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mint primer QUICK EDIT

India’s heft in Cold War

MSCI EM index:
what it means
BY RAM SAHGAL
India’s weightage on the MSCI emerging markets (EM) index is tipped
to rise to 16.3% from the current 15.88% with nine fresh stock
inclusions in the gauge. The addition, effective 30 November, will take
India’s representation to an all-time high of 131 stocks. Mint explains:
MSCI makeover
The stock weights on EM index are based on free float market capitalization.
Top 10 stocks in MSCI EM Index
Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg (Taiwan)
Tencent Holdings LI (China)
Samsung Electronics Co (Korea)
Alibaba Grp Hldgs (China)
Reliance Industries (India)
Meituan (China)
PDD Holdings (China)
ICICI Bank (India)
China Construction Bank (China)
Infosys (India)
As of 31 October
Why is the MSCI index
1 important?
MSCI is a standalone NYSE-listed
global index, whose stock indices
are widely tracked by global asset
managers, hedge funds, banks,
corporates and insurance
companies to allocate funds across
global stock markets. The indices
are widely used for passive
investment by exchange traded
funds, index funds and some fund
of funds. Passive fund returns
mirror index returns unlike active
funds which can beat or
underperform benchmarks. Some
of the most tracked of its several
indices are the All Country World
Index, the Frontier Markets Index
and the EM Index, launched in
1988, with India included in 1994.
ISTOCKPHOTO
Index Weight (in %)
6.41
3.95
3.78
2.68
1.34
1.14
0.97
0.91
0.87
0.87
Source: MSCI
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
How has India fared on
2 the EM index?
India has grown over the years
with its weight set to double to
16.3% from four years ago once the
latest rejig takes effect. It is second
only to China, whose weight as of
October-end was 29.89%. India
leads Taiwan (15.07%), South Korea
(11.78%) and Brazil (5.42%). As a
standalone country, India has
outperformed the benchmark EM
index in terms of generating net
returns of 4.75% in the year
through 31 October against a
negative 2.14% return by MSCI EM.
The longer-term performance is
even more impressive, with net
returns of an annualized 8.33% in
10 years against just 1.19%
annualised returns by MSCI EM.
vibes
For a relationship so strained
that even the act of a phone call
made by one and taken by the
other is newsworthy, one may
have expected more discretion.
But soon after US President Joe
Biden and his Chinese counter-
part Xi Jinping met on Thurs-
day, Biden, at the risk of setting
back whatever progress might
have been made, touched a raw
nerve, again. “Look, he is. He’s a
dictator in the sense that he’s a
guy who runs a country that is a
communist country that’s based
on a form of government totally
different than ours,” Biden said.
Beijing was displeased, calling
his comment “extremely wrong
and irresponsible political
manipulation”. What made the
US leader say it can be debated.
What’s clear is the Cold War II
vibe. The summit’s achieve-
ments only reflect how badly
ties have frayed. The two agreed
to resume military dialogue,
snapped off since a 2022 Nancy
Pelosi visit to Taiwan, but the
standoff over this island is no
closer to easing. The two leaders
would also “pick up the phone
and call one another and we’ll
take the call,” Biden said. An
agreement to jointly fight an
opioid crisis that has menaced
American youth sounds like a
US win, but Xi may have his own
story for the masses back home.
MINT METRIC
by Bibek Debroy

A monkey with eyes that are green,

3 How does a stock find a
place on the index?
The stock weights on EM index are based
Chinese scientists have much to preen.
on free float market capitalization, or the
A chimera with fingers that glow,
shares available for buying and selling by Which way will these experiments flow?
foreign investors. The higher the market
capitalization, the higher the weight and
Perhaps with consequences unforeseen
the allocation by investors. Reliance
Industries (weight 1.34%), ICICI Bank
(0.91%) and Infosys (0.87%) are among the
top 10 stocks on MSCI EM.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Whatever stage of development
4 How will increased
representation help?
Passive foreign trackers will put
5 Will overall FPI
investment rise?
The increase will see inflows from
it may reach, China will never
$1.5 billion into the nine Indian passive trackers and not
pursue hegemony or
stocks in the index and other necessarily active fund managers. expansion, and will never
Indian counters whose weights So, it doesn’t mean that overall
will rise. MSCI increased the foreign fund flows will rise. To be
impose its will on others
weights of Zomato, Hindustan sure, it’s a sentiment booster. Over
Aeronautics and Jio Financial longer periods, passive
Services, to name a few, which will investments tend to generate
receive an estimated $160 million higher returns because of lower
worth of passive flows. The expenses and absence of human XI JINPING
rebalancing means that error. The latest positive review by CHINESE PRESIDENT
heavyweights like Reliance will see MSCI EM comes almost a month
minor weight reductions, after foreign brokerage Morgan
according to brokerage Nuvama, Stanley upgraded India to the
which estimates outflows of $645 status of most preferred emerging
million from the top five counters. market.

mint Data Bytes

THE 10 STATES WITH

THE HIGHEST
Punjab
RETAIL INFLATION Haryana

IN OCTOBER Rajasthan
Uttar
Pradesh
Bihar
Year-on-year consumer price
inflation (in %)
Gujarat
Data: Pragya Srivastava
Design: Sarvesh Kumar Sharma
Odisha

Maharashtra

Telangana

Karnataka

Source: Ministry of statistics and

programme implementation
 PLAIN FACTS

Data recap: Delhi’s air,

Oct inflation, earnings
CURATED BY PRAGYA SRIVASTAVA
very Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights, complete with easy-to-read charts, to help you

E delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint in the week gone by. Delhi’s air quality has been worsening by the day
since Diwali despite stringent measures taken by the state government. While the year-on-year inflation rate softened
in October, retail prices saw the first month-on-month rise in three months.

Toxic Air Inflation Dynamics

Delhi's air quality index*, last 10 days Month-on-month CPI inflation (in %)
Severe Very poor Poor 3
2.5
395 426 437 397 398 415 2
358
1.5
279
1
220 218 0.65
0.5 0.23
0
Jan Oct
-0.5 2023 2023
7 Nov 8 Nov 9 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov 15 Nov 16 Nov -1
*24-hour average as of 4 pm; average for all monitoring stations in the city.
-1.5
Source: Central Pollution Control Board Source: CMIE

LAST WEEK, just before Diwali, rain brought Delhi some
respite from its ‘severe’ air quality. However, the relief was
short-lived as the air quality index (AQI) began worsening
from the morning after the festivities, rising from 218 on 12
November to 358 the next day. On Thursday, the AQI was
415, falling back into the ‘severe’ category. To control the
pollution levels, the Delhi government has taken stringent
measures, including a prohibition on construction
activities and the entry of pollution-emitting trucks.
AFTER HITTING a recent high of 7.44% in July, India’s
retail inflation began softening due to a correction in
vegetable prices, especially those of tomatoes, coming in
at 4.87% in October. While the inflation rate continued to
soften, price pressures actually rose in October for the
first time in three months, a Mint analysis showed. On a
month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
rose 0.65%, with the food index rising 1.06%, which is a
cause for concern.

Dramatic Century

₹2,096 THAT’S THE consolidated revenue EIH Ltd, the

flagship company of the Oberoi Group, had generated in
2022-23, up 101% from the preceding year. Prithvi Raj

crore
Singh Oberoi, who was the executive chairman of the
company until last year, died earlier this week at the age
of 94. Biki Oberoi, as he was known, built a sprawling
chain of 32 hotels in his lifetime, according to an obituary
in the Hindustan Times.

Earnings Report Skewed Share

Year-on-year change in aggregate results (%) Share of women directors (%)
19
Number of companies: 3,013 18.2
Revenue Profit 18

17
Q3FY23 18.1 4.6
16
Q4FY23 12.4 15.0 15
13.9
Q1FY24 7.0 38.2 14

13
Q2 FY24 5.2 42.8 Mar 2018 Mar 2023
Analysis based on available data for Nifty 500 companies.
Standalone data used Capitaline, Mint calculations Source: Primeinfobase.com, Mint calculations

THE COMBINED revenue of firms that have declared
September-quarter results has risen 5.2% year-on-year,
while net profit 42.8%, a Mint analysis showed. While the
top line was driven by the banking, financial services and
insurance (BFSI) sectors, at the same time, they proved to
be a drag on the profits. Excluding the BFSI sectors, the
combined revenue contracted 0.3%, while profit was up
52.2%. The analysis covered 3,013 BSE-listed firms
(including 466 banking and financial services firms).
THE MATTER of adequate gender diversity in
boardrooms is gathering steam but the reality is that
corporate leadership remains a grey-haired men’s club.
Though women have begun to get more spots, they still
are under-represented in the executive arena. The
overall share of women directors was just 18.2% as of 31
March, a Mint analysis showed. Moreover, close to half of
the members of this coveted club are aged above 60
years, and millennials occupy just a minuscule 1.2% seats.

Retail Push

26.1%
THAT’S THE average share of delivery value in total value
of trade on the National Stock Exchange until October this
fiscal, which is the highest in six years, Mint reported.
Increased retail participation pushed up delivery volumes
on the exchange, with investors pumping money into small-
and mid-caps directly and through mutual funds. The
upward trend is likely to continue unless there are global
headwinds or anti-incumbency in the elections.

Humanitarian Move Chart of the Week: Kohli’s Record

Exports to Bhutan (in $ million) Highest run-scorers in a single edition of men's Cricket World Cups
1,200 180
Virat Kohli (2023) 711
1,000 India 150 China
Sachin Tendulkar (2003) 673
800 120
Matthew Hayden (2007) 659
600 90

400 60 Rohit Sharma (2019) 648

200 30 David Warner (2019) 647

0 0 Shakib Al Hasan (2019) 606
2014 2022 2014 2022
Source: Bloomberg Source: ESPNcricinfo

WITH INDIA, the world’s second-largest exporter of rice, In a nail-biting semi-final of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket
putting a ban on exports, several countries have found World Cup, Virat Kohli scored his 50th one-day
themselves in a tough spot. However, India has decided to international century, beating Sachin Tendulkar’s long-
allow around 103,600 tonnes of food items to be exported standing record. With this, Kohli has
to Bhutan under a humanitarian operation, making an also become the highest run-scorer in a
exception for its strategic partners amid export curbs, Mint single edition of the world cup.
reported. While India is Bhutan’s main import partner, its Follow our data stories on the In
imports from China have risen in recent years, making it a Charts and Plain Facts pages on the Mint
potentially strategic decision to help the country. website.
PARAS JAIN/MINT

TOP FIVE KIDS' TITLES TOP FIVE FRENCH FILMS

1 UNICORN ACADEMY 3 STAR WARS: YOUNG 3 POURRIS GÂTÉS
JEDI ADVENTURES 1 PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE
FILLE EN FEU Platform: Netflix
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar Cast: Camille Lou, Tom Leeb
Language: English Platform:
Amazon Prime
Video 4 LA FILLE AU BRACELET
4 BEN 10 Cast: Adele Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Platform: JioCinema Haenel, Noemie Cast: Roschdy Zem, Chiara
Platform: Netflix, Language: English
Merlant
Language: English Mastroianni

2 KUNG FU PANDA: THE

PAWS OF DESTINY 5 POKEMON 2 MON HÉROÏNE 5 FAHIM
Platform: Amazon Prime Video Platform: JioCinema Platform: JioCinema Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Language: English Language: English, Hindi, Tamil Cast: Chloe Jouannet, Louise Coldefy Cast: Fahim Mohammad
 NeW DelhI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCKNOW* VOL. 17 NO. 274 Rs. 10.00 . Price with Hindustan Times Rs. 15.50 22 PAGES

Friday, November 17, 2023

Meet the man behind the Tata Tech IPO may set stage for
livemint.com mega KIMS deal uP12 more listings from group uP7

SENSEX 65,982.5 306.57 NIFTY 19,765.2 89.75 DOLLAR ₹83.24 ₹0.09 EURO ₹90.33 ₹0.09 OIL $80.77 $0.59 GOLD ₹60,029 ₹0.00

Tesla hits it off with Costly credit

Borrowers of unsecured loans would have to shell out more as lenders
will have to compensate for the increase in capital requirement.
Year-on-year growth in unsecured bank loans and loans to NBFCs (in %)
SoftBank to
sell $154 mn
DON’T MISS
ISTOCKPHOTO

shares in
Indian parts makers
Credit card outstanding Personal loans for consumer durables
"Other" personal loans* NBFCs
160
120
Delhivery
80
Sneha Shah &
India shift generated $135-150 mn business for component firms 40
0 Ranjani Raghavan
-40
Jan 2020 Sep 2023 MUMBAI G20 group seeks $1 tn fund
Alisha Sachdev Note: *Includes credit for domestic consumption, medical expenses, travel, every year to grow startups
MaDe IN INDIa marriage and other social ceremonies and loans to repay debt. Source: RBI

J
alisha.sachdev@livemint.com apan’s SoftBank Group A proposal by Startup 20 engagement group
NEW DELHI Corp. will sell shares worth calling for G20 nations to make available $1

RBI ups consumer

Tesla wants to diversify its vendor base to de-risk its supply chain
$154 million (₹1,250 crore) trillion annually for startups from 2030 is

I
ndian auto parts makers are
emerging as preferred suppliers
to Tesla Inc. as it diversifies
away from China, two people
familiar with the development
said, with the US electric car giant
often willing to pay a higher price
for the shift.
Tesla now sources a range of
India-made components from small
plastic parts and castings, to com-
amid escalating tensions between the US and China.
in Delhivery in a block deal being considered by the group of nations,
$20 bn $6 bn $135-150 mn $1 bn* on Friday, a term sheet for the according to outgoing chair of the
engagement group, Chintan Vaishnav. >P2
India's auto
component
exports in FY23
Auto part
exports to North
America in FY23
Parts supplied to
Tesla annually by
30 Indian firms
Auto components
sourced by Tesla
from India in 2022
*According to Union minister Piyush Goyal, who said this amount could double in 2023
loans’ risk weights transaction showed. The
investment firm will continue
to hold 10-11% in the new-age Sebi to take proposal for new
logistics firm after the sale. delisting rules to board soon
Shayan Ghosh & Bank are currently available SVF Doorbell (Cayman) Ltd,
The Securities and Exchange Board of India
Gopika Gopakumar at interest rates ranging an entity owned by Masayoshi (Sebi) will propose a review of its stock
from 10.5% to 25% for Son-led SoftBank, will sell 31 delisting norms at its next board meeting, said
MUMBAI salaried employees, showed million shares at chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. A Sebi sub-
data on its website. ₹403.5-413.85 each, a discount group had considered providing alternatives

plex differential systems used in
transmission, and wheel hubs.
Industry data sourced by Mint
showed that 30 component makers
—including Indian firms and multi-
nationals with manufacturing oper-
ations in India—exported parts
worth $135-150 million to Tesla in
2022-23.
However, additional sales by
Tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers, that is,
suppliers who provide parts to
direct suppliers, are likely to add to
this figure.
Some of the biggest ones are Sona
Comstar, the largest Indian supplier
for Tesla, as well as Graziano Tra-
smissioni India Pvt. Ltd (DANA
Graziano, a DANA group company),
Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd,
CISWW Engineering India Pvt. Ltd
INCENTIVIZING LOCAL MANUFACTURING
INDIA IS considering lowering
import duties from 70% to 15-30%
for EVs priced $25,000-35,000
and Bharat Forge Ltd. Mint could
not verify details of the suppliers’
business with Tesla, given their
non-disclosure agreements with
the US firm.
In September, commerce and
industry minister Piyush Goyal had
said Tesla sourced nearly $1 billion
worth of auto parts from India in
2022, and was on track to double it
this year. Goyal visited Tesla’s man-
ufacturing facility in Fremont, Cali-
fornia earlier this week, even as the
THE PROPOSED policy aims to promote
local EV production and position India as
a global green mobility hub
Source: ACMA, Mint research
government weighs a new national
electric vehicle (EV) policy that
could potentially lower import
duties on EVs if foreign carmakers
such as Tesla commit to invest in
local manufacturing in the country.
Tesla is targeting the mass-pre-
mium segment of passenger EVs in
the country.
The US imposes steep tariffs on a
variety of China-made goods; how-
TURN TO PAGE 8
A
fter several months
spent trying to sensitize
lenders against the
ongoing credit binge, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
Thursday raised risk weights
on consumption loans, credit
card exposures and loans to
non-bank financiers by 25 per-
centage points each, hoping
higher consumption of capital
will slow such rapid growth.
Bankers and financial
sector experts said this
would mean borrowers of such
loans would have to shell out
more as lenders try to compen-
sate for the increase in capital
requirement.
Personal loans at India’s
largest private lender HDFC
“The cost of borrowing and
cost of lending will go up a lit-
tle. Banks will either try to shift
from unsecured towards more
secured loans or reduce the
volume of unsecured loans,” a
senior private sector banker
said on the condition of ano-
nymity.
Macquarie said in a report
on Thursday that HDFC Bank
and SBI Cards & Payment Ser-
vices are among the most
impacted in terms of contrac-
tion in common equity tier one
(CET 1) ratios.
The high growth in con-
sumer credit and increasing
reliance of non-banking finan-
TURN TO PAGE 8
of not more than 2.5% to
Thursday’s closing. Kotak
Securities Ltd will manage the
transaction.
SoftBank is looking to take
some money off the table after
selling a small stake in the ini-
tial public offering (IPO) of the
Gurugram-based company in
2022. Later, in March this
year, it sold a 3.8% stake for
₹954 crore.
Once the block sale is con-
cluded, SoftBank would have
pulled out around $310 million
from Delhivery, against $380
million it has invested in the
company. It owned around
22% stake in the company in
TURN TO PAGE 8
to the reverse book-building process. >P8
Diwali smartphone sales cross
expectations for retailers
Refurbished smartphones and no-interest
financing schemes spread over two years
together gave a silver lining to India’s
smartphone sellers, even as organic
demand remained tepid in the country,
according to industry insiders. >P3
JSW Infrastructure wins bid
to develop port in Karnataka
Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Infrastructure Ltd on
Thursday announced it has acquired the rights
to develop a greenfield port in Karnataka with
an initial capacity of 30 million tonnes per
annum (mtpa). The project is set to be
completed in the next five years. >P9

