give the BJP any opportu- dan Gadhvi. ges around mine.”
leaders are happy to simply sit in the farmers and labourers struggling with the BJP’s B-team. “But we are confident,” nity to make the situation communally Italia is a former constable, who joined However, the atmosphere around AAP
opposition,” Gadhvi adds. water shortage, agrarian crisis and unem- he says. “The Congress’s seats have tense. We set our own agenda.” the Patidar andolan in 2017 and quickly is strongest in Saurashtra, sporadic in
Gadhvi quit the Congress party in Octo- ployment in rural areas voted for change– increased with each election since 2002. Except that Arvind Kejriwal and AAP became an important leader of the move- north and south Gujarat and weakest in
ber 2020 after being denied a ticket for most of them from Saurashtra region, Our manifesto is based on people’s issues. have demanded pictures of Hindu deities ment. In 2017, he became famous after he central.
the by-election in Abdasa, a constituency where Congress nearly doubled its tally We have worked on our booth manage- on Indian currency. They are not just hurled a shoe at minister of state for home, Nattubhai Makwana, former sarpanch
in his native region of Kutch. While his from 16 seats in 2012 to 30 in 2017. ment.” speaking about electricity and schools. Pradipsinh Jadeja. Through him, the of Bamangaon village in Anand district,
analysis might stem from a personal That is exactly where the AAP is making The 22 MLAs who defected from Con- The right of the centre strategy is aimed party hopes to reach out to the Patidar says he hasn’t seen an AAP worker in the
grudge, his perception is shared by many inroads. gress to the BJP were “blackmailed and/or at eating into the BJP’s vote-share. AAP community, which forms 15% of the popu- village yet. “The votes here are divided
ordinary voters, especially the anti-Bhar- tempted with powerful positions”, says believes it can’t win an election by alienat- lation. Earlier this month, Gujarat police into two parties,” he says. “Congress is still
atiya Janata Party (BJP) constituency GuArAnTee cArd cAMPAiGns Doshi. “We took out rallies in those con- ing the majority Hindus. arrested him for “derogatory remarks” the preferred choice of those who don’t
longing for an effective opposition in Guj-
arat. The fact that AAP lost deposits in all J eevanbhai Parmar, 50, a small farmer
in Ramdevpur village of Saurashtra’s
stituencies to reassure our voters so that
they don’t shift to AAP. The party has been The Modi fAcTor
against Prime Minister Modi. Commenta- want the BJP. Rahul Gandhi seems like a
tors believe it is a sign of AAP making the man with his heart in the right place. But
of the 29 seats it contested in 2017 seems Surendranagar district, has grown
like distant history this time around. despondent with the Congress. After the
Radhaben Parmar, 40, a farmer in the spirited show of 2017, he expected the
brought to Gujarat to divide the votes.
They have no ideological commitment.”
AAP’s conspicuous reluctance to speak
S o far, though, the BJP’s constituency
seems largely intact–especially in
urban areas.
BJP a bit nervous.
lar show with VTV News, where he was

it is true that AAP’s entry has made people
Isudan, on the other hand, had a popu- curious.”
The curiosity and traction around AAP
village of Totana in Patan district, says the party to consolidate on the results. up on communal tensions has often drawn Bharat Pandya, a BJP leader based in known to have conducted combative anti- should worry both the Congress and the
lack of opposition has allowed the BJP a Instead, 22 of the Congress MLAs flak from commentators and activists. Ahmedabad, says it will be an easier elec- establishment debates. Belonging to the BJP. In the short run, it could split the
free run in the state. She believes the ‘Guj- defected to the BJP soon after the elec- Imtiyaz Qureshi, a resident of Ahmeda- tion than the one in 2017. “There is no influential Gadhvi community among the opposition vote-share and, in the process,
arat model’ only works for the rich. At the tions–four of them from Surendranagar. bad, says AAP might have done good work people’s movement (patidar agitation) this OBCs, Isudan’s shows on the agrarian dis- make things easier for the BJP. But in the
same time, Radhaben is fed up with the “It makes you feel hopeless,” says Par- in Delhi but it doesn’t stand up against dis- time around,” he says. “We are aiming to tress and the Patidar agitation had been long run, AAP has the potential to emerge
Congress for having failed at effectively mar. “You feel like your vote doesn’t mat- crimination. “Their politics is like that of go beyond a two-thirds majority. Gujarat particularly followed in rural areas. as its credible challenger.
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY FriDay, 28 OctOber 2022
NeW Delhi 11
Know the gaps in insurance WHAT'S THE FOREX RATE?

