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 PROPERTY
NORTH DELHI
BEST INVESTMENT Option Sec 34,
35, 36, 37, 38 Availability of Plots in
Rohini. DDA Liaison Freehold of
Plots. 8826452499, 8447259739
PLOT 80SQ.YD Sale 30L, Sec-31,
Prahladpur 20 Point Plot 2 Side
Approved by Delhi Govt. with
Seaver + Water Connection. Cont.
9811134984, 9650045100
ROHINI SALE/ Purchase Plots Alloted
by DDA Sector-1 to 38. Liaison/
Collaboration/ New Allotment
Investment. 9873409999
EAST DELHI
FOR SALE 3 BHK, 94.5 Sq. Mtr, Milan
Vihar Apartments, I.P. Extn.,
Contact:- 9899066512
WEST DELHI
JANAKPURI B-3 Block 452 sq.yd,2 Side
Wide Road, 3 Side Open, Old Built-up
Kothi, Near Park. (Also plots avail.
on Dwarka Expressway, SPR and Golf
Course Extension Road Gurgaon.)
FOR SALE Punjabi Bagh Club Road 200
yds Independent Building Bsmt, GF,
FF SF, TF 1300 Sq.ft, Each, stilt car
Parking, Pillar Less Hall Lift Excellent
Location. Rohit Pandit 9810148147
SOUTH DELHI
ANAND NIKETAN, North Facing
264/ 280 sq yards, Clear Title,
Independent Building for sale.
9810063891/9810062871.
DEFENCE COLONY 325 Sq. Yds
1st Floor 3 Beds with Stilt Parking
Vastu Perfect With Park View .
Price: 7.25 Crore ( Full Cheque )
Also 400 sq. Yds GF & First @ 10 cr
VASANT KUNJ D 3, First Floor East
Facing 4 Bedroom D/D, Backside
Park. 9810063891, 9810062871
SARVODAYA ENCLAVE Ground Floor,
Park facing, 3 Bedrooms, D/Dining,
Servant Qtr, Car Parking, Plot size:
238 sq.yds for imm. sale @ 4 Cr.
Cont: Siddiqui Estate 9810265671
GREEN PARK main 311yds SF,Third
floor with terrace garden,Separate
parking Also 200yds third floor
with terrace Many more options
9650869090, 9873217028
NEW FRIENDS Colony D-Block,
300 Sq Yds, 4 bedrooms , Drawing
Dining, First floor with Basement
New Height Options Brand New
For Sale. Sharma - 9999882906
FOR SALE Ground Floor Commercial
Shop - A-Block East of Kailash DDA
Market 164 Sq.Ft. Broker's Welcome.
Contact: 9999838647, 9953130634,
Em: realtors.moneytree@gmail.com
9910000257
VASANT VIHAR 600 sqyd, TF+ 1/2
terrace, North East facing, 3 side
open, wide road, Separate driveway
4 car parking, Broker excuse
# 9910000257
VASANT VIHAR ( 600 ) Bungalow, park
facing., 9810030231
KOTHI : South Ex-II/P'shil Pk 500y, GK1
300y all Crnr.Duplex floors Gitanjali/
P'shil / GK-I 900/800/600/300y
B'ment GF/FF suits residence/ clinic/
office etc. Agarwal & Co 9811031960
GK2 S-BLK Builder 3rd floor without
Terrace, 300sq.yd, 4BHK, brand new
(1st entry) built by Jaju builders. Stilt
Parking (2 cars), Lift, etc. Rs 6.5 cr.
(max cheque). Owner 9811035400
FOR SALE, Purchase, Rent,
Collaborations Turnkey Projects.
Tinu Babber # +91 95-99-400-200
SUNDER NAGAR Bungalow.,
9810030231
VASANT VIHAR ( 800 ) first & second
floor, park facing., 9810030231
COMMERCIAL SPACE Available for
Sale in Sant Nagar, East of Kailash,
New Delhi, 2nd Floor / 1540 Sq. fts.,
along with Furniture and Fixtures.
Cont. Mr. Jaydeep M: 9958371000
Em: jaydeep@sterlingwilson.com
HAUZ KHAZ 292 sq. Yards. 1st Floor,
3 Bedroom , Drawing Dining, Powder
Room, 2 car park in stilt, 6 year old .
Cosmos : 8826700444
COMMERCIAL 3 Side Corner Plot (2366
Sq.Yards.) For Sale in Okhla Phase-1.
For details Contact: RPG Estate #
9810150047 / 0965070279
SOUTH DELHI
VASANT VIHAR 1st Floor (200 sq.yds),
3 Bedrooms att. bath, Drawing
Dining, S.Qtr, Car Parking for imm.
Sale # 3.50 Cr. Only Genuine Buyers
cont: Siddiqui Estate 9810265671
SAFDERJUNG ENCLAVE 300Yds,
FF, 4Beds, DD, Fmly loung, S.Qtr,
2 Seperate Car Parking, Lift, 7star
Construction, Wide Rd. Vastu
Prefect. Pavneet # 9811036030.
NEW FLOORS Available Defence Colony
325 Yds on Booking, GK-II-250 sq.yds
Ready, Safdarjung Enclave-400 yds
Ready with Independent. Lift & 200
Yds on Booking. Call 8383024145
TOP OF line Builders Flat S.D.A, Safd
Encl., Defence Colony, Swami Nagar,
Hauz Khas,Green Park 3/4 Bedrooms
Stilt Parking. Grover Associates.
9810173911, 011-47094595
GULMOHAR PARK 300 Yds, Luxurious
4 Bedrooms Floors, Top of the Line
Construction, Beautiful and Peaceful
Location, Possession in one month.
Guptasons 98100 50020 Rajesh
EAST OF Kailash C- Black 300 yds 3rd
Floor with Exclusive Terrace 4 BHK
2 Parking S.qtr Very Well Maintained
for Detail contact Sehgall Properties
9810076865, 9873076865
B-1/7, 600 Vasant Vihar original
booking, first and second floor,
Windchimes Constructions
9810014771, 9810019279.
Bank of India - 1.20L
Axis Bank - 2.25L
SBI Bank - 3.15L
IDFC Bank - 3.75L
HDFC Bank - 5.00L
Subway - 1.25L
Titan - 4.10L
Retail Building - 5.00L
Retail Building - 17.00L
Reliance Properties
Ravi 9818336655
GREATER KAILASH ( 250 ) Corner
Second Floor / Third Floor + Terrace
4 Bed - Lift - Separate Parking
208 / 300 yards floor also available
SDR 9811352892 , 9560672632
VASANT VIHAR GF+Bas Duplex 4 Bed,
D/D, Separate Lift& Driveway Also FF
4 bed Park & N/F reputed builder
easy payment terms. Details
9811072035, 7011498399
VASANT VIHAR, Anand Niketan
Ground, Basement, 1st, 2nd, 3rd floor
with Terrace, 4 Beds, D/D Separate
Drive Plot Size 400 Yds. Ready
Possession. S. Kumar 9811031558
VASANT KUNJ - B 10, Ground
floor, Four Bedrooms, Drawing
Dining with Servant Quarter ,
Good Location, New Construction.
Call Naveen 9999882906
PANCHSHEEL PARK, 500 yds, 2nd
Floor, 4 Bedrooms, Drawing/Dining,
Servant Qtr, Car Parking for imm.
Sale @ 8 Cr. Genuine buyers contact
Siddiqui Estates 9810265671
VASANT VIHAR, Shanti Niketan 400-
600, Top Class Builder Floors Ground
+Basm't, FF, SF Duplex, Ready Floors
FF, SF, 3rd Floor Terrace Ready /
Booking/Old Floors 9810173551
LIVEABLE KOTHIS- Anand Nktn 400,
Niti Bagh 830,V .Vhr 800/1000 Floor
Gul Prk 5 Bhk dup300, SF 500 GF400