19 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE,
A PURSUIT THAT INSPIRES
Coming Soon on
ASSOCIATE PARTNER
02 FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi
Goyal meets Micron
CEO, discusses
semicon ecosystem
Dhirendra Kumar
dhirendra.kumar@mintlive.com
NEW DELHI
C
ommerce and industry
minister Piyush Goyal
met the chief executive
of semiconductor giant
Micron Technology, Sanjay
Mehrotra, during his US trip to
discuss business opportunities
in the growing semiconductor
sector in India, the ministry
said on Thursday.
The meeting comes in the
backdrop of Micron’s plans to
set up India’s first chip manu-
facturing facility in Gujarat,
which is expected to create
5,000 direct and over 15,000
indirect jobs. Goyal’s meeting
with Mehrotra in San Francisco
on Wednesday comes about
four months after the CEO met
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
in July in Ahmedabad.
Micron Technology carried
out the groundbreaking of its
$2.75 billion assembly, testing
and packaging plant (ATMP) in
Sanand, Gujarat, in September.
“In his discussion with
Micron, the minister high-
lighted how India’s growing
semiconductor ecosystem
presents vast opportunities for
companies to collaborate and
expand their businesses,” the
official statement said.
Goyal, who is in the US for
the Indo-Pacific Economic
Framework (IPEF), also inter-
acted with Silicon Valley
entrepreneurs and venture
capitalists (VCs) of Indian ori-
gin. During an interactive ses-
‘Q2 GDP surprise to signal robust growth’ ‘India must bring in changes in
Shayan Ghosh
shayan.g@livemint.com
its policy towards Myanmar’
MUMBAI
T
here is a “wide consen-
sus” supported by eco-
nomic forecasts that real
gross domestic product (GDP)
growth in the second quarter
will turn out to be better than
the Reserve Bank of India’s
(RBI) projection of 6.5%, an
article in the central bank’s
November bulletin said on
Thursday.
The estimates for the sec-
ond quarter (Q2) of FY24 are
set to be released at the end of
this month.
The article said that since
the RBI’s projections factored
in a turnaround in the
momentum of activity into
expansion in Q2, if the consen-
sus turns out to be true, it
would imply a stronger pace of
activity than projected.
India’s economy expanded
7.8% in the first three months
of the financial year and RBI
governor Shaktikanta Das
recently expressed confi-
dence in the domestic econ-
omy. “Looking at the momen-
tum of economic activity—a
few early data points have
come in—I expect Q2 GDP
numbers which will come at
the end of November in all
m MINT SHORTS
Govt considering measures to
help revive SEZs
New Delhi: The government is considering several
measures such as a flexible framework for sale of prod-
HT ucts manufactured in special
economic zones (SEZs) in the
domestic market, easy de-no-
tification norms, and stream-
lining approval processes for
units, an official said. The aim
is to help revive SEZs and
facilitate business transac-
tions.
Delhi govt sets up 6-member
STF to implement GRAP
New Delhi: The Delhi government on Thursday set up
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Commerce and Industry
minister Piyush Goyal.
sion, Goyal urged them to help
Indian youth working in criti-
cal and emerging technology
areas such as artificial intelli-
gence by sharing their ideas to
make India a better invest-
ment destination for investors
from around the globe, it
added.
“During the interaction, the
union minister encouraged
the participants to share their
ideas to make India a better
investment avenue for inves-
tors from around the world,”
the statement said.
“The minister also shared
his vision for the Indian
startup ecosystem and urged
entrepreneurs and VCs
present to contribute and help
India’s young talent working
in critical and emerging tech-
nological areas such as artifi-
cial intelligence,” it added.
Goyal also discussed setting
up joint-campuses with for-
eign universities with academ-
ics at Stanford University, the
release said.
An RBI article says that there is a wide consensus emerging that
real GDP growth will outperform RBI projection of 6.5%.
probability will surprise on was robust and broad-based,
the upside,” Das said on 31 with companies in sectors
October.
The article, written by RBI biles and construction deliver-
officials, had the
usual disclaimer This optimism
that the views comes at a time
were those of the when the global
authors and not economy
of the central
is showing
bank.
The optimism signs of
that real GDP slowing down
growth will be
higher than 6.5%,
the article said, appears to be many of them have lowered
supported by corporate results their forward revenue gui-
for the September quarter.
“Bottom line (profit) growth macroeconomic uncertainty
PTI
ECONOMY & POLICY
G20 group seeks $1 tn fund
every year to grow startups
Funding to be taken up under Brazil’s G20 Presidency, says group chairman Chintan Vaishnav
Rhik Kundu
rhik.kundu@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
G
20 nations are assessing a
proposal to allow their
PTI
startups access to 1% of the
group’s gross domestic
product every year from
2030, according to Chintan Vaishnav,
outgoing chair of the Startup 20
engagement group under India’s presi-
dency.
The proposal is set to be taken up
under the upcoming Brazilian presi-
dency of the G20, said Vaishnav, who is
mission director at Niti Ayog’s Atal
Innovative Mission.
The proposal, made by the Startup
20 engagement group in Goa in June, The aim is to foster the growth of the startup ecosystem and spur private
called for G20 nations to make availa- investments..
ble $1 trillion annually for startups from
2030.
At present, startups across G20 world leaders in September.
nations, comprising 98% of global
startups, see annual investments of included because each (member coun- what is on paper is being turned into could also have an impact on the
$300-400 billion.
Startup 20 is a platform
for entrepreneurs and
innovation leaders from
G20 countries to col-
400 bn annual
laborate and formulate
policy recommenda- investments that
tions to support the startups get
development of startup
ecosystems.
A consensus was reached by
Startup 20 members to put the pro- sure all the heterogeneity is ecosystem but also lead to a growth in pass on the chairmanship of the group
posal on the 2023 Startup 20 commu- addressed,” he added.
nique. However, it was not included in
MINT
such as oil and gas, automo-
ing sharp
increases in prof-
itability,” it said.
Inf or ma t i on
technology (IT)
companies, on
the other hand,
declared weaker
earnings results
than in the prece-
ding quarter and
dance in response to global
a six-member special task force to ensure strict imple-
mentation of measures outlined in the Centre’s air pollu-
tion control plan GRAP in the capital, environment min-
ister Gopal Rai said. Delhi’s special secretary (environ-
ment) will head the STF whose members include senior
officials from the departments of transport, traffic, reve-
nue, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Public Works
Department. PTI
Three-fold increase in special
train trips this festive season
New Delhi: Dismissing reports of a shortage of berths
for passengers opting for non-AC coaches, railway min-
ister Ashwini Vaishnaw said there has been a nearly
MINT three-fold increase in the
number of special train trips
this festive season as com-
pared to last year. The rail-
ways is operating 6,754 addi-
tional train trips this festive
season between 1 October
and 31 December. PTI.
LIVEMINT.COM
UPI know-how to be shared with
other countries. ISTOCKPHOTO
A large chunk of the funding is
expected to be in the form of private
capital, Vaishnav said. The Startup 20 India
working group, introduced by India
proposes
under its G20 presidency, will be con-
tinued by future presidencies.
“Towards Brazil, we have formed a
working group to transfer all the
know-how so that Startup 20 succeeds
UPI tech
under Brazil’s presidency. It is impor-
tant for Brazil and then South Africa to pact with
make a success of it, so that these
groups are on a solid footing,” Vaish-
nav said.
Seychelles
Vaishnav said the ongoing high
interest rate regime in most econo- Shashank Mattoo
mies, including advanced economies shashank.mattoo@livemint.com
which fund startups, will impact the NEW DELHI
weaker startups. That meant even
I
startups with strong fundamentals and ndia has proposed coopera-
MINT value proposition may face funding dif- tion on UPI technology to
ficulties. Seychelles, according to per-
the final New Delhi declaration by endorse the proposal. “To that extent, there will be a cor- sons aware of the matter.
“Creation of a global network will rective impact, because the exuber- The country, which lies off
“The details of the proposal were not also require a focussed effort. However, ance of investors has toned down. It the coast of East Africa, has
been a key political and military
try) required internal negotia- action,” he added. scale-up case, when a startup partner for India in the Indian
tions to make it happen,” India, the world’s fifth is looking to grow at a Ocean since it gained inde-
Vaishnav said in an inter- largest economy, is likely larger scale,” Vaishnav pendence from Britain in 1976.
$300-
view. to overtake Japan to
“We are still discussing become the third-larg-
of global startups
said.
“However, this is not a 98% The proposal for coopera-
tion is under consideration by
ways to create a $1 trillion est with a GDP of $7.3 scenario (that will last) the government of the island
fund and how to formu- trillion by 2030, accord- are in G20 forever,” he added. country.
late it. The platform for ing to rating agency S&P. nations Vaishnav, who’s the Queries mailed to the minis-
this will be ready in the next Directing about 1% of the chair of the Startup 20 try of external affairs and the
three-to-four months. How- GDP toward startups will not engagement group under High Commission of the Sey-
ever, it will require efforts to make only catalyze the growth of the New Delhi’s G20 presidency, will chelles in New Delhi went
unanswered at press time.
private investments that too will fuel to his Brazilian counterparts on 30 The move comes as part of
Saudi Arabia was the first country to growth. November. India’s broader effort to push its
digital solutions in partner
countries and the Global South.
UPI technologies have been
deployed in Bhutan and Nepal
while Sri Lanka is expected to
roll out the platform
and reduction in discretionary
expenditure by their clients, it
soon.Besides this, talks have
been ongoing for India to coop-
erate with a number of coun-
added. tries in Africa, the Middle-East
However, auto companies Shashank Mattoo the external affairs ministry at and Southeast Asia on this
posted strong revenue per- shashank.mattoo@livemint.com a press briefing in response to front.
formance as the main driver of NEW DELHI a query on India’s arms exports India’s outreach to the Sey-
profitability, spurred by vol- to Myanmar’s military junta. chelles has had a strong
I
ume growth, lower raw mate- ndia must end its “one-sided “There has been movement emphasis on defence, with
rial costs and price hikes. policy” of engaging only of Myanmar nationals to the India working to set up a
While banks were powered by with the military junta in Indian side. We are deeply Coastal Surveillance Radar Sys-
strong credit demand which Myanmar, said Toe Kyaw Hla- concerned with such incidents tem (CSRS) and selling defence
pushed up their revenue, ris- ing, a councillor in the close to our border. Our posi- equipment like Dornier air-
ing interest expenses on National Unity Consultative tion on the ongoing situation craft.
account of higher interest Council (NUCC) of Myanmar, in Myanmar is very clear. We Bilateral trade with the Sey-
rates on deposits exerted some in an interview with Mint. want cessation of the violence chelles, which has a popula-
pressure on their margins, it The NUCC functions as an Toe Kyaw Hlaing, a councillor and the resolution of the situa- tion of just over 100,000,
said. advisory body to the exiled in the National Unity tion through constructive dia- remains modest. Ritesh
This optimism also comes at National Unity government, Consultative Council of logue. We reiterate our call for Shukla, the international chief
a time when the global econ- which was formed after the Myanmar. the return of peace, stability executive of NPCI, which runs
omy is showing signs of slow- military overthrew the demo- and democracy in Myanmar,” UPI, recently told Mint that the
ing down in the final quarter of cratic government in February officials, called on India to Bagchi said. number of countries using UPI
calendar year 2023, with man- 2021. review its policy of providing His comments came after will double in 12-18 months.
ufacturing languishing. Going Since the conflict began in military aid to the military thousands of refugees crossed India’s offerings on UPI are
forward, tightening financial 2021, New Delhi has main- regime. into India from Myanmar last two-fold. The first involves
conditions are a significant tained a cooperative relation- According to the UN Special week after fighting erupted building technology infra-
risk to the global outlook, it ship with the State Adminis- Rapporteur for human rights between the military and structure and sharing know-
said. tration Council (SAC), the mil- in Myanmar, India has pro- resistance forces in Chin state, how with partner countries.
“In India, the momentum of itary regime. vided around $51 million in which borders India. “There are many countries
the change in GDP is sequen- “Our key message to the military aid to Myanmar since Hlaing warned the fighting who have similar problems we
tially expected to be higher in government of India is to stop the military regime came to is likely to intensify, which had before the advent of UPI.
Q3 FY24, with festival demand recognizing or to stop legiti- power. Indian officials insist could create increased migra- These are financial inclusion,
remaining ebullient. Invest- mizing SAC and listen to the that the aid is limited. tion to India. More than supporting rural economies,
ment demand appears to be voices of the people of Myan- “We have engagement and 30,000 refugees from Myan- FinTech incubation, transpar-
resilient with the govern- mar, because nowadays in cooperation with them, a mar have found their way to ency and other things. We are
ment’s infrastructure spend- Myanmar anti-Indian senti- neighbouring country, on var- India after the military coup in looking at partnering with
ing, an uptick in private capex, ment is growing very fast,” said ious issues. Whatever actions 2021. those countries to help them
automation, digitalisation, and Hlaing. we take are in the light of our Hlaing called on the Indian create their own version of UPI
indigenisation providing a Hlaing, who says he has interests,” said Arindam Bag- government to provide safe in a very sovereign manner,” he
boost,” it said. been in contact with Indian chi, official spokesperson of haven for the refugees. said.
Govt sells wheat, rice from
‘Govt doesn’t expect to
complete sale of IDBI Bank’ buffer stock to check prices MINT
CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
HT New Delhi: The government Mint welcomes comments,
said it has sold 284,000 ton- suggestions or complaints
nes of wheat and 5,830 ton- about errors.
nes of rice from its buffer
Readers can alert the
stock to 2,334 bidders
newsroom to any errors in the
through an e-auction as part paper by emailing us, with your
of efforts to control retail pri- full name and address to
ces by offloading food grains feedback@livemint.com.
in the open market. In an official statement, the food
ministry said that the 21st e-auction was held on 15 It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
November under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) Readers dissatisfied with the
Domestic. PTI response or concerned about
Mumbai: The government does not expect to Mint’s journalistic integrity may
conclude the sale of IDBI Bank by the end of the write directly to the editor by
financial year on 31 March 2024, a top finance Coal power plants’ capacity sending an email to
asktheeditor@livemint.com
ministry official told reporters. “We practically
don’t think that before March we can conclude
utilization will improve: Crisil
Mint’s journalistic Code of
(the sale of IDBI Bank),” said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, New Delhi: Coal-based thermal power units’ plant load Conduct that governs our
secretary of the department of investment and factor or capacity utilization will improve to 65% in the
public asset management. REUTERS current fiscal year despite record renewable energy
newsroom is available at
www.livemint.com
capacity addition, according to Crisil Ratings. PTI
LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS FRIDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2023
NEW DELHI 03 FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi 03

m MINT SHORTS
Alibaba cancels cloud service
EMIs, pre-used units drive
spinoff over US chip restrictions
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Thursday said it was can-
celling a planned cloud service spinoff announced this year over
Diwali smartphone sales REFILLABLE
MARKERS
US chip restrictions, as it reported results for the third quarter
of 2023 that were in line with market expectations. Alibaba’s
change of course follows a series of decisions by Washington to
bar the export to China of powerful chips, including those from
California-based Nvidia that are crucial to the development of Full-year sales of smartphones to be tepid in world’s second-largest smartphone market
FULL SIZE
artificial intelligence. The Chinese giant’s AI endeavors, which
require a huge amount of computing power, are largely depend-
ent on its cloud division. Alibaba saw a 9% year-on-year increase Shouvik Das demand for smartphones, and the
in Q3 revenue, it said on Thursday, following several difficult
years and despite a broader economic slowdown. AFP
shouvik.das@livemint.com
New DeLhI
budget segment will remain nearly
flat. The festive season saw decent
Marker with Clip
● DARKER COLOUR
demand in isolated phases, but that

R
efurbished smartphones will be cancelled out in rest of the
Meta, TikTok challenge EU’s and no-interest financing months of each quarter,” she said.
new rules that rein in Big Tech
REUTERS
schemes spread over two
years became the clear
This, Joshi added, is likely to see
the December quarter rack up 35 ● LONGER WRITING
demand drivers for retail- million smartphone units shipped—
ers in last week’s Diwali sale, which up from 30 million units in the last
were better than industry expecta- quarter of 2022. However, even a
tions, insiders said. The two factors better-than-expected last quarter of
combined to offer a silver lining for the year would not be able to pre-
India’s smartphone sellers, even as vent the domestic smartphone mar-
organic demand for smartphones ket from seeing a second consecu-
continued to remain tepid at best in tive annual decline. IDC reported
the second-largest smartphone 144 million smartphones shipped in
market in the world. 2022—as a result, 2023 could see
“Even as other appliances catego- shipments either remain flat, or
ries remained flat, our Diwali smart- decline by around 1%.
phone sales saw a 40% year-on-year The only segment which is seeing such a demand is the premium Amid demand dip, the two-year
The owners of Facebook and TikTok have formally chal- growth. The introduction of zero- smartphones market. BLOOMBERG finance scheme has helped retailers
lenged the European Union’s (EU) latest clampdown on the interest, two-year financing with growth—Vijay Sales’ Gupta
dominance of Big Tech firms, paving the way for a fresh schemes for smartphones was the the second half of the year to be ‘sig- retailers, are focusing on refur- said the chain’s festive season pre-
legal fight between regulators and the social media power- biggest driver of sales, even as buy- nificantly stronger’ than H1. bished phones. A multi-brand mium smartphone sales were “more
houses. Meta Platforms Inc. argued that the European ers continue to hold on to their Manish Khatri, partner at retailer retailer in Delhi, who requested than 40% higher” than last year.
Commission was wrong to put Facebook’s Marketplace and phones for more than 20 months,” Mahesh Telecom, said market stag- anonymity, said over the past year, This market dynamic is a boon for
Messenger services within the scope of the Digital Markets Nilesh Gupta, MD of electronics nation among customers is a driving they added a refurbished smart- refurbishers. Sourav Gupta, chief
Act, which is designed to rein in market abuse. Its appeal retailer Vijay Sales, said. factor behind this. “Customers phone outlet in their physical stores, executive of used smartphone resel-
filed on Wednesday sets up a battle in the courts with EU Kailash Lakhyani, president of today regularly tell us that there’s no driving sales in a weak year. ler platform Xtracover, said there
lawyers. Meanwhile, lawyers for Chinese firm ByteDance industry body All India Mobile compelling reason for them to buy The market dynamic comes amid has been a clear uptick in demand in
Ltd argued its hugely popular video-sharing platform Tik- Retailers’ Association the festive season. “Models of
Tok also shouldn’t be hit by the rules. BLOOMBERG (Aimra), said the zero-inter- FIRE WORKS the iPhone were in big
est, two-year instalment plan demand for us, which saw the
was a driver of sales for small AMAZON India THE finance scheme CUSTOMERS saw VIJAY Sales’ average price per device sold
Amazon says prototype internet physical retailers, too. saw 2.5x higher
smartphone sales
was a key for top no compelling
retailers, and smaller reason to buy new
premium phone
sales were “more
increase to ₹11,000 from
In response to a query across the festive ₹8,500. This is the season
satellites are working as planned from Mint, Ranjit Babu, season
retailers struggled in
the budget segment
phones, making way
for the refurbishers
than 40% higher
than the last year” where we are organizing a
Amazon.com says the two prototype communications satellites director—smartphones and largely unorganized refur-
it launched into space last month are functioning as designed, televisions at Amazon India, bished smartphone market,
paving the way for the company to begin mass-producing devices said the platform saw 2.5x higher new phones, and the quality of exist- a sustained slump for the smartph- driven by demand from buyers to
that will power its internet-from-space venture. Amazon’s Project smartphone sales across the festive ing phones have also become very one market. Upasana Joshi, rese- get affordable devices—and from
Kuiper teams recently completed the initial slate of tests on the season, driven largely by “no-cost good. Hence, new purchases are no arch manager at market research individual sellers to sell their used
two satellites, evaluating everything from flight computers and financing and exchange offers.” longer being driven by organic firm IDC India, said the finance devices at a better price than their
solar-power arrays to propulsion and radio transmission. The US Flipkart declined to comment on its demand—the only segment which is scheme was a key driver of sales for local retailers. On average, this helps
Federal Communications Commission has authorized Amazon Diwali smartphone sales. seeing such a demand is the prem- top retailers, and smaller retailers us keep a margin of nearly 15%,
to place 3,326 satellites in low-earth orbit, a constellation that will For brands, a Xiaomi spokesper- ium smartphones market,” he said. struggled in the budget segment. while festive sales have driven our
beam broadband internet service across the globe. BLOOMBERG son said the company now expects As a result, Khatri, and other “There is very little organic margin up to 25%,” he said.

Japan’s Gojo launches Unleash T20 cricket league LLC to raise $10mn
Capital for early bets in India Varuni Khosla
varuni.k@livemint.com
more focused on popularising the
game and reminding fans that some of
New DeLhI these cricketers are still playing and so

25
Malvika Maloo forms, business-to-business is more of a marketing initiative for us. `

L
malvika.maloo@livemint.com infrastructure, or specialised
BeNgaLuRu lending,” he said.
The fund will focus on early-
egends League Cricket (LLC), a Across the two formats, we have tried
global T20 cricket league with to replicate active cricket which is
PER PCS
recently retired international either played for the country, or for

J
apanese company Gojo & Co.,
which has previously backed
a few Indian firms in the
financial services segment,
has launched a fund Unleash
Capital Partners to back early
stage companies in the country.
The venture, registered in
Japan, launched the fund four
months ago with a target cor-
pus of ₹250 crore. It is founded
by Natsuki Sugai, a founding-
stage member of Gojo and
managing partner at Unleash.
“We really got a lot of inter-
est. We may raise another $5
million by February or March,”
said Sohil Shah, founding
member and investment part-
ner of Unleash Capital. Shah is
Gojo’s investment lead and
head of venture capital.
The fund has raised capital
from marquee Japanese inves-
tors, like Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corp., corporates, and
family offices.
Sohil Shah, investment partner
of Unleash Capital.
Shah said Unleash will invest
in startups offering products
for financial inclusion in the
country. It intends to buy
minority stakes in its portfolio
companies, invest-
ing in about 20-25
companies in the
fund’s lifecycle,
which extends beyond 10 years.
“We will look at everything
(at the intersection of) financial
services and technology and
inclusion. This includes areas
such as insurance, savings plat-
stage startups, investing from
pre-Series A to pre-Series B sta-
ges, with average cheque size at
₹3-12 crore. These inv-est-
ments will go into compan-ies
which have started making
money and have a few clients,
with a path to profitability.
Since 2018, Gojo has deplo-
yed about $140million in India
across five companies: Satya
Microcapital, Ananya Finance,
Aviom India Housing Finance,
Loan Frame Technologies, and
MyShubhLife. These have been
at later stages, with profitable
unit economics, which now want
to tap into early-stage
fintech ecosystem.
“We can explore
potential business and
investment synergies between
early stage companies with
Gojo and other Japanese len-
ders or investors,” said Shah
elaborating on the focus on ear-
ly-stage companies for Gojo.
cricketers, is looking to raise $10 mil-
lion to develop the league further,
Raman Raheja, a director of Absolute
Legends Sports Pvt Ltd and chief
executive of LLC, told Mint.
Some of the big names in the league
are Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gamb-
hir, and Chris Gayle.
The league, which has two formats
and runs at two different times of the
year, has raised a total of $7 million
since its inception in 2022, when the
first season of the league was played.
Some proceeds of the fund raise will
go towards marketing, while some
will be spent on restoring stadiums in
locations like Ranchi, Dehradun,
Jammu, Vizag and Surat. “Some of the
grounds we are playing on, especially
Jammu and Dehradun for instance,
required a lot of work in terms of res-
toration and to bring it up to interna-
tional standards. We are working with
local authorities to improve the
grounds,” he said.
The two formats it plays in are
regional and franchise. The interna-
The league has raised a total of $7 mn
since its inception in 2022. @LLCT20/X
tional ‘regional’ format is called ‘LLC
Masters’, played in Qatar.
‘Legends’, the franchise-based
model takes place in India, with six
privately owned teams—India Capi-
tals, Gujarat Giants, Bhilwara Kings,
Manipal Tigers, Urbanrisers Hydera-
bad and Southern Super Stars. The
owners of the two new teams, Hydera-
bad and Stars, which were added in
October, paid $15 million each to
acquire the franchises for nine years.
“The business model for us is
largely in our franchise model league,
Legends. The other league, Masters, is
clubs. Masters is like playing for the
country and the franchise model rep-
licates playing for clubs,” said Raheja.
About $7 million was spent on the first
season of its Masters tournament.
The company was originally sup-
posed to do two Masters seasons
before getting into its franchise model
but saw enough success in the first
season to be able to fast forward its
plans for the franchise business.
Raheja said the leagues are target-
ing fans who are aged between 24-45
who are ardent cricket viewers
already. But since a lot of the cricket-
ers participating in the league have
retired already and taken up assign-
ments as coaches and commentators,
it is important to remind viewers that
many of them are actively playing
cricket too.
“In terms of viewership and reach it
was fantastic. Star Sports created
muscle power and put it behind us. In
terms of revenue, we see that it was
better than the first season but these
are early days,” he said.

‘We sidestep most significant realty risk—of entering very early’

Priyal Mahtta Sundaram Alternates is setting up default in our assessment. capex, adjusting for project-level track record of having endured
priyal.mahtta@livemint.com a GIFT City vehicle to channel Secondly, we don’t take any sin- cash flow mismatches, or turning cycles and seen difficulties, are the
BeNgaLuRu dollar capital for a slew of projects, gle asset risk. The residual risk is out liabilities, securitizing receiva- ones that are receiving the money
though senior secured lending essentially the risk of sales or the bles and allowing flexibility in from LPs, both onshore and off-

S
undaram Alternates, the will continue to be its bread-and- lack of it. So, despite the best of terms of end-use across the corpo- shore.
alternative investment arm butter business. Edited excerpts: intent, if the project is not selling, rate. There are four or five such Why don’t you do stressed

of Sundaram Finance Ltd,
largely invests in real estate via its
alternative investment funds
(AIFs) and is raising its fourth real-
ty-focused private credit fund.
The investment manager,
which raised its first real estate
fund in 2017, has
evolved its thesis to
focus on senior secured
lending at the post-ap-
proval stage to generate stable,
‘
Why is your investment strat- your investment is impacted. regulatory arbitrage opportu- assets funding?
egy focused on post-approval We try to mitigate that risk by nities which com- Earlier, we did
projects? What are your risk- ensuring that every deal that we prise a large part of have an enabler to do
mitigation strategies? do has a minimum of two running the growth capital These parties 25% special situa-
We have two distinctive fea- projects, with two distinctive cash that the real estate borrow from us at tions, and in that
tures within our funds which have flow pools that are mortgaged and sector needs that this yield simply bracket, we did have
stood us in good stead over the last escrowed to us. If sales slow in one banks cannot do the opportunity to
five years from our project, then the other project’s based on RBI rules. because this is a look at portfolios
recovery model. The first cash flows kick in and service on a In fact, recently regulatory coming out of the
is we don’t look at any quarterly basis. the RBI also banned arbitrage business likes of Piramal, or
pre-approval transac- Why do developers prefer to NBFCs from doing the others. However,
Karthik Athreya
tions. All the work we do is post- the most significant real estate borrow from your fund pools land financing. MD and head of strategy all of these have

risk-adjusted returns to be paid
out as quarterly interest payouts.
In an interaction with VCCircle,
Karthik Athreya, MD and head of
strategy at Sundaram Alternates,
said it has kept its model simple as
it does not “believe in funky struc-
tures,” and would like to stick to its
strategy for now. However, he said
approval financing.
This means when we enter the
project, it has received all approv-
als, it is generating cash, it is
between 30-50% constructed, and
between 20-40% sold. We are able
to do due diligence on customers,
price points, velocities and so on.
This also helps us to sidestep
risk, which is entering very early.
Typically, we’ve seen money lost
by funds over time because they
entered early, which means that
they implicitly take risks such as
land acquisition, minimum cash in
terms of land financing, political
interference, or approval delays.
This has resulted in 70-80% of the
instead of NBFCs or banks?
These parties borrow from us
on a post-approval basis at this
kind of yield (18-20%) simply
because this entire business is a
regulatory arbitrage business.
There are transactions that banks
simply cannot do such as refinanc-
ing existing capital, last mile
20
Increasingly, the at Sundaram Alternates been resolved over `
regulatory arbitrage the last three years
in terms of what with big offshore
PER PCS
banks and NBFCs cannot do is lenders including the likes of Oak-
increasing with greater RBI over- tree or the others coming in and
sight. Real estate financing is tran- having bought big pools.
sitioning to a funds model. AMCs Special situations are typically
which can set up fund structures project, region, or developer spe- For SPL Discount on Bulk Buy:
w w w.markers.addpens.com
and understand the space with a cific.
06 FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM

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

65,982.48 0.47 19,765.20 0.46 17,593.10 0.49 46,591.55 0.36 19,785.85 0.44 33,290.40 0.52 39,455.87 0.52
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

65,675.93 65,665.87 19,675.45 19,674.70 17,508.05 17,518.10 46,425.55 46,486.45 19,698.40 19,701.65 33,117.87 33,207.36 39,252.56 39,406.87
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