Whether you are planning
overseas travel or want to
policies for mental illness

send money abroad, it is
always a good idea to shop
around for the best forex
exchange rate. From banks,
travel aggregators to money
changers, various small and
big players sell foreign
exchange. To simplify your
work, here is a list of INR to
USD forex rates offered by
Irdai has asked insurers to provide mental illness coverage in health policies before 31 Oct some of the major banks
and travel aggregators. We
recommend that you also
ISTOCK
Navneet Dubey check the commission being
charged by these players to
navneet.d@livemint.com ensure that you are getting
the best deal.
T
he Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority FOREX RATES (/$)
(Irdai) has directed all health Wire transfer* Buy forex
Bank/travel
insurers to provide coverage
aggregator inward Outward Forex/travel card Cash
for mental illness in health
policies before 31 October. Here is what SBI 81.95 83.45 NA 84.10
this directive means for insurers and it
will help subscribers looking to buy an Bank of Baroda 82.25 83.07 83.50 83.90
insurance policy with mental illness Canara Bank 82.28 83.02 83.22 NA
coverage.
Mental Health Care Act: Bhaskar IndusInd Bank 81.12 84.12 84.91 85.21
Nerurkar, head, health administration
team, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Kotak Bank 81.44 84.35 84.75 85.32
said, “The Mental Health Care Act of HDFC 81.35 83.95 84.20 84.77
2017 seeks to address mental illnesses
issues and treat it on a par with physical ICICI 80.77 84.41 84.20 85.77
illnesses. Accordingly, as per Sec 21(4)
of the Act, every insurer will have to Axis Bank NA NA NA NA
make provision for medical insurance Yes Bank 81.17 84.04 84.95 84.95
for the treatment of mental illness .”
Until a few years back, there were no Thomas Cook 80.90 84.36 84.21 84.58
clear guidelines regarding the coverage Note: Data collected from website of respective entities as on 26 October 2022; Rate denotes INR/USD; Rates are as
of mental health-related illnesses. Very mentioned on the website of the bank/FI and it may vary according to different amount slabs; *Telegraphic Transfer (TT)
few policies covered it, while most buying and selling rates used.
Compiled by BankBazaar.com
excluded it totally. Rakesh Goyal, requires prolonged consultations,” said Re-Assure offer full coverage till the ges such as the availability of good
director of Probus Insurance Broker, Siddharth Singhal, business head- sum insured is exhausted.” in-patient care facilities for mental ill-
said, “Not all insurers cover diseases health insurance, Policybazaar.com. 3. PED mental health issues: Like nesses—also, the duration of treatment
such as acute depression, anxiety and Moreover, even if the policy offers many other pre-existing diseases warrants prolonged, frequent and
psychotic disorders, dementia, schizo-
phrenia, etc., in their health policies.”
Mental illness: The Act says that
outpatient counselling or therapy cov- (PED), the insurer decides on the medi-
erage, one can avail it only after a wait- cal underwriting and waiting period for
ing period of 2-3 years. pre-existing mental disorders. This can
supervised treatment leading to con-
siderable expenses.
Apaar Kasliwal, executive director,
Why do premiums for motor
mental illness is a substantial disorder
of thinking, mood, perception, orienta-
tion or memory that grossly impairs
2. Sub-limits: Policies may have a usually be for 3-4 years. Besides, the
sub-limit clause on the policy may not cover
sum insured for mental Even if the policy recurring mental condi-
policyboss.com, said the availability
and accessibility of specialized treat-
ment units would determine the qual-
insurance vary on different sites?
judgment. It also hampers the capacity illness coverage. Ankit offers counselling tions that imply indisci- ity of care provided and subsequent
of a person to recognize reality or the Agrawal, CEO and or therapy pline in following the pre- utilization of insurance covers. The ISTOCK
ability to meet ordinary demands of life co-founder, Insurance- coverage, one can scribed treatment and indemnity policy typically covers inpa- Abhishek Bondia
and mental conditions associated with Dekho, said, “The policy
avail it only after a medications.
tient treatment, while counselling or
the abuse of alcohol and drugs. coverage for mental ill- 4. Critical illness poli- therapy is covered under the OPD I plan to buy a motor insur-
Gaps in coverage: Here is what you ness may differ, depend- waiting period of cies: These policies pro- rider. You may opt for a rider along ance cover. However, when
should know about the gaps in health ing on the underwriting 2-3 years vide cover for specifically with health insurance policies and get I checked on different
insurance, especially relating to mental procedures, type of policy named ailments. “Mostly, reimbursement for counselling. aggregators’ websites, I
health coverage. and the insurer you opt critical illness policies do “Insurers will have to set up support- saw different rates. Why do
1. OPD: “If you buy a health insur- for at the time of buying a health policy. not cover all types of mental ailments. ing infrastructure for mental illness motor insurance premi-
ance policy with mental illness cover- For instance, all Niva Bupa health poli- Often such policies cover a fixed num- treatment with specific network hospi- ums vary at every broker
age, it will only provide coverage for cies cover mental illnesses. In such pol- ber of critical illnesses. For instance, tals and clinics. This directive will also and aggregator website?
room rent, medicines and diagnostics, icies, mental and physical illness are HDFC Ergo’s Critical Illness Plan – help standardize the cost of treating —Name withheld on request
ambulance fees and treatment costs. considered the same. However, some Platinum covers Alzheimers among 15 various mental illness ailments. Insur-
However, having adequate outpatient of the older policies like Health Premia other critical illnesses,” said Agrawal. ers will also have to chart out a trans- Motor insurance has
department (OPD) coverage is crucial and Heart Beat have a sub-limit on cer- 5. Hospitalization challenges: parent claim process specific to mental broadly two components.
for people with mental illness as it tain mental illnesses, but policies like There are a few hospitalisation challen- illness treatment,” said Kasliwal. These are own-damage, and ASK MINT I have had health Insur-
third-party liability. The third- m INSURANCE ance for the past eight
party liability premium is the years now. In the previous
same for a particular vehicle year ended 31 march 2022,
How KYC compliance will help insured file claims across all insurers. The own-
damage section premium can
vary across insurers and inter-
mium or surrender it? Also,
how do I surrender this
policy without any losses?
I paid a premium of
₹56,000. I am now a senior
citizen. I want to know how
ISTOCK mediaries for a variety of rea- —Name withheld on request many deductions I will be
Navneet Dubey ance accounts on the portal, “You have to submit a sons. entitled to under 80D this
navneet.d@livemint.com allowing them to view their signed, scanned copy of docu- Firstly, the add-ons offered In a standard endowment year.
policy and easily file a claim. ments and a pre-authorization for the own-damage section plan, you are entitled to a sur- —Name withheld on request
T
he Insurance Regulatory Bondia said, “KYC process request for processing. You are optional. So, the selection render value, if premiums are
and Development will ensure that no claim is also need to include a copy of of add-ons may vary with plat- paid for the initial few years. As a senior citizen, you are
Authority of India (Irdai) paid to third parties. All pay- all these documents at the form and thereby influencing So, instead of just stopping the entitled to a deduction of
is planning to make KYC ments would be made to legal time of claim submission. For premium. Next, the insured premium payment, you ₹50,000 towards premium
(know your customer) details heirs of the nominees, assign- ID proof documents, one can declared value (IDV) generally should surrender the policy. payment for your health insur-
mandatory for general insur- ees and the policyholders.” consider a passport, PAN card, moves within a range depend- Unfortunately, whenever you ance policies. The policy could
ers from 1 November. It should KYC compli- voter’s ID, driving ing on the age of the vehicle. surrender the policy, there include yourself, your spouse
be noted that KYC documents ance: According The Irdai proposal license, etc. For Some platforms may offer a would be some losses. You and children. The deduction is
have to mandatorily produced to experts, if your will only bring this the address proof, lower IDV to put across a low would have to weigh this loss irrespective of your past insur-
at the time of making insur- policy is due for requirement you may give cop- premium. This is disadvanta- against the opportunity cost of ance history.
ance claims. The Irdai pro- renewal after 1 forward in time ies of telephone geous for the user. You should continuing to pay premiums. A similar deduction of
posal will only bring this providing KYC documents ing policyholders, rules allow November, you ₹50,000 is also available for
making the claim bill, electricity opt for the maximum IDV Surrender value of the plan
requirement forward to the such as address and identity a time frame of two years for will likely have to bill, ration card, available. This ensures that in may consist of multiple com- children to pay premium for
time of buying the policy, proof is mandatory for making low-risk customers and one provide photo process less bank passbook, case of a total loss, your components including a guaran- their senior citizen parents.
making the claim process less health insurance claims of ₹1 year for high-risk customers. identity and cumbersome etc.,” said Bajaj. pensation is maximized. The teed surrender value, surren- Abhishek Bondia is principal
cumbersome. lakh or above. Now, the regu- They need to fulfil the KYC address proof to Naval Goel, third reason can be the rate der value of discretionary officer and managing director,
“Policyholders will not lose lator is planning to make KYC within the specified period.” your insurer to founder and CEO charged by the insurer. bonuses and special surrender at SecureNow.in.
health insurance benefits details mandatory at the time Pros: The KYC process will become KYC compliant. of Policyx.com, said that meet- value. The calculations of the
because of a lack of KYC of buying the policy,” said help leverage the prospect of Besides, if you have recently ing the KYC norms before- I had bought a life insur- surrender value is provided in Do you have a personal
details,” says Sanjiv Bajaj, joint Bajaj. KYC norms will be man- having a centralised database purchased a policy and there is hand will result in faster claim ance endowment plan and the policy document in form of finance query? Send in your
chairman and MD, Bajaj Capi- datory for both new as well as which will help maintain a pol- a case of hospitalization, then settlements. However, there even paid ₹63,000 as half- a table. Such a table would pro- queries at
tal. “Currently, KYC details are existing customers. icy record on the Bima Sugam you will have to submit KYC will be more clarity on the pro- yearly premium. But, I vide the surrender value eligi- mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
voluntary at the time of buying Abhishek Bondia, director portal. Further, it will help pol- documents to your insurer at cedural part when the Irdai don’t want to continue with bility based on the number of
industry experts.
a non-life policy. However, of SecureNow, said, “For exist- icyholders have their e-insur- the time of admission. circular comes out”. it. Should I stop paying pre- years of paid premium.
WILL CRYPTO-ASSET REPORTING FRAMEWORK BRING CLARITY FOR INVESTORS?