Grn prk SF+T 460, TF+T 311, SJ En SF
500 Gen buyer Agarwal 9810000859
GULMOHAR PARK 3OO New Ready
Ground + Basement / First Floor
4 Bedroom-Lift-Parking-CC Third
floor with terrace also available
SDR : 9999785858, 9560672632
SAINIK FARM wanted/sale banglows
4-7 B.R plot with registry 1000-7000
Syds AVL for sale at cheap rate right
time for user investor call Vijay -
Vijay 9811688940
SARVODYA ENCLAVE sale rare deal
3rd Floor+ Entire roof 300yds 4BHK+
1SQ '2+2 car parkings' @ Reasonable
Price. Call: Sanjay Malik 9810039071
Visit: www.malikestateagents.com
PANCHSHEEL PARK N-Block 1200y
Bungalow for Sale, Regular Plot,
Main Road, Near Max, Clear Title.
Also 800y all floors in N-Block.
# PPS 9818881000, 9599808726.
CR PARK Corner 3 side Bungalow, Park
facing Terrace, 200 sq.yd, 8000+ sq
ft Lift, 10 car prkg, Swimpool, centrly
AC, high class. CC & all permissions.
Owner going abroad # 8587095020
GREATER KAILASH-1, Ground,
Basement, Third Floor with Terrace,
4 Beds, D/D, Lounge, Driveway, Plot
500 Yds. S, Kumar 98110-31558
SOUTH DELHI
SHANTI NIKETAN 1st Floor (400 yds),
3 Bedrooms att. bath, D/ Dining,
S.Qtr, Separate Car Parking for imm.
Sale @ 8.50 Cr. Only Genuine Buyers
call Anil Bhasin 9717179884
ALAKNANDA DDA Reno.Nilgiri FF & SF
3 B/R, Shivalik SF Duplex 4 B/R, D/D
Yamuna & Kaveri SF 3 B/R, Narmada
/Deshbandhu FF 3 B/R /TF 2 or 4 BR
lift Uppal 9910712365, 9650485053
FOR SALE Joint Venture, Collaboration,
Lease, Buying,Selling,Funding. upto
500cr + Available Property in Delhi,
Gurgaon, Noida, Goa. Celebrate
Prosperity. Cont - 9810070190
VASANT VIHAR 300 Yds., Park facing
Newly Built B'ment + Ground Triplex,
3rd Flr+Terrace Garden, 4 BR Mitsub
-ishi VRV, High Specs, Possession in
4 months. Guptasons 98100 50020
DEFENCE COLONY 325 Sq.Yds Corner
3 Side Open Park Facing Ground
Floor / First Floor, Ready to Shift.
Contact Rajeev Varma 9868145855,
9999645855
DEFENCE COL 325 FF 3Bed Lift @6.50/-
Def Col 325 FF Good Loc New @8.25/-
Def Col 325 top flr+Trc park face new
Mayfair Garden 400 FF/SF Park Fac
Shekhar 9810537700, 9717545629
BUILT FARM: 1210/1500/1700/2420 Yd
1 Acre in DLF Chattarpur, Sultanpur,
Radhey Mohan, Ansals, Club Drive,
Vasant Kunj & nearby areas of South
Delhi, All Registry Deals. call: Harsh
AMBICA PROP (Regd)
98101-20612
89206-30362
BUNGALOWS : Vasant Vihar 800 sq.yd
Sunder Nagar 865 sq.yds Park Facing
Niti Bagh 865 sq.yd north east facing
Kalindi Kunj 885 sq.yd corner Livable
E.O.K.835 sq.yd.Ambica 98101-20612
GK 300 Yds & 500 Yds, New Third
Floor+Terrace, Basement+Ground
Floor Triplex & Second;Panchsheel
500 Yd, Second Floor, Third Floor+
Terrace. Gagan Gujral 9650516999
KAILASH COLONY 311 G.F 3 BHK
4.25Cr, G.K I 208 F.F Newly built
3BHK 4Cr G.K II, 250 3BHK 4.25cr
Contact:- Umesh 9810112947
Sardana 9810058884
SATBARI ANSAL Half Acre 4 BHK 21.50
Freehold, Nicely Built-up 10,000 SqFt
Asola 2 Acres 5 BHK, Nicely Built 25cr
Asola 2.5 Acres with Tube well @ 22cr
All in Prime Locations, Delhi Registry
FOR SALE E-Block, East of Kailash 125/
250 yards Fully Renovated Third +
Terrace Right Built-up 3Beds, D/D,
Freehold, East Facing, Reasonable
Price. # Owner Ajay - 9810371892
7838871113
SARVAPRIYA VIHAR 152 yds Old
Kothi, Prime Location Under ASI,
Clear title, Vaastu Compliant
@Reasonable price & Many more
options # 7838871113
JOR BAGH 575y B+GF & F.F.; Hauz
Khas Enclave 1000y S.F. Park fac
New; Vasant Vihar 800y All Floors
available Park facing. Contact:
PPS 9818881000, 9599808726.
SDA: 200 Sq.Yds. 3 BHK Basement/UGF
/First/Second & Third Floor with Lift,
East Fcng, Stilt Parking,Newly Const-
ructed Flat for Sale. Brokers Excuse.
Genuine Buyers Cont: 96540 91010.
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE : Confirmed
Houses 125 -275 -300 -450 -500 Yds &
many more Corner, Wide Road, Vastu
Perfect, Clear Title. Suits Builders &
self users. Manoj Verma 99100-20141
GK-II 250Y New 3 BR Corner/ Park 4.75
GK-II 300y GF 4BR Lift Stilt 2 Car 5.25
GK-I 250y FF 3 BR Lift 2 Cars Sep 4.50
EOK 400y GF 4 BR Lift Stilt 5 Car 5.25
CR Prk Main Road rented office @40L
SOUTH DELHI
PAMPOSH ENCLAVE, GF & LGF
Duplex 266 Yd 60' Main Road
Ample parking, Vastu perfect,
Ideal for Clinic, Lawyer etc.
Contact:- 9873178776
MALVIYA NAGAR, Designer Floor 125
Yds,Vastu Perfect Newly Built 3 Beds
attach Baths, Drawing/ Dining with
Lift, Car Parking near Metro Station,
Best Location. call: 98111-91901
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
YEIDA PLOTS Sale/ Buy, Sector 18 &
20, Yamuna Expressway, Size 300,
500, 1000, 2000 sqm, Call WhatsApp
9717452701
KOTHI SECTOR-50 Built on 450 sqmtr
Plot Size, 8 BHK, well maintained
north east facing, Very Good Loca-
tion, available for immediate sale.
Contact: 9752975454, 9990179288
INDUSTRIAL BUILDING Sector-63,
250sq.mtr, Built-up area- 8500 sq.ft
with Glass elevation, Basement
+G+F+S+ Third Floor, Contact :
9811355580, 9899063637
SALE/ PURCHASE Noida Residential/
100/105/108 Industrial, Greater
Noida, Yamuna Plots, UPSIDA All
Sectors Gour Yamuna City. Investors
welcome. Tiwari Jee - 9811839181
FARM/ AGRI Land bank avail. for
sale at prime Loc. of upcoming in-
vestment destination surrounding
Vrindavan, 40-50 kms from Noida
Airport. We also deal in Kisan
Quota plots of Noida, Gr. Noida
& YEIDA auth.# 8810376695
ANTRIKSH NATURE Sector-52, Noida,
1750 Sq. ft., Tower B-2, Higher Floor,
Clear Title, For Sale Contact After
12 Noon. 9810078800
FOR SALE 2 BHK + Study sec-137, 1240
sqft Noida,# plot 500 sqmtr yamuna
autority taj express (VEIDA) East
Facing. (Brokers Excused). Con
Shukla:- 9811352983, 7838816746
SALE POSH Kothis, 300mtr duplex Sec-
93B, 300 mtr simplex Sec-44 & Plots
250 mtr - 300 mtr & 450 mtr, Sec-26,