66,358.37 65,507.02 19,875.25 19,627.00 17,668.65 17,486.50 46,691.25 46,330.25 19,884.30 19,652.60 33,370.16 33,128.92 39,563.13 39,344.81

m MINT SHORTS Hindalco’s shine relies ABB may find it hard to

Japan’s exports decelerate, keep up margin show
keeping pressure on economy
Japan’s exports rose at a slower pace in October, offering
little extra support as the nation’s economy tries to avoid
a technical recession in the second half. The value of
on aluminium prices in coming quarters
exports gained 1.6% from a year earlier, slowing from a Vineetha Sampath Dipti Sharma
Needs a push On the rise
4.3% increase in the previous month, the finance minis- vineetha.s@livemint.com dipti.sharma@livemint.com
Aluminium price has been range bound in But its overseas subsidiary, Novelis, ABB's Ebitda margin reached a
try reported Thursday. Economists had forecast a 1% multi-quarter high at 15.8% in Q3CY23
the last few months weighing on the saw Ebitda per tonne rise for the third

increase. Shipments were pushed up by a solid gain in
cars especially to the US, but gains were limited by con-
tinued double-digit declines in chip-making gear
exports. Imports slipped 12.5% largely on the back of fall-
ing energy-related purchases. Still, the trade balance
swung back to a deficit of ¥662.5 billion ($4.4 billion).
The slowing exports suggest another source of uncer-
tainty for Japan at a time when sticky inflation and lim-
ited wage growth are keeping a lid on domestic demand.
In the third quarter, business investment dipped while
consumer spending failed to recover. BLOOMBERG
Expectations of Federal Reserve unwinding its policy
tightening have gained hold.
Emerging Asia bonds lose out
in global rally on peak Fed bets
Bonds from emerging Asian nations are set to lag global
peers despite a rally in Treasuries. That’s because a
30-day correlation of emerging Asia bonds to Treasuries
show the two asset classes are detached, while the same
gauge for Latin American bonds and US debt show the
two are more in lockstep. That puts Latin American
bonds in the lead, especially as expectations of Federal
Reserve unwinding its policy tightening take hold and
fuel further gains in Treasuries. Hawkish rhetoric from
emerging Asian central banks, excluding China, is also
weighing on their bonds. On the other hand, LatAm
bonds benefit as their central banks continue to ease pol-
icy. “While Asian bond yields will mimic moves in Trea-
suries, a pivot from emerging Asia central banks ahead of
the Fed is still an unlikely proposition,” said Sanjay Mat-
hur, an economist with Australia & New Zealand Banking
Group Ltd. “At a minimum, we need clear communica-
tion from the Fed.” BLOOMBERG
F A
or the metal industry, China is a profitability of Hindalco's India business time in a row in Q2FY24
BB India Ltd’s September
16
crucial market, and hence its quarter earnings were better Ebitda margin (in %) 15.8
improving economy bodes well Aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange Novelis Ebitda per tonne (in $) than expected on several
(in $ per tonne) 600
for demand. Here, the better- counts. Thanks to a more favourable
than-expected growth in 4,000 583 mix of products and revenues, 14
China’s industrial output by 4.6% year- 519 improved utilization levels and price
on-year and 7.6% rise in retail sales in 3,500 realization, and better priced older
October is positive. Understandably, 400 orders, operating margin expanded
Indian metal stocks gathered momen- 3,000 580 basis points (bps) year-on-year 12
tum on Wednesday. Amid this, shares of (y-o-y) to a multi-quarter high of
Hindalco Industries Ltd were not 2,199
15.8%, while gross margin was up 190
2,500
immune, rising by 4% and also touching bps at 36.7%. The company follows a
200 10
a new 52-week high. Prior to this, the January to December financial year. 9.5
stock was up 3% in 2023 so far. 2,000 1,775 However, investors worry if ABB
But to keep investor sentiment intact, will be able to sustain such margin per-
a significant uptick in demand for alu- 1,500 formance. This concern surfaced after 8
Q3CY21 Q3CY23
minium is necessary, which in turn 0 the company said in its earnings call
would lift the metal’s prices. The profita- 1,000
Q1FY23 Q2FY24 that it has benefited from executing Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax,
Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization; ABB follows a
bility of Hindalco’s India business hinges 2 Jan 2020 15 Nov 2023 orders secured earlier at higher prices; January to December financial year
depreciation and amortization
on how aluminium prices behave on the Source: Bloomberg Source: Company, Prabhudas Lilladher
however, these advantages will dimin- Source: Company, Antique Stock Broking
London Metal Exchange (LME). How- ish as conditions stabilize. This hinted
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
ever, triggers for an upward trajectory at potentially weaker gross margins
appear limited, at least in the near term. ume holds key for better margins. ing and construction segment due to going ahead. Given this, Nuvama Insti- domestic infrastructure along with a
LME aluminium prices have been On the other hand, Hindalco’s wholly seasonality and weak macros. In tutional Equities believes current pickup in exports is seen benefiting
range-bound at $2,100-2,300 per tonne owned overseas subsidiary, Novelis Inc., H1FY24, Novelis’ volumes were down by gross margin levels are unsustainable ABB. Overall, investors believe
in the last few months. What’s more, is on a better footing. It is on track to almost 7% year-on-year to 1,812 kilo ton- and may remain under pressure. growth over the medium to long term
Hindalco expects the metal’s price to be meet its Ebitda per tonne guidance of nes. Having said that, lower costs will be driven by robust demand in
contained in this range ahead. In 2023 so $525 by Q4FY24. In Q2 this measure Overall, Hindalco’s debt dropped by through localization, enhanced sup- key sectors like cement, metal and
far, global aluminium consumption has stood at $519 per tonne and is expected 2% sequentially to ₹37,613 crore. But this plier network, better service mix, and mining, as well as a focus on high-
AP been flat year-on-year at 52.2 million to drop to $450-500 in Q3 due to plant is 11% higher than FY23 end. The net benign commodity prices could help growth areas such as food & bevera-
tonnes as higher interest rates and infla- shutdowns. Continued improvement in debt to Ebitda ratio on a consolidated offset a potential moderation in mar- ges, electronics, warehouse, pharma,
tion are keeping demand in check. operations is key as Novelis formed basis stood at 2.69x as on 30 September. gin. According to Amit Anwani, an automotive and water. Moreover, new
“We estimate the aluminium market about 60% of Hindalco’s consolidated “The debt levels are comforting but analyst at Prabhudas Lil- initiatives in data cen-
to remain in surplus in the given Hindalco’s capital ladher, ABB has main- Over the long run, tres, railways, and
medium term and forecast PATH AHEAD expenditure plans there is tained its gross margin spending on renewables are expected
LME aluminum price at limited room for delever- exceptionally well in the domestic to support this growth.
$2,250/2,350 per tonne for IN 2023 so far, global A significant uptick DEMAND is firm for aging,” said Satyadeep Jain, past two quarters. He infrastructure ABB’s stock has rallied
FY2024/25E,” said analysts aluminium in demand for Novelis’ products; it analyst at Ambit Capital. added that gross margin 58% in 2023 so far,
consumption has aluminium is is likely to meet along with a
at Kotak Institutional Equi- been flat y-o-y at 52.2 necessary to lift Ebitda per tonne “However, the company will be sustainable for the reflecting this optimism,
ties in a report on 12 mn tonnes metal prices guidance appears primed to benefit rest of the year, given the pickup in exports though some have cau-
November. from earnings recovery company’s emphasis on will benefit ABB tioned about valuations
However, there is a small that we expect at Novelis high-growth sectors and being hefty. Based on
respite on the costs front for now. In the Ebitda in the half year ended September. through FY26. The company is allocat- expansion into tier 2 and Prabhudas Lilladher’s
December quarter (Q3FY24), coal costs Also, Novelis is somewhat immune to ing capital to projects that should gener- 3 cities, which are margin-accretive. CY25 earnings estimates, the stock
are likely to rise sequentially but other the volatility seen in LME aluminium ate returns above cost of capital,” added Overall, last quarter, ABB India saw now trades at 55.9 times.
input costs are expected to drop. All in prices, which means stable margin com- Jain. 31% y-o-y revenue growth at ₹2,769 Investors will closely track the
all, Hindalco expects the cost of produc- paratively. It also helps that the demand For now, investors are likely to stay crore, led by higher sales in motion momentum in public and private cap-
tion in Q3 to be at the same level sequen- conditions are healthy for Novelis. It more tuned to news flow on how the and process automation segments. ital expenditure in both key and high-
tially. In Q2, Hindalco’s aluminium expects demand from automobile seg- Chinese economy is faring. Against this Meanwhile, helped by margin expan- growth sectors, commodity costs,
Ebitda rose by almost 7% sequentially, ment and beverage can to be firm. backdrop, the current demand condi- sion, profit after tax grew at a faster increased efforts in localization, and
helped by lower coal costs even as price However, the company is cautious of tions suggest upsides for the Hindalco pace of 79% to ₹362 crore. any potential slowdown in process
realisations dropped. Thus, better vol- the demand environment in the build- stock appear few and far between. Over the long run, spending on automation orders.

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

FPI investment value Rupee continues to edge lower Markets rally for second day on
rises 15% in Sep qtr buying in IT, consumer durables
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
over the last close. The dollar index, which gau-
The rupee appreciated 24 ges the greenback’s strength
paise to close at 83.09 against against a basket of six curren-
PTI PTI

T
he rupee declined by 14 the US dollar on Wednesday as cies, was trading higher by technology. Taking the cues
feedback@livemint.com paise to settle at 83.23 the greenback retreated from 0.10% at 104.35 on Thursday. feedback@livemint.com further, IT stocks showed a
(provisional) against the its elevated levels after the US Brent crude futures, the significant jump in the

T E
he value of foreign port-
folio investors’ (FPI)
holdings in domestic
equities reached $651 billion in
the three months ended Sep-
tember 2023, which was 15%
higher than the year-ago
period, according to a Morn-
ingstar report.
This could be attributed to
the good performance of the
domestic equity markets as
well as strong net FPI inflows.
According to the report, the
value of FPIs’ investments in
Indian equities rose to $651
billion at the end of September
2023 from $566 billion as of
September 2022.
On a quarter-on-quarter
basis, the value of such invest-
ment rose 4% from $626 bil-
lion recorded in the three
months ended June this year.
Despite the growth, FPIs’
contribution to Indian equity
market capitalization fell mar-
ginally during the quarter
under review to 16.95% from
17.33% in the previous quarter.
The resilience of the domestic
economy and the markets
attracted FPIs. HT
the markets amid global
uncertainty also attracted for-
eign investors toward Indian
equities.
However, the pace of invest-
ments from FPIs ebbed sub-
stantially in August to $1.48
billion on concerns on the
global macro front on the back
of higher crude oil prices and
the resurfacing of inflation
risks.
“The firming up of bond
yields in the US also led some
foreign investors to drift away
from riskier markets in favour
US dollar on Thursday due to
foreign fund outflows and a
firm greenback in the overseas
markets.
Losses in crude oil prices,
however, helped the rupee
restrict the fall, forex dealers
said.
At the interbank foreign
exchange market, the rupee
opened lower at 83.18 against
the US currency.
The local unit remained
under pressure in day trade
moving within a range of 83.17
to 83.25.
The rupee settled at 83.23
(provisional) against the US
dollar, showing a loss of 14 paise
Option sellers lose shirts as wild price swings rule on Thursday
Ram Sahgal
ram.sahgal@livemint.com
mumbAi
inflation came lower than global oil benchmark, fell quity benchmark stock broader market. The market is
expected. 0.54% to ₹80.78 per barrel. indices Sensex and Nifty sensing that export-based sec-
“The rupee Analysts said closed higher for a sec- tors like IT and pharma could
faced weakness as Losses in crude that oil prices ond straight day on Thursday be future winners. While cut in
the dollar index oil prices, declined further following gains in IT, tech and inflation will also benefit
rebounded from however, in Asian trade due consumer durable shares amid domestic placed staples and
103.90 to 104.30,” helped the to signs of easing a mixed trend in global equi- consumer sector,” said Vinod
Jateen Trivedi, VP demand in China ties. Nair, head of Research, Geojit
rupee restrict
Research Analyst and a bigger- Softer-than-expected US Financial Services.
at LKP Securities, the fall, forex than-expected inflation data and easing bond The 30-share BSE Sensex Among the Sensex firms,
said. “The (US) dealers said weekly build up in yields have also brought opti- climbed 306.55 points. MINT Tata Consultancy Services,
retail sales data, US crude stock- mism to equity markets. HCL Technologies, Tech
which came in piles. On the The 30-share BSE Sensex “The Indian market contin- Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj
line with minor weakness, sent domestic equity market front, climbed 306.55 points or ued its positive resurgence, Finance, NTPC, Mahindra &
positive signals regarding the the BSE Sensex climbed 306.55 0.47% to settle at 65,982.48. In tracking global gains. Softer- Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv
prospects of a US rate hike as points to settle at 65,982.48 the day, it jumped 682.44 than-expected US inflation were among the major gainers.
Fed (Federal Reserve) has key while the broader Nifty rose by points or 1% to 66,358.37. data and easing bond yields Axis Bank, Power Grid, ITC
data in support to not hike fur- 89.75 points to close at The Nifty gained 89.75 have bought optimism that and ICICI Bank were major
ther,” he added. 19,765.20. points or 0.46% to 19,765.20. spending will emerge like in laggards.
19,875.25 at around 2.50 pm. ₹24 a share, jumped to its on either side on Thursday.
Frenetic activity
From there it fell by 0.5% or a Nifty index swung a wild 248 points between high and low
intraday high of ₹192, a whop- Exchanges like the National
110 points to close at 19,765.2. ping 700% rise causing mas- Stock Exchange (NSE) offer
19,900
The initial rally forced many Nifty 50
sive losses to call seller. How- trading in weekly Nifty and

Picking up from the June
quarter, foreign investors con-
tinued their buying spree in
the Indian equity markets for
the most part of the September
quarter with a net infusion of
$5.38 billion.
FPIs pumped $5.68 billion
into Indian equities in July on
steady earnings growth recov-
ery, stable macro fundamen-
tals, and the challenges faced
by the Chinese economy and
concerns over its recovery.
Additionally, the resilient state
of the domestic economy and
O
of the greater certainty and
better risk/reward profile of
US Treasuries. Also, the inter-
mittent rally in the Indian
equity markets resulted in its
valuation going beyond the
comfort level of investors,” the
report noted.
This scenario led foreign
investors to become net sellers
in the Indian equity markets in
September, the first time in six
months.
Through the month, they
sold net assets to the tune of
$1.78 billion.
ption sellers make
money eight out of 10
times at the expense
of option buyers, goes the pop-
ular market adage. But, this
saying was turned on its head
on Thursday’s weekly expiry
of Nifty contracts which saw
the index swing a wild 248
points between high and low.
Through much of the day,
call option sellers were caught
on the wrong foot after the
Nifty surged from an intraday
low of 19,627, minutes after
opening, to its high of
call sellers to close out their
positions at a loss. Those rema-
ining began selling Nifty futu-
res contracts to force the bulls
back towards the last 40 min-
utes of trading, said an analyst
who asked not to be named.
This basket selling of Nifty
futures resulted in an almost
linear, 142-point fall in the
Nifty from its intraday high of
19,875 at 2.50 pm to a low of
19,733 at 3.16 pm. It compelled
put sellers to buy back the puts
they had sold at a huge loss.
For instance , the 19900 put
ever, from there it plunged by Bank Nifty options which
19,800 66% to ₹65. expire on Thursday and
19,640 “Weekly expiry meant Wednesday, respectively.
19,700 option sellers would protect These options are highly pop-
19,762.55 their positions but heavy intra- ular among proprietary bro-
19,600 day volatility meant that both kers and retail traders.
call and put sellers were trap- NSE data shows that prop
19,500 ped, what we see happening traders held 50.8% market
9:15am 3:30pm only 20% of the time,” Chan- share in index options in Sept-
Source: Bloomberg
dan Taparia, head of deriva- ember, retail had about 34.8%,
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
tives research at Motilal Oswal, FPIs 6.9%, corporates 2.4%,
jumped from the day’s low of mium rise was at a staggering said. DIIs 0.1% and others 4.9%.
₹16.80 a share (50 shares make 6,263% with the price jumping Agreed quant analyst Kruti Options facilitate the pur-
one contract) at 2.50 pm to from 55 paise to ₹35 at close. Shah of Equirus who said sell- chase or sale of an underlying
₹135, a 700% gain, by closing at On the other side, the 19700 ers trying to protect their lev- index or stock for a preset
3.30 pm. The 19800 put’s pre- call option which opened at els were “singed” by volatility price on a future date.
LIVEMINT.COM
Birla Tyres
resolution:
NCLAT to
hear pleas
Krishna Yadav
krishna.yadav@livemint.com
New DelhI
T
he National Company
Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT) will hear two
separate pleas challenging the
approved resolution plan of
Birla Tyres and contesting the
rejection of a financial cred-
itor’s claims next week.
These latest pleas include a
challenge to the jointly
approved resolution plan of
Himadri Speciality Chemical
Ltd and Dalmia Bharat group
to acquire Birla Tyres, by
HDFC Bank. The other peti-
tion involves Kesoram Indus-
tries Ltd, the parent company
of Birla Tyres, contesting the
rejection of its claims as a
financial creditor in the Birla
Tyres insolvency process by
the resolution professional.
The court will hear the
HDFC Bank case on 23
November, and Kesoram
Industries’ on 24 November.
Last month, the Kolkata
bench of the National Com-
pany Law Tribunal (NCLT)
approved the resolution plan
jointly submitted by Himadri
Speciality Chemical and Dal-
mia Bharat Refractories to
acquire Birla Tyres under the
Corporate Insolvency Resolu-
tion Process (CIRP). The
approved consortium pro-
posed a partial repayment of
₹1,100 crore towards the bank
loans of the BK Birla group.
These pleas assume signifi-
cance as there is still no clarity
on the business revival of the
company even post-acquisi-
tion by Dalmia Bharat Group.
The fate of Birla Tyres’ work-
ers is hanging in the balance
due to the alleged unilateral
rejection of their claims by the
resolution professional in the
approved resolution plan.
Bharat Mobility Show to be held in Feb ’24
Alisha Sachdev
alisha.sachdev@livemint.com
New DelhI
M
ultiple industry bod-
ies like the Engineer-
ing Export Promotion
Council (EEPC), the Society of
Indian Automobile Manufac-
turers (Siam) and Automotive
Component Manufacturers
Association (ACMA) will bring
out the Bharat Mobility Show
at the Pragati Maidan fair
grounds between February 1
and 3.
A “mega” auto mobility
show to bring together various The Bharat Mobility Show will
industry stakeholders under focus on electric mobility. MINT
one roof, it will be unlike the
biennially held Auto Expo and commerce ministry, will have
Auto Components Expo a sharp focus on electric
which focus
more on new
product m E XC LU S I V E the expo are in
launches,
people privy to the develop- ges.
ments told Mint.
The event, being held by the tric Vehicle Manufacturers
industry at the direction of the (SMEV), and the National
SRF plans to make India chemicals hub
Naman Suri & Mihir Mishra
New DelhI
A
s India’s domestic gro-
wth after the pandemic
exceeds expectations,
Gurugram-based chemical
manufacturer SRF Ltd is work-
ing on a plan to develop sup-
plies for various chemicals
from within the country, a top
executive at the company told
Mint in an interview.
As part of the plan, the com-
pany is boosting its research
and development capabilities
with an investment outlay plan
of ₹2,500 crore for the current
fiscal, focused mostly on the
chemical vertical of the busi-
ness.
“We are still dependent on
China for so many of our chem-
icals, but with our economy
now getting to a certain size,
the theme of import substitu-
tion becomes much more of a
viable option. So, there are
chemicals that we believe that
CORPORATE FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi 07
Tata Tech IPO may set stage
for more listings from group
Promoters to sell stake in pure offer for sale; issue will open on 22 Nov and close on 24 Nov
Ranjani Raghavan & Sneha Shah
MuMbAI
T
he Tata group on Thursday
kicked off the initial public
offering (IPO) of Tata Tech-
nologies, the first from the
group’s stable after Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd went public
in 2004.
A successful IPO of Tata Technolo-
gies may encourage the conglomerate
to take more group companies public,
two investment bankers said on the
condition of anonymity.
Both Tata Sons and Tata Capital
were classified by the Reserve Bank of
TVS Motor to foray
India (RBI) in September 2022 as
“upper-layer” NBFCs, which requires
them to go public three years from the
into European mkt
date of classification. Tata Capital man-
aging director Rajiv Sabharwal said the PTI ting-edge products closer to
company will comply with the RBI cat- feedback@livemint.com European customers,” TVS
egorization, a Mint report said in Sep- New DelhI Motor Company MD Sudar-
tember. The company is considering a shan Venu said. “In having a
T
2025 IPO, the report said. VS Motor Company on partner like Emil Frey, there is
In November 2022, multiple news Warren Harris , managing director and chief executive officer, Tata Technologies. Thursday announced its a coming together of two cen-
reports said Tata Play had made a confi- foray into the European tury old, pedigreed organisa-
dential filing for an IPO, though the And we were fully cognizant of what In the Tata Technologies IPO, parent promoter Tata Motors will sell 46.2 market by forging an alliance tions, both driven by shared
company has now abandoned it after that means,” Harris said, while declin- Tata Motors, Tata Capital and Mizhou million equity shares worth ₹2,313.75 with Zurich-based Emil Frey values of responsible and sus-
firming up plans to buy back investor ing to comment on other group compa- are offloading shares totalling ₹3,042 crore in the OFS and investors Mizuho Group. tainable mobility and cus-
Temasek’s stake in the entity. Tata Pro- nies. crore. The Pune-based engineering Bank through its arm Alpha TC Hold- The company has inked an tomer service,” he added.
jects is seen as another future listing “I have no doubt that if we can be company has set the price band for its ings Pte Ltd will sell 971.7 million import and distribution pact Emil Frey is among the larg-
candidate and may reverse-list successful, it will be the catalyst IPO that comprises only offer shares worth ₹485.84 crore. with Emil Frey, a 100-year-old est automobile importers and
through a listed Tata Group for other group companies for sale from existing inves- Tata Capital, the investment enterprise and a leading name retailers in Europe, serving
entity, a senior executive to explore the value that tors and promoters, at arm of the group will sell in automotive distribution, the many leading automotive
previously said.
On Thursday, Tata ₹475-500 can be achieved by this. ₹475-500. The company
But I’m responsible for is not looking to raise any ₹3,042 cr
485.8 million shares held
through Tata Capital
company said in a state-
ment.This partnership signi-
brands across the region.
As part of the partnership,
Technologies MD and Price band Tata Tata Technologies. I’m fresh capital. Total worth of Growth Fund I to mop up fies a significant step towards Emil Frey Group entities will
CEO Warren Harris Tech has set for its not responsible for the In October, in a pre- shares being ₹242.92 crore. The issue global expansion for TVS take charge of the distribution
hinted at the Tata group’s initial share sale other companies that may IPO stake sale, Tata offloaded in IPO will open on 22 November Motor Company, leveraging of TVS products in selected
return to the public mar- be looking at it (IPO),” he Motors sold 36.5 million and close on 24 November. Emil Frey’s extensive distribu- countries, utilising their sales,
kets after two decades. “I feel said on the sidelines of the equity shares to TPG Rise Cli- The anchor book will open tion network and deep market marketing, and service net-
the weight of responsibility, not firm’s IPO launch on Thursday. mate SF, a climate tech-focused on 21 November. The demand for insights in Europe, it added.” works.
just for Tata Technologies, but also for Under Tata Sons chairman N. Chan- fund of TPG group at ₹401.81 a share for the IPO is robust, the book-running This strategic alliance with Among the TVS products
the group. The group has positioned its drasekaran, the Tata group has made ₹1,467 crore, valuing the company at $2 lead managers said. Emil Frey is a crucial step in being made available in
reputation and has been supportive of large acquisitions, including national billion. This is nearly 24% lower than JM Financial, Citibank and Bank of our global expansion strategy. Europe will be Jupiter 125,
our decision to list. We’ve got some carrier Air India, telecom gear maker the upper price band of ₹500 a share. America Merrill Lynch are the manag- Europe will be a key market for NTORQ, Raider, iQube S,
very big shoes to fill, given what TCS Tejas networks and online grocer Big As per the red herring prospectus ers of the issue. us, and through this partner- Ronin, Apache RR 310, and
has been able to do in the last 19 years. Basket. filed with the market regulator Sebi, ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com ship, we aim to bring our cut- Apache RTR 310.
Association of Software and mobility space. The event aims
Service Companies (NAS- to bridge gaps in the industry,
SCOM) will also take part in fostering collaboration for the
the event. future of mobility in India.
“This show stands out for its More details will unfold once
inclusive approach, involving the organizers take the show to
EEPC for global reach, SIAM, the market”, another person
and ACMA for industry repre- privy to the developments
sentation. Unlike typical auto added.
expos, it goes “We will have
beyond showcas- The show will state govern-
ing cars, includ- bring together ments participat-
ing components various industry ing on issues like
and exploring stakeholders circular econ-
battery tech with omy, battery tech
under one roof,
the India Energy etc”, he added.
Storage Alliance unlike biennial The India Auto
(IESA). The focus Auto Expo Expo 2023 was
is on holistic held from 11–18
mobility, involv- January at the
ing startups in the EV sector,” India Expo Mart in Greater
a person close to the develop- Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and the
mobility, and ments said on condition of Auto Expo–Components event
discussions for anonymity. was held at Pragati Maidan in
“In contrast to regular auto New Delhi from 12–15 January.
their early sta- expos, Bharat Mobility Show As India’s marquee automo-
will concentrate on the future. tive event, the Auto Expo,
The Society of Indian Elec- It will cover more than just returned this year after a
cars, incorporating drones to missed season due to the pan-
position India in the future demic.
investment going on, of which
80-85% would go into the
chemical business. Mostly, it
will be all internal accruals and
wherever necessary we can
take some debt because our
balance sheet allows us to bor-
row wherever we must. So, it
will be a mix of debt and inter-
nal accruals, depending on the
cash position at that point,” he
added.
The company during the last
fiscal year announced that it
has plans to invest ₹12,000
Ashish Bharat Ram, CMD, SRF crore in the strengthening of
the company to make India the
now India’s scale is at a level “Like in chemicals, India is outsourcer of chemicals to the
where you could put up an eco- just 3% of the worldwide chem- western market, which is look-
nomically viable plant to create ical market. So, for us as a com- ing for an alternative to China.
an import substitution. We are pany, it’s a huge opportunity,” The chemical manufacturer
planning on developing suppli- added Kartik Bharat Ram, joint over the past decade or so, has
ers in India to be able to pro- MD of SRF. been using an inorganic strat-
cure that from them instead...a The company will make egy to grow, but now it is
theme which, at some stage, some part of its capital invest- focused on growing its differ-
will become prevalent in our ments in it work towards build- ent verticals in India organi-
business strategy,” said Ashish ing an ecosystem in India. cally, through a mix of internal
Bharat Ram, chairman and “And right now, we have accruals and debt.
managing director of SRF. around ₹2,500 crore worth of naman.suri@livemint.com
08 FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

SoftBank to
sell $154 mn Sebi to take proposal for new m

MOVES
shares in
Delhivery
delisting rules to board soon A weekly list of C-Suiters who have moved up
the corporate ladder either within or outside
their companies.