ISTOCK
CARF, the reporting scope has been expanded to include digital and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically, including
assets and consequently have visibility over intermediaries, non-fungible tokens or assets of a similar nature, by whatever
POWER exchanges and e-wallet service providers.
The OECD defines crypto assets as a digital representation of
name called, and any other digital asset as notified by the central
government. Circulars were issued in June 2022 to provide addi-
POINT value that relies on a cryptographically secured distributed tional guidance on tax withholding compliance requirements.
ledger or a similar technology to validate and secure transactions. With the announcement of CARF, the government has an
AARTI RAOTE Crypto assets are those that can be held and transferred in a opportunity to frame regulations now, considering the reporting
decentralized manner, without the intervention of traditional guidelines of the CARF. This may prompt applying the CARF to
We welcome your views and comments at financial intermediaries, including stable coins, derivatives investors as well as service providers
mintmoney@livemint.com issued in the form of a crypto asset and certain non-fungible Announcement resident in India and covering a wide
tokens (NFTs). There are certain exceptions to this, such as cur- of CARF is an range of digital assets. To meet the
T
ransactions in cryptocurrency have increased manifold. rency issued by the central bank, specified electronic money
The very character of crypto assets, and the ability of inves- products, etc. The framework provides guidance on various opportunity for requirements, service providers would
need an enhanced data collection
tors to hold, transfer and transact across jurisdictions, aspects of entities and individuals, subject to data reporting the govt to mechanism like KYC documents, to
makes them an easy target to be used for unlawful activities or tax responsibility and data collection requirements, types of transac- frame crypto ensure that identity of each of the par-
evasion. The limited visibility of tax authorities on these transactions covered, and relevant information to be reported, etc. regulations too ticipants is established, ensure that
tions poses difficulty in verifying gains and determining taxes on India is a signatory to the multilateral competent authority appropriate taxes are withheld for each
such transactions. agreement on automatic exchange of financial account informa- transaction, appropriate mechanism
OECD’s guidance: With a view to increase transparency tion. Thus, India would soon have to comply with the required tax leakage due to non-reporting. for record-keeping and reporting, etc. Investors may be required
among nations, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-opera- framework so that flow of information is smooth. India’s tax provisions define VDAs as any information or code to mandatorily disclose norms in addition to the current provi-
tion and Development) has developed the Crypto Asset Report- Crypto taxation in India: Taxation of digital assets in India or number or token (not being Indian currency or foreign cur- sion of tax levy and tax withholding.
ing Framework (CARF). The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was introduced in Budget 2022 when a tax of 30% on all gains rency) generated through cryptographic means or otherwise, by The guidance provided by OECD is a welcome move to bring
required jurisdictions to obtain information from financial insti- from the transfer of virtual digital assets (VDAs) was proposed, whatever name called. It provides a digital representation of the standardization and regulation for trading in digital assets,
tutions and banks and exchange such information with other without allowing any deduction for expenses (other than cost of value exchanged with or without consideration, with the promise though it may add to the responsibility of exchanges. It will pro-
jurisdictions. The CARF is a step forward in this direction as acquisition) nor set-off of any losses. Further, the purchaser is or representation of having inherent value or functions as a store vide visibility to regulators and tax officers on the transactions,
crypto assets do not automatically fall in the realm of CRS that required to deduct TDS at 1% on all VDA transfers beyond a speci- of value or a unit of account and includes its use in any financial besides clarity to investors and exchanges on their obligations.
dealt with traditional financial assets and fiat currencies. With fied threshold with an intention to widen the tax base and avoid transaction or investment but not limited to investment schemes, Aarti Raote is a partner with Deloitte India.
New Delhi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM
OUR VIEW MY VIEW | TECH WHISPERS

BLOOMBERG
Moonlighting is likely to invert

the traditional pyramid of work
The gig economy will likely overturn the one-employer-many-employees model we’re accustomed to
and most well-known, is work-from- “the pandemic brought it to the white-

home, which I have expanded to decen- collared.” The future of work has
tralized work or ‘work-from-anywhere’, enlarged space for the gig economy, with
whether it’s home, office, a coffee shop, the one-employer-many-employees
or another country. But often, there is a pyramid being overturned to one-em-
thin line between working-from-any- ployee-many-employers. Moonlighting
where and working-for-anyone, and reflects that. In some sense, so does the
both of these seem to have riled tech famous Google work ethic, under which
chieftains. As fellow columnist T.N. Hari its employees could do anything else
JASPREET BINDRA wrote, “The pandemic and the forced with 20% of their time. The third facet of
is the founder of Tech Whisperer Ltd, a WFH allowed experimenting with free- the future of work is no-job-for-life. Both
digital transformation and technology lancing opportunities, in addition to employers and employees are moving
advisory practice their 9- to-5 jobs. Freedom from com- away from this expectation, and it is per-
mute and the confinement within the haps fair to expect employees to de-risk
The planet is counting

four walls of their homes provided them themselves by following a job portfolio
the time, energy, and possibility to take approach. Fourth, and perhaps most
T
he word ‘moonlighting’ has many on additional work.” (bit.ly/3DhR3fl). As important, is the inevitable rise of the
purported origins. The US version the pandemic sputtered to an end, many creative or passion economy. The ‘mon-
is from Cora Steward’s literacy were dragged back to offices, but the etizing of individuality’ enabled by the
on us to keep it liveable classes for impoverished Kentucky coal

miners, but only on nights with enough
moonlight so they could find their way
there. The Australian version is of cattle
decentralization trend has arrived,
bringing work-for-anyone along with it.
The second future of work principle is
the rise of the gig-economy, which by its
internet, micropayments, NFTs and the
metaverse would mean that individuals
can monetize their talent more effec-
tively, rather than doing so as a part of a
thieves who stole cattle at night under very nature involves having multiple company. Fifth, work-from-anywhere
the light of the moon, while the Irish ver- employers, as it trades off secure lifetime does sometimes translate to work-all-
The latest UN report on climate action reveals how badly we’re failing to bend the emissions sion comes from the 1880s, with ‘moon- employment with freedom of the nature the-time, as always-on work pulverizes
lighters’ being gangs that operate at and time commitments of work. Hari our work-life balance. While employers
curve. Whatever the economic exigencies of the day, we must not take our eyes off this threat night committing burglary. I suspect refers to the Gig Economy Index, which are, sometimes justifiably, concerned
Rishad Premji, Wipro’s chairman, would reveals a rather startling statistic that about employees working for others,
agree wholeheartedly with the latter two nearly 40% of the American workforce there is a loud silence on the number of
versions. Calling moonlighting at work makes at least 40% of their income hours they are made to work. The usual
T
he forecast is bleak. The world is punishing floods, with large swathes of planet “cheating—plain and simple”, his com- through gig work. In India, Ola, Zomato employment contract asks employees to
not doing enough to decelerate its Earth turning unliveable and numerous species pany sacked 300 people for doing so. and others made gig work mainstream commit fixed hours of their time in
Infosys promptly sent employees an among urban blue-collar workers, and return for a salary, but is often silent on
path to climate disaster. A new pushed into extinction. For many people, the email with the warning “No two-timing, the extra hours they work without being
United Nations report warns that climate crisis is already playing out. In India, no moonlighting”, though recent paid for it. For many, low wages and the
efforts to limit global temperature heat waves have damaged essential food crops reports suggest a change in heart cost-of-living crisis make moonlighting
rise to 1.5° Celsius by 2100 (from even as rainfall patterns turn unstable. If the (bit.ly/3TwD7E6). TCS’s COO made an QUICK READ an imperative rather than an option.
what it was in the 1850s) are badly falling short scale of destruction from this year’s floods in apoplectic assessment, saying that the I leave the last words in support of my
“IT industry could fall apart” due to it. Despite loud objections by tech contention to India’s infotech minister
of what’s needed to save the planet. At least 1.1° Pakistan—1,300 dead, 30 million displaced— Tech Mahindra’s CEO was more san- majors, moonlighting is here to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who tweeted
Celsius of it has already happened. Even if was anything to go by, the subcontinent may be guine, saying “it was necessary to change stay and will likely turn the one- to the effect that today is an age of
countries keep their pledges to slash green- an early casualty. Some scientists have warned with the times”. Swiggy went further, employer-many-employees employee entrepreneurs and employers
house gas emissions made under the Paris of unbearable wet-bulb heat afflicting us within bringing out a moonlighting policy. model into a one-employee- also expect that, captive models will fail,
Agreement—itself a tall order—we’d still be on a decade. The most vulnerable would be the Let me go out on a limb and give my many-employers one. and the future of work is a community
unequivocal view: Moonlighting is here, of product builders who will work on
track for a rise of around 2.5° Celsius by the end hardest hit, despite having had almost no role in and here to stay, as it is an integral com- While employers may be right multiple projects.
of this century. Earlier this year, the Intergov- the human excesses we’re failing to restrain. ponent of the future of work, which the in being concerned about this Perhaps the world’s most famous
ernmental Panel on Climate Change said that Will the world’s countries give up their myo- pandemic has brought forward into the gig-economy trend, they must entrepreneur-employee Elon Musk will
such heat-trapping exhaust had to be cut by pia? We can’t count on it. While 193 nations had present. ‘The future of work’ is an often acknowledge that employees agree, as he simultaneously ‘works for’
43% if we’re to meet the Paris goal of a 1.5° cap sworn to update their climate action promises abused term, but there are some princi- have long done much extra work half a dozen companies and is looking to
ples common across literature. The first, without even being paid for it. buy more of them to run.
on global warming. The grim reality today is made at the last UN climate summit, only 26
that annual emissions are yet to peak and we have done so. Two weeks hence, Sharm-el-
can’t expect a dip until the end of this decade. Sheikh in Egypt is scheduled to host CoP-27,
As a recent study by the World Meteorologi- but the signals so far inspire little optimism on
cal Organization found, atmospheric levels of progress. The rich world, in particular, must
the three worst gases—carbon dioxide, meth- pony up the mitigation money it had promised
ane and nitrous oxide—reached record highs in other countries but largely failed to provide. www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Monday, October 29, 2012 Vol.6 No.258 `3.00 in DelhiNCR/`4.00 outside DelhiNCR 24 PAGES
Kejriwal and the