30, 36, 39, 40, 46, 47, 50 & 51 Call:
9818077228
NOIDA AUTHORITY corner MIG at
Sec-99, 2 BHK flat with 3 balconies,
2 bathrooms. Free pkng, area 1200
sqft for Sale. Building is 4 stories
only. # 8368434374 & 9650711277
PLOTS HI Plots Yamuna Ex-way
Residential & Industrial Auth.
Commercial Land, Corporate Plot
Sec-17, 18, 20, 22D, 29, 32, 33
Call : 9911714666, 9582156604
FACTORY IN Sector-8 Noida For Sale
208 SQMT Build Up Area 6500 SQFT.
Good Construction Call Owner -
8826152588.
SECTOR-47 NOIDA, 450sq.mtr, 6bhk
Duplex House with basement, lift,
Terrace Garden, gated sector, less
rent one-time paid Avail for Sale.
In Good Location,9999011116
SECTOR-36 NOIDA, 320sq.mtr 6bhk
Duplex House On 18mtr wide East
facing, with basement near metro
station Avail for Sale in a very good
location 9999011116
FARIDABAD
GREENFLD PLOTS / Flat 2BR (Cash) 26
to 31 3BR (Cash) 35 to 46, 3BR S/U 82
to 90,4BR 115 to 150L (Loan & Lift)
Flats for Rent 3 & 4 BR. Indl. Land
Mohla. Best for Poln related industry
GHAZIABAD
2BHK FF semi furnished flat on main
road 875 Sq feet area, Ramprastha
Colony GBD - 55 lakh - Contact:
9717003358
GURUGRAM
PLOTS FOR Sale DLF-3, 316, DLF-4,
450/560, SL1, 300/400, IREO City
300 SqYds. Luxury Apartment/
Builder Floors. Call: 9899777114
Delite Properties
RENTED INDEPENDENT Building in
Gurgaon, Rent: 25 Lacs per month,
Lockin: 6 years, Fresh Lease. Contact
Owners representative 9717050553
OFFICE SPACE for Sale / Lease Area
2700 sq. ft., Fully ready to move-in,
at Unitech Commercial Tower-II in
Sector-45, Gurugram, Haryana.
Contact: 9811152675.
FOR SALE Sector 17 A Defence
Colony Gurgaon 502 SQ YDS
(House No-300) Good Location.
Contact :- 8527405231, 9811242830
borders103@gmail.com
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
SUSHANT LOK-3 House 300 yd,
adjoining 4 acres of Lush Green
Park, East facing, 12 Mtr. Road,
Gated Lane, for sale @ Plot Rate.
NSS Realtors 98100-47003
930+930 SQ.YD. Plots in Sushant
Lok-2. Both Corner, East & 2-3 side
open, Direct Entry from Golf
Course Extn. Road. Single/ Pair.
NSS Realtor 9810047003
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
CEHSATANTDESA
AVAILABLE PLOTS /Kothi/ Floors
DLF City, Sushant Lok, South City,
Marbella, Anantraj all sizes.
9811040340 9811940340
DLF-1 SALE 2 townhouses built on
same building 500 yd Plot- front side
half 1st & half 2nd floor duplex, rear
side half 1st & half 2nd floor duplex,
3BHK each. 9810039789, 9811071565
DLF-II KOTHI 215yd 6bhk Park @7.25,
Q-200 4bhk @6.75, J-215 9bhk @7.15,
M-250 9bhk @7.75, M-300 5bhk
@9.90. Plot Blk-J 350yd Corner
@2.75 & L-500 @2.90. 9810112870
DLF CITY-I - 500 Sq. Yards,
Tastefully Built, Duplex Bungalow,
Park Facing / Corner / Wide Road.
PLF - 9811078877
MAIN SECTOR Road 500 Yards. Plot
For Sale Near. Medanta East Facing
Direct Party Deal : 9810980800
RENTED
Snapdeal 29,000 7.5%
Care Health 94,000 6%
Mckinsey 1,11,000 9%
Tata Zudio 1,30,000 6%
Domino’s 1,60,000 7%
One Dose Pharmacy 1,80,000 5.25%
State Bank of India 2,08,000 4.75%
Mokobara 3,53,000 5.25%
9958681717
SURENDRA
(Mech. Engr.)
98109-80000
DLF CONFIRM Plots: 500, 1000 yd
Sukhchain,Paschim, Poorvi, Kachnar,
Shahtoot,Arjun, Ashoka Cres,Golf Crs
Rd. Shops M3M Urbana,65th Avenue.
Engineer Surendra 9810980000.
DLF CITY 1023 yard s / Gulmohar Marg
/ Green belt Best location Deeparul
estate 9811068621
IMT
MANESAR
1000 Mtr. Builtup
FACTORY
Available on sale
@ attractive Price
GANGA (Since 1992)
PROPERTIES
99999-70994
PLOTS DLF-IV 270/316/360/500yd
fully gated, Park facing, 12mtr Road,
DLF Phase -III 316/400/500/1000yd
18mtr /24mtr road/Park facing/
Corner, Sabharwal 9811196843
DLF Ph-3
Confirm &
Mandate Deals
500 syd
• MOULSARI AVENUE
• SIRIS ROAD • NATHUPUR ROAD
Reasonable price
SUMINDRA PROPERTIES
98101-65528, 98101-65532
DLF 1 200y 12m Rd DLF 2 New 215y
B+S+4Floors Building S Lok 1 418
East Facing Plot Sec-43 14 Marla
18M Road. # 9871733233
ORCHID PETALS Available for Confirm
Sale 4 Bedroom + Servant quarter
2500 sq.ft. (approx) Middle Floor.
Mix Price @ 3.75. For further details
contact Anup Jain 98110-12758
DLF CITY 1022 yards. Facing MG
Road J Block Deeparul Estate
9811068621
AVAILABLE MOST Prime Location Rare
Availability, Newly Built Fabulous
Builder Floors 500 Yards Facing a
Beautiful Developed Park Sushant
Lok-I. Contact Khurana 9811155032
AMBIENCE LAGOON /Confirm Sale
6BHK/6800sqft Aprx Rajokri Green
N/E Facing 3Bhk/3200sft/Lower Flr,
3Bhk/2200sft/Lower Flr Reasonable
Price. call 9899335988, 9899446667
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
SOUTHCITY-1 500YD Plots for
sale in blocks- J & H, Both East
facing & Top Locations in Gated
pockets. NSS Realtor 9810047003
DLF 1, II 502Sq.yds Park East 9, 12mtr
300-316 sq.yds Park East, 200-215-
251sq.yds Park East Sabharwal
Associate's 9810026076,
9910026336.
RENTED
Argen Bright - 27,500/-
Air India - 51,000/-
Indusland Bank - 95,000/-
Targray - 1,00,000/-
Honeywell - 1,12,000/-
HDFC Bank - 1,88,000/-
Akhilesh-A3S Landbase
+91 98106 53905
+91 99995 53809
FOR SALE Sushant Lok -1, 215 yds,
6BR (Livable House, East facing)
DLF-2 , Old Builder floor 300yds,
FF, East Facing 12Mtr Road @2.35cr.
Cont: 9810787781 / 9811636767
DLF-IV GARDEN Villa 9000-Series
Gated Colony 316yd Kothi B+2 Floors
Duplex 5bhk near Park & 316yd Plot
facing Park/North And 4900 Series
360yd House for Sale. 9810112870
NEW FLOORS Suncity 800y@7.95cr,
680@6.95cr,502@5.15cr,360@4.35cr
,276@3.55cr,250@3.25cr South City-1
500y@4.95cr,360@3.55cr, 240 @
3.15cr, 180@1.95cr. 9810652416
DLF-I PRIME location 200y Park North
fac, Civil Structure Done (9000 sq.ft)
Bmt+Stilt+UGF,1st, 2nd, 3rd +terrace,
Suit.for Enduser/Builders. Sabharwal