Aman Appointed as Vice President -

Mehta Product Design at Dream11 Sports

Regulator’s consultation paper had mentioned alternatives, including fixed price for delisting Gouri Shankar Appointed as COO at Welspun
Roy Specialty Solutions
Priyanka Gawande cient regulatory processes. “In the pro-
priyanka.gawande@livemint.com cess of capital formation, delays cost the Kavita
MuMbai ecosystem... Everybody understands Appointed as CMO at L&T Finance
Jagtiani
that in markets, time is money and

Masayoshi Son, CEO, SoftBank
Group Corp. REUTERS
FROM PAGE 1
2018; as on September 2023,
SVF held a 14.46% stake in Del-
hivery.
On 16 November, Delhivery
shares closed at ₹424.35 on
BSE, against its IPO price of
₹487. At the current price, it
has a market capitalization of
₹30,436 crore.
Its operating revenues grew
T
he Securities and Exchange money is time, and any delay on the part
Board of India (Sebi) will pro- of the regulator causes huge inconven- Manoj Appointed as MD at Torrent Gas
pose a review of its regula- ience but actual costs to market partici- Jain
tions for delisting stocks at its pants, particularly the issuers.”
next board meeting, chair- Buch emphasized that capital forma-
person Madhabi Puri Buch said. tion relies on a balance of trust, transpar- Ramesh Alluri Appointed as Chief Executive
“There was a popular belief that we ency and development, and that Sebi’s Reddy Officer at TeamLease Services
would never review the delisting regula- objective is to bring trust in the system.
tions and that we would stay with the
reverse book-building process. A con-
sultation paper has already been floated,
and Sebi has received a lot of feedback.
At the next board meeting, we are taking
that proposal to our board,” Buch said
while addressing Ficci’s Capital Markets
Conference, or CAPAM 2023, in Mum- Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson, Sebi. MINT
While the regulator is very conscious of
the need for ease of doing business, the
Sebi chief said: “If there is no trust, there
will be no ease of doing business.”
The Sebi chief also pointed to the
increasing number of consultation
papers floated by the regulator. “Sebi
was consulting more because the regu-
Richa
Dubey

Rohit
Dhawan

Santana
m Appointed as Chief People Officer
at Nayara Energy

Appointed as VP - Customer
Marketing at Viacom18

Appointed as CHRO at Carl

10.55% to ₹1,929.8 crore in the
June quarter, from ₹1,745.7
crore a year earlier.
SoftBank has been selling
stakes in the publicly held
companies from its portfolio
such as Zomato, Paytm and
Delhivery. Last month, it
mopped up ₹1,020 crore from
a 1.1% stake sale in Zomato.
In an interview with Mint in
August, Sumer Juneja, manag-
ing partner, SoftBank said the
late-stage tech investor has
pulled out over $5.5 billion in
exits out of its India portfolio
since opening office in Mum-
bai in November 2018, of
which around $1.5 billion was
booked in the last 12-18
months.
sneha.shah@livemint.com
MOVES
bai on Thursday. lator thought that markets had become
A Sebi sub-group had considered pro- offers at prices above or equal to the Separately, Buch pointed out that the more complex, and it needed to consult Ramakrishnan Zeiss India
viding some alternatives to the reverse floor price. After the offer closing pendency of fundraising applications participants more to ensure that it got it
book-building process, including an period, the buyback price is determined before the regulator is not a bad thing; right,” Buch said. She said since 2003, Shweta Appointed as Head of
option to delist shares at a fixed price. Its based on the offers collected. This pro- “the bad thing is the ageing of such the percentage of consultation papers to Poojari Communications at Netflix
consultation paper floated in August cess helps ensure fair price discovery applications”. The focus that we have on the total circulars issued by Sebi has
said: “The fixed price route will give for the buyback. pendency and ageing is because of the risen from 7% to 33%.
acquirers and shareholders certainty However, Sebi discovered that cer- commitment that the regulator has Speaking on the sidelines of the Shweta Appointed as Chief People
concerning the pricing of the delist- event, the Sebi chief also said the Shukla Officer at Lenskart
ing offer. This would help share- ABOVE BOARD legal proceedings against the Sahara
holders decide upfront whether to group will continue regardless of Somasundaram Appointed as Vice President –
participate in the delisting process A Sebi sub-group SEBI’S primary goal THE fixed price route THIS would help the death of founder Subrata Roy. Suriyanarayanan Strategic Projects at VIP Industries
or not at the given price.” weighed providing is to curb possible will give shareholders shareholders decide “The passing of one individual does
some alternatives to share manipulation certainty concerning whether to take part
Under existing regulations, the the reverse book- in a company that the pricing of the in the delisting not change anything,” she said.
exit price is determined when the building process has chosen to delist delisting offer process or not When asked about the refund of Swayantani Appointed as Chief Sustainability &
cumulative shareholding of the pro- ₹25,000 crore to the investors of Ghosh CSR Officer at Mahindra Logistics
moter, along with the shares ten- Sahara, Buch replied: “Our actions
dered by public shareholders, reaches tain constituents used this opportunity made to the capital markets stakehold- are dependent on the directions of the Appointed as CFO at Butterfly
90% of the total issued shares under a to rig prices. Sebi’s primary goal is to ers, she added. Supreme Court-appointed committee. V A Joseph Gandhimathi Appliances
reverse book-building mechanism. curb possible share manipulation in a She said Sebi’s role will always be to The disbursements have been made to
During reverse book-building, company that has chosen to delist from facilitate capital formation in the econ- the investors who came with the proof of Source: Accord India, executive search worldwide
shareholders are invited to submit stock exchanges. omy and to highlight the need for effi- investment.”

Tesla hits it off with Indian firms RBI bar on two Bajaj Finance
FROM PAGE 1
products may affect retailers
ever, certain car parts like elec-
tric motors are excluded from Suneera Tandon & product,” said Anirban Chakra-
this. In any case, Tesla is keen to Gopika Gopakumar borti, who heads omni-channel
diversify its vendor base to business at mobile phone seller
reduce its dependence on MuMbai Sangeetha Mobiles.
China to de-risk its supply chain Financing products account

in an environment of continu-
ing tensions between the two.
“Tesla is outsourcing a lot of
parts to India, including com-
plex machine parts. India is
The Lady Killer, a T-Series production, reportedly hit screens in an considered a good, quality
incomplete state after exceeding its budget. HT alternative to China even at a
higher price. Tesla knows we
R
etailers across the board
may suffer after the
Reserve Bank of India
Tesla now sources a range of India-made components from small barred the largest consumer
plastic parts and castings, to complex differential systems. REUTERS goods financier Bajaj Finance
from disbursing loans under
commodity parts, where an Indian foothold may have two products.
switching time and switching relief at hand, with the govern- On Wednesday, RBI barred
RBI barred eCom and Insta EMI
for nearly 50% of sales for
mobile phone retailers. Bajaj
Finance is the largest such non-
banking finance company.
Retailers typically use the
financing product to attract
new customers, Chakraborthy
said. “This ban will have a sig-

Token releases hit can’t compete with China’s

low raw material costs, and
they acknowledge that and are
costs are not high,” a second
supplier said on the condition
of anonymity.
ment considering lower
import duties for EVs up to a
certain price level.
Bajaj Finance from lending
under its two products—eCom
and Insta EMI Card—citing
card of Bajaj Finance. BLOOMBERG

for the latest status,” read a note

nificant impact for us...The ban
will take away a large chunk of
online customers for us,” he

cinemas as OTT ready to pay slightly higher

prices,” a Bengaluru-based
maker of forged parts, which
has recently started supplying
mandate kicks in to Tesla, said.
“A lot of the increase in
Tesla’s sourcing from India is
simply volumes and product-
Lata Jha to the product in question,” led. The value of the sourcing
lata.j@htlive.com said the head of a leading film has also gone up because of the
New Delhi studio, on the condition of ano- pick-up truck (Cybertruck)
nymity. The person added that that it’s now focusing on. In
“Many small suppliers have
emerged in the last two years
to cater to this business. Indian
suppliers will have the oppor-
tunity to work with the indus-
try-leading EV maker in the
world if Tesla does come to
India,” he added.
The Indian government is
keen on global EV makers
investing in the country, as it
wants to position the country
All completely built-up
(CBUs) vehicles priced below
$40,000 now face an import
duty of 70%, and a new
national EV policy may slash it
to 15-30% for EVs priced
$25,000-35,000, Mint had
reported. At 15% duty, these
CBUs will be on par with the
import duty for CKD (com-
pletely knocked down) cars.
This will also come with the
non-compliance with digital
lending guidelines. Several
retailers that Mint spoke with
said this move will significantly
impact retailers—both online
and offline.
Online marketplaces such as
Amazon and MakeMyTrip
have already stopped offering
Bajaj Finance’s EMI option.
“Following instructions
from Bajaj Finance Limited,
on the e-commerce website.
Lending platforms account
for a significant share of sales
for large retailers, especially for
big-ticket purchases such as
mobile phones and furniture.
Over the last six to eight
months, the popularity of Bajaj
Finserv Insta EMI Card had
gone up as it offered customers
a flexible repayment tenure
and no-cost EMI options, said
said.
For Sangeetha, Bajaj’s lend-
ing products account for
20-30% of e-commerce sales.
The move is sentimentally
negative, said another top
executive at a large electronics
retail chain. “While it may not
impact business on ground
immediately as consumers may
use other financing products, it
could impact sentiment given

O
ver the past few weeks,
cinemas have been
flooded with small-
budget films that come with
minimal marketing or audience
anticipation, resulting in negli-
gible box office returns. Titles
such as Aankh Micholi, UT 69,
Shastry Viruddh Shastry and
Three of Us have made their way
to theatres with audiences
largely uninformed about their
release.
Additionally, The Lady Killer,
a T-Series production, report-
edly hit screens in an incom-
plete state after exceeding its
budget. Trade experts high-
light a fundamental lack of
understanding on the part of
producers regarding audience
preferences, emphasizing that
these projects were initially
intended for direct streaming
on over-the-top (OTT) plat-
forms but have been redirected
to theatres, after streaming ser-
vices’ mandate for a theatrical
release.
“It is clear that a lot of pro-
ducers green-lit projects bank-
ing on the surge that OTT con-
sumption had seen during the
pandemic and the fact that
platforms were aggressively
buying films for direct-to-digi-
tal release. That enthusiasm
has clearly died down and the
movies have nowhere to go. A
theatrical release that is now
mandated by streaming servi-
ces, however, is creating no
buzz and is in fact, disrespectful
even OTT platforms are at a
disadvantage when acquiring
these films, often as part of a
bulk deal, because these are
unlikely to grab any eyeballs
even online given their misera-
ble turn in theatres.
Several trade experts point
out that producers are being
smart about limiting screen
count and not investing in mar-
keting or publicity to push a
film that they do not see hope
for in cinemas. However, many
of these films could make any-
where between ₹10 crore and
₹12 crore from satellite and dig-
ital sales. “Technically, a theat-
rical release does not have to
mean going to 500 cinemas.
That said, there is a gap
between what studios are com-
missioning and what the audi-
ence wants to pay for and
watch,” said Yusuf Shaikh,
business head, feature films at
production and distribution
company Percept Pictures.
Film producer, trade and
exhibition expert Girish Johar
agreed that the film in question
has to at least be watchable,
regardless of platform. “Releas-
ing in cinemas in this manner
defeats the purpose because
there is zero buzz around the
film,” he said.
There can be exceptions to
the trend, though. Other
industry experts say the right
publicity push can help if the
word-of-mouth around a small-
scale film is positive.
general, there is a move from
them to buy more from coun-
tries like India, Vietnam and
Mexico, especially for small
undifferentiated parts, called
RBI raises risk weights on consumer loans to check credit binge
FROM PAGE 1
cial companies (NBFCs) on
bank loans, RBI said in a state-
ment, were also highlighted by
governor Shaktikanta Das in
interactions with heads of
major banks and large NBFCs
in July and August 2023,
respectively.
The growth in some unse-
cured loans—loans not backed
by collateral—has outstripped
total credit growth by a wide
margin. For instance, credit
card outstanding increased 30%
year-on-year (y-o-y) in Septem-
ber, other personal loans grew
25% and consumer durable
loans rose 11%. Overall bank
credit growth was 20% in the
same period, showed RBI data.
Before Thursday’s increase,
consumer credit by banks and
NBFCs attracted a risk weight
of 100%. While bank credit card
dues had a risk weight of 125%,
those from non-banks had
100%. That apart, bank loans to
NBFCs, excluding the category
of core investment firms, are
as a global talent and manufac-
turing hub for green mobility
solutions. Mint on 1 November
reported that foreign EV mak-
ers such as Tesla Inc. seeking
risk-weighted as per ratings
assigned by external credit
assessment institutions. For
consumer loans, the rise will be
effective on outstanding as well
as new loans.
On Thursday, RBI said the
risk weights to NBFCs will now
have an additional 25 percent-
age points over and above the
risk weight assigned by the
external rating. This will apply
in cases where the current risk
weight of NBFCs is below 100%
and excludes loans to mortgage
lenders and NBFCs that are eli-
gible for classification as prior-
ity sector.
Categories like housing
loans, education loans, vehicle
loans and loans secured by gold
and gold jewellery would not be
affected by RBI’s measure.
Karthik Srinivasan, group
head of financial sector ratings
at Icra said although the
increase in risk weights for con-
sumer loans is in line with
expectations, an increase in
risk weight for lending by
banks to non-banks was unex-
caveat that they begin local
manufacturing in the next two
to three years and a clause to
claw back the duty sop if they
fail to do so.
Categories like housing loans, education loans, vehicle loans and
loans secured by gold would not be affected by RBI’s measure. HT
pected. “These higher lending
rates by banks to non-banks
could also spill over to corpo-
rate bonds by way of higher
yields and widening of credit
spreads for non-banks,” Sriniv-
asan said in a statement.
The regulator also directed
banks and non-bank financiers
to review their existing sectoral
exposure limits for consumer
credit. In case they do not have
such internal guardrails, RBI
said lenders should put in place
Bajaj Finserv EMI card (BFL)
will not be available on Amazon
from 16th November 2023.
BFL should be back soon,
please keep checking Amazon
board-approved limits on vari-
ous sub-segments under con-
sumer credit. RBI specifically
wants them to have limits for all
unsecured consumer credit
exposures.
Mint reported on 29 June
that RBI was likely to raise risk
weights on unsecured loans by
10-25 percentage points to cau-
tion banks against unfettered
lending in this category. The
higher the perceived
risk, the greater the risk weight
retailers. “In times when high how large Bajaj financing is in
inflation is eating into house- our sector,” said Nilesh Gupta,
hold budgets, more consumers director at electronics retailer
have come to use and avail of Vijay Sales.
the benefits of this lending suneera.t@htlive.com
assigned to a particular loan which comprises Buy-Now-
category. Pay-Later credit through part-
Meanwhile, banks and ners, is 2% of its overall loan
NBFCs have been taking pre- book. “Our portfolio looks very
emptive steps to safeguard stable, but we have been moni-
their balance sheets against any toring this portfolio closely in
distress among borrowers of terms of taking decisions. So, to
personal loans. Given that give an example, of customers
these are unsecured loans, it who are onboarded nine
makes it difficult for lenders to months ago, 12% now have lev-
recover their dues erage, which is
if they sour. Len- The growth one-and-a-half
ders have in some times of what they
sounded caution unsecured loans had nine months
on some personal has outstripped ago,” Rakesh
loans, especially Singh, managing
total credit
those below director and chief
₹50,000. growth by a executive of Adi-
Aditya Birla wide margin tya Birla Finance
Finance, which Ltd told analysts
has a personal and after announcing
consumer loan portfolio of the second-quarter earnings.
₹19,326 crore, said it is calibrat- Paytm believes growth in
ing its growth, tightening its personal loans will gradually
underwriting processes and start but not at the pace seen
keeping a close watch on this earlier. It saw a near-doubling
portfolio. According to the of its personal loan book to
company, the unsecured per- ₹4,062 crore between the
sonal and consumer loans with quarters ended September
ticket size less than ₹50,000 2022 and June 2023.
and tenure less than 30 days, shayan.g@livemint.com
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE FRiDay, 17 NovembeR 2023
New Delhi 09

JSW Infra wins bid to LESS THAN FOUR AT ONE BLOW

not three, or six, or 10? Does it have something to do with our five

develop port in K’taka A M AT T E R

OF NUMBERS
fingers? Something else?
Jevons published his paper all the way back in 1871 (The Power
of Numerical Discrimination, Nature, 9 February 1871, https://t.ly/
_H-SY), and ever since, there are scientists who have wondered
about this threshold of 4. If Jevons wondered about it, too, he
DILIP D’SOUZA didn’t have access to the tools of modern neuroscience to help
him find an explanation. But a recent study does have a possible
Respond to this column at explanation (Distinct neuronal representation of small and large
The firm is to build the all-weather, deep-water Keni port for ₹4,119 crore feedback@livemint.com numbers in the human medial temporal lobe, Esther F. Kutter et al.,
Nature Human Behaviour, 2 October 2023, https://t.ly/MjQ3U).

T
he mind is unable,” wrote W. Stanley Jevons, “to estimate
Naman Suri any large number of objects without counting them succes-
naman.suri@livemint.com sively.” He was right. Think, for example, of what you’d do
NeW DelhI if I asked you to look out of the window at a traffic jam on the road
below and tell me how many cars are involved.
The idea was to monitor how the brain behaves when faced
with such an estimation task. To do this, naturally we cannot sim-
ply implant electrodes into the brains of living humans. Instead,
these scientists found a set of people who already have such
implants—epileptics who have the electrodes for medical rea-

S
ajjan Jindal-led JSW Infrastruc- You’d start counting. sons—and were willing to be studied.
ture Ltd on Thursday But Jevons went on: “A small number, for instance three or These patients were asked to do simple mental arithmetic
announced it has acquired the four, [the mind] can certainly comprehend and count by an while their brains were monitored. What they found is, to me,
rights to develop a greenfield instantaneous and apparently single act of mental attention.” simply startling.
port in Karnataka with an initial Right again. Think of reporting how many fingers of one hand I For each number, individual neurons lit up, or became active.
capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum hold up. Definitely five or less, of course. One quick glance and That is, a “three”-tuned neuron fires up only when offered the
(mtpa). The project is set to be completed you’ll be able to tell me “three”, or “four”. You certainly won’t number three; a “six”-tuned one, only the number six. Such
in the next five years. count the fingers. “number neurons” had been identified in animals before, but
The company emerged as the winning Jevons wrote these lines in a scientific paper reporting on a never in humans.
bidder for developing the all-weather, protracted experiment he conducted. First, he would grab a But after she analysed 801 of these neuron firings, Kutter was
deep-water Keni port on a public-private number of beans in his fist. Second, he’d throw them into a box. able to tease out two different patterns. As you might guess, one
partnership basis at a cost ₹4,119 crore. It Third, he’d take a quick glance at the box and write down a guess was for small numbers, the other for large ones. The neurons
will operate the project for 30 years. at how many beans were in there. Fourth, he’d actually count the tuned for four and below were nearly error-free. That is, they lit
“Once the concession agreement is beans in the box and write down that number, too. up only for their preferred numbers
signed, we will start working to develop Jevons was a patient, diligent experimenter: He did this bean Neurons tuned and not for others. In contrast, the
the Keni port as an integral part of the and box exercise 1,027 times. He put the results into a table where for 4 and below neurons tuned to steadily higher num-
state’s maritime infrastructure and trade the rows represented his estimates and the columns the actual bers than four were steadily less pre-
gateway,” said Arun Maheshwari, joint numbers. According to the table, the smallest number of beans were nearly cise in their firing. Sometimes they
managing director and chief executive he threw into the box on a given trial was three; the largest 15. Pre- error-free, and didn’t fire when expected; sometimes
officer of JSW Infrastructure. sumably he didn’t want to waste his time on a grab of just one or lit up only for they fired when fed a slightly different
“Once developed, the Keni port is two beans, and he never grabbed more than 15. their numbers number.
expected to crucially address the region’s Sajjan Jindal, chairman and managing director, JSW Group. MINT But Jevons found something fascinating with his trials. When “We found a boundary in neuronal
rising import and export trade momen- there were only three or four beans in the box, he guessed right coding,” the paper remarks, “around
tum,” Maheshwari was quoted as saying in “It is envisaged as a...commercial port is proposed to be on the southern side and every time—all 23 and 65 trials, respectively. But with five and number 4 that correlates with the behavioural transition from
the release. for handling all cargo types on the west connected with the existing Konkan line more, he started making mistakes. The more numerous the set subitizing [perceiving a number correctly at a glance] to estima-
The project was awarded by the gov- coast in the north Karnataka region to to the north of the Ankola Station. The of beans, the more his guesses were off the mark. tion.”
ernment of Karnataka and the Karnataka serve the industries in the area covering proposed railway alignment will be devel- Thus with five beans, he guessed right 102 times, but also There was one more facet to this. The neurological mechanism
Maritime Board. Bellary, Hosapete, Hubballi, Kalaburagi, oped with a length of about 8 km. The pro- guessed “six” four times and “seven” once. With six beans, he at work here isn’t just that an individual neuron responds to indi-
JSW Infra will be making the payment and south Maharashtra. posed port shall be well connected with guessed “six” 120 times, but also “seven” 20 times and “five” seven vidual numbers. There’s also evidence that the number neurons
towards royalty per MT on cargo to To begin with, the capacity of road and railway connectivity,” it added. times. With 10, it was like this: “eight”, six; “nine”, 37; “10”, 46; “11”, for four and below are actually prevented from firing when
the board and the concession the proposed port shall be 30 The Infrastructure company, which 16; and “12”, two. With 15, like this: “12”, two; “13”, one; “14”, six; offered the wrong number, thus improving their accuracy. These
period would be for 30 years mtpa in the initial phase with began as a company catering to the “15”, two. neurons, Kutter and colleagues explained, “showed superior tun-
from the date of appoint-
ment. There’s a further 30 yrs
Period for which
further potential to increase requirements of JSW group, is also plan-
substantially in the long ning to focus on raising its third-party
Partly, what this table suggests is that though he did make mis-
takes, Jevons’s guesses even with larger numbers were mostly
ing selectivity accompanied by suppression effects suggestive of
surround inhibition as a selectivity-increasing mechanism.”
extension clause subject to run,” the company added. business to 40% within two years and 50% correct, or close. I’m not sure that faced with 10 beans, I’d guess So yes, this is the possible explanation for Jevons’s 150-year-
the fulfilment of the terms JSW Infrastructure The proposed Keni port in five years from the current 36%, correctly 46 times out of 107; or with an error of just 1 bean 99 old findings. “Possible”, because remember that this is based on
and conditions, it added. will run the port will be located strategically Maheshwari had told Mint in an interview times out of 107. Or maybe I would, and maybe that’s one point work with patients who already have electrodes in their brains.
As per a Karnataka Maritime between two operational earlier. It also announced entry in con- Jevons’s data makes—that we can make pretty good estimates of They are implanted in the part of the brain that deals more with
Perspective Plan, the southern major ports. It is a hinterland tainer train operations with the acquisi- smallish sets of objects. memory, not so much with numbers. Still, there are these num-
state has a hinterland potential of 44 primarily of coal and coke cargo tion of Sical Multimodal and Rail Trans- But the more intriguing point his data makes is about the num- ber neurons there, too. That is why the speculation that this
mtpa of cargo, which is expected to which is being utilized for steel, cement, port Ltd’s licence from Pristine Logistics ber four. It looks like a limit on our ability to quickly estimate the small-number neuron mechanism may underlie the way we esti-
increase to 117 mtpa by 2035. and power plants. & Infraprojects Pvt. Ltd for ₹400 crore number of objects in a set. Four or less, and we get it right every mate numbers.
“The proposed Keni port would have It is further supported by iron ore, lime- under India’s bankruptcy law. This move time. More than four, our accuracy falls off. All this makes me wonder if I can train myself to accurately
modern environment-friendly mecha- stone, dolomite handling, and exports of is a strategic step to boost its container This may seem obvious and unremarkable to you. Of course we guess larger sets of objects. I’m aiming for seven.
nized facilities for handling of cape-size finished steel products. logistics business and enhance its third- can guess small numbers precisely, and larger numbers not so Once a computer scientist, Dilip D’Souza now lives in Mumbai
vessels,” the company said. “Rail connectivity to the Keni port site party cargo operations. precisely. Yet think about this: why is the threshold four? Why and writes for his dinners. His Twitter handle is @DeathEndsFun.