2021. How much higher might they reach? In 2009, wealthy nations said they would give
CAPITAL CALCULUS:
political vacuum >6
CORPORATE: Mallya says won’t sell ‘family silver’ for airline >8
ENERGY: Stranded gas projects plan to relocate overseas >10
According to the latest UN report, current $100 billion a year by 2020 to help others out.
SPORTS: Vettel wins Indian Grand Prix >7
EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
commitments point to an increase of 10.6% in While we’ve had much economic turbulence SENSEX 18,625.34 ®
Rate cut: Will

RBI oblige
NIFTY 5,664.30 ®
CABINET RESHUFFLE
Focus on younger ministers,

DOLLAR `53.55 ® EURO `69.24 ® GOLD `30,870.00 ®
QUICK EDIT
A wider
OIL $109.55 ®
A Harvard study has

emissions by 2030 from their level of 2010. If and the West is currently in the grip of a perfect the finance
ministry?
BANKER’S TRUST
TAMAL BANDYOPADHYAY
but old ailments remain
engagement
T he key opposition
leader in Bangladesh,
Begum Khaleda Zia is on
a week-long visit to India.
This gives India a
shown that in fifteen
this dark cloud has a sliver of silver, it’s this: last storm, with flare-ups of war, energy and infla-
welcome chance to
Khurshid gets foreign
I t is for sure that the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) in its ministry, Moily moves FRESH THRUST But analysts doubt
broaden its engagement
with its vital neighbour’s
cases in history where

second quarterly policy on 30 The Congress is betting that younger and newer faces would bring new ideas and energy whether the political leadership.
October will pare its growth to petroleum; Scindia, in government. Here are the five youngest in the council of ministers: strategy will work It has, for long, been
projection for the Indian Pilot get independent perceived that Zia has
economy. In its first quarterly been lukewarm or even
policy in July, it had cut the charge in revamp cool in her approach to
growth projection for the It is for narrow India, especially when
year, we were on course for 13.7% more by the tion—right after a massive binge of monetary
current year to 6.5% from 7.3%. B Y L IZ M ATHEW electoral she was the prime
This time around, it will liz.m@livemint.com politics rather minister. Furthermore,
probably be slashed to 6%. By ························· than for a “traditional” warmth with
itself, it is a good reason to cut NEW DELHI the current prime
radical image
I
the policy rate as logically t was a cabinet reshuffle LALCHAND SACHIN PILOT JITENDRA SINGH JITIN PRASADA JYOTIRADITYA minister, Sheikh Hasina,
KATARIA SCINDIA makeover
a rising and an established

lower cost of money can that was to happen six meant that Indo-
Pratap Bhanu Mehta
encourage corporations to months ago. When the re- 1968 (45) 1977 (35) 1971 (41) 1973 (39) 1971 (41) president, Centre for
Bangladesh relations
invest and fuel growth. But the vamp did finally happen, Policy Research
were hostage to the
Minister of state, Minister of state Minister of state Minister of state, Minister of state
situation is not that simple Prime Minister Manmohan domestic politics of that
next decade. Also, while it seemed that emis- expansion—flashing recessionary red alerts, we
defence (independent (independent defence and human (independent charge),
because there is no sign yet of Singh delivered on the prom- charge), corporate charge), youth resource power country. This should be
inflation being tamed. ise of inducting fresh faces and affairs affairs and sports development changed.
The wholesale-price empowering young leaders by This state of affairs is
SARVESH SAHRMA/MINT
inflation in September rose to providing them with inde- not going to alter
a 10-month high of 7.8% pendent ministerial charge in the new foreign minister. given that they are starting next 18 months to the next overnight. But Zia’s visit
despite a favourable base effect key portfolios such as power Ashwani Kumar was made the afresh, would be less vulnera- scheduled general election. provides an opportunity
(in September 2011, inflation and corporate affairs. law and justice minister. ble to political attacks from an The key concerns continue to discuss ties between
power interacted, ten

was 10%). It was higher than At the same time, along ex- After the image makeover otherwise energized opposi- to be able to take, in a politi- the two countries from a
sions would keep rising beyond 2030, it now cannot afford to let it distract us from the bigger
what most analysts had pected lines, Singh moved out that saw the induction of 17 tion. cally hostile climate, unpleas- wider perspective.
expected. In August, inflation S. Jaipal Reddy from the petro- new ministers and the exit of But the big question is ant decisions such as a fuel Her engagement with
was 7.55% and in July, 7.52% leum ministry, replacing him seven, the council of ministers whether the government will our opposition leaders
(revised sharply upward from a with a veteran in Veerappa of the Congress-led United be able to push through simul- TURN TO PAGE 6® will add depth to what
provisional figure of 6.87%). Moily—considered to be less Progressive Alliance (UPA) has taneous efforts in other areas has often been a difficult,
Along with a cut in prone to controversies; while increased to 79. The bet is that to complement the gains ac- ALSO SEE but nonetheless vital,
economic growth projection, Salman Khurshid, despite his the fresh faces would bring cruing from the cabinet re- relationship in South
RBI will probably raise its recent brush with controversy, new ideas and energy in gov- shuffle and regain the political >Ourview: A reshuffle of limited utility Asia.
inflation projection for the has actually been elevated as ernment and, at the same time, momentum to tide over the >P22
appears they will finally go into decline around threat we all face. To stave off climate disaster to
year-end. It had already done
ended in war.
so in July—raising it from 6.5%
to 7%. This time, it may raise it ABHIJIT BHATLEKAR/MINT
at least to 7.25%. Whether RBI
raises its inflation projection or
not, it is quite entrenched and We perfect this watch by hand.
a persistently high inflation
makes it difficult for it to cut Even the parts that you can’t see.
interest rates. In some sense,
then. Even so, this curve would have taken far the extent we can, the world needs to transform
this is going to be RBI governor
D. Subbarao’s toughest policy
ever as he runs the risk of
losing credibility either way—if
he cuts the rate and if he
doesn’t. A classic case of
Hobson’s choice!
The wholesale-price
too long to bend. Unfortunately, this has left us industrial, energy and transport systems. The
TURN TO PAGE 4®
ALSO SEE Staying positive: James Dimon says the economy is not going to distract
the bank from trying to build up its business.
> CAPITAL ACCOUNT: Should Subbarao
HE N RY K I SSI N G E R
ignore IMF advice? >P15 JAMIE DIMON/JPMORGAN
>RBI policy review—the backdrop >P17
>EXPERT VIEW: Alluring but dangerous
>P10
>MARK TO MARKET: The worst is far from JPMorgan is not a
staring at disaster. Missing even the outer battle isn’t lost till it actually is. And thanks to
over for PSU banks’ asset quality >P16
fairweather friend
B Y TAMAL B ANDYOPADHYAY
J OEL R EBELLO
&
mint INTERVIEW
·························
UN target of a 2° warming cap would set us up technological advances, much action can yet be
MUMBAI ing, India will be growing a lot
J amie Dimon, chief executive