9810026076, 9811047417
B-538 SUSHANT Lok-1, 502 sqyd Newly
built, SF, TF with terr. Garden East
facing peaceful Loc. Vastu friendly 4
Bed D/D, 5 star interior 3 Car park.
Ankit Jain 9871345678, 9811173232.
RENTED TO Bank 1200 Sq. Ft., Front
45 Feet, G.F. Rent 2.19 Lakh P.M.,
Lease 9 Years for Sale. Prime
Location in South City-II, Gurugram.
# Owner - 9810327243
SUSHANT LOK-1 A-block East fac
270,300,418y. (kothi) Wide Rd, B-blk
300y East fac kothi, 300 North fac
Plot. 215 to 1022y More deals also
avail prime locations 9958492130
DLF PHASE-3, Plots & Builder Floors
215 Yds, 316 Yds, 402 Yds, 502 Yds
& 1022 Yds North- East Facing / Park
Facing. Corner options also available
Ganga Properties. 99999-70994
UDYOG VIHAR 250 Mtr Basement + 3
Floors with 8000 Sq Ft Builtup Area
Newly Renovated with Lift for Sale.
Many More Options of Vacant/
Rented deals. 9810112870
SALE MANDATE 500 Golf Course Road
DLF 4 Villa 316Y East Fcng Excellent
Location 10M Plots in Sec 42 & 45
18m Rd, DLF 1 400 Cnr Plot 12m Rd
# 9871733233
ESENCIA / versalia/ Emerald hills Plots
1124 sq.yds North 12 MTR, 418 sq.yds
North 12 MTR, 400 sq.yds East 12
mtr, Luxury Floors are also available
9810099171
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
PRE RENTED Multiplex with 18 Years
Fresh Lease, 6 Years Lock In Period
& 111 Seater Audi in Mall Full Of
Brands. 9971155712
JAIPUR
LOOKING FOR Land on NH 48 till
Jaipur ? For Farmhouse, Agricultural
Land, Hotel, Petrol pump etc. to buy
and sell. Contact Owner:9116873438.
GOA
FOR SALE in Goa nr. Siolim North
Goa clear title property 12000 sqmt
with Sanad having feild view with
6.5 mrts wide road. Price-35,000/-
Mo. 9822133165
TOLET
NORTH DELHI
REQUIRED ON Company Lease : Area
700-1200 sq.ft Carpet Area on
Ground Floor / First Floor for
Reputed Medical Chain in NCR.
Contact: Mittal Realty 99587-66999
WEST DELHI
FOR RENT - Near Tilak Nagar Metro,
2 BHK Flat, Fully furnished And One
Room Flat fully furnished available.
Good location. Contact Owner -
9891980405.
FACTORY/ GODOWN /Offices/Ware-
House Indl/Coml Naraina, Maya-
Puri, Kirti Ngr, Rama Rd, Najafgarh
Rd etc. Reqd Plots for Builders DLF-I,
II, III /S.Lok I & II #98100-06330
MALL ROAD Tilak Nagar 750sq.ft.
Corner shop, Heart of the Market,
Ample Parking 15ft front Best Suits
Garments, Shoes, Mobile, Jeweller,
Salon # 9810196428 9871593370
SOUTH DELHI
BASEMENT OFFICE Space in Vasant
Vihar, Furnished 1100 sq.ft, with
Pantry & 2 Toilets, Rent @ 1 Lac p.m
Separate Entry. Suits Professionals
Cont: 9810002409, 9899042787
NITI BAGH 9000 sq ft villa over
4 floors suitable for private
or corporates immediate
occupation rent 7.5 lacs p.m
contact owner 9899994906
SPACE AVAILABLE for NGO, Hospital,
Playschool, MNC etc in very good
Location Mini farm with 8 rooms ,
7 washrooms, total space 1050 sqyd,
Chhatarpur,9311838005,8448012376
FOR RENT Vasantkunj (Commerci-
al Space ), Parking. Best For Bank
and MNC. Ground and Basement
(3500 Sq. Ft. ). Cont# 9958807766
9650339226, 8920180982.
VASANT VIHAR F9/4, tolet flats,on the
cheap, 3BHK 2bath, 2BHK 1bath,1BHK
1bath,1BHK shared bath,all furnished
as it is, rent per bed bath, 45 40 35
25k resp, Also wanted, Manager,
prefer C.A, typist, lady cook salary
fair, Apply with profile to, & meet
at site, B.R Kapur 9899959005
OKHLA PHASE-III For Rent Area 2000
sq.ft.fully furnished Power backup -
Lift Corner 2nd floor Contact owner
:- 9910765029
GK-2, SPACE Available for Rent on 1st
Floor, Two Bedroom attached Bath/
Drawing/ Dining, Beautiful Lobby,
Contact: Arora 7703870399
FOR RENT 4500 sqft, beautiful hall
tiled. above HDFC Bank Adhchini
close to IIT crossing. Contact:
Mr Singh 9953691018
SHIVALIK C-BLK Main Mixedland Road
Basement 1500 Sft+Ground 1800 Sft
with toilet/pantry, ample car parking
excellent signage, reasonable terms.
Owner : 99100-20141, 98100-20141
HAUZ KHAS GF, FF 250yds 3BHK
Stilt, SQ; 500yds 4BHK, SF Lift, SQ.
Gul. Park- FF, 3BHK. Also more
option reasonable rent in South
Delhi. NS Associates # 8447451004
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE, 300 sq. yrd.,
First Floor, 2 BHK, Attach baths, D/D,
Lounge, fully furnished, suits for
Foreigners / Expat / MNC, Contact -
Owner 9868168259
SOUTH DELHI
NEWLY BUILT Modern Warehouse
10000 SQ FT Available for Rent in
Rangpuri , Mahipalpur on RCC Road
# 7042498163 , 7042498161
YUSUF SARAI Comm. Complex.
Small Office on 3rd Floor ('5x5')
Rent 5500/-pm. Ready To Move.
Suits Courier/Kitchen/Store/Prop
Dealer/Agency. Call 9899966622.
VASANT VIHAR, Functional Dental &
Physiotherapy Clinic with latest
equipments on Lease in 1750 sq feet
Basement. Raman : 9810062871
CENTRAL DELHI
AVAILABLE ON Lease/s Furnished
Office Space in a Multistoried Build-
ing in K.G.Marg, Connaught Place,
Area: 215 Sq.Ft. to 400 Sq.Ft. Contact
Owner: 9811026327, 8851102657.
COMM. OFFICE Avail. for Rent
1650 Sqft. Gr. Flr, Fully Furnished,
Prime Location Near Jhandewalan
Metro Station Call: 9810049111
9811441067.
CONNAUGHT PLACE Barakhambha
Road Fully Furnished office 400 sq.ft
& 7000 sq.Ft centrally air-
conditioned 100% power backup
Call:- 9810054005, 9899869329
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
TGB MEGHDUTAM, Sec- 50, Noida,
3350sqft., 4 bed/4 Bath, 2 parking,
Ac's, TV Lounge, Utility Space,
attached Servant qtr., Cosmos
Developer:- 8826700444
FLAT NEW, GF, 3 BHK + SQ + Basement
- Area 3000 Sqft (Approx), Stilt
Parking, Mod Kitchen, Wooden work,
Lotus Panache, Sector 110, Noida Avl
for Rent. Cont: 8700055855 (Owner)
GURUGRAM
GURGAON FACTORY/ Office Space/
Warehouse for Lease in IDC Tower
Gurgaon. Prime Location close to
NH8, near IFFCO Chowk in HSIIDC