INDIA PORTS GLOBAL LIMITED

CIN: U61100MH2015GOI261274
Open Tender Notice - Tender No.: IPGL/CONS-OM/2023/04
“Request for Proposal” invited for “Appointment of Transaction
Advisor for Selection of O&M Contractor for Shahid Beheshti-
Chabahar Port”. Fresh bids are invited of aforesaid tender. Notice
for tender dated 09.11.2023 has been uploaded for invitation of
proposals from interested bidders. Last date for receipt of submission:
24.11.2023 (1400 hrs.). For details, log in at https://www.ipgl.co.in,
https://www.ipa.nic.in, https://www.sdclindia.com/.
CBC 37220/12/0008/2324

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WITH FACTS ON SUNDAYS
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A
A quiz on the week’s development.
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10 FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi NeWs Wrap LIVEMINT.COM

NEWS
12.6 mn
INDIA’S DOMESTIC air passenger
6-7.1%
THE RATE at which India’s GDP is
4.5 mn
INDIA’S PERSONAL computer
14%
THE YEAR-on-year growth in the volume
100
THE NUMBER of people that Starship,
IN traffic in October 2023, up 10.5% from projected to grow annually in fiscal years shipments during Q2 of 2023, up 14% from of cement sold by the 11 major Indian the next generation rocket of Elon Musk’s
NUMBERS 11.4 million passengers in October 2022,
and up 3% sequentially.
2024-2026 despite global uncertainties,
according to S&P Global Ratings.
the same period last year, driven by the
brief import ban in August, says IDC.
cement companies in the second quarter
of this year, aided by lower rainfall.
SpaceX, is designed to carry. A test flight is
scheduled for Friday.

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

India’s GDP to grow FESTIVE RUSH Ireda fixes IPO price

6.7.1% in FY24-26 band at ₹30-32

I I
ndia’s economic growth prospects should ndian Renewable Energy Development
remain strong over the medium term, with Agency Ltd (Ireda) on Thursday fixed the
GDP expanding 6-7.1% annually in fiscal years price band for its up to ₹2,150.21 crore initial
2024-2026, S&P Global Ratings said on public offering (IPO) at ₹30-32 per equity
Thursday. share, the company said here on Thursday.
In a report titled ‘Global Banks Country-By- The company’s IPO will open for the public
Country Outlook 2024’, S&P said the banking on 21 November for subscription and close on
sector’s weak loans will decline to 3-3.5% of 23 November, it said.
gross advances by 31 March 2025, on the back of Investors can bid for a minimum of 460
structural improvement, including healthy equity shares and in multiples of 460 equity
corporate balance sheets, tighter underwriting shares thereafter, it said. The public issue of
standards and improved risk-management face value of ₹10 per equity share comprises
practices. fresh issuance of equity shares up to 403.16
“Unsecured personal loans have grown million and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to
rapidly and could contribute to incremental 268.78 million shares aggregating to up to
NPLs. We believe underwriting standards for 671.94 million equity shares, the government-
retail loans generally remain healthy and overall owned company said. The issue will garner
level of delinquencies remains within ₹2,015.82 crore to ₹2,150.21 crore at the lower
acceptable limits for this product category,” S&P and upper end of the price band, respectively,
primary credit analyst Deepali Seth Chhabria the company said. PTI
said. PTI

Passengers bound for their hometowns crowd a train at the Patna Railway Station on Thursday, a day ahead of the Chhath Puja festival. PTI

Windfall tax on domestic crude The firm retailed more than 1.4 million two-
wheeler units in the 32-day period this year. MINT
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar.

‘Not ruling out probe

AP

oil sales, diesel exports slashed Hero MotoCorp logs

highest-ever sales
into Canada’s claims’
H
ero MotoCorp on Thursday said it

E
xternal affairs minister S. Jaishankar has
said that India is not ruling out an
investigation into Canada’s allegations
about the involvement of the Indian
government’s agents in the killing of a
Khalistani separatist in that country but wants it
to provide evidence to back its claims.
Jaishankar made the comments on
recorded highest-ever sales in a festive
The windfall tax on petrol and aviation turbine fuel remained unchanged at zero season by retailing more than 1.4
million two-wheeler units in the 32-day period
this year. The country’s largest two-wheeler
Rituraj Baruah Rahul Kalantri, vice president, commodities at rel as on 15 November. For this month, it has aver- maker achieved the sales mark between the
rituraj.baruajh@livemint.com Mehta Equities, noted that the decline in crude aged at $84.78 a barrel, down from $90.08 last first day of the Navratras and Bhai Dooj on 15
NEw DElHI prices followed the US Energy Information month. November.
Administration’s report, revealing a surge in US The centre first imposed the windfall taxes on Riding on robust demand across rural

Wednesday in response to questions during a
conversation with Lionel Barber titled ‘How a
Billion People See the World’.
“If you have a reason to make such an
allegation, please share the evidence with us.
We are not ruling out an investigation and
looking at anything which they may have to
offer. They haven’t done so,” Jaishankar, who
was in London on a five-day official visit to the
UK, said while responding to a question. The ties
between India and Canada came under severe
strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau’s allegations in September of a
“potential” involvement of Indian agents in the
killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh
Nijjar on 18 June in British Columbia. India had
designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. PTI
T
he Union finance ministry on Thursday
lowered the windfall tax on the sale of
domestic crude oil to ₹6,300 per tonne,
according to an official notification. For
the past two weeks, the levy stood at
₹9,800 per tonne. The revised tax comes into
effect from Thursday.
The ministry has also decided to reduce the
special additional excise duty on the export of die-
sel to ₹1 per litre from ₹2 per litre. The windfall tax
on petrol and aviation turbine fuel (ATF)
remained unchanged at zero.
The reduction on the levy comes in the back-
drop of ease in crude prices in the past couple of
weeks amid persistent concerns of lower global
demand. Brent prices have dropped from around
$85 per barrel a fortnight ago to $80 now.
crude oil inventories by 3.6 million barrels for the the sale of locally produced crude oil with effect markets as well as steady retail off-take in key
week ending on 10 November, surpassing the from 1 July, 2022 as oil exploration and producing urban centres, the company registered a 19%
anticipated build of companies made growth over the previous year, and surpassed
1.8 million barrels. heavy profits amid its previous highest retail of 1.27 million units
“This downturn was The India crude basket stood at multi-year high which was recorded in the festive period of
exacerbated by con- $83.09 per barrel as on 15 November. crude oil prices post 2019, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.
cerns over demand Russia’s invasion of “Our strong portfolio of brands, scale of
from the European For this month, it has averaged at Ukraine. Further, distribution and new launches done this year
Union. Neverthe- $84.78, down from $90.08 last month the additional levy have helped in driving this growth across
less, the positive on the export of pet- geographies,” Hero MotoCorp chief executive
performance of Chi- rol, diesel and jet Niranjan Gupta said. PTI
nese industrial production and retail sales data fuels came in as private refiners were largely sell-
provided some support to crude oil prices. Addi- ing abroad amid better international prices,
tionally, the upward revisions in demand fore- instead of the domestic market.
casts for 2023 by OPEC+ and the IEA further bol-
stered crude oil prices at lower levels,” he said.
The additional levies are reviewed every fort-
night based on average oil prices in the previous
Jio adds 3.24 mn
The India crude basket stood at $83.09 per bar- two weeks.
mobile users in Aug

I
ndia’s largest mobile operator Reliance Jio
Fresh bid to rescue added 3.24 million users in August, and its
Axis Bank, Manappuram Fin fined wireless subscriber tally topped 445.7
tunnel workers on million, according to data released by telecom
regulator Trai.
regulator. Bharti Airtel gained 1.22 million wireless

A
heavy-duty drilling machine flown in The fine has been imposed for non- subscribers in August, while cash-strapped
by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Delhi compliance with certain directions Vodafone Idea lost 49,782 users.The mobile
began boring through the rubble of a issued by the RBI on ‘Reserve Bank of subscriber count of Bharti Airtel rose to 376.4
collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham route in India (KYC) directions, 2016’, ‘loans and million in August. Vodafone Idea (Vi), on the
Uttarakhand on Thursday, in a fresh attempt to advances – statutory and other other hand, saw its wireless subscriber
create an escape passage for 40 workers restrictions’, ‘guidelines on managing numbers dip to 228.2 million during the
trapped inside for four days. Workers outside risks and code of conduct in outsourcing month.
the Silkyara tunnel performed a puja before the of financial services by banks’, and ‘code Jio’s net adds for August were, however,
America-made auger machine began work. of conduct for opening and operating lower than 3.9 million additions in July. “In
Union minister of state for road transport current accounts’, the central bank said August, 12.67 million subscribers submitted
and highways V.K. Singh had arrived at the site in a statement. ED issued the summons over money laundering their requests for Mobile Number Portability
to take stock of the rescue operation when the “This action is based on the case linked to news portal NewsClick. ISTOCKPHOTO (MNP),” Trai said. With this, the cumulative
drilling by the new machine began. deficiencies in regulatory compliance requests increased to 87.7 crore at the end of
The IAF had flown in the equipment in parts
on their C-130 Hercules transport planes to an
The fine was imposed for non-compliance
with certain directions issued by RBI. MINT
and is not intended to pronounce upon
the validity of any transaction or
Fresh summons August, from 86.4 crore in July-end. PTI

airstrip 30 km away, after previous efforts to agreement entered into by the bank with
sent to Singham
T
insert steel pipes with the help of a smaller he Reserve Bank on Thursday its customers,” it said.
auger machine failed. “I have been told that the imposed a monetary penalty of The apex bank also has imposed a ₹20
Mitra Shakti gets
A
new drilling machine has already penetrated 5- ₹90.92 lakh on Axis Bank and lakh monetary penalty on Anand Rathi fresh summons was issued by the
7 metres through the debris. We hope it would
soon reach the trapped workers, drilling at the
₹42.78 lakh on gold loan firm
Manappuram Finance for violation of
Global Finance Ltd for non-compliance
with certain provisions of the RBI KYC
Enforcement Directorate to China-based
American millionaire Neville Roy underway in Pune
rate of 5-10 metres every hour,” Uttarakhand certain directions of the banking sector directions, 2016. PTI Singham for questioning in connection with a

chief minister Pushkar Dhami said.
ASCI moots guidelines to check ‘greenwashing’ by companies
PTI money laundering probe linked to online news
portal NewsClick, officials said on Thursday.
The 69-year-old businessman, who is
accused of spreading Chinese propaganda in
India, is stated to be currently based in
Shanghai. The summons were sent to Singham
recently on his personal email ID and also
T
he ninth edition of a joint military
exercise between India and Sri Lanka
commenced on Thursday in Pune,
which will focus on achieving an enhanced
level of interoperability among the troops,
officials said.
The ‘Exercise Mitra Shakti-2023’ is being

A
dvertising industry’s self-regulatory body ASCI on Thursday proposed through the Chinese diplomatic channels after conducted from 16-29 November at Aundh.
various guidelines to avoid ‘greenwashing’ by companies. the ED routed them through the ministry of The Indian contingent of 120 personnel is
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has come out external affairs (MEA), the officials said. being represented mainly by troops from the
with a 9-point draft in this regard. This is understood to be the second Maratha Light Infantry Regiment, the
In a statement, ASCI said the guidelines are aimed to check greenwashing, summons issued to Singham by the ED. The defence ministry said in a statement.
which it defined as the deceptive practice of making misleading first was issued last year after the federal “The Sri Lankan side is being represented
environmental claims. agency launched its investigation in 2021. by personnel from the 53 Infantry Division.
The body’s chief executive and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said the The request has been sent under the Mutual Fifteen personnel from the Indian Air Force
guidelines aim to foster a culture of transparency and authenticity in Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) signed and five personnel from Sri Lankan Air Force
advertising in consumer interest and help them make informed decisions. between India and China in 2003. Under this are also participating in the exercise,” the
Environmental claims can appear in advertisements, marketing material, agreement, both countries shall promote defence ministry said.
branding (including business and trading names), on packaging or in other cooperation for exchange of information on The aim of the exercise is to jointly
information provided to consumers, it said. The proposed guidelines say any legal matters and cooperation in other legal rehearse conduct of sub-conventional
absolute claims like a product has no impact or only a positive impact needs The guidelines are aimed at stopping the deceptive practice of and judicial matters which are of interest to operations under Chapter VII of United
to be supported by a high-level of substantiation. PTI making misleading environmental claims. ISTOCKPHOTO both parties, the officials said. PTI Nations Charter. PTI
LIVEMINT.COM GLOBAL FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi 11

m MINT SHORTS
US imposes new sanctions over
Small wins from Biden-Xi meet
Russian oil price cap violations
The US Treasury on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions
on firms and ships that used American service providers to carry
Russian crude oil in violation of the multinational price cap—and Expectations were low due to deep-seated differences between US, China over trade, Taiwan and human rights
imposed another set of sanctions on a group of Balkan people and
firms tied to Kremlin influence in the region. Treasury’s Office
of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on three UAE-based Bloomberg Chinese economy, which is still who runs a country that is a commu-
firms and blocked three ships that used US service providers to feedback@livemint.com struggling to emerge from the Cov- nist country that is based on a form of
carry Russian crude oil above the $60 price cap. The US, along id-19 pandemic. government totally different than

with the EU, countries in the Group of Seven and Australia,
imposed a $60 a barrel limit last year on what Russia could charge
for its oil. The cap is designed to deprive the Kremlin of revenue
to fund its war in Ukraine. REUTERS
Spanish PM wins re-election
thanks to Catalan amnesty deal
BLOOMBERG
Pedro Sanchez won reelection as Spain’s prime minister
in a confidence vote in parliament on Thursday with the
backing of Catalan separatists thanks to a controversial
amnesty deal. A total of 179 lawmakers voted in favor of his
reappointment, with 171 against. A majority requires 176
lawmakers in the 350-member parliament. The decision
to reelect Sanchez ends months of uncertainty after an
inconclusive July election, yet the Socialist leader starts
his new term facing a strong backlash over his plan to
grant amnesty to hundreds of Catalan activists facing
criminal charges over a failed 2017 independence attempt.
BLOOMBERG
Auto workers’ strikes sink US
manufacturing output in October
Production at US factories dropped more than expected in Octo-
ber as strikes by the United Auto Workers union against Detroit’s
“Big Three” automakers depressed motor vehicle production,
but manufacturing elsewhere continued to hold up. Manufactur-
ing output fell 0.7% last month, the Federal Reserve said on
Thursday. Production at factories declined 1.7% on a year-on-year
basis in October. REUTERS
P
residents Joe Biden and Xi
Jinping emerged from their
first meeting in a year bet-
ting that a handful of small
victories will arrest a surge
in US-China tensions that has
unnerved neighbouring nations and
threatened global economic growth.
Expectations were low owing to
deep-seated differences over trade,
Taiwan and human rights, and even
the summit’s modest accomplish-
ments were hard-won. Those
included deals to try to address the
fentanyl crisis and to restore military
communications severed after then-
house speaker Nancy Pelosi visited
Taiwan last year.
“We’re in a competitive relation-
ship, China and the United States,”
Biden told reporters after more than
four hours of talks with Xi. “But my
responsibility is to make this rational
and manageable so it doesn’t result in
conflict. That’s what I’m all about.”
For his part, Xi sought to ease con-
cerns that the US and China were on
a path toward a military clash, saying
Now, Russia
deploys
N-capable
vehicle
Reuters
feedback@livemint.com
Moscow
“Is this meeting going to improve
the relationship? The answer is no,
but that’s not the objective—the
objective is to frame and contain the
risks of it worsening,” said Kurt Tong,
a former senior US diplomat in Asia
who’s now a managing partner at the
Asia Group. He characterized the
results as “relatively small” delivera-
bles.
The meeting outside San Francisco
was the culmination of intense diplo-
macy to salvage a relationship that
had almost completely broken down
over trade disputes, Russia’s invasion
US President Joe Biden (right) held four hours of talks with his Chinese of Ukraine and the alleged Chinese
counterpart Xi Jinping. AP spy balloon that drifted over US terri-
tory in January.
China “will not fight a cold war or a it.” But it was also marred by what has
hot war with anyone.” In a sign of how much remains to now become an almost routine event
“China never bets against the be done, there was no evidence of for Biden at gatherings like this. After
United States and never interferes in progress on bigger issues like US offering carefully scripted remarks to
its internal affairs,” Xi said in remarks curbs on microchip exports, tariffs or reporters, Biden couldn’t resist
later that evening during a dinner tensions in the South China Sea, answering a reporter who asked if he
with CEOs including Apple Inc.’s Tim where Chinese and US ships and still thought Xi was a dictator.
Cook and BlackRock Inc.’s Larry planes have had a series of provoca- “Well look, he is,” Biden said as he
Fink. “China has no intention to chal- tive encounters. Xi didn’t get what he was leaving the stage. “I mean, he’s a
lenge the United States or to unseat needs most—deals to help boost the dictator in the sense that he’s a guy
ours.”
That remark signalled how domes-
tic pressure in the US continues to
weigh on the relationship. Looming
for the US president is the 2024 elec-
tion and criticism from Republicans
who accuse him of being too weak on
China and allowing Xi to take advan-
tage of him.
Republicans have assailed the
Biden administration for getting
nothing substantial out of the ongo-
ing diplomacy, with polls showing a
record number of Americans seeing
China’s development as a “critical
threat” to vital US interests.
Former President Donald Trump,
who is emerging as the presumptive
Republican 2024 nominee, has nee-
dled Biden by drawing contrasts with
Xi, portraying Biden as too old and
being outwitted by the Chinese
leader.
“He’s like a piece of steel, strong,
smart,” Trump said of Xi during a
speech at Mar a Lago on Tuesday.
“There’s nobody in Hollywood who
could play the role.”

R
ussia’s rocket forces
loaded an interconti-
SpaceX to try again to launch its nental ballistic missile
equipped with the nuclear-ca-
mega rocket into orbit today pable “Avangard” hypersonic
AFP
glide vehicle into a launch silo
in southern Russia, according
to a defence ministry TV chan-
nel broadcast on Thursday.
President Vladimir Putin
announced the Avangard
hypersonic glide vehicle in
2018, saying it was a response
to US development of a new
generation of weapons and a
US missile defence system that
it could penetrate. As it
approaches its target, the
SpaceX is aiming for another test flight of its mega rocket Avangard glide vehicle
on Friday after getting final approval from federal regula- detaches from the rocket and is
tors. The first launch of Starship ended in an explosion able to manoeuvre sharply out-
minutes after lifting off from South Texas in April. The side the trajectory of the rocket
Federal Aviation Administration issued its licence on at hypersonic speeds of up to 27
Wednesday, noting that SpaceX has met safety, environ- times the speed of sound (about
mental and other requirements to launch again. Elon 34,000km per hour).
Musk’s rocket company said it was targeting Friday The ‘Zvezda’ television
morning. AP channel owned by the Russian
defence ministry showed a
ballistic missile being trans-
China housing woes worsen as ported to a launch silo, slowly
raised into vertical position
prices fall most in eight years and then lowered into a shaft
China home prices fell the most in eight years in October, sig- in the Orenburg region near
nalling the property slump is worsening even after the govern- Kazakhstan. Russia installed
ment ramped up efforts to revive demand. New-home prices its first Avangard-equipped
in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, declined missile in 2019 at the same
0.38% last month from September, when they dropped 0.3%, Orenburg facility. Russia and
National Bureau of Statistics figures showed Thursday. The the US, by far the biggest
decrease was the steepest since February 2015. The drop adds nuclear powers, have both
to evidence of a persistent housing downturn after official fig- expressed regret about the
ures this week showed a contraction in sales and property steady disintegration of arms-
investment deepened. BLOOMBERG control treaties

Fear grows for Gaza patients

cut off after Israelis arrive
Reuters must be permitted to do their
feedback@livemint.com work and patients must be
Gaza/JeRusaleM protected,” the watchdog’s UN
director Louis Charbonneau

P
alestinian medics said on
Thursday they are
increasingly afraid for
the lives of hundreds of
patients and medical staff at
Gaza’s biggest hospital, cut off
from all links to the outside
world for more than a day after
Israeli forces entered.
Israel said its commandos
were still searching through Al
Shifa hospital on Thursday,
more than a day after they
entered its grounds as part of
an offensive to wipe out Hamas
militants in the Palestinian
enclave.
It has so far released pic-
tures of what it says were rifles
and flak jackets found on the
premises, but no evidence of a
vast underground Hamas
Israel commandos search
through Al Shifa hospital
on Thursday. REUTERS
command headquarters they
said was operating in tunnels
beneath it.
Human Rights Watch cau-
tioned that hospitals have spe-
cial protections under interna-
tional humanitarian law.
“Doctors, nurses, ambulan-
ces and other hospital staff
told Reuters. “Hospitals only
lose those protections if it can
be shown that harmful acts
have been carried out from the
premises. The Israeli govern-
ment hasn’t provided any evi-
dence of that.”
Gaza’s health ministry said
Israeli soldiers had removed
dead bodies from the hospital
grounds and destroyed cars
parked there, but they were
not letting staff or patients
leave.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf
Al-Qidra said there was no
water, food nor baby milk in
Shifa, which was packed with
650 patients and about 7,000
people displaced by weeks of
Israeli air strikes and artillery
bombardments.
12 FriDay, 17 November 2023
New Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

MEET THE MAN BEHIND

THE MEgA KIMS DEAl
How Dr M.I. Sahadulla built a hospital network that had the Blackstone group swooping in

There is such
petty corruption
going on in
healthcare... our
biggest achievement
is that we never
did that.
M.I. SAHADULLA,
founder chairman and managing director
of KIMS Health

MELTON ANTONY

Nidheesh MK utation for his steadfast dedication to
feedback@livemint.com medical ethics. As a businessman, he is
ernAkUlAm known for demonstrating that Indian
businesses can grow without losing their
respiratory issues. His father suffered a
respiratory arrest, and although he sur-
vived it, he died within a month due to the
side effects, he said.
this is a far superior long-term offer,” said
mint
SHORT Sahadulla. “As a full-timer, your office
STORY hours are scheduled. With freelance con-
sultation, they generally do not have a
to procure resources and care for the
poorer and marginalized sections, people
like Sahadulla stepped up and offered
enormous help.