officer of JPMorgan Chase
and Co., the second-largest
faster than the developed na-
tions. Edited excerpts:
Although you will probably never actually see most of the levers, wheels, and springs in the Saxonia Dual
US bank by market value, is JPMorgan came here even before Time calibre, Lange’s master watchmakers meticulously perfect them by hand. Aficionados will appreciate the
mightily impressed with the India’s independence, but in past fact that not all of these lavishly finished parts are concealed. Fortunately, the sapphire-crystal back reveals
growth of Indian companies— 67 years, you continue to have a the fascinating interaction of quite a few of them. Treat yourself to a close-up look. www.lange-soehne.com
their sophistication, improved single branch despite seeing
governance and globalization. enormous opportunities in Asia’s
for catastrophic weather disruptions, from taken. What’s needed is the political will to live
New Delhi: Johnson Watch Company, A-12 South Extension – Part I, Tel. +91 11 2464 2299
In an interview on Friday, Di- thirdlargest economy. Mumbai: Time Avenue, 189, Turner Road, Bandra (West), Tel. +91 22 2651 5757
mon said the bank’s India oper- JPMorgan is not a retail com- Chennai: The Helvetica, S-02/03, Ground Floor, Express Avenue Mall, Royapettah, Tel. +91 44 2846 4095
ations are almost as big as Italy pany. It’s a wholesale bank. We Hyderabad: The Helvetica, No. 1 Banjara Hills, Taj Krishna Hotel, Lobby Level, Tel. +91 40 6455 5088
Mint is also available for R7 with and Spain combined and, in in-
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
vestment and corporate bank- TURN TO PAGE 5®
droughts and heat waves to freak storms and up to our collective responsibility.
THEIR VIEW
We can’t escape the consequences of great power politics

the US finds itself in a “decisive decade” lenge, Washington is hoping to work on two industrial capacity” is as important as pro- bedevil policymakers in Washington.
HArSH V. PAnt where it must not only take on major powers tracks: strengthening “innovation” at home tecting territory. Days before the announce- But China is not waiting and has already
like China that threaten to reshape the with targeted investment in infrastructure, ment of this new strategy, the US Depart- fired the first salvo with Xi Jinping’s speech
global order, but also international challen- education, training, cybersecurity and green ment of Commerce imposed its strictest at the 20th Party Congress last week where
ges such as pandemics, climate change, energy, while working with allies and part- export controls to date on China’s access to he not only highlighted China’s growing
inflation and economic well-being, which ners in “common cause” to compete advanced chips for super-computing and AI, power and global influence under his first
T
he two main protagonists in the drama are impacting human and societal security. “responsibly” with China. signalling that Washington is willing to chal- decade in power, but also made it clear that
of Great Power Politics are getting This report was delayed by the Russia- This is a strategy that is laden with an lenge those trying to weaponize economic he has no intention of reversing any of his
ready, and in the past few days have Ukraine war. So, not surprisingly, the need emphasis on “competition” that is likely to interdependence. policies, be they on Taiwan and Hong Kong
declared their intent openly and unambigu- to constrain Russia is highlighted as a major shape global outcomes in unprecedented While one can quibble with the details, or socioeconomic. Acknowledging “rapid
ously. There is no hiding behind caveats, no aim of US strategy, as it poses an “immediate ways. What is striking is its focus on technol- the US has made its intent clear with its new changes in the international situation,” he
hedging and no denial. What there is, is an and persistent threat to international peace ogy, with the suggestion that “competition security strategy and the rest of the world asserted that China has “taken a clear-cut
acceptance of the changing ground realities and stability” through its policies that “cul- to develop and deploy foundational technol- will be looking at its operationalization. How stance against hegemonism and power poli-
that are beginning to impose their own con- minated” in the invasion of Ukraine. ogies that will transform will it responsibly com- tics” and “never wavered” in opposition to
straints on the way leaders think and oper- Yet, the document again makes it clear our security and econ- pete with China while unilateralism and “bullying.” He was making
is professor of international ate. The ‘post-Cold War’ phase of the past how far Washington has come in its China omy is intensifying.” This QUICK READ seeking cooperation on it clear that China’s role in world politics will
relations, King’s College three decades seems to have come to an end, thinking. What was once seen as provocative is linked to the idea that transnational issues? continue to be centred around challenging
London, and vice president for as nations around the world restructure under the Donald Trump administration is economic and techno- As the US and China glare at each How will it manage to the US-led global order. For this, China will
studies at Observer Research their own ways of looking at and engaging now widely accepted as consensus, with the logical interdependence other and leave no ambiguity tackle the Russia-China not only speed up efforts to build the Peo-
Foundation, New Delhi the world. Given that today’s geopolitical Biden administration acknowledging China should be revaluated in about their rivalrous intent, the “axis” together without a ple’s Liberation Army into a “world-class
and geo-economic realities are being shaped as the “most consequential geopolitical chal- the era of a new global rest of the world must watch grand bargain with military” but also focus on “high quality edu-
by the rise of China and relative decline of lenge”, and arguing that the US is “in the economic order. Reduc- these shifting dynamics closely either? How will it gener- cation” and innovation to “renew growth”
the US from the heyday of its “unipolar middle of a strategic competition to shape ing dependence on dis- for their potential implications. ate new technological and “speed up efforts to achieve greater self-
moment,” it is natural that their actions and the future of the international order.” The ruptive actors, creating and economic interde- reliance in science and technology.”
reactions would be closely watched and US security strategy underscores that “the greater economic and India should also prepare to pendencies while taking So, as a new era commences in great power
absorbed by everyone else. [People’s Republic of China] is the only com- technological resilience, engage with new externalities, a step back in its role as contestation, both sides are getting ready
After 22 months in office and a lot of delib- petitor with both the intent to reshape the and working together both positive and negative, that the world’s most vocifer- with their own policies. The rest of the world,
eration, the Joe Biden administration of the international order and, increasingly, the with allies and partners this great power contest is likely ous supporter of free including India, should be prepared to
US released its National Security Strategy economic, diplomatic, military, and techno- to pool “technical expert- to generate as it intensifies over markets? These are some engage with the externalities—both positive
earlier this month, in which it asserted that logical power to do it.” To take on this chal- ise and complementary the years and decades ahead. questions that will and negative—that this is likely to generate.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS FrIDay, 28 OctOber 2022
New DelhI 13
THEIR VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R
The Global Hunger Index should Indians do have good reason