Sec.-16. New construction with Lift,
Fire NOC, Building Completion, Huge
parking.4 Floors each of 3200 SQ.FT.
Covered area (Total 14000 Sq.Ft).
Cont: 9974062060, 9899590049
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
VIPUL BUSINESS Park Avail. for lease
1140sq.ft, unit-714, 12w/s, confrence
room-6 seater, manager cubicle, MD
room, recept., pantry, server room.
Brokers welcome.Owner: 9811114877
DLF-1 (B8 block) Luxury House N/E
park facing 720 yd (10000 sft)
furnished, 5 BR DD, study, party
basement huge lawn. Foreigners,
MNC's, Indian Corporates, Company
Guest House. Owner 98101-22122
FOR RENT DLF 2, Akashneem Marg,
Brand New Builder Flr 4 BHK UGF
on 500 Sq.Yds. Plot @ 2.25 Lakh
per month. HMREC 9810039789,
9811071565
DWARKA
DOCTORS / Nursing homes/ Law firms
/big corporates, GF, corner, MIG,
fully furnished, 4 rooms, 3
Washrooms, kitchen, parking Rs.1
Lac PM, Akshar-dham, 50 sec19, pkt-
3 # 9810023320
SHOP/OFFICE RENT
SAKET, DLF Avenue, 6th Floor, Corner
1571ft. Plush furnished office, Facing
Citywalk, 5 Cabins, 12 workstations,
Conf. room, Reception, 2 Toilet,
Pantry # 9811155195, 9810943939.
FOR RENT ,Ansal Tower, 38, Nehru
Place, Newly Furnished, Area 422
sq.ft. , Higher Floor, Contact Owner
Rahul Ahuja : -8826700444
EMPLOYMENT
ACADEMIC
ACADEMIC
Aadharshila
Vidyapeeth
(Recognized and Affiliated to CBSE)
CD Block, Pitampura, Delhi-34
Tel.: 27316362, 27311222
PGT
(Commerce, English,
Economics,
Informatics Practices)
NTT
The candidate should have
good academic record with the
relevant qualifications and
minimum 3 yrs of experience.
Please submit your Resume at the
School Reception or via Email to
info@aadharshilavidyapeeth.org
with all supporting documents,
experience certificate and a
recent passport-size photograph
with in 10 days addressed to the
Head of The School,
Aadharshila Vidyapeeth,
CD-Block, Pitampura, Delhi
Meera Bagh, New Delhi-110087
Ph.: 47331213
stmarksmb@saintmarksschool.com
REQUIRES
(For the Academic Session 2024-2025)
PGT English, Chemistr y,
Commerce, Home Science,
Sociology, Psychology
TGT English, Hindi, Maths,
Science, Social Science,
French
Primar y & Pre-Primar y
Teachers (English)
Guidance Counsellor
Special Educator
Physical Education Teacher
Yoga Teacher (Part-Time)
Jr. Art Teacher, Asst. Librarian
Music Teachers (Full/Part
Time) - Western (Vocal),
Rhythmist
Dance Teacher (Part-Time) -
Western, Indian Classical & Folk
Class Assistants (Teacher
Helpers)
Qualified, experienced
candidates fluent in English to
apply on the prescribed form
available in school till
20.02.2024 between 8.00 a.m.
and 02.00 p.m. Qualification,
age, pay scale etc. as per Delhi
Admn. r ules. For Class
Assistants, Graduates/ XII pass
with good command over
English may also apply.
ACADEMIC
TAKSILA PUBLIC School, Jyoti Colony
Extn., Delhi-94, Wanted urgently the
following staff, trained, experienced,
dedicated, fluent in English speaking
PGT-Bio.,Chem., Phy., Eng., Pol. Sci.,
History, Accounts/B.Std., P.E.T-Male/
Female,TGT-Social Sci,PRT Computer
& Lab Asstt.-Phy.,Chem.,Bio., Special
Educator(CWSN)Music/Dance teacher
Counsellor. Apply on the prescribed
Proforma available at the School
Reception between School hours
(8:30 am to 2:00 pm),Female teacher
will be preferred. Cont: 9205136484
ACCOUNTS/FINANCE
REQUIRED FULL /Part time Retired
Bank Managers, CMA, CS, C.A(s),
Semi Qualified, M.Com., MBA,
Computer Operators. 204, A J
Chambers, Street No.4, Naiwala,
Karol Bagh, Delhi M: 9205136037
E-mail: kkg200317@gmail.com
GHZ BASED Near Vaishali Metro,
Exhibition & Event (Pvt Ltd) reqs
Admin Staff, Asst. Accountant,
Backend Officer (Good Salary).
Contact: 9868422566
ENGINEER/
PROD/TECHNICAL
Eva Engineering Service
Based in Delhi Requires:
(A) Costing and Estimation Engineer
for Electrical Panels. - 2 nos.
(B) Electrical ITI / Diploma Holder
Engineer having service
experience in ACB, VCB, MCCB,
Transformers etc. for our L&T
Authorized Service Centre.- 5 nos
Min. Exp. 2 to 3 years
required in both vacancies
Email: sales@evaengs.com
Contact No.: 9899054729
MEDICAL
REQ A Pediatrician for 50 Bedded
Mohan Swarup Hospital-Dadri. Opd
timing 12 to 03:00 pm. 9899606017.
& ENT Dr, Dermatologist also, OPD 2
or 3 times a week.
HARPAR GROUP a leading Textile Co.
requires Telephone Operator. Walk
in from 11 am to 3 pm. # A-234,
Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New
Delhi 20 # 9873199761
EXPORT HOUSE JOBS
GENERAL MULTIPLE
VACANCIES
REQUIRED:- COPY Editors For
social, Maths, Hindi, Computer
with experience of 5 years or more
Salary: Negotiable, Ph: 011-41043051
Send CV: gurukuljobs24@gmail.com
HOTEL/RESTAURANT
GUEST HOUSE in Sunder Nagar (Near
Delhi Zoo) Requires experienced
Front Office Receptionist with good
English & efficient/trained House-
keeping boys. Contact # 9810067617
PART TIME JOB
HIRING - 4th world largest legendary
bank subsidiary Job in Noida. 1st
Time in India VAM Model Age 32+
Part Time, Full Time, WFH #
9101912918, 9916512012
DATA ENTRY
OPERATORS
REQ DATA Entry Operators 35yr blw,
CTC 15k-25k Eng & Comp (Word,
Excel) Skills must Imm join Walk in
16 FEB (10am-5pm) 624 DLF Twr-B
Jasola #41008346/7/8
DESIGNERS
WANTED COREL Designer & Operator
for CNC Router, Laser must be expert
in Corel Draw & Knowledge of 3D
Artcam. JB Art Studio: A-30/1
Naraina Industrial Area N.D.-28
HARPAR GROUP a leading Textile Co.
requires Textile Designer. Walk in
from 11 am to 3 pm. # A-234, Okhla
Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi
20 # 9873199761
COMPUTER
OPERATOR
REQD. FEMALE Computer Operator
with Good Com. Skill. Indane Gas
Services at Karampura near Milan
Cinema New Delhi-110015, Call: 011-
25920775/25920776 (Sunday Closed)
 