U
ntil about a fortnight or so morals. Beyond the misdiagnosis, Sahadulla family life. This offered them excellent
ago, very few people outside The story of Kims is the story of this was also struck by the lack of basic facili- WhAt pay and quality time for family and leisure KEEPING THINGS CLEAN
Kerala, or those who did not doctor who built a hospital chain amid
have roots in the state, had adversity and personal tragedies. Saha-
heard about the Kims hospital dulla was determined to provide quality
ties in his hometown. When his father had
the respiratory arrest, the family had to lift
him up the stairs on a trolley because the
PE firm Blackstone has acquired
controlling stakes in Care
after work hours. Most of the doctors who
were returning from England or the US at
the time immediately joined us,” he said.
B y his own admission, Sahadulla’s
challenges, apart from the initial
funding bottleneck, had mostly to do with
chain or Dr Mohammed Illias Sahadulla, healthcare in Kerala but struggled to raise lift to the emergency care unit was not Hospitals and Kims Health in a The business boomed and hit break- his moral crusade against the unethical
78, its cofounder. Blackstone Group Inc funding as banks refused to front him working, Sahadulla said. $1 billion deal. This is Blackstone’s even in two years, said Sahadulla. The practices in the healthcare business. It also
changed that on 30 October. money saying his idea wouldn’t make After his father’s death, Sahadulla con- first investment in the Indian group started expanding and today, it is became his most important legacy.
In a layered transaction, the $1 trillion money. Eventually, however, he would go sidered returning to India, and doing healthcare services space. one of the two dominant players in the Right from the start, Kims established
private equity investor invested in Care on to build the hospital network that something to transform healthcare in his healthcare sector in the state—the other standard practices that made it somewhat
Hospitals, another South India-based hos- caught Blackstone’s eye. hometown. “Where will I work if I is Dr Azad Mooppan’s Aster-MIMS hos- unpopular in the medical community as
pital chain, and Care, in turn, invested in “My father always wanted me to be a return?” he asked his brother and Kims Why pital chain. well as with the general public. All trans-
Kims Healthcare Management Ltd. The doctor,” said Sahadulla, in a recent inter- cofounder EM Najeeb, who was running Private healthcare as a sector has grown actions were routed through banks, and
deal created one of India’s biggest hospital view with Mint. His father, Illias Moham- a hospitality company, Airtravel Enter- Dr. M.I. Sahadulla is the driving over the years in Kerala. Despite the high doctors were banned from availing of
chains, worth over a billion dollars, pend- mad, lived in Thiruvananthapuram. They prises India Ltd, at the time. Najeeb prom- force behind Kims. He decided density and heavy funding of public hos- commissions in any manner.
ing legal procedures, Mint had reported. had a successful family business selling ised to set up a hospital for Sahadulla. “I to build a top-notch hospital in pitals—over 7% of total expenditure—the “Everybody around me said the busi-
Together, Kims and Care have 4,000 locally procured coir to those who thought it was past time for the city to have Kerala after watching his parents majority of doctors, hospitals and beds in ness would not take off if I don’t leave
beds in 23 hospitals in 11 southern towns. exported it to other countries. a hospital good enough to accommodate suffer from poor healthcare. the state are now with the private sector, some leeway for unethical practices. But
The deal also offers a blockbuster exit for There was a personal angle to Saha- doctors like him,” Najeeb said in a recent Soon, it would grow into a chain. according to the state planning board. I wanted to stay away from it as much as
homegrown private equity firm True dulla’s dream of becoming a doctor. The interview. “From then on, building a good Correspondingly, Kerala also has the possible,” said Sahadulla. “Many people
North, which effectively holds a 43% stake family believed top-quality healthcare hospital so he can return became the fam- highest out-of-pocket-expenditure on resisted. Even our own doctors resisted,”
in Kims today, according to one person could have saved the life of his mother, ily’s top priority.” And health in the country, at ₹7,206 in he admitted. “Back then, for a ₹3 lakh sur-
involved in the deal. He didn’t want to be who died young in a private hospital. Fur- 2019-20, according to data from National gery, people were used to paying ₹2 lakh
identified. True North reportedly invested ther, a cousin who was a role model, CONSTANT OBSTACLES When it started, Kims had little Health Authority. through the bank and ₹1 lakh in cash so
$200 million in Kims in 2017. became a doctor in the army and encour-
Sahadulla started Kims with his brother aged him to become a doctor. B anks were initially unwilling to invest
in Kims, making it difficult to secure
private competition. The chain
differentiated itself by focussing BEYOND BUSINESS
you don’t have to pay tax,” he said.
“There is such petty corruption going
and businessman E.M.
Najeeb in 2002. The
founders, their family Together, Care and Kims
Sahadulla credits his
personal growth to
nearly three decades
funds. But the brothers stood firm in their
belief that Thiruvananthapuram and
other southern cities lacked quality
on tertiary care in Kerala. It
pioneered organ transplants and
other complex procedures.
S ahadulla’s legacy
goes well beyond
making a lot of money About 60% of the hospital
on in healthcare, organ
purchase, etc., even
today,” he said. “Our big-
members and friends Health will have over 4,000 spent working abroad, healthcare. for his investors. When chain’s clientele are people gest achievement is that
own 30% of the com- which exposed him to They bootstrapped the hospital using the government capped we never did that. I
pany. Apart from True beds, across 23 facilities in the best medical prac- their own money and funds from their Nadu, just across the border, is expected to the price of cardiac hailing from the middle and believe that if you do it
North, some family 11 cities. That makes the tices globally. After fin- friends. Sahadulla pledged his house, be operational by March 2024, making it stents in 2017, every- upper income classes, and with ethics, in a very
members and friends, ishing medical school other properties, and life savings from his one of the largest hospital chains in the one’s earnings dropped straightforward manner,
who were early inves- entity one of India’s top and post-graduation in nearly 30-year career abroad. Najeeb did south. The business has a ₹1,000 crore except his, said True better placed to bear healthcare will be much
tors, are also exiting the Kerala, he studied and the same. About 50 city residents, mostly turnover today with an Ebitda (earnings North’s Chander. better respected and
company. But the man- hospital chains. worked in the UK. The relatives and friends, bought project land before interest, taxes, depreciation, and “Because his mode of out-of-pocket expenses. you’ll receive much bet-
agement is expected to journey took him from by investing ₹2-5 lakh each and got shares amortization) of ₹250 crore, said Sahadulla. pricing was just 25% ter profit,” he added.
remain the same, except for a board seat London to Birmingham and Glasgow, and in return. Beyond this, the brothers A few things worked in their favour, markup, unlike the exorbitant prices Soon, other private hospitals in Ker-
for Blackstone, according to the person on to a life-changing opportunity in the needed institutional borrowing. said the doctor. “One, we began when charged by others. He already had a cap ala, most of them started by doctors,
cited above. Middle East. He joined Saudi Aramco, one “We bought marshy land for the hospi- there were perhaps only one or two pri- installed before the government forced also adopted the same business prac-
“The deal gives True North and other of the world’s largest oil firms. tal since large land for a reasonable cost vate hospitals in the area,” he said. Second, one,” said Chander. tices, he said.
early investors a good exit. Some will gain Sahadulla worked there for 25 years, was not available. Many investors came to he added, as a city, Thiruvananthapuram “His quality of consumables, infrastruc- Sahadulla also had a sharp eye on the
32x their investments,” the person said. rising to a management position after see the place and didn’t even want to get was ready for quality health care, even ture, equipment, even space between business end of things. For instance, Kims
joining as an internist. out of their car since their shoes would get though it cost more. beds, were all far better than other hospi- strictly prohibits its doctors from working
WHO IS DR SAHADULLA? If it was his mother’s treatment at a pri- muddied,” recalled Sahadulla. Kims also differentiated itself by focus- tals,” he added. outside the hospital, a typical practice. It

A major reason the big players were vate hospital that made him become a
drawn to the southern hospital net- doctor, another personal tragedy, his
work is Dr Sahadulla, a man who looks father’s illness, and the treatment he
Eventually, the public sector Kerala
State Industrial Development Corpora-
tion (KSIDC) backed the proposal. Using
sing on tertiary care. “We were pioneers in
areas requiring specialized equipment,
such as organ transplants, micro-incision
During the pandemic phase of the cov- also instituted a no-food policy and grew
id-19 outbreak, Sahadulla worked closely a food and beverages vertical that is today
with the government. Kims had a whole bringing in nearly ₹60 crore every year.
more like an athlete than a doctor, thanks received at a government hospital in Thir- that loan to prove the project’s viability, surgery, and complex procedures like building converted into a covid care cen- Today, although he owns only a small
to his active life and years playing tennis uvananthapuram in the early 1990s, led the brothers secured another loan from interventional radiology,” he noted. tre, and had the highest number of part of the business, Sahadulla will continue
and badminton. He has a unique story, him to return home and establish Kims. another state-owned firm, Housing and Today, 60% of the hospital’s clientele patients, around 300, during the lock- to run it. Asked about the new partnership
clean books, an ethical attitude to health- “I never considered entrepreneurship Urban Development Corporation Ltd are from middle- to upper-income groups, down in Kerala, said Sahadulla. with Blackstone, he smiled and said that
care, and top environmental, social, and until my father became ill,” he said. (HUDCO). After other banks joined, they mostly earning over ₹10 lakh per annum, Public health experts said that Kims, while he won’t make much money, he feels
governance (ESG) practices, said Satish As a chronic smoker, his father suffered got the ₹40 crore investment they wanted. with the ability to spend out of pocket on along with other private hospitals, had no vindicated that the firm succeeded against
Chander, a partner at True North. from breathing problems. He was brought health care, according to internal esti- hesitation in providing oxygen, masks, etc., all odds. His sights are on the next goal: list-
“His ethics and values are of the highest to a government hospital in his home- GROWTH AND EXPANSION mates seen by Mint. The rest are corporate to the government during the crisis, which ing the firm on the stock market.
order. Kims is consistent with high rat- town, Thiruvananthapuram, but instead
ings. He (Sahadulla) had a wide exposure of treating it as respiratory illness, the doc-
working in the Middle East and wanted to tors treated it as a cardiac issue, said Saha-
T he first Kims hospital opened in six
years with only 250 beds. Today, the
group has about 2,000 beds in four opera-
customers, and some poor people who
avail of subsidized healthcare through
charitable foundations.
helped in the state’s covid-19 management. “They (Blackstone) believe in legal
Dr Ekbal Bappukunju, a neurosurgeon compliance. When we go for an IPO with
and public health expert who served on them, I think it’ll be very advantageous.
put patients first. This approach inter- dulla. They administered lots of morphine tional hospitals, in Thiruvananthapuram, How did Kims attract and retain good the Kerala State Planning Commission, We will set a very good model…in having
ested us,” Chander added. and, according to Sahadulla, excessive Kottayam, Kollam and Perinthalmanna. A doctors? recalled that during the pandemic, when ethics and ESG as a principle to follow,”
As a doctor, Sahadulla has earned a rep- doses of morphine are contraindicated for 300-bed hospital in Nagercoil, Tamil “Our doctors recognized early on that the public health infrastructure struggled Sahadulla said.
LIVEMINT.COM
Why muhurat trading doesn’t
get you a Diwali bonus always
Returns from muhurat trades may not consistently outshine average market performance
Akshat Rohatgi
akshat.rohatgi@livemint.com
O
n Sunday, India’s stock
markets held the Diwali
muhurat trading from
6pm to 7.15pm, marking
the commencement of
the Hindu accounting year Vikram
Samvat 2080. For over five decades,
muhurat trading has been a ritual, sym-
bolizing prosperity and good fortune
for traders, many of whom seek to
make long-term investments every
Diwali. So, how have investors bene-
fited from muhurat trades over the
years?
An analysis of sensex data over the
past 11 years shows that the highest
return observed on a muhurat trading
day was in 2022— an impressive 0.88%,
while the lowest returns of -0.6% were
recorded in 2017.
Other interesting trends emerge
from a comparison of the muhurat
trading day returns to the average daily
returns of the Sensex. In 2013, 2014,
2016, and 2019, returns on muhurat
surpassed the respective average daily
returns of the Sensex. Conversely, in
2015, 2017, and 2018, the muhurat
returns fell short of the average daily
returns.
Notably, the probability of the
Sensex ending in the green on a Diwali,
based on the last 23 years of data, stands
at 87%. This suggests a strong tendency
for positive market performance on
these auspicious trading days.
Diwali picks
Every year, brokers and sell side
research firms start publishing and
marketing their Diwali stock recom-
mendations 10-15 days prior to the fes-
tival of lights. Recommendations come
from both fundamental and technical
research teams and have varying hold-
ing periods and target prices.
However, brokerages have been
selective in comparing their previous
year’s performance and that is based on
the composition of stocks in their port-
folios. Recommendations containing
primarily mid- and small-caps are often
compared to the Nifty 50 or Sensex to
show outperformance.
Ahead of Diwali this year, top bro-
kerage firms in India shared their top
picks of stocks expected to thrive in the
new Samvat year, the Hindu account-
ing year. These picks are based on vari-
ous parameters. The returns from these
stocks, based on an equi-weighted bas-
ket recommended by brokers, por-
trayed a diverse landscape of successes
and setbacks in the stock market
aligned with Diwali predictions.
For instance, brokerage HDFC Secu-
rities emerged as a standout performer,
showcasing an impressive 41.6% overall
return for their 2022 Diwali portfolio,
significantly surpassing the Nifty Mid-
cap 100 benchmark of 31.20%. Their
best pick that year, RVNL, soared by an
incredible 324%, while their worst pick,
Deepak Fertilizers, experienced a
downturn of -41%. Kotak Securities fol-
lowed suit with an 11.9% return, slightly
outperforming the Nifty 50 TRI bench-
mark of 10.9%, led by successful picks
like DLF, which surged by 63%. On the
contrary, ICICI Direct fell short, secur-
ing just a 10% return against the Nifty
Midcap 100 benchmark of 31.20%, fac-
ing setbacks particularly with City
Union Bank declining by -25%. Broker-
ages Sharekhan and Nirmal Bang
showcased varied performances, with
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We welcome your views and comments at
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MINT MONEY FriDay, 17 November 2023
NeW Delhi 13
WHAT'S THE FOREX RATE?
Whether you are planning
overseas travel or want to
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
some of the major banks
and travel aggregators. We
recommend that you also
check the commission being
charged by these players to
Investments amid Diwali ensure that you are getting
the best deal.
Every Diwali, brokers and sell-side research firms come out with a list of stocks expected to perform
well over the course of the new Samvat (Hindu new year). Here's a look at their performance. FOREX RATES (/$)
Bank/travel Wire transfer* Buy forex
How Sensex has performed on muhurat trading Investing 1 lakh on Diwali aggregator inward Outward Forex/travel card Cash
days over the last 10 years versus on any random day
Daily average vs muhurat day “ of the year SBI 82.32 82.32 84.01 84.40
Probability of
sensex returns sensex ending in Scenario 1: Investing 1 lakh in Nifty
Bank of Baroda 82.88 82.88 84.10 84.50
green on Muhurat Bees ETF on every Diwali at the open
Average return for the last 10 years.
1.00 trading day is Canara Bank^ 82.95 82.95 83.89 NA
Muhurat trading day return
87% Start date Close date
0.80 based on last 23 3 Nov 2013 24 Oct 2022 IndusInd Bank 81.54 81.54 85.33 85.63
years of data.
Kotak Bank 81.63 81.63 84.94 85.51
0.60 Investment
value as of ₹19,44,471
HDFC 81.78 81.78 84.65 85.23
0.40 13 Nov 2023
ICICI 81.23 81.23 84.66 86.24
0.20
Portfolio XIRR (in %) 11.7 Axis Bank 80.73 80.73 86.25 86.00
0.00 Absolute returns (in %) 94 Yes Bank 81.61 81.61 85.41 85.41
-0.20 Scenario 2: Investing 1 lakh in Nifty Thomas Cook 81.53 81.53 83.58 84.63
Bees ETF on any random day of the
-0.40 year for the last 10 years. Note: Data collected from website of respective entities as on 15 November 2023; Rate denotes INR/USD; Rates are as
mentioned on the website of the bank/FI and it may vary according to different amount slabs; *Telegraphic Transfer (TT)
Start date Close date buying and selling rates used. ^As on 13 Nov 2023
-0.60 25 Nov 2013 8 Dec 2022 Compiled by BankBazaar.com
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Investment
How did the 2022 Diwali stock picks turn value as of ₹20,85,126
out for the country's top brokers? 13 Nov 2023
HDFC Securities
Sharekhan 31.1
41.6
Portfolio XIRR (in %) 12.9 Are some premises exempted
Angel One 23 Absolute returns (in %) 109
Nirmal Bang
Kotak Securities 11.9
18.5
OBSERVATION: As seen in the above given
scenarios, investing on Diwali/muhurat
from the Rent Control Act?
ICICI Direct 10 trading day leaves the investor with a
worse-off portfolio XIRR over the long
Nifty Midcap 100 31.2 Aradhana Bhansali,
term. Hence, there is no merit in the
Nifty 50 TRI 10.9 argument that investing on diwali/muhurat
Prices as of 24 Oct 2022 (opening) to 13 Nov 2023 (closing) taken for analysis trading day leads to enhanced returns. I have recently constructed
a building which is suitable
Returns calculated on an equi-weighted basket recommended by the brokers. for small enterprises. I
Typically such a basket will comprise 5-11 stocks . would like to know
Brokerages Best pick Return (in %) Worst pick Return (in %) whether such premises can
HDFC Securities RVNL 324 Deepak Fertilizers -41 be exempted under the
ICICI Direct Ramkrishna Forg 193 City Union Bank -25 Rent Control Act.
—Name withheld on request
Kotak Securities Kirloskar Oil Engines 118 Stove Kraft -22
Sharekhan DLF 63 Bata India -14 We presume that you also
Nirmal Bang Ajanta Pharma 50 Greaves Cotton -14 own the land on which the new
Angel One Apollo Tyres 46 SRF -10 building has been constructed.
GRAPHIC: PARAS JAIN/MINT Source: Mint research A landlord in Maharashtra can,
under the Rent Control Act, have presumed that the donor
ASK MINT
1999, rent out the building to m has by virtue of the registered
Sharekhan nearly aligning with the research practices, either in-house in return of 94%, the portfolio XIRR various tenants as agreed upon LEGAL deed of gift gifted and trans-
Nifty Midcap 100 benchmark, while isolation or in collaboration with (extended internal rate of return) set- in a commercial agreement ferred his entire right, title
Nirmal Bang outperformed the Nifty research firms. Diwali picks must ide- tled at 11.7%. between a landlord and the the premises from residential and interest in the property to
50 TRI benchmark. ally be interpreted as a set of scrips Contrastingly, in Scenario 2, involv- tenant. to carry out business activities the donee absolutely and for-
Angel One, despite an overall 23.0% where the analysts have a high degree ing a similar annual investment of ₹1 The Act is not applicable from there. Such change is ever.
return, underperformed against the of conviction in terms of expectation of lakh but on random days throughout where premises let to foreign expressly barred under the The donor has transferred
Nifty Midcap 100 benchmark due to strong performance in the near- to the year, the cumulative portfolio value missions, international agen- Maharashtra Rent Control Act, all his right, title and interest in
struggles with picks like Stove Kraft medium-term. While this is often simi- by 13 November stood at ₹20,85,126. cies, multinational companies 1999, and your brother can the property and thus ceases to
declining by -22%. lar to the research calls given through This approach yielded an absolute and public or private limited send an eviction notice to the have any right, title and inter-
When asked about the relevance of the year, the Diwali backdrop adds a return of 109% with a higher portfolio companies having a paid-up tenant. If the tenant resists, est in the property upon exe-
these stock picks for a festive touch to entire XIRR of 12.9%. share capital of more than ₹1 then your brother will have to cution of deed of gift. The title
retail investor, Ravi Sar- Investors need to affair. Hence, the quality This comparison illuminates a con- crore. You should check the initiate proceedings before the to the property now vests with
aogi, founder of Samas- be cautious and value add of such picks sistent trend: investing an annual sum other exemptions before rent- competent court. the donee.
thiti Advisors, said, while interpreting really depends on the ana- of ₹1 lakh on muhurat trading day dem- ing out the premises. Therefore, any such subse-
“Diwali picks offered by the true value lytical rigour and ability to onstrates a lower portfolio XIRR over A Hindu donor, whom I quent sale of property by the
brokers has only one
of the stock picks perceive potential growth. the long term when juxtaposed with My brother rented out know, gifted his property donor which was subject mat-
goal—to get you to trade This is as applicable to the strategy of investing the same his apartment to a family in by way of a registered ter of the deed of gift will be
so that they can make put forth by Diwali picks as it would be amount randomly throughout the 2021. The next year, he unconditional gift deed but invalid as the purchaser of the
more brokerage revenue. brokerages to any other analytical year. Available data (see graphic) elabo- found that the property sold the said property after property will not acquire any
For such picks to have any call.” rates on the units purchased and cash was being used by the ten- a few months by way of a legitimate right, title and
sanctity, the brokerage Muhurat returns flows for each strategy, painting a com- ants for commercial pur- sale agreement. Which interest in the property that
firms should come up with a list of all A comparison between investing ₹1 prehensive picture of their respective poses. Can this be reason document—gift deed or has already gifted by the
previous Diwali picks and their current lakh annually on Diwali or muhurat outcomes. enough for my brother to sale agreement—will pre- donor.
price performance. Not a single bro- trading day versus investing on random Despite the tradition and allure of send an eviction notice to vail in such a case? Aradhana Bhansali is part-
kerage firm does this, which is why you days across the year from 2013 to 2022 muhurat investing during Diwali, data the tenants? —Name withheld in request ner, Rajani Associates.
should completely ignore such picks.” yields interesting insights. suggests the returns from such invest- —Name withheld in request
However, Nirav Karkera, head of In Scenario 1, where ₹1 lakh was ments on that day may not consistently We understand from this Do you have a personal
Research at Fisdom, shared conflicting invested each year on Diwali over the outshine average market performance. We assume that the prem- query that the donor is a finance query? Send in your
views and supported these recommen- past decade, the cumulative invest- The Diwali stock picks put forth by bro- ises was originally let out to the Hindu and has executed a reg- queries at
dations as deeply researched and of ment of ₹10 lakh resulted in a portfolio kerages show varied success, and so tenant for residential purpose. istered deed of gift in respect mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
value to the retail investor. He said, value of ₹19,44,471 by 13 November. investors need to be cautious while Subsequently, the tenant has of his property in favour of the
industry experts.
“Many stockbrokers run robust Despite showcasing an absolute interpreting their true value. altered or changed the use of donee unconditionally. We
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14 FriDAy, 17 November 2023
New Delhi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | fArM TrUTHS