to celebrate Sunak’s elevation
exhort us to act rather than carp Britain’s arc since the days of its empire does offer us satisfaction
Even flawed measures can reveal directional shifts and the 2022 GHI findings should shock us into a policy review at least
MIHIR SHARMA
is a senior fellow at the Observer Research
Foundation in New Delhi and author of
‘Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian
ALOK SHEEL Economy’.
is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer
and former secretary, Prime Minister’s
Economic Advisory Council.
T
his Diwali was triply blessed for peo-
ple of Indian origin across the world:
India beat Pakistan at cricket and a
T
he recently published Global Hunger Briton of Indian descent became prime Indians expect Rishi Sunak to light diyas at
Index has lowered India’s global rank minister of the UK. Rishi Sunak’s politics or 10 Downing Street next Diwali PTI
from 101 out of 116 countries in 2021 to policies aren’t the point. The WhatsApp
107 out of 121 in 2022. This places India groups that pass as India’s public square the British House of Commons in London.
below all South Asian countries other today aren’t dissecting his views on Brexit Indeed, within living memory, a Conserva-
than Afghanistan, and also below or austerity. Not when someone who tive grandee predicted that Commonwealth
several poor African countries such as Rwanda, shares our heritage leads the country that immigration would cause “rivers of blood”
Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Republic of Congo. once colonized us. It’s hard to overstate the to flow down English streets. Enoch Pow-
This led to a political firestorm on social media, symbolic significance of Sunak’s premier- ell’s party has now chosen the child of one of
with the government’s Press Information Bureau ship. He is the first British PM of colour, the the very people he warned about, albeit to
issuing a rejoinder on its twitter handle hinting at first who is proudly not Christian, and the restrict immigration very much as Powell
some conspiracy as “a consistent effort is yet again first child of two immigrants. And he has would have wanted.
visible to taint India’s image as a Nation… misinfor- reached No. 10 Downing Street at the Sunak does not transcend or defy the
mation seems to be the hallmark of the annually youngest age of anyone in over a century. common clichés about Indian immigrants.
released Global Hunger Index …(which is) an erro- Nevertheless, some will try to minimize He has neither the exceptional charisma of
neous measure of hunger and suffers from serious it. One Labour MP tweeted that this “wasn’t a Barack Obama or the ideological fervour
methodological issues. Three out of the four indica- a win for Asian representation” because of a Margaret Thatcher. If anything, what
tors used for calculation of the index are related to Sunak is also very wealthy. This is reductive most appeals to his fellow Conservatives at
health of Children and… the fourth and most impor- and cynical. Also, lots of Asians are crazy this point seems to be his air of solid, reliable
tant indicator estimate of Proportion of Undernour- rich. There was even a movie about it. competence and diligence. Nor has Sunak
ished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll Few things fit the moment less than hidden or obscured how much his back-
conducted on a very small sample size of 3000.” attempts to define what constitutes a “real ground means to him: Two Diwalis ago, he
We must acknowledge that people may have Asian.” Yes, Sunak is rich and connected. He was photographed placing diya lamps on
some motive for articulating particular views. But worked at an investment bank and a hedge the front steps of No. 11 Downing Street.
we need to steer clear of such motives. Nothing fund, and, like 16 of Britain’s 17 university- Most Indians know that a member of our
becomes right or wrong just because the motive for in preventing famines than in addressing endemic ritual vegetarianism in India is primarily an upper- educated post-war PMs, went to Oxford. diaspora in power is unlikely to be, in prac-
it is malicious or virtuous. Motives are red herrings. hunger and poverty. Nevertheless, since neigh- caste phenomenon, per capita meat consumption Indians remember, though, that no mat- tice, good news for the rest of us. Politicians
We need to concentrate on the substance of what bouring countries fare better on the Index’s chart, data reveals that Indians are mostly vegetarian, ter how well educated you were, which uni- have long had to worry about accusations of
has been said, as this needs to stand on its own feet. this raises some substantive questions about the although they occasionally eat eggs, chicken, fish, versities you attended, there was a limit to dual loyalty. The modern Conservative
One can think of three separate ways to view the nature of Indian democracy. Democracy, after all, is mutton, beef, pork, etc. In most parts of the world, how far you could rise in the Raj. The impe- Party was built by a man of Jewish descent,
Global Hunger Index on its merits, namely at the more than just periodic use of the ballot box. meat is part of people’s daily diet. Child wasting and rial glass ceiling was as hard as the Kohinoor Benjamin Disraeli. But, as a recent biogra-
level of theory, at the level of methodology, and at Methodology: The index is about 20 years old and stunting can possibly be traced to imbalanced vege- diamond. And Sunak has shattered it. phy by David Cesarani pointed out, he did
the level of Indian peculiarities. Let’s take up these is based on a set of constant indi- tarian diets and animal protein Members of the Indian diaspora also note not lift a finger for Jewish causes. For his
three levels in turn. cators. All indices have flaws, deficiencies rather than energy that Sunak’s origin story sounds suspi- part, Sunak has re-appointed Suella Braver-
Theory: It is undoubtedly true that India has including the basic indicator of QUICK READ deficits. Our food production and ciously like many of theirs. He is the son of man—another ‘British Indian’—as his cabi-
for some time been one of the fastest growing econ- calculating GDP, based as they subsidy data (for wheat and rice) a doctor and a pharmacist; his grandmother net’s home secretary just weeks after she
omies globally. It has also taken rapid strides in food are on limited data selection and While the Global Hunger Index’s also buttress the case for nutri- sold her wedding jewellery to pay for her caused a stir by singling out Indian [visa-
production. It has large stocks of foodgrain that samples. The directional shifts methodology can be quibbled tional deficiencies. journey to England in the 1960s. overstayers] for criticism.
induced Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to over time are nevertheless mean- over, such measures do a good The unfortunate fallout of such As for those riches, yes, his wife Akshata Representation is just that: representa-
make an offer recently to supply food to the world if ingful. The argument that there job of showing which way we’re politically charged debates on Murty is a billionaire’s daughter. But N.R. tion. It means that someone of your heritage
the World Trade Organization were to permit it. is little merit in using malnour- going and in India’s case this global indices such as the Global Narayana Murthy is also one of those Indian can ascend to the highest offices of state. It
Economics Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, histo- ishment and stunting of children should be a matter of concern. Hunger Index, Global Freedom WhatsApp groups’ beloved figures; he does not mean that that person will offer
rian of the Bengal Famine of 1943, would however as indicators of hunger is not per- Scores, World Press Freedom co-founded one of India’s most iconic com- you special protection.
be unfazed by these apparent anomalies because suasive. Measures of hunger and Rather than expend energy on Index, Democracy Index, V-Dem panies and lives in the same Bengaluru flat But representation has value in and of
poverty and hunger are distributional and not food poverty are moving away from junking the GHI findings, our Index, etc, is that policymakers he did before he got rich. itself. Disraeli proclaimed the British
availability issues. In his formulation, there is a clear caloric consumption to nutrition. policymakers should use what it end up expending their intellec- To flatten Sunak’s identities is to deliber- empire in India to please Queen Victoria;
difference between what he called ‘means genera- Moreover, a fourth indicator has reveals to reshape policy. Let’s tual energies on worsting the ately underplay the layers of experience, now his party and legacy are in Sunak’s
tion’ (increasing the size of the cake through eco- also been used. Are the sampling shift our focus from subsistence indices rather than using the data varieties of striving and richness of back- hands. Winston Churchill called Indians “a
nomic growth) and means usage (how the cake is techniques used for the fourth to nutritional adequacy. as valuable inputs for policy ground that immigrants bring to any popu- beastly people with a beastly religion” and
distributed). He was critical of Indian policy after measure adequate? There can of corrections, such as in the case of lation. Sunak wasn’t directly elected or even declared he had “not become the king’s first
Independence for generating the means (through course be differences of opinion on the issue, but it nutritional deficiencies. Ironically, the same policy- chosen by Conservative Party members, minister to preside over the liquidation of
focusing on growth) but not following up by using it is unlikely that international organizations that makers highlight global indices that show us in and nobody believes his appointment will the British Empire.” Sunak is now the Brit-
adequately to combat poverty and hunger. The make these widely used indices did not consult good light. Indeed, conscious efforts are made to usher Britain into a post-racial era. And yet ish king’s first minister and the Empire is
poor budgetary allocations for social infrastructure reputable statisticians while devising sampling devise ways to game these metrics. They seem more the speed of Britain’s change is remarkable, among the unmourned dead.
over the years only serves to underscore this. techniques. concerned about the country’s international image especially as diversity came late to UK poli- So if, next year, Sunak cheerfully puts
Sen found this odd because India was a democ- Indian peculiarities: It is argued by some that the than the well-being of those for whom they are tics. When India was an imperial possession Diwali candles outside a house that once
racy where you would expect popular pressure for Index does not take into account the fact that India tasked to formulate policy. The findings of the more than 75 years ago, two Parsis were was Churchill’s, you’re not Indian if you
accelerated reduction of poverty and hunger. Sen’s is a predominantly vegetarian society. The Indo- Global Hunger Index 2022 should shock a democ- elected to Parliament. But it was not until don’t smile a little. That’s the only identity
takeaway was that democracy was more successful Gangetic plains are a cradle of vegetarianism. While racy into a policy review at the very least. 1987 that another person of colour entered gatekeeping I’ll allow. ©BLOOMBERG
GUEST VIEW
India should liberalize its taxation regime for expats