  
  

 
   
 NEW DElHi, MuMBAI, BENGALuRu, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PuNE*, LuCKNOw* VOL. 18 NO. 39

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Think Ahead. Think Growth.

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Tax mop-up: the Smooth

back story and
the year ahead
BY N. MADHAVAN
Net direct tax collection has surged 20%, led by a sharp increase in
personal income tax payments. This has helped the government
reduce borrowings and speed up fiscal consolidation. Mint looks at
what catalysed the mop-up, its benefits and the outlook for next year.
Welcome increase
Direct tax collections as a % of GDP
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24 (RE)
2024-25 (BE)
RE: Revised estimate; BE: Budget estimate
How sharply has tax
1 collection risen?
As of 10 February, the net
collection of direct tax (after
adjusting for refunds) has
increased by 20.25% and stood at
₹15.6 trillion. This is already 80%
of the revised budget estimate of
₹19.5 trillion with two months still
left to go in the financial year
2024. The earlier budget estimate
was for ₹18.23 trillion. This
increase was fuelled by personal
income tax payments which grew
by around 27%. Corporate income
tax also registered a growth of
13.6%. As a percentage of GDP,
direct tax collection in FY24 is
estimated at 6.6% which is
significantly higher than 6.1% in
FY23 and 4.8% in FY21.
MINT
4.8
6.0
6.1
6.6
6.7
Source: Budget documents; India Ratings & Research
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
What has catalysed
2 this increase?
Firstly, the tax base has grown,
made possible by the greater
formalization of the economy.
Better compliance has been
triggered by the use of technology
in tax administration. According to
the Press Information Bureau, a
record 81.8 million income tax
returns (ITR) had been filed for
assessment year 2023-24 as of
1 January, 2024. In fact, ITRs filed
by individual taxpayers have
increased 90% in the last nine
years. The government has also
expanded the scope of tax
collected at source. Finally,
economic growth has boosted
corporate profits and made for
higher corporate tax collection.
start
The year has kicked off well for
India’s automobile industry. All
major categories except one
posted double-digit year-on-
year growth. Retail sales of two-
wheelers grew 15% in January,
according to data from the Fed-
eration of Automobile Dealers
Associations. Offtake of three-
wheelers rose 37% and of trac-
tors, 21%. Retail sales of passen-
ger vehicles (PVs) climbed 13%
to a record 393,250 units. Com-
mercial vehicle sales, however,
were flat. Growing automobile
sales bode well for India’s man-
ufacturing sector and send a
broadly positive signal on
demand in the economy. In the
case of PVs, demand was led by
sports utility vehicles, which
have been finding increasing
favour. The odd part, though, is
how small cars that were once
the PV market’s mainstay have
trailed off in recent years, which
suggests a drop in upgradation
from two-wheelers. And now, a
climb in overall inventory levels
may require further recalibra-
tion of what’s rolling off auto
assembly lines. As economic
conditions improve, as forecast,
commercial vehicles and small-
car sales could show an uptick.
India’s adoption of electric
vehicles (EVs) must accelerate,
too, with higher-priced vehicles
leading the charge, ideally.
MINT METRIC
by Bibek Debroy

Lucknow to Gurugram in half an hour,

3 How does this help the
country?
Higher direct tax collection has boosted
The kebab’s journey seems somewhat sour.
government revenue. This, along with
Skeptical of this lighting speed,
some expenditure trimming, has enabled it A man has sued the Legends deed.
to reduce the FY24 fiscal deficit to 5.8% as
against 5.9% originally budgeted, setting
Court’s scrutiny should make one cower.
the stage for faster fiscal consolidation.
Higher revenue has also helped it cut its
borrowing requirement for FY24 from
₹17.86 trillion to ₹17.34 trillion.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
If anything, changing narratives
4 What’s the outlook for
the next year?
The government expects
5 What does this mean
for the economy?
Higher revenue means less
we are seeing now...a lot of
buoyancy in direct tax collection to government borrowing. Its lower
countries in the world turning
continue. It has pegged direct tax gross borrowing in FY25 back and slowing down and
collection in FY25 at 6.7% of GDP, compared to FY24 would allow
which, according to experts, is the more room for the private sector to
rethinking their net zero
highest since the late 1980s. It is borrow from the market and this goals...that will create further
this confidence that has also can crowd in private investment.
emboldened the government to Such a scenario will also keep
long-term demand for oil.
announce a lower gross borrowing interest rates benign and
of ₹14.13 trillion from the market inflationary pressures low. That
for FY25 as against ₹15.43 trillion apart, lower borrowing will help
budgeted for FY24 and to target a the government reduce its debt-to HAiTHAM Al-GHAis
fiscal deficit of 5.1% of GDP for -GDP ratio which currently hovers SECRETARY GENERAL,
FY25, which is significantly lower at 84.9%. Finally, a lower fiscal OPEC
than 5.3% levels that the market deficit sets the stage for a higher
had expected. pace of economic growth.

MINT NEWSLETTERS

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BY VIjAY L. BHAMBwANI
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Understand how the economy
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BY SuNDEEP KHANNA
Track the business of companies with
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 PLAIN FACTS

How Indians look at

political hot potatoes
BY RAHUL VERMA & MELVIN KUNJUMON

The support for the ruling party may be at an all-time high, but that doesn’t mean Indians agree with its stand
on everything—’One-nation, one-poll’, for instance—the latest YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey found.

Nearly half of urban Indians link Ram Most urban Indians link the country's recent
temple event with upcoming polls global achievements to the government
Share of responses (%) in favour of each statement about the Share of responses (%) on the government’s role in recent
inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya achievements of India
The inauguration corrects The inauguration just before No role at all, we should praise the ones who did it
the historical wrongs the Lok Sabha elections is The current government has played an indirect role in facilitating
done to Hindus merely to win Hindu votes these successes
The current government has had a direct, crucial role in making
Overall 51 49 these successes possible
BJP supporters 65 35 India’s Chandrayaan
landing 22 34 44
Congress supporters 32 68
India’s record show
Supporters of at the Asian Games 32 34 34
other parties 42 58
Those who don't Oscar wins in 2023
40 60 for Indian artistes
48 27 25
identify with any party
The survey took place about a month before the consecration of the temple on
22 January, and may not reflect the views immediately before it. It had 12,544
respondents.

Over half of the respondents favour restraint as a wise national security tool
Share of responses (%) to two statements about India's national security strategy
India must continue to show restraint in response to cross-border India must not think twice before authorizing military action against
terrorism as it is practically the wisest way to deal with it its neighbours if cross-border terrorism threatens its security

46 54 46 54 43 57 45 55 48 52

Overall BJP supporters Congress supporters Supporters of other parties Those who don't
identify with any party

Survey finds a majority view in support of Simultaneous elections don't find too
nationwide caste census many takers, even among BJP supporters
Share of responses (%) to two statements about the caste census Share of responses (%) to two statements about having
India must conduct a nationwide caste census as the data will simultaneous national and state elections
help in creating policies to uplift historically marginalized castes Democracy is stronger when we I think having separate
A nationwide caste census would be detrimental to India’s have elections at multiple levels elections at different levels is
national interests as it would create more divisions in society with different frequencies a waste of resources and time
Overall
Overall 63 37
Respondents from these communities
General castes BJP supporters 62 38
Scheduled castes
Congress supporters 66 34
Other backward classes
Supporters of
Scheduled tribes other parties 62 38
Others Those who don't
identify with any party 65 35
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Source: YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey (Dec 2023)