AFP

The National Food Security Act

has been starved of key support
The law’s broad nutrition aims cannot be met if a free-food scheme becomes its be-all and end-all

with targeting, state governments took
the lead in PDS reforms, with most
states turning the scheme universal
again (or quasi-universal). At the same
time, competition among political par-
ties led to gradual reduction in the issue
price of subsidized foodgrain. So most
states on the eve of the NFSA enactment
10 years ago had prices of rice and wheat
HIMANSHU at ₹1 per kg or ₹2 per kg.
is associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru The NFSA was not just a central PDS
University and visiting fellow at the Centre reform that took its cue from states, it
de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi came in the backdrop of India’s slow
performance on the nutritional front,
PDS has come at the cost of dilution of
several provisions in the original law.
Despite a larger population, beneficiary
coverage remains fixed at estimates
derived from the 2011 census, excluding
more than 100 million beneficiaries. As
against a provision of maternity benefits
for all pregnant women, the scheme has
been restricted to only one child birth.
The amount has remained frozen at
₹6,000 per delivery, with no increase in
the last decade. Similarly, while rice and
wheat distribution under the PDS has
seen outlays increase, we’ve seen insig-

India is at peak form in

despite rapid economic growth, and nificant hikes for the Integrated Child
thus laid down the framework for a Development Scheme and the Mid-

E
arlier this year, the National Food comprehensive food-security system Day-Meal scheme. Both are critical for
Security Act (NFSA) completed a aimed at improving nutrition and arresting child malnutrition.
decade, a period over which it has access to food. The PDS was an impor- The excessive focus on rice and wheat

cricket’s living memory successfully expanded coverage of the

Public Distribution System (PDS) to
almost two-thirds of India’s population.
It proved to be a lifeline during the
tant part of it but not the only tool. How-
ever, the last decade has seen a gradual
erosion in the food security architecture
as envisioned in the Act of law. It has
has also had its consequences. While
cereals are important, the solitary focus
on these two grains goes against the
stated objective of the Act, which man-
covid pandemic, with the government been reduced to a rice and wheat PDS dates the government to expand the
raising its entitlement from the man- scheme and renamed the PMGKAY food basket to include pulses, edible oil
Our team’s impeccable game has brought World Cup glory within reach. This trail was dated 5kg per person to 10kg, free of with no effort on several other aspects and other nutritious food. It has con-
cost. While the quantity hike was rolled of the Act vital for a comprehensive tributed to a skewed production struc-
blazed by artistry with both bat and ball, a winning blend of skills we have not seen before down after the pandemic ended, it food-security paradigm. ture, whereby India is a large importer
continues as a free-ration scheme, as While the covid volume doubling of pulses and edible oil, though self-suf-
against the earlier subsidized price of ₹2 was necessary, given the programme’s ficient in rice and wheat. Unlike the
per kg for wheat and ₹3 per kg for rice. reach and success, it soon became a Act’s provision for the decentralization

I
t’s not as if the Indian men’s cricket team
has not been among the favourites to win in
previous World Cups. But the sheer domi-
nance it has displayed over the one-day
game this time is unprecedented. Wednes-
day’s 70-run win over New Zealand in the
first semi-final exemplifies this success. It
marked India’s tenth successive victory in an
unbeaten run to the final. The 398-run target
set for the Kiwis saw two centuries scored—by
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer— and also had fine
knocks by openers Shubman Gill, who made
80 runs off 66 deliveries, and captain Rohit
Sharma, who helped subdue Kiwi pacers with a
blazing 47 off 29 balls. An asking rate of around
8 runs per over looked less Sisyphean when
Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson were on
the pitch in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium,
forging a 181-run partnership after two early
see-offs, but it steepened beyond Kiwi hopes
under a splendid spell of Indian bowling, which
featured a 7-wicket haul by Mohammed Shami.
And thus were our ‘Men in Blue’ sprung into the
final to be played this Sunday.
probably at its peak cricket form right now in The scheme’s expansion also came political instrument (example: its latest and expansion of public procurement, it
living memory—or near one, at any rate. What with its renaming as the Prime Minister extension). A narrow approach which remains largely concentrated, with
Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). has reduced the NFSA to PMGKAY-led north-western states like Punjab and
sets this team apart is its all-round performance. As part of his election campaign, earlier Haryana playing disproportionate roles.
For long, India had been a formidable batting this month, Prime Minister Narendra The environmental consequences of
force, one that shaped itself into one of the Modi announced an extension of the paddy cultivation in those states are not
world’s best target chasers, a challenge of scheme for another five years. While QUICK READ just visible in declining water tables, but
weighing risks at the crease against an asking the PMGKAY’s renewed lease in a new also the practice of stubble burning,
avataar may be justified, given spiralling The NFSA laid down a framework which transforms India’s capital into an
rate that threatens to rise. If Sourav Ganguly’s food prices, particularly cereals, the for a full food-security system annual spectacle of pollution.
leadership gave the Indian squad the belief that extension and renaming are not just in aimed at improving nutrition. The raison d’etre of the NFSA was
it could be the best, Kohli, by making large run name, but also in spirit. The PDS, vital though it has been, to move beyond the limited nature of
chases look easy, instilled a confidence with the The PDS has existed in India for more wasn’t the only tool designed the PDS and provide a framework for
bat that could be mistaken for swagger. The than five decades and the history of food to address Indian deficiencies. improving nutrition and food security.
rations goes back even further, before Reducing the Act to a free PDS scheme
more significant transformation, however, has independence. While it was universal to Unfortunately, goal-oriented may help the majority of our population
been in the pressure brought to bear with the begin with, it was changed to a targeted maternity and child benefits have access free food, yielding political divi-
ball. Our bowling attack, as we have seen, can scheme after the economic reforms of been neglected even as the aim dends, but it need not be at the cost of
win matches. In Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed 1991, with items distributed under the of diversifying the food basket key provisions of the Act that are in dire
Siraj and Shami, we have pacers who strike with PDS restricted to rice, wheat, kerosene for better nutritional value seems need of budget support for the sake of
and sugar. However, given problems lost in a wheat-and-rice overload. India’s nutrition and food security.
pavilion-unsettling frequency. Though not the
fastest, they combine precision in line-and-
length with tactical variation from a rich reper-
toire that includes reverse swing. Our spinners,
Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, have also
shown mastery in the art of deception. In short,
it’s a team without a weak link. www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Monday, November 18, 2013 Vol.7 No.274 `3.00 in Delhi­NCR/`4.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24 PAGES

India’s big wins have been huge, some with In times of T20 cricket, playing 50-over Nobel Prize
INTERNATIONAL:
winner Doris Lessing dies >2
CAPITAL CALCULUS: What constitutes a
mandate to govern? >4

three-digit run margins on the scoreboard, and matches takes a special approach. While the CONTENT PARTNER
POLICY: States may oppose inclusion of
fuel, liquor under GST >5
BANKER’S TRUST: What is wrong with
India’s banks? >5

our bowlers have bowled out—i.e., taken all 10 rapid-fire form of cricket has less scope for a SENSEX 20,399.42 ®

SEPTEMBER EARNINGS
NIFTY 6,056.15 ® DOLLAR `63.12 ®

THE GENDER DIVIDE

EURO `84.79 ®

FMC wants
GOLD `31,125 ®

QUICK EDIT
Sheen
OIL $108.50 ®

Revenue rises close scrutiny

In the second part of a series which examines structural shifts in the labour

If agriculture goes
market, based on data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO),

wickets of—every other team participating in game-plan to achieve much, an adaptive victory
'Mint' looks at the gender gap in the workforce across the country.

mint SERIES-II
See Page 4
of Jignesh regained
but turnaround
Change
States with the lowest female labour
force participation rate (LFPR)
(in % points from 2001 )
Gender gap Sex ratio 2011
Shah’s firms T he award of the Bharat
Ratna to Sachin
(in % ) Male Female Total LFPR (% points) Overall Child B Y K HUSHBOO N ARAYAN Tendulkar and scientist
916 933 khushboo.n@livemint.com C.N.R. Rao has restored

not yet in sight

48.2
Bihar 42.5 ························· some of the lost sheen on

this premier tournament. As befits a spectacle plot can make a difference in one-day matches.
5.7 28.3
-3 -9 MUMBAI India’s highest civilian

I ndia’s commodities markets honour.

wrong, nothing else will

54.8 866 866 regulator is strengthening its In recent years, such
Delhi
11.1 35
43.7 45 -2 scrutiny of some group compa- awards have attracted a
nies of Jignesh Shah-led Fi- great deal of controversy
Results have been standalone basis and do not
Assam
56.5
43.9
954 957 nancial Technologies (India) because of the extensive
19 -8
better than expected, include so-called other in-
come, or income that’s not
12.6 35.8
Ltd, following the `5,574.35
crore payment crisis at the Na-
lobbying that accompanies
them. Far from being
but analysts say it may earned from core activities. 877 830 tional Spot Exchange Ltd markers of civic eminence

of such supremacy on the field, and we saw As team captain, Sharma seems to excel at this,
53.3
take 2­3 quarters to “The quarterly numbers Haryana
14.5
38.8 16 11 (NSEL). and contributions to
have surprised on the positive 35.4 The Forward Markets Com- India’s public life, these
build confidence and the earnings season has mission is setting up a cell to prizes came to be seen
50.4 908 899
been moderately ahead of Uttar Pradesh 34.1 monitor the escrow account of more as club goods—with

have a chance to go right

B Y A MI S HAH & street expectations in light of 16.3 33.9 10 -17 the spot exchange that is being demand overshooting
K RISHNA M ERCHANT the beaten-down expecta- used to settle the dues of small supply. The loss of prestige
························· tions,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, States with the highest female labour Gender gap Sex ratio 2011 investors affected by the pay- in the eyes of citizens (and
MUMBAI director of Ambit Investment force participation rate (in % ) (% points) Overall Child ment crisis. not in those of recipients)

F
some impressive fielding too, records were given how effectively the Indian squad has been
iscal second-quarter rev-
enues of 40 firms on the
Nifty index grew at the
fastest pace in a year but prof-
its saw a muted rise because
operating costs and a volatile
rupee played spoilsport.
Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a financial 52.7 986 970 It has also directed that the was great. While this
services firm. “Given the cur- Meghalaya 17.4 14 -3 special auditor of Multi Com- malaise did not afflict the
rent environment, manage- 35.3 43.8 modity Exchange of India Ltd highest award, a bit lower
ments of companies seem to (MCX), a Financial Technolo- in the Padma series,
have pulled up their socks and Andhra 60 992 943 gies group company, should demand often caught up
have gone an extra mile, which Pradesh 36.1 23.9 14 -18 “exhaustively” probe all trades with supply. The inflation
47.9
has led to the increase in done by the National Bulk in the number of these

in the country.
The 40 companies saw net sales.” Business in rural areas 55.3 991 964 Handling Corp. Ltd and the In- awards given in recent
sales rising by 12.5%, the fast- have done better than in the Chhattisgarh
38.2
17.1 2 -11 dian Bullion Market Associa- years is testimony to that.
46.9

smashed with spirited abandon along the way. seen switching gears—be it our scoring rate or
est in four quarters, while net cities, Sanghavi said. tion (IBMA) on MCX. Rao and Tendulkar are
profit rose 2.2%, after declin- Also, the fall in the value of 59.4 889 944 The National Bulk Handling in a different league. They
ing in the two preceding quar- the rupee translated into high- Sikkim 14 Corp. is the warehousing arm have added to the grace of
45.4 52.5 14 -19
ters. er realizations for export-driv- of Financial Technologies, the award and not the
For 27 Sensex companies for en sectors such as information which controls the spot ex- other way round.
Himachal 55.5 974 906
whom comparable data was technology and pharmaceuti-
Pradesh 49.8 5.7 6 10
change, which in turn holds a Hopefully, some order will
available for 25 quarters, prof- cal companies. The local cur- 52.6 60.88% stake in IBMA. be restored in all categories
its grew at 6.9% in the Septem- rency depreciated 5.15% of awards.
ber quarter, while net sales against the dollar in the Sep- Source: NSSO, Census TURN TO PAGE 3®

Dramatically, Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s the bowling aim—in response to shifting match
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
rose 13.8%, both at their quick- tember quarter.
est pace in seven quarters. Export-focused software
All 50 constituents of the companies benefited the most
Nifty index on the National
Stock Exchange have an-
from the sharp decline, which
boosted their revenues. Top Behind Steve
nounced their earnings but
Mint’s analysis is based on fi-
software services provider Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd beat Ballmer’s exit
nancial results of 40 of them,
excluding energy firms and
analysts’ estimates with a 35%
rise in fiscal second-quarter from Microsoft

49-ton world record of most centuries in the conditions. It wasn’t just a mix of talents at work
those for whom comparable profit from a year earlier, aided

data was not available for the
past 25 quarters. All firms that
constitute the Sensex, BSE’s
30-stock benchmark equity in-
dex, are also part of Nifty.
M. S. Swa Mi n atha n
by the rupee’s sharp deprecia-
tion against the dollar and ro- B Y M ONICA L ANGLEY
bust volume growth. Rival In- The Wall Street Journal
fosys Ltd posted a better-than- ·························
expected 3.8% growth in dollar REDMOND, WASHINGTON

State-owned energy firms

such as Oil and Natural Gas
Corp. Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd,
revenue from the last quarter,
signalling greater confidence
after it signed five new con-
S teve Ballmer paced his cor-
ner office on a foggy January
morning here, listening through

one-day format by hitting his 50th ton in the that shone through, but teamwork. As our team
and Bharat Petroleum Corp.
Ltd are not included as they
share a subsidy burden on ac-
count of the revenue loss for
government-owned oil mar-
keting firms from selling fuel
below cost. For the sake of uni-
formity, Reliance Industries
Ltd was also excluded.
tracts.
But a cheaper rupee has not
uniformly helped all sectors.
“Although industrial metal
prices softened, rupee depreci-
ation has dampened the posi-
tive impact from that,” said
Ambareesh Baliga, managing
partner, Edelweiss Global
loudspeakers to his directors’
voices on a call that would set in
motion the end of his 13-year
reign as Microsoft Corp.’s chief
executive.
Microsoft lagged behind Apple
Inc. and Google Inc. in impor-
tant consumer markets, despite
its formidable software revenue.

semi-final. A World Cup title, therefore, has heads into this year’s World Cup final to be
All earnings are taken on a Wealth, the wealth manage-
ment arm of Edelweiss Finan-
cial Services Ltd. “Energy costs
have been moving up, inflating
total expenses.”
Domestic companies may
have got some boost from gov-
ernment spending, which was
up 16.5% in the first half of the
Ballmer tried to spell out his plan
to remake Microsoft, but a direc-
tor cut him off, telling him he
was moving too slowly.
“Hey, dude, let’s get on with
it,” lead director John Thompson
says he told him. “We’re in sus-
pended animation.” Ballmer
says he replied that he could

never appeared so close within grasp. Nor has played against Australia, which once enjoyed
current fiscal year after rising
4% in March quarter of 2012-
13, said Dhananjay Sinha,
head of research and strategist
at Emkay Global Financial
Services Ltd.
Employee expenditure as a
percentage of net sales for the
40 Nifty companies stood at
move faster.
But the contentious call put
him on a difficult journey toward
his August decision to retire,
sending Microsoft into further
tumult as it began seeking a suc-
cessor to a man who has been at
its heart for 33 years.
“Maybe I’m an emblem of an

our team generally looked so unbeatable.
the same sort of dominance, millions of fans will
Mint is also available for R7 with
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
15.36%, the highest in the past old era, and I have to move on,”
25 quarters, while raw material the 57-year-old Ballmer says,
expenses as a percentage of pausing as his eyes well up. “As
TURN TO PAGE 3® TURN TO PAGE 21®

Whatever data crunchers may say, India is expect nothing less than peak performance.

GUEST VIEW

Cooperative federalism can stop farm stubble burning

The problem arose because of unnatural
SATISh DeoDhAr intervention in agriculture by assuring
farmers minimum support prices (MSP) for
wheat and rice, apart from subsidies on fer-
tilizers and pesticides. States like Punjab
have also been giving its tillers free electric-
use of water and land, rice production annual revenues run into thousands of cro- states, the responsibility of the Pradhan
should move to India’s southern states and res of rupees. An integrated DBT along with Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana lies with
wheat to the Gangetic plains. But when reforms to allow contract farming and create the Centre. This scheme may consider the
farmers, traders and commission agents a national market for produce will threaten distribution of millets and pulses as well,
have been incentivized to maintain a partic- the monopsonist APMC lobby. Therefore, which would have implications for food
ular cropping pattern for years on end, we there may be a need to guarantee APMC rev- stocks. Thus, any institutional arrangement

T
he day before Diwali, I was rushing to
Delhi airport to catch my return flight
to Ahmedabad. It was late afternoon.
As I looked through the car window, I
noticed a full moon on the horizon! In the
Indian subcontinent, culture, agriculture
and markets have been in harmony with
nature. Festivals fall either on a full-moon
day, asthami, or a new moon day. Diwali, sig-
is dean (faculty), IIM nifying a celebration of the kharif harvest, is
Ahmedabad. on a new moon day. So, how did I see a full
moon? The fault lies not in our stars, but in
ourselves! It was the Sun, ominously effaced
by the stubble-smoke-fed pollution.
Year after year, stubble burning by farm-
ers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar
Pradesh (UP) creates seasonal pollution in
northern India. Despite the government and
Supreme Court banning it, paddy residue
burning has stubbornly continued. A few
cosmetic remedies have been tried without
success. Policy politics to end hunger haunts
the effort, but we need a sustainable solution
that aids the poor and also ends pollution.
ity. The benefits are mostly reaped by rich
farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western UP
who have fertile farms. It is no surprise that
over the decades, pulses like chana and
masur and oilseeds like mustard and sun-
flower got replaced with wheat and rice in
these states. Farmers in north-western India
have heavily been drawing groundwater to
grow water-intensive rice in the kharif sea-
son. They are left with not much time
between their rice harvest and the sowing of
winter crops, within which they must rid
their land of knee-high rice stubble. Many
farmers use harvest combines, but paddy
residue does not get removed by these.
Moreover, the labour and machines
required to remove this stubble in that short
span are expensive. So, the most cost effec-
tive way is to burn it. The result: the environ-
ment gets heavily polluted.
There is an absolute urgency to address
this negative externality affecting north
India. For the market to remain harmonious
with the environment and the sustainable
cannot expect a quick-fix solution. enues for a few years. To finance and execute must honour the principle of cooperative
A structural adjustment programme (SAP) such a SAP, India does not have the luxury of federalism between the Centre and states.
will have to be initiated for such a move. a Planning Commission anymore and the The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council
First, an integrated direct benefit transfer Niti Aayog does not have funds of its own to is an example. Similarly, an Agricultural and
(DBT) has to be thought of in lieu of MSPs allot for it. Another institutional mechanism Food Marketing (AFM) Council could be set
and input subsidies. Next, we must let mar- will have to be created for 5 to 7 years. up under the aegis of the Niti Aayog. It may
ket prices send signals to farmers on the While creating such a mechanism, one be chaired by the Union minister of agricul-
right choice of crops. A must remember that ture and its members could include the agri-
production-switching India has a federal struc- culture ministers of all states and Union ter-
DBT scheme can also be QUICK READ ture. Both the Union and ritories, as well as representatives of political
considered to incentivize state governments are parties. The public postures of lawmakers
the production of pulses, Unnatural policy intervention in intertwined in agricul- may differ depending on whether they’re
oilseeds, millets and hor- agriculture by way of MSPs and tural policy. If the MSP with the ruling party or the opposition.
ticultural crops. A robust subsidies has incentivized and fertilizer subsidies However, closed-door meetings of the
DBT system would cover inappropriate crops with the are given by the Union Council can hold frank discussions on perti-
more farmers than mar- result that its environmental government, irrigation nent issues in a collegial setting. The Council
ket interventions, as it impact has grown harsh. and power subsidies could consult experts and civil servants and
will help poor farmers as come from states. If crop facilitate negotiations among states and
well and could be kept We need structural reforms insurance is shared by between the Centre and states, before a bill
free of leakages and in the farm sector but success both governments, farm- is tabled in Parliament. Such a process will
delayed payments. will take an institutionalized loan waivers are mostly turn out to be a non-zero sum game with a
Currently, there are mechanism a la the GST Council absorbed by states. If the high rate of success.
about 7,000 APMC mar- for the Centre and states to governance of APMC Let’s hope that the Sun does not look like
kets across India. Their jointly work out solutions. markets is influenced by a full moon in Delhi next Diwali!
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS FrIDay, 17 November 2023
New DelhI 15

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

The economic consequences of India-UK trade talks demand

self-confidence on both sides
the Gaza War can be deceptive Focusing on the future can ease the way for sensible give-and-take

Financial markets have often mis-priced major geopolitical shocks and they may have got their probabilities wrong again

REUTERS

MIhIR ShARMA
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist.