announced a tax exemption for residents on overall investments effectively. Addition- ommend is unlikely, as the beneficiaries of higher taxes when their global income is
PaLakH JaIn & SHReya GanGuLy their foreign-sourced income. Since 2019, ally, the key managerial personnel of these this exemption are not domiciled in India. taxed in India. They may be unable to avail of
expats in China only pay taxes on global companies are likely to include expats who Since locally-sourced income would con- tax credit benefits due to mismatched finan-
income if they have held tax resident status also seek relief from dual taxation (in two tinue to be subject to the usual Indian tax cial years, as India follows an April-to-March
for six consecutive years. This period jurisdictions). regime, domestic income generated by FDI annual schedule while most other countries
restarts from zero if the individual leaves The positive spillovers of FDI are well would augment government revenue follow the calendar year. They are likely to
I
ndia has undoubtedly emerged as an China for a consecutive period of 30 days or documented. Besides bringing in capital, through the taxation of wages and profits face greater subjectivity in tax assessments
attractive destination for international 90 days cumulatively within a year. By con- FDI is a non-debt financial resource that generated by foreign-owned companies in by Indian tax authorities, given the incorpo-
investment, with foreign direct invest- trast, foreign-domiciled individuals in India promotes economic growth, generates new India. There are concerns over tax revenue ration of the new ‘principal purpose’ test
ment (FDI) inflows in 2021-22 at an all-time are subject to taxes on their global income if jobs, enables access to international markets losses on account of high net-worth Indian since India’s signing of the Multilateral
high of $83.5 billion. However, as of Octo- they live in India for over 182 days, as they and promotes competition in domestic mar- citizens taking up foreign citizenship to avail Instrument, adopted by over 100 countries
ber 2022, none of the top 50 Fortune 500 are assigned Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) kets. It facilitates the transfer of technology, of such a tax exemption. To prevent such and jurisdictions about half a decade ago.
companies have chosen to locate their Asia- status after this period. This period can be skills and organizational and managerial misuse, the exemption may be provided to Additionally, they would be exposed to risks
Pacific headquarters in the country. No extended by amending Section 6 of the practices, as local foreign-domiciled indi- arising from reporting requirements, as the
Indian city has found its way into the 15 Income Tax Act, 1961, in line with applicable employees are trained viduals who have not smallest error in reporting foreign assets
are, respectively, an associate most significant global financial centres parallel provisions in Singapore and China. and domestic firms are QUICK READ been citizens of India for would incur heavy penalties.
professor at Bennett University expected by 2024, or even the top 10 list of Such a tax policy change effected by India integrated into produc- a significant period of It is no wonder that India remained in the
and senior visiting fellow at Asia-Pacific cities of the future. Singapore would be beneficial for three reasons. tion processes. India may be attracting foreign time, such as 3 to 5 years. bottom 40% of global economies in the
Pahle India Foundation; and a and China (though less so in recent times) Firstly, it would attract greater FDI. In both India’s FDI stands at direct investment but big global Thirdly, while expats 2020 edition of Paying Taxes Ranking,
research assistant at Pahle remain preferred destinations for global Singapore and China, the introduction of a 2.7% of gross domestic firms are still not picking the can already avail of dou- which ranks the administrative burden of
India Foundation. conglomerates. As India sets its sights on liberal tax policy regime for expats was asso- product (GDP) and has country for their regional hubs. ble taxation avoidance paying mandatory contributions and com-
becoming a global financial hub, it can ben- ciated with a significant increase in FDI largely stagnated around Tax laws that are unfavourable treaties to serve the same plying with post-filing procedures in differ-
efit from emulating the investor-friendly inflows across sectors. this proportion of to expats remain a big deterrent. purpose, several practical ent countries. Given India’s bid to become a
business environment of its Asian competi- A decisive factor that drives a company national output in recent challenges make this pro- $5 trillion economy within this decade, sub-
tors. In particular, India stands to gain from headquarters’ location decision is the ease of years. By comparison, India must liberalize its rules if cess cumbersome. If the stantial and lasting foreign investment is
liberalizing its stringent income tax laws for living and doing business in the host coun- China received 6.2% of it wants to compete for global tax rate of their home more vital than ever. The need of the hour is
foreign nationals. try. If investors setting up new enterprises GDP at its peak. business with the likes of China country or the country a favourable tax policy regime and robust
Singapore and China have set an interna- are able to stay for extended periods without Secondly, a significant and Singapore which boast of tax where their income is business environment for foreigners who
tional benchmark with their liberal income being subject to taxes on their global loss of tax revenue due to regimes that are designed not to generated is lower, they plan to stay and work in India.
tax regimes for expats. In 2003, Singapore income, they are better able to manage their the policy change we rec- overburden expatriate residents. would end up paying These are the authors’ personal views.
New Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE INDULGE LIVEMINT.COM
How to give heirloom

jewellery a chic twist Pierre Soulages was an icon of post-WWII European abstract AFP
The legacy of
Pierre Soulages,
master of black
A round-up of news from the world of
luxury, fashion and art
Agencies
F
rench painter Pierre Soulages, known for his reflections of
As more consumers Abhishek Raniwala, the co-founder and crea- black and seen as France’s greatest living painter in recent
tive director of Jaipur-based jewellery house years, has died. He was 102.
reinvent old jewellery, Raniwala 1881. “The consumers are looking Soulages was an icon of post-World War II European abstract,
inwards and moving towards value rather than states an AP report. On 26 October, French President Emmanuel
designers share tips and erratic consumerism. So yes, we do see that cli- Macron, tweeting a photo of himself seated smiling with the art-
things to keep in mind ents are opting for variability in their own clos-
ets to repurpose some of those classic heritage
ist, paid tribute saying: “Pierre Soulages was able to reinvent
black by revealing the light. Beyond the dark, his works are vivid
while recreating those jewellery pieces,” he says.
Perhaps that’s why it’s not uncommon to see
metaphors from which each of us draws hope.”
A major Soulages retrospective at Paris’ Louvre on the year of
cherished pieces brides-to-be now bringing their heirloom pie- his 100th birthday was held in 2019, in which the museum called
ces for redesigning. “They want to keep the him “a major figure of non-figurative painting” and paid tribute
original craft and tradition alive yet make it to his “remarkable vitality,” according to the AP report. It adds
Manish Mishra modern,” Arora says. “In terms of design, we that Soulages’ early brown-black paintings in walnut stain led on
usually get requests to make the piece more ver- to the works that defined his life: his “outrenoir,” or “beyond
he pandemic has inspired most satile so it can be used even after the wedding.” black” paintings.
T of us to look inside our closet and