T
he first part of this series, published on Monday On questions of national security, the views were meas-
(https://bit.ly/3STQpfU), showed that support for the ured. Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict,
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had increased sharply the survey asked how India should react to cross-border
in the latest round of the YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial terrorism. Around 54% favoured restraint as the wisest and
Survey, with nearly 47% of the respondents favouring the most practical path, whereas 46% felt that military action
party. Limited trust in the Opposition and Prime Minister should be authorized without a second thought. The Modi
Narendra Modi’s personal appeal have played a major role government’s strikes inside Pakistani territory in February
in this surge. However, this is not to suggest that there is 2019 had formed a big part of its poll campaign that year.
support for the BJP’s position on all key issues related to its With a fresh election looming five years later, even among
2024 election campaign. Multiple opinion polls continue BJP supporters, more than half (54%) favoured restraint.
to highlight unemployment and price rise as key wide- Tensions with Pakistan have always marred the rela-
spread concerns. But what about non-economic issues? tionship between the two neighbours on many fronts,
First, the Ram temple. Urban Indians interviewed in the including cricket. India has not hosted the Pakistani
survey were halfway split when asked whether the inaugu- cricket team for any bilateral series since January 2013.
ration in Ayodhya was a rectification of historical wrongs Around 53% of the respondents sought a change to this
faced by Hindus (51%), or an electorally motivated move by policy, whereas the rest (47%) prefer the status quo.
the BJP to woo Hindu voters (49%). (The survey took place
a few weeks before the 22 January event.) Roughly two- SURPRISES FOR THE BJP
thirds of BJP supporters in the survey saw the event as The recent caste census in Bihar has led to the Opposi-
redemption for Hindus, but among supporters of the Con- tion clamouring for a nationwide version. Around 53% of
gress and regional parties, the majority view (over 60%) the survey’s respondents agree, as they were of the view
was that its timing was a poll gimmick. that India must conduct nationwide enumeration and it
Three of every five respondents from minority religions could help draft policies to uplift historically marginalized
viewed the event from the election lens, castes. The rest (47%) felt this would sow
as did those from the Scheduled Tribes YouGov-Mint-CPR seeds of discord in society. The views
(61%). Those from the Scheduled Castes Millennial Survey were somewhat similar across party
m
(50%) and Other Backward Classes (51%) Part 2: Political views lines, even among BJP supporters. A
showed a halfway split. In the southern nationwide caste census found support
states, just 45% viewed the event as a corrective measure even among those from the dominant castes (51%).
for Hindus; in other regions, the share was more than half. On the BJP’s vehement proposal of holding all state and
The online survey, held in December, had 12,544 national elections simultaneously, 63% disagreed. They
respondents across over 200 cities and towns. Around picked the option that democracy was stronger when polls
44% were born after 1996, and 40% were born between are held at multiple levels at different frequencies. The
1981 and 1996. Now in its 11th round, the biannual survey is opposing view, that asynchronous elections were a waste
conducted by Mint in association with survey partner You- of resources and time, got 37% votes. Even among BJP
Gov India and Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy supporters, the proposed policy did not find many takers,
Research (CPR), aiming to examine the aspirations, anxie- with 62% saying elections need not be held together.
ties, and attitudes of India’s digital natives. While the BJP has an edge on the Ram temple matter
and India’s rising global image, many respondents support
NUANCED NATIONALISM the caste census and reject simultaneous polls. These find-
The BJP has made serious efforts to create a narrative of ings offer openings that the Opposition parties can mobi-
India’s flourishing global stature and, to varying degrees, lize in order to challenge the incumbent. But they may
has tried to attribute the success of events such as the host- have lost crucial time managing internal contradictions.
ing of last year’s G20 summit and the moon landing, (The authors are associated with CPR, New Delhi.)
among others, to the government. The survey showed this This is the second part of a series about the findings of the
narrative has worked to some extent. More than half of the 11th round of the survey. The next part will look at how urban
respondents saw some role—direct or indirect—played by Indians engage with political discourse through social
the government in India’s wins at the Oscars last year, its media. Note that these surveys are skewed towards urban
record medals tally at the Asian Games, and the Chandray- well-to-do netizens, with 89% respondents falling under the
aan feat. (The share of those who saw a direct role was 25%, “NCCS-A” socioeconomic category of consumers. Full meth-
42%, and 44%, respectively.) BJP supporters were more odology note: https://bit.ly/3NBu6b3. Raw data of the
likely to acknowledge the government’s role. responses will be released later this month.

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEw DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCkNOw* VOL. 18 NO. 39 Rs. 10.00 . Price with Hindustan Times Rs. 15.50 22 PAGES

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Nandita Sinha leads Myntra’s EV makers stare at sales dip as

livemint.com journey into beauty biz uP12 FAME-II sops could end uP7

SENSEX 71,555.19 482.70 NIFTY 21,743.25 127.20 DOLLAR ₹83.01 0.01 EURO ₹89.39 ₹0.01 OIL $83.70 $0.51 POUND ₹105.05 ₹0.29

Farmers clash with Tesla seeks Indian

partner for rooftop
Malaysia’s
Gentari bags
DON’T MISS
AFP

Fortum India
cops in Delhi march solar panel venture solar projects
Utpal Bhaskar
Push for MSP meets barricades, tear gas and rubber bullets Nehal Chaliawala & utpal.b@livemint.com
Mihir Mishra NEw DELHI
Hindalco Q3 net jumps 71% as
Sayantan Bera

G
MUMBAI/NEw DELHI entari Sdn Bhd, a unit aluminium, copper biz shine
Sayantan.Bera@livemint.com SMokE SIGNALS of Malaysia’s state-run Hindalco Industries, the flagship company

E
NEw DELHI lectric carmaker Tesla oil and gas company of the Aditya Birla group, reported a 71%
Inc. is scouting for local Petronas, has emerged as the y-o-y jump in its consolidated net profit to

T
housands of farmers from
Punjab headed for the
national capital in trac-
tors, SUVs and farm vehi-
cles clashed with the Har-
yana police at the Shambhu border,
where they were met with teargas,
water cannons and rubber bullets.
The farmers had begun their march
on Tuesday morning, after the previ-
ous evening’s meeting with central
ministers to press for legally guaran-
teed minimum support prices (MSP)
for their crops failed to yield results.
By evening, they had managed to
remove several rows of concrete bar-
riers and uprooted steel spikes
cemented on roads to prevent them
from entering Haryana, which bor-
ders Delhi.
“We want an assurance from the
government that the 23 crops on
which MSP is announced will have a
legal guarantee. But the government
wants to form another committee.
This is nothing but a delaying tactic,”
farmer leader Sarvan Singh Pandher,
general secretary of the Kisan Maz-
door Sangharsh Samiti, said.
Though the protesters are still far
from the capital, traffic crawled at a
snail’s pace at many places in the Del-
partners to make its roof-
top solar panels in India, a per-
son aware of the matter said.
The selected partner will help
with the manufacturing and
installation, while Tesla will
provide technology and sales
expertise.
The Elon Musk-led com-
pany has already conveyed its
plans to the government and
requested subsidies and other
grants for the venture, the per-
son cited above said on condi-
tion of anonymity.
Apart from its mainstay
DEMAND CHECK business of electric cars, Tesla
also makes several home
LEGAL guarantee on REVAMP of crop LoAN waiver, higher
MSP announced by insurance scheme, duties on imported power products covering solar
the govt for 23 crops social security benefits agricultural produce power generation and storage.
These include Solar Roof,
which replaces conventional
hi-National Capital Region (NCR) regime wider and more effective. thatched roofs with photovol-
because of the barricades regulating The laws were repealed, but an taic tiles; Powerwall, a battery
access to key roads. For many, the expert committee set up in July 2022 power storage unit; and solar
protests revived memories of 2020, to resolve the matter is yet to submit panels.
when thousands of farmers gathered any report. Tesla’s India plan comes at a
outside Delhi, demanding a repeal of Government agencies purchase time its US solar business has
three new farm laws. The protest was crops from farmers at MSP, a model slowed, with December quar-
withdrawn after the government that works best for rice and wheat. ter deployments falling 59% to
relented, but on the condition that it 41MW from 100MW a year
will take measures to make the MSP TURN TO PAGE 6 earlier, the worst since 2020.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk. AFP
Meanwhile, India provides
incentives to encourage the
rooftop solar sector. Some
domestic companies in the
rooftop solar segment include
Tata Power Solar, Adani Solar,
Servotech Power Systems and
Waaree Energies.
Emails sent to a Tesla’s press
team seeking comments
remained unanswered.
Tesla entered the solar roof-
top business in 2016 through
the $2.6 billion acquisition of
SolarCity, founded by Musk’s
cousins Lyndon and Peter
Rive. At the time, it was the US
market leader with just over
800MW installed.
Analysts tracking the sector
said India’s solar rooftop
TURN TO PAGE 6
winning bidder for the Indian
solar projects of Finland’s For-
tum Oyj, totalling 185MW, two
people aware of the develop-
ment said.
Gentari has been given
exclusivity—for documenta-
tion of the sales process run
by Kotak Investment Bank-
ing—for the deal at an enter-
prise value of around $200
million.
Mint had reported earlier
that Gentari, Oil and Natural
Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC), Singa-
pore’s Sembcorp Industries,
Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield
Plus Fund’s Sekura Energy
and private equity firm
Actis Llp were in the fray
for the Finnish state-run
energy power utility’s Indian
assets.
These five bidders were
shortlisted from 11 non-bind-
ing offers (NBOs) that were
submitted. “Gentari, Actis,
ONGC and Edelweiss had
placed price bids, post which
Gentari has been given exclu-
TURN TO PAGE 6
₹2,331 crore for the quarter ended
December driven by a robust performance
of its aluminium and copper businesses. >P4
LIC reaped a $4.7 bn share sale
windfall in Q3 as market surged
Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) reaped
windfall gains in the December quarter,
selling a record $4.7 billion worth of shares
of listed domestic companies as the shares
reached all-time highs during the market bull
run. >P6
Test prep firm FIITJEE delays
salaries citing cash flow issues
FIITJEE Ltd has suspended salary payments
citing cash flow issues, five company
executives said, at a time the test
preparation firm is squeezed by rising losses
and competition. The company has assured
employees that salaries will be paid. >P8
Advt spending to grow 10% in
2024 to reach ₹1.5 tn: GroupM
Advertising expenditure (adex) in India is
expected to grow at 10.2% in 2024, slower
than last year’s 11.3%, according to media
investment company GroupM. But even at
that pace, India would still be among the
fastest-growing ad markets globally. >P11