NOuRIEL ROuBINI
is professor emeritus of economics at New York
University’s Stern School of Business and
author of ‘MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends
That Imperil Our Future, and How to Survive
Them’

T
wo Aprils ago, the UK’s prime minis-
ter promised he would deliver a
free-trade agreement (FTA) with
India “by Diwali.” That prime minister, The issues holding up an India-UK trade

H
amas’s barbaric massacre of at least
1,400 Israelis on 7 October and
Israel’s subsequent military cam-
paign in Gaza to eliminate the group
have introduced four geopolitical
scenarios bearing on the global
economy and markets. As is often the case with
such shocks, optimism may prove misguided.
In the first scenario, the war remains mostly con-
fined to Gaza, with no regional escalation beyond
the small-scale skirmishes with Iranian proxies in
countries next to Israel; indeed, most players now
prefer to avoid a regional escalation. The Israel
Defense Forces’ Gaza campaign significantly
erodes Hamas, leaving a high civilian casualty toll,
and the unstable geopolitical status quo survives.
Having lost support, Israeli Prime Minister Biny-
amin Netanyahu leaves office, but Israeli public
sentiment remains hardened against accepting a
two-state solution. So the Palestinian issue festers;
normalization of diplomatic relations with Saudi
Arabia is frozen; Iran remains a destabilizing force
in the region; and the US continues to worry about
the next flare-up.
The economic and market implications of this
scenario are mild. The current modest rise in oil
prices would recede, because there will have been
no shock to regional production and exports from
the Gulf. Though the US could try to interdict Ira-
nian oil exports to punish it for its destabilizing
role, it is unlikely to pursue such an escalatory
measure. Iran’s economy would continue to stag-
nate under existing sanctions, deepening its
dependence on ties with China and Russia. Mean-
while, Israel would suffer a serious but manageable
recession, and Europe would experience some
negative effects as modestly higher oil prices and
war-driven uncertainties affect business and
household confidence. This scenario, by reducing
output, spending and employment, could tip stag-
nant European economies into mild recessions.
In the second scenario, the war in Gaza is fol-
lowed by regional normalization and peace. The
Israeli campaign against Hamas succeeds without
producing too many more civilian casualties, and
more moderate forces (such as the Palestinian
Authority or an Arab multinational coalition) take
over the enclave’s administration. Netanyahu
resigns and a new moderate centre-right or centre-
left government focuses on resolving the Palestin-
ian issue and pursuing ties with Saudi Arabia.
Unlike Netanyahu, this new Israeli government
would not be openly committed to regime change
in Iran. It could secure the Islamic Republic’s tacit
acceptance of Israeli-Saudi normalization in
exchange for new talks towards a nuclear deal that
includes sanctions relief. That would allow Iran to
focus on urgently needed domestic economic
Boris Johnson, left office a few months pact are not hard to resolve PTI
later and 2022’s iteration of the Indian
Festival of Lights passed without anything law and finance. India’s relatively small
being signed. Since then, another Diwali but powerful law firms have scuppered
(and another British prime minister) has negotiations on services trade before. But,
come and gone with no trade deal on the for the UK—which has seen goods exports
horizon. stagnate even as its services exports have
There is enough blame to go around. grown—freeing up trade in services is a
Both sides, however, are displaying must.
remarkable short-sightedness in their It is somewhat disheartening that the
negotiating tactics. sectors under dispute are exactly the same
reforms. This scenario would have positive eco- across the region but there is regime change in For the UK, the simple fact is that, out- ones as decades ago. Spirits, for example.
nomic implications for the region and globally. Iran. If Israel and the US do attack Iran, they will side the European Union, it is no longer an Why on earth is India trying to keep
In the third scenario, the situation escalates into target not only nuclear facilities but also military economy of such size and potential that it decent Scotch out of the country anyway?
a regional conflict that also includes Hezbollah in and dual-use infrastructure, as well as its regime can expect massive concessions from Who in this whisky-loving country, the
Lebanon and possibly Iran. This could happen in leaders. Rather than supporting the regime, Irani- trade partners. Brexiteers might have largest market for the spirit in the world,
several ways. Iran, fearing the consequences of ans, who have been protesting morality-police promised that a liberated Britain could will complain if the outrageous prices we
Hamas being eliminated, unleashes Hezbollah abuses for over a year, may rally behind moderates negotiate without one hand tied behind its have to pay for a wee dram decline a bit?
against Israel to distract it from the operation in like former President Hassan Rouhani. back by Brussels, the EU headquarters. Indian whiskies are of two kinds: ones that
Gaza. Or Israel decides to address that risk by The toppling of the Islamic Republic would But that hand is still there: British regula- are so good they do not need protection
launching a larger pre-emptive strike on Hezbol- allow Iran to rejoin the international community. tions are largely harmonized with EU and those that are so awful they don’t
lah. Then there are all the other Iranian proxies in There would still be a severe global stagflationary rules and its supply chains are closely inte- deserve them.
Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Each is eager to provoke recession, but the stage would be set for greater grated with the EU’s as well. Alongside alcohol and spirits, the intel-
Israel and US forces in the region as part of its own stability and stronger growth in the Middle East. Indian negotiators are pushing for strict lectual property rights (IPR) chapter is
destabilizing agenda. If Israel and Hezbollah do How likely is each scenario? I would assign a “rules of origin” checks for tradable goods, also under dispute. And here, as usual, it
end up in a full-scale war, Israel would also proba- probability of 50% to the preservation of the status to make sure that any FTA benefits apply seems that India is trying to prop up its
bly launch strikes against Ira- quo; 15% to a post-war outbreak only to goods made predominantly in the world-famous manufacturers of generic
nian nuclear and other facilities, of peace, stability, and progress; UK. They want to keep EU-made goods pharmaceuticals.
likely with US logistic support. QUICK READ 30% to a regional conflagration, out—after all, an EU-India FTA is the sub- Yet, chasing high-volume production
After all, Iran, which has devoted and only 5% to a regional confla- ject of another (and far more difficult) with minimal domestic value-added
massive resources to arming and The good news is that there’s an gration with a happy ending. ongoing negotiation. Brexit realists might through research—Indian pharma com-
training both Hamas and Hez- estimated 65% chance of the The good news, then, is that well conclude that Britain’s FTA is being panies spend about 8% of revenue on
bollah, would likely use the conflict not escalating region- there is a relatively high chance, held hostage to what Brussels and New R&D, compared to 25% or so globally—
broader regional turmoil to wide, implying that the economic of 65%, of the conflict not esca- Delhi decide. has led us into a dangerous dependence
make the final leap across the fallout of the Gaza War would lating region-wide, implying And then there’s the issue of migration. on Chinese-made active pharmaceutical
nuclear-weapons threshold. be either mild or contained. that the economic fallout would India’s asks on work and student visas are ingredients. While the government’s
If Israel (and possibly the US) be mild or contained. not excessive. Besides, the UK already stated pharma policy is to move India up
bomb Iran, production and The bad news: Markets seem The bad news, however, is that imports hundreds of thousands of Indian the value chain in this sector, its trade
exports of energy from the Gulf to be placing that likelihood markets are currently assigning students and workers a year. In 2022, the negotiators are trying to protect an out-
would be set back, possibly for at 95% and the cost of such only at best a 5% probability to a country issued 2.8 million visas: A quarter dated business model at cross-purposes
months. This would trigger a complacency could prove steep, regional conflict that would have of these went to Indians. with that goal.
1970s-style oil shock, followed especially since the status quo is severe stagflationary effects Migration, however, has become such Trade negotiations are about the future,
by global stagflation (rising infla- not as stable as many assume. around the world, although a a divisive subject within the UK’s ruling about economic confidence, and about
tion and lower growth), crashing more reasonable likelihood fig- but embattled Conservative Party that what kind of economy you think you can
stock markets, volatility in bond yields, and a rush ure is 35%. even recognizing this plain fact in print be. An India confident in the skills of its
into safe-haven assets like gold. The economic fall- Such global complacency is dangerous, espe- might cause a political firestorm. One of lawyers, the choices of its consumers and
out would be more severe in China and Europe cially given that the combined probability of a glo- the strengths of the British economy is its the quality of its pharmaceuticals would
than in the US, which is now a net exporter of bally disruptive scenario (one, three and four) is ability to attract talent. If it negotiates like seize an opportunity for freer trade with
energy and could tax domestic energy producers’ still 85%. The most likely scenario that’s a disadvantage, it’s hardly going to one of the few rich countries still keen on
windfall profits to pay for subsidies to limit the might have only mild short-term consequences get a good deal for itself. trade deals.
negative impact on consumers. for markets and the global economy, but it implies India, meanwhile, simply seems unable And a UK genuinely convinced of its
Finally, in this scenario, the Iranian regime that an unstable status quo will remain in place, to escape from its bureaucrats’ tendency ability to chart a path independent of
remains in power, because many Iranians (even eventually leading to new conflicts. to kowtow to every interest group, no Europe would make concessions on
regime opponents) rally behind it in the face of an For now, markets are priced for near-perfection matter how small or unimportant in the migration and rules of origin that fit with
Israeli/US attack. All parties in the region become and favour the mildest scenarios. But financial larger scheme of things. One major that self-image. I’m not sure how many
more radicalized and confrontational, making markets have often mis-priced major geopolitical hold-up, for example, was apparently more Diwalis will pass before both sides
peace or diplomatic normalization a pipe dream. shocks. We should not be too surprised if it India’s unwillingness to open its market to develop the self-confidence needed to
In the fourth scenario, the conflict also spreads happens again. ©2023/PROJECT SYNDICATE British professional services, including in close this deal. ©BLOOMBERG

THEIR VIEW

India can claim a big role in the AI race for supremacy

economies like China and India play in this
shehnAz AhMed global race?
Today, all major powers are acutely aware
of the economic, military and geopolitical
advantage that AI can grant over competi-
tors. AI supremacy will be a strategic objec-
seems to be replicating the influence its tunity to design domestic policies and frame- This is also an apt moment for India to
General Data Protection Rules had in shap- works for responsible AI innovation. The define its role in shaping the global narrative
ing data-protection laws elsewhere. There complexity and speed at which AI advances for AI development and governance. India’s
will also be countries that do not have the means that these must be as innovative and emerging tech diplomacy was in full display
resources or know-how to compete for AI agile as the technology itself. However, the during its G20 presidency as it forged a con-
leadership and will depend on their ties with cross-border nature of AI requires that sensus on digital public infrastructure (DPI).

I
is fintech lead at the Vidhi
Centre for Legal Policy.
n less than a month, leading economies
have formally underlined their commit-
ment to the development of responsible
artificial intelligence (AI). In the US, Presi-
dent Joe Biden issued an executive order
setting out standards for AI safety and secu-
rity. The UK’s AI Safety Summit saw 28
countries and the EU coming together to
release the Bletchley Declaration, promising
“to work together in an inclusive manner to
ensure human-centric, trustworthy and
responsible AI.” The G7 leaders released
their International Guiding Principles on AI
and a voluntary code of conduct for AI
Developers under the Hiroshima AI process.
As AI continues to evolve at an alarming rate,
so does the race among countries for global
AI dominance. These developments have
immense geopolitical implications, with dif-
ferent countries presenting their own vision
of this technology. This global quest raises
two important questions: What will be the
determining factors for establishing AI
supremacy? And what role will developing
tive of countries with resources to compete.
This is already the focus of the ongoing
US-China geo-strategic rivalry. Both sides
are investing heavily in developing AI capa-
bilities while also implementing measures
depriving each other of necessary inputs to
leverage the potential of this technology. For
instance, the US’s export control rules on AI
and semiconductor technologies restrict US
AI computer chip designers (such as Nvidia)
from selling their chips to China. As per
news reports, China responded with export
control rules on germanium and gallium,
typically used in making semiconductor
chips and optical fibres.
Beyond the US and China, countries like
the UK, France, Russia, Singapore and India
are also emerging as prominent players by
implementing strategies to encourage AI
innovation at the domestic level. Then there
is the EU seeking to establish itself as a regu-
latory superpower by designing a compre-
hensive legal framework for governing AI
applications. Through the EU AI Act, the EU
other countries and companies for access to domestic policies must be complemented by It is also visible in recent bilateral agree-
AI tools. This dependency may accentuate a global framework for AI, which currently ments on strategic and economic coopera-
existing power imbalances. Further, AI will appears to be emerging in a fragmented man- tion in the technology sector, such as the
also empower non-state actors (tech compa- ner. This framework must focus on promot- US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging
nies) as geopolitical players and bring about ing innovation while also identifying and mit- Technology. As for the building blocks dis-
a shift in the balance of power. igating the risks posed to global stability by cussed earlier, India fares well insofar as AI
Finally, the quest for AI dominance will be AI. In designing such a framework, it will be talent concentration is concerned, with one
determined by access to useful to consider some report suggesting that we produce 16% of the
crucial building blocks formal institutional world’s AI talent, the world’s third highest.
such as computing QUICK READ arrangements. Learnings In the context of access to data, India has
power, talent, training may be drawn from expe- been a vocal critic of “data colonization” that
data, the physical infra- This century’s global quest for AI riences of the financial results in a loss of agency, privacy and sover-
structure necessary for AI dominance raises two questions: sector, where the Finan- eignty. During the G20 summit, India tact-
development and the What will determine success? cial Stability Board, which fully sought to address these concerns by
norms set for AI govern- And what role can economies comprises government presenting its DPI story. As the chair of the
ance. The US typically like China and India play as this representatives from Global Partnership on AI, India must seize
fares well on most param- geopolitical race intensifies? member countries, has a another opportunity to assume a key role in
eters. It can leverage its mandate to identify and designing a global governance framework
position in the semicon- As the chair of the Global mitigate risks to global for AI and forging a consensus on it.
ductor space to control Partnership on AI, India must financial stability by Our response to the AI revolution is far
access to high-end chips seize its opportunity to assume designing standards and more significant than many think. It can
needed for AI develop- a key role in designing a global policies and fostering become a model for future policy responses
ment. Other countries governance framework for AI their coherent implemen- to similarly disruptive technologies.
would have ample oppor- and forging a consensus on it. tation. These are the author’s personal views.
16 FRiDay, 17 NovembeR 2023
New Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE INDULGE LIVEMINT.COM

Fashion’s next frontier:

The destination show
DRESS
SENSE
S U J ATA
ASSOMULL
Respond to this column at
businessoflife@livemint.com Armani with models during a Milan show in September. REUTERS

With a rise in corporate

funding and focus on
Giorgio Armani
creating an experience,
will more brands take
sets out his
the destination show
route to shine brighter? succession plan
The designer has clear rules on how

A
s a 21-year-old aspiring business
journalist in India on a gap year, I the brand should be run after his death
found myself in Goa to attend a
fashion show. It was the mid
1990s. About 200 top clients of Reuters
multi-designer store Ensemble were flown in

for a sit-down dinner, with a beachside fashion
show unfolding on the side. The presentation
opened with Monisha Jaising and included the
likes of Rohit Bal, and Meera and Muzaffar Ali.
It might sound like a cliché but that evening
changed my life forever.
Ensemble Mumbai was, at the time, a store
every up and coming Indian designer aspired to
retail from, and where the rich and fashion-con-
scious went to shop.
On track to finish my master’s degree in inter-
national journalism, the beachside weekend
was a much-needed escape. It was also my first
trip to Goa. After two days, I returned to Lon-
don, then my home city. In my heart, though, I
wanted to come back to India and figure out a
way to become a part of the emerging contem-
porary fashion scene.
Such is the power of a destination fashion
event. It is experiential marketing at its best,
creating a moment that stays in your memory
and showcases the power of the brand. The
fusion of travel and fashion is magical. For years,
mega brands, like Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuit-
ton, have been presenting their resort or pre-fall
collections in exotic locations across the world.
Dior, for instance, chose Mumbai for its pre-fall
collection earlier this year. It gave the French
luxury house a chance to talk about its relation-
ship with Indian craftsmanship.
However, for Ensemble, it was “a real extrava-
gance because back then (about 30 years ago)
nobody did this, and it was just a fortuitous com-
ing together of elements,” says designer Tarun
Tahiliani, co-founder of the store that currently
has presence in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Things have changed since then. Today,
Indian fashion is at an inflection point. Several
brands have corporate investments, flagship
stores in metros, and a handful of homegrown
designers regularly participate in major inter-
national fashion weeks. Could India based-des-
tination shows be the next step for homegrown
fashion brands?
Anita Dongre, who has used external funding
to build her brand, recently held a fashion fun-
draiser event in Jaipur. Set against the City Pal-
ace of Jaipur, the designer presented her Rewild
’23 collection to raise funds for elephant conser-
vation. “I hope we’re able to inspire more expe-
riences like Rewild that put us on a par with the
world, while having a positive social impact,”
she says.
in our current cities.”
He adds, “Such an investment serves as a tes-
tament to the brand strength and influence and
also looks so different from everybody else.
When it’s well done, it becomes a wonderful
branding exercise. Lastly, I think it also makes
the people who are a part of it feel very special to
be included.” In order words, it creates a memo-
rable moment, even on social media.
Much like a destination wedding, a destina-
tion fashion show brings intimacy and a sense of
adventure to the event. Dongre adds, “The true
luxury in a destination event—whether a wed-
ding or a fashion show—is the ability to bring
people together who truly care about what is
happening. A destination event allows for com-
plete focus on the intention.”
That’s why destination shows are special, and
we might see more brands exploring them in
the near future for special collections and occa-
sions. Will they eventually become a regular
part of the annual fashion calendar, as is the case
internationally? It remains to be seen, consider-
ing such shows require a lot of preparation and
investment. “It is a step for every successful
From the recent Anita Dongre ‘Rewild ’23’ show held at the City Palace of Jaipur in Rajasthan; and brand to start putting up a show at a destination.
(above) the Tasva menswear brand launch in Varanasi, in 2021. Indian fashion, too, is at a notable position
today, and we can expect top brands to show-
Conscious consumerism has been one of the with influencers like Masoom Minawala Mehta case at various destinations in India,” say
label’s key messages, and Jaipur has served as a and Sanjana Rishi, the focus remained on crafts designers Falguni and Shane Peacock, who shot
constant muse for Dongre. She’s shot several and conservation. a campaign in Agra with Taj Mahal in the back-
campaigns in the city and works closely with Two years ago, Tahiliani held a show on the drop two years ago. They recently showcased
crafts clusters based there. banks of the Ganga, in Varanasi, to launch his their collection at the New York Fashion Week.
At the event, co-hosted by Diya and Gauravi accessible luxury menswear brand Tasva, in “We are considering staging a fashion show at
Kumari of the royal partnership with Adi- the Taj Mahal someday,” they say.
family of Jaipur, Don- tya Birla Fashion and Destination fashion shows are not merely
gre announced the Much like a destination Retail Ltd. According about showcasing clothes; they represent a con-
launch of her Grass- wedding, a destination fashion to Tahiliani, global vergence of artistry, cultural expression and
roots home line with brands’ destination social influence. The trend of hosting such
the artists of the Prin- show brings intimacy and a shows are chosen for events is a big move for homegrown brands,
cess Diya Kumari sense of adventure to the event cruise collections, propelling them into the global spotlight.
Foundation, a collec- based around clothes
tive focused on the meant for various hol- Dress Sense is a monthly column on the clothes we
financial independence of women in the state of iday destinations, so there is an obvious con- wear every day.
Rajasthan. nect. “For Tasva, we knew we had to launch in
While attendees included Bollywood figures Banaras (Varanasi). There’s nothing we could Sujata Assomull is a journalist, author and mind-
like Madhuri Dixit and Bhumi Pednekar, along have done that would be able to create that vibe ful fashion advocate.
G
iorgio Armani has always kept a tight grip on the firm he
founded, and the Italian fashion king’s attention to detail
extends to clear rules on how it should be run after his
death.
Armani, 89, remains CEO and effectively sole shareholder of
the business he set up with his late partner in the 1970s, which
had a $2.5 billion turnover last year.
With no children to pass it on to, there has been speculation
about the long-term future of Armani’s empire and whether, in
an industry dominated by luxury conglomerates, it will be able
to maintain the independence he treasures.
But a hitherto obscure document from 2016, held by a notary
in Milan and reviewed by Reuters, sets out the future governing
principles for those who inherit the group, while another details
issues including protecting jobs at the firm.
The first document explains how his heirs should approach a
potential stock market listing, though not until five years after his
passing, and any potential M&A activity. For the Armani look
itself, the document commits them to the “search for an essential,
modern, elegant and unostentatious style with attention to detail
and wearability”
The document is the product of a
Armani, 89, meeting that Armani called in 2016 to
remains CEO of adopt new bylaws for the group which
the business he would come into force upon his death.
Armani’s heirs are expected to
set up with his include his sister, three other family
late partner in members working in the business,
the 1970s long-term collaborator Pantaleo
Dell’Orco and a charitable foundation.
The bylaws divide the company’s
share capital into six categories with different voting rights and
powers, and were amended in September to create some without
voting rights. The Armani group declined to comment on the
document or its contents.
It is not clear from the document how the different blocs of
shares will be distributed, but corporate governance experts say
the guidelines should ensure a relatively smooth transition by
giving the board a central role. “It is an organization that reduces
the margins for disagreement between the heirs,” Guido Cor-
betta, professor of corporate strategy at Milan’s Bocconi Univer-
sity, told Reuters.
Armani has a younger sister, Rosanna, two nieces, Silvana and
Roberta, as well as a nephew, Andrea Camerana. Dell’Orco is also
considered part of the family. All are currently board members
and, apart from Rosanna, all work for the Armani group. Silvana
and Dell’Orco are heads of design, working closely for decades
with Armani, who dubbed them his “lieutenants of style”. The
2016 bylaws set the process for how the board will appoint future
women’s and men’s style directors in a company known for its
classic tailoring.
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com

Riding a motorbike on the tarmac twisties of Himachal

The new Royal Enfield the new Himalayan is an evolved one. information, including fuel range, fuel ciated how much lighter and more powerful
When I first saw the Himalayan 450 consumption, battery voltage and engine it is than its predecessor.
Himalayan 450 is a parked outside the Sitara Himalaya, a temperature. But the joystick is so sensi- The next morning, I was back on the
lightweight motorcycle hotel above Manali, it tugged at my heart- tive, especially with riding gloves on, that motorcycle and up in the mountains but
strings. It is such a handsome motorcycle. I would often inadvertently move it in the this time on the infamous dirt road to Kaza
that can be ridden across The 17-litre fuel tank is as burly as a barrel- wrong direction. My biggest grouse, through the valley alongside the Chenab
chested body builder and gives way to a though, is that the Google Maps engine River. On the day I rode that notorious
countries and continents slim contoured seat. The seat height is ravages a smartphone battery like a cloud road, the devil had thrown everything into
adjustable from 825 to 845mm with an of locusts in a field of crops. While there is the cauldron to make the road a wicked
Rishad Saam Mehta optional low seat adjustable from 805 to a USB-C socket to keep a phone charged, concoction of black ice, fast flowing
825mm. The engine’s cylinder block is this means either having a charging cable streams, boulder stretches, soft sand traps

T
he “all new” Himalayan 450 that will
be launched at MotoVerse Goa later
this month is truly brand new—not
a bolt has been carried over from the pre-
vious Himalayan 411.
The Himalayan, first launched by Royal
Enfield in 2016, was envisioned as a pur-
pose-built, capable motorcycle for those
keen to explore the mountainous terrain
of the Himalayas. While it came with its
own gremlins, it found fans not only
among explorers of high-altitude moun-
tain trails, but also in the Americas,
Europe and Southeast Asia, and has been
ridden to the South Pole and to the inhos-
pitable heights of the Karakoram.
I have ridden the old Himalayan from
the high-altitude tarmac of Tibet to the
bone-rearranging dirt tracks of Mustang
in Nepal and along the gravel hairpin
bends of Zanskar, and, just by comparing
the technical specifications and features
of the old and the new, it is apparent that
angled forward, compared to the old Him-
alayan’s straight up position. It sits on a
combination of 21-inch front and 17-inch
rear wheels. It has an all-new twin-spar
frame with the engine as a stressed mem-
ber. The front suspension duties are done
by an upside-down (USD) open cartridge
fork and there is an adjustable preload
monoshock spring at the rear.
Swinging a leg over it, I fired up the
engine. Christened as the Sherpa 450 in
honour of the hardy inhabitants of the
Himalayas, this 452cc liquid-cooled
engine develops 40hp at 8000rpm and
40nM of torque at 5500rpm, which is a
huge jump from the older 411cc engine
that makes 24.3hp and develops 32nM.
Add the 196kg kerb weight and you get a
204hp per tonne power to weight ration.
The old one stood at 122hp per tonne.
More simply put, more muscle on tarmac
and generous grunt at high altitudes. This
extra power was apparent when I rode the
The new Himalayan 450 comes with a 17-litre fuel tank.
tarmac twisties up from Sitara to the Atal
tunnel. Riding these curvy roads, I
explored the new 4-inch circular TFT dis-
play. TFT or thin-film transistor is used in
LCD screens to make the images look
brighter. The Himalayan’s TFT is light-
sensitive, meaning it goes bright when it’s
dark and vice-versa. It is a bit too sensitive,
which can be distracting. Thankfully, it
can be switched to stay in day or night
mode, irrespective of the ambient light.
The four-inch round display runs a
COURTESY ROYAL ENFIELD
Google map engine that syncs with the
Royal Enfield app on your smartphone via
Wi-Fi and you can switch between a full
map display or a smaller turn-by-turn map
display. The latter mode also displays
engine rpm, speed, and gear speed with an
indication to shift up or down and the
music playing on your phone.
You can also control your phone music
apps via a four-way joystick button next to
the horn button on the left hand side. This
joystick flips through various modes and
run from the socket to the phone in your
pocket, or mounting the phone on the
handlebar—the latter is exactly what the
TFT has been designed to do away with, so
this phone battery greediness of Royal
Enfield app when running the Google
maps engine is an issue Royal Enfield will
have to soon address.
I knew the throttle on the new Himala-
yan is ride-by-wire, meaning there is no
cable. It is a delight that also gives it four
throttle modes: Performance with ABS on
or off and a corresponding eco mode. In
eco mode, the throttle response through
the first four of the six gears is gentle and
gradual. More than fuel economy, this is
great for a milder response to a twist of the
wrist while riding on ice or gravel surfaces
where traction is whimsical.
On that first day, I rode from Manali to
Udaipur at the start of the Pangi Valley in
Lahaul, a 204km trip along narrow roads
with quick corners. It is here that I appre-
and loose gravel. The new Himalayan, with
10mm more ground clearance and a vastly
improved suspension setup than its prede-
cessor, was the Harry Potter of horsepower
and like a benevolent wizard it kept me
safe. Even when I got a little ambitious and
started jumping over rocks to go airborne,
the motorcycle would land gracefully.
After two days of riding the Himalayan
450 over tarmac and dirt my biggest take
away was that while this motorcycle is
more forgiving on dirt, it is on tarmac that
it shines. It will not only power through a
stubborn sand trap at 12,000ft but also
provides more than enough grunt on
smooth tarmac. It is a motorbike not only
for the Himalayas but also for the roads
leading to and away from the ranges. This
new addition to the Royal Enfield stables,
though born in the Himalayas, has evolved
into a motorcycle that is a globetrotter.
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com