find ways to infuse a new lease of A UNIQUE EYE
life into pieces, especially jewel- It’s mostly women in their late 20s or 30s who
lery, that hold a special emo- want to give a chic makeover to old pieces, says
tional value but only come out on selective Umang Gupta, a seventh-generation owner and
occasions. In the post-lockdown world, more gemologist at Shri Ram Hari Ram in Old Delhi’s
people are finding ways to reconfigure heritage Dariba Kalan.
Soulages discovered the technique in 1979 while working on
a painting he thought was a failure, a “black swamp.” Then he
realized that the painting was reflective, that “light comes from
the color that is the absence of light.” The viewers’ reflection and
the shifting daylight become part of the art, which he said creates
“a new mental space.”
heirlooms and recontextualise them to suit “They want to convert those pieces into loom jewellery a few years ago and get some- KANYE WEST’S FALL
today’s style sensibilities. something that they would wear more regularly. thing new, but I was extremely attached to my Born in Rodez, FROM GRACE
For instance, jewellery houses are witnessing Everyone has a personalised taste so there’s no nani, and I wanted to hold on to them even Pierre Soulages According to an AFP report, Kanye
a growing demand from customers to turn a pair general style really,” he explains. “They very though I never wore them. After keeping them West was recently “escorted” by two
of antique pajeb, or anklet, into a trendy neck much want the piece to still hold the vintage in the locker for years, I decided to remould the was an icon of executives out of the Skechers corpo-
choker, or rearrange precious stones in a neck- look and feel. These pieces hold high sentimen- traditional setting into something more versa- post-World War rate offices after the rapper showed up
lace to assume a new contemporary shape that tal value so they have to be handled with a lot of tile and functional,” she says. “I also had an old II European uninvited.
doesn’t compromise on the original design. care. Most heritage pieces are old and it’s hard diamond and gold set. Its setting was rather reg- abstract In a statement on 26 October, the
“I think more than a trend it is a classic old to source their key components... for instance, ular but I couldn’t bear to part with it..” shoe company said he arrived “unan-
practice to revive Indian art and present it in new the Burmese rubies. Also the kind of craftsman- Eventually, Kakar turned them into a pen- nounced and without invitation” at the
ways as design sensibilities continue to evolve,” ship that went into the piece.... We try to keep it dant, as she likes to wear stringy long necklaces, Los Angeles offices, adding that he was “engaged in unautho-
says Tarang Arora, the as close to the original and a band. She’s also remodelled some antique rized filming.” West, known formally as Ye, has made headlines
chief executive officer design and elements silver wear that she had bought in the early in recent weeks for racist statements that have cost him several
and creative director ‘Jewellers should not used in it.” 2000s. lucrative fashion collaborations, states the AFP report. He
of Amrapali Jewels. compromise on the quality of While this jewellery Fashion designer Pranay Baidya, on the other appeared at a Paris fashion show earlier this month, wearing a
Having said that, he mixology sounds fun, hand, likes repurposing vintage rings and shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter,” a slogan created as
adds, the pandemic gold and shouldn’t ignore the it’s imperative to keep bracelets into pendants and neck chains. a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement.
“did give everyone smaller parts like beads, pearls’ the design integrity “I have done so with several of my heirloom Earlier this week, German sportswear company Adidas
food for thought and intact, agree jewellery pieces and really enjoy styling them,” Baidya announced it was ending its partnership with West, followed
that’s how upcycling designers. says. “As part of my everyday style, I wear a later that day by American apparel company Gap, which said it
and repurposing became a thing.” Keeping this “You have to carefully redesign the piece and whole bunch of printed cotton shirts or round was taking “immediate” steps to remove his products, says the
demand in mind, Amrapali offers a wide range of preserve the big and essential parts and motifs,” neck cotton T-shirts paired with over-shirts or AFP report. Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga has also ended
versatile pieces that are reversible, modular or pinpoints Arora. “Jewellers should not compro- jackets. These pendants or neck chains work ties with West.
multifunctional, and can seamlessly transition mise on the quality of gold and shouldn’t ignore well with them because they are so versatile. I
from daywear to nightwear. the smaller parts like beads, pearls and other find myself wearing them during a workday as AUDI JOINS HANDS WITH SWISS SAUBER FOR F1
Another reason, says Yash Agarwal, the crea- stones, as they add the finishing touch to the well as when I’m out for a cocktail party.” Audi has agreed to take a stake in Swiss-based Sauber Group,
tive director of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas piece. If it’s a custom piece, then it’s always bet- Baidya suggests that while “it’s wonderful if whose team will become the German car manufacturer’s works
Jewellers, is that during lockdowns, people ter to understand the sentiments of the client (clockwise from above) Everyday you can get away with styling heirloom pieces entry in Formula One from 2026, says a Reuters report. No finan-
started realising more the importance of their before modifying so you don’t miss out on the luxury jewellery by Amaris; a Shri with minimal remodelling, but if you have to cial details were disclosed in the statement.
culture, family and heirlooms. “One very inter- finer details. Ram Hari Ram ‘karigar’ working on completely redesign them, one should not feel “Together we want to write the next chapter from 2026,”
esting thing that came up during the lockdown an heirloom piece; and modular guilty. At least that way you will wear them and Adam Baker, CEO of Audi Formula Racing said. Sauber Motor-
was my grandmother’s bejewelled veil, which ON THE STYLING SIDE jewels by Amrapali. and keep its journey alive,” he says, adding. “A sport said that the team will continue to use Ferrari power units
was broken,” says Agarwal. “So, we recomposed Gallerist Bhavna Kakar of Latitude 28 gallery piece of beauty is meant to be worn and for the next three seasons until the rules change, according to the
it and made heritage jewellery out of it.” owns a set of pre-Partition jewellery given by adorned.” Reuters report.
Repurposing heritage jewellery is also a con- her grandmother.
scious step towards sustainable buying, believes “My mother wanted to melt some of our heir- Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com
HANDWOUND
Fantastic watches that I wish were available in India

There are some amazing As I’ve written earlier in this column, white panda and the black reverse panda. beyond a certain price point, say around
the one thing that drives the global watch With its 450mm case size and pump-style ₹70,000, no matter how refined the
watch brands and industry is nostalgia. And when it comes pushers, it totally rocks a vintage 1970s watch, you start to get diminishing
models that are sadly to re-tooling classic 1970s designs, few aesthetic, something close to a classic returns. Indeed, the best value—quality of
brands do it as well as Timex. The brand Zenith El Primero. Sadly, neither of the the movement, the crystal, the case finish
not retailed in India. And has been well known for its low-cost, func- new Qs are yet available in India. and the bracelet—resides in the
that is a great shame tional and fun quartz watches since the Another brand that I wish were availa- ₹20,000-₹50,000 bracket. And while
70s. But before that, Timex used to make ble in India is Hamilton. The brand makes budget-friendly brands like Seiko con-
excellent mechanical dress watches as some of the best affordable Swiss watches tinue to push their prices further up, it’s
Bibek Bhattacharya well, such as the Marlin in the 1960s. and it is rightly the toast of watch fans the boutique (or microwatch) brands that
bibek.b@htlive.com In 2017, the brand threw a curveball by everywhere. The manufacture’s main jam have stepped into this space and thrived.
re-issuing the Marlin as a classic 34mm is the military-inspired field watch, and Two of my favourites are the American
I
t’s difficult being a watch enthusiast in handwound dress watch, boasting of a both the Hamilton Khaki Mechanical and brand Lorier and the French brand Baltic.
India. To be sure, most of the best period perfect size, with a mechanical the Hamilton Khaki Automatic are abso- They’re both part of the neo-vintage trend
watches in the world are available here, Miyota movement inside. Not seen since lute gems in this field. The brand’s chron- of classic designs and wearable case sizes,
but most of us just don’t have the kind of the 1960s, it quickly became a hit. Since ographs and dress watches are no and take an original approach to re-creat-
money to afford them. The problem is that then, the brand has also introduced auto- slouches either. For the life of me, I can’t ing and updating these design cues for the
most of the best options, when it comes to matic versions of the Marlin. The latter are fathom while Indian watch dealers don’t modern use. Both these brands, like most
badass affordable timepieces, are simply often available in India, but with a 40mm represent Hamilton in these shores. I hope others of their kind, offer wonderful col-
not present here. case size, and a day and date complication, that will change someday. lections of dive, dress, and sports watches,
In this regard, one of my biggest it’s a little large and busy for my taste. And when it comes to luxury watches, all around the $350-$500 price point. It’s
grouches is with Timex. Now that brand What I wish is that the mechanical Marlin the same can be said for Tudor. Rolex’s sis- a pity that these options aren’t available in
has been in India for decades, and whether were available instead. The Timex Q GMT and the Hamilton Khaki Mechanical. INSTAGRAM ter brand makes some of the best “afforda- India. You can order them online and have
on their website or on places like Amazon, Buoyed by the success of the Marlin, in ble” luxury watches out there—especially them shipped here of course, but import
you’ll find more Timex models than you 2019, Timex revised another old line, the Until I saw photos of the Q GMT, which track three time-zones at any given point. the Black Bay 39 dive watch and the Black duties and taxes will double the price of
can shake a stick at. But despite the pleth- Timex Q line. With their period-perfect Timex launched in April this year. Coming Highly reminiscent of the vintage Rolex Bay 36 sports watch—and it’s a mystery the watch, and you lose the value. How
ora of models, the truly good stuff are not angular tonneau case in wearable sizes, in an all-black (dial and bezel) version on GMT Master, both the functionality, size why the brand isn’t available here. cool it would be if there was an Indian
available. This, for me, includes two of the and integrated bracelet design, the Q has a rubber strap, a ‘Pepsi’ GMT (blue-red and price of the Q GMT make it a winner. Finally, let’s talk about boutique watch company that would represent these
coolest Timex Qs that have been launched been a deserving hit. But since I already bezel), and a ‘Batman’ GMT (blue-black The Q chronograph, released earlier brands. The sole reason these exist is for brands in India!
this year: the quartz Q GMT and the Q have much more capable—and better bezel). The watches use a Swiss quartz this month, is no slouch in the looks watch enthusiasts on a budget. Not every-
chronograph, and the mechanical Timex looking—sports watches, I never really GMT movement, and the bi-directional department. A classic racing chrono- one can afford to buy a Tudor Black Bay, Handwound is a column on watches and
Marlin. considered getting one. rotating bezel essentially allows you to graph, it comes in two dial variants: the let alone a Vacheron Constantin. And watchmaking.

Mint Delhi 28-10-2022

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