New avatar likely for Go Digit IPO gets

compensation cess Irdai go-ahead
Gireesh Chandra Prasad Ranjani Raghavan &
gireesh.p@livemint.com Sneha Shah
NEw DELHI
MUMBAI

T
he goods and services

tax (GST) compensation
cess expiring in March
2026 or before may be
replaced with a new levy, if the
GST Council feels more reve-
nue is needed, two officials
aware of discussions between
the Centre and states said.
The cess, which is levied on
products in the 28% GST slab
such as aerated drinks, tobacco
and automobiles, was meant to
compensate states for their
revenue losses in the first five
years of GST till June 2022. It
was extended till March 2026
to repay a ₹2.69 trillion debt
raised by the Centre when the
cess collection was not suffi-
cient to pay the states during
the pandemic years.
The cess may end even
T
Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman, chairperson of
the GST Council. PTI
before March 2026 if the Cen-
tre is able to prepay the debt.
“If before March 2026 we are
able to pay all the loans and
pay some of the compensation
due to be paid because of non-
receipt of audited figures from
some of the states, the com-
TURN TO PAGE 6
he insurance regulator
has approved Go Digit’s
plan for a public share
sale, two people aware of the
development said, after fault-
ing the digital insurer last year
over a non-disclosure.
The approval from the
Insurance Regulatory and Kamesh Goyal, founder of Go
Development Authority of Digit General Insurance.
India (Irdai) clears one key
hurdle for the Fairfax-backed ing that they expect approval
company on the road to its soon enough.
₹1,250 crore initial pubic offer- In November, Digit General
ing (IPO). Insurance, which runs Go
The company is now wait- Digit, filed an addendum to its
ing for approval from the IPO documents, stating that
Securities and Exchange Irdai had issued it a show-
Board of India (Sebi) for the cause notice related to its
initial public offering (IPO), “non-disclosure of change in
the people cited above said on
condition of anonymity, add- TURN TO PAGE 6

ED begins inquiry into Paytm bank

Gireesh Chandra Prasad & to the spokespersons of the
Subhash Narayan finance and corporate affairs
ministries and RBI were unan-
NEw DELHI swered till press time.
A spokesperson for Paytm

I
ndia’s premier economic
intelligence agency, the
Directorate of Enforcement
(ED), has been roped in to
check for suspected breaches at
Paytm Payments Bank on a ref-
erence from the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI), two officials
aware of the development said.
The ED, which investigates
money laundering and foreign
exchange-related breaches, has
started a preliminary inquiry
into the affairs of the company.
It was yet to register an
enforcement case information
report as of Monday, one of the
two officials cited above said.
For now, the ED and the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are
the only agencies looking into
the issue. If any other agency’s
assistance is required, RBI can
ask for it, but the government
RBI has already ruled out a review of its decision in the case of
Paytm Payments Bank.
will not interfere, the person
said. “The ED enquiry is to find
the facts about the concerns
raised by the RBI and to
address any deficiency. There
is no witch hunt,” the person
added.
The second official quoted
above said that compliance
breaches are matters that sec-
toral regulators deal with
directly, not the government.
“This is a regulator’s job and
HT
they are up to it. RBI has taken
action in customer interest. ED
has also sought documents on
Paytm from RBI, and is study-
ing it for any violations. There is
a mechanism of sharing of
information among regulators,
and information (on Paytm
Payments Bank) has already
been shared and different
agencies are examining them,”
said the person.
Queries emailed on Tuesday
replied to a query from Mint
saying the company will com-
ply with requests for informa-
tion from regulatory authori-
ties on matters pertaining to
One97 Communications Ltd
and its associate, Paytm Pay-
ments Bank.
“We may be asked to furnish
information and explanations
by different regulatory and law
enforcement authorities,
including ED, and we have
always complied with the
requirements dutifully by fur-
nishing the requisite informa-
tion and explanation,” the
spokesperson said.
On 31 January, RBI had
restricted Paytm Payments
Bank from making credit trans- (Toll Free No.) 1800 222 244 / 1800 222 243 / 1800 425 1515 / 1800 208 2244 | www.unionbankofindia.co.in
actions or taking further depos-   
  
  
      
TURN TO PAGE 6
02 WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
Indira, Nargis Dutt names dropped
Scientists to vet weather Centre to
SC: Ready
from National Film awards
New Delhi: The ‘Indira Gandhi award for best debut film’ and
the ‘Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integra-
tion’ have been retitled with the names of the late prime minister
data, help farmers cut losses for talks
with Kerala
and legendary actor being dropped as part of a raft of changes for
the National Film Awards, according to a notification. The ‘Regu- Krishna Yadav
lations of 70th National Film Awards 2022’ reflects the changes krishna.yadav@livemint.com
suggested by a panel set up by the information and broadcasting National Test House scientists will also evaluate crop loss data for compensation to be paid NEW DELHI
ministry to rationalize the film honours. PTI

T
he Union government
Dhirendra Kumar & Puja Das losses”. informed the Supreme
Ex-Maharashtra chief minister NEW DELHI Scientific assessment of weather Court on Tuesday that it
data from every district and panchayat is prepared to engage with the
Ashok Chavan joins BJP

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Cha-
van joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on
Tuesday, a day after quitting the Congress, the party he was
associated with for nearly four decades. Chavan (65) was
inducted into the BJP at the party office in Mumbai in the
presence of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra
Fadnavis, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule,
Mumbai party unit head Ashish Shelar and cabinet minister
Girish Mahajan. PTI
MEA urged to appoint nodal officer
to monitor organ transplants
New Delhi: The Union health ministry has written to the minis-
try of external affairs to identify a nodal officer for coordinating
organ donations and transplants undertaken by foreigners to
prevent any possible commercial dealings in the process. In a let-
ter to foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra, Union health secretary
Apurva Chandra noted that many foreign nationals come to India
for various types of organ transplantations.
Review petition against SC
ruling in Adani case
G
PTI
overnment scientists are will help in forecasting crop produc- Kerala government on the lim-
being asked to vet tion estimates and crop losses, the sec- its the Centre imposed on the
weather assessment data ond official said. state’s borrowing powers.
to help farmers receive Additionally, NTH scientists will visit Senior advocate Kapil Sibal,
more accurate weather data collection centres to recalibrate appearing for the Kerala gov-
alerts for sowing and harvesting, cut- weather assessment tools for error-free ernment, told the court that a
ting potential losses, according to two weather forecasting. They will also state delegation will fly to New
officials. evaluate soil moisture content and Delhi on Wednesday for dis-
With changes in weather patterns advise on the soil’s suitability for crops cussions with the Centre.
causing widespread crop losses and low such as chana, mustard and wheat, this The development came after
yields, the agriculture ministry is rop- official said. a two-judge bench comprising
ing in the government’s National Test Dr Rakesh Arrawatia, finance profes- Justices Surya Kant and K. V.
House to do the vetting. sor at the Institute of Rural Manage- Viswanathan suggested that
Current alerts received from the ment Anand, said,“Using satellite the finance secretary of Kerala
weatherman are “fragmented and inac- images is going to play a critical role in met with the Union finance
curate”, one of the officials said. This move will help farmers receive more accurate weather alerts for crop sowing agriculture over the next 10 years by minister to resolve the matter.
NTH scientists will also evaluate and harvesting. PTI providing valuable data for insurance The discussion arose during
crop loss data collected by agencies of claims, verifying claim accuracy, and a hearing of a suit filed by the
the agriculture ministry for compensa- WINDS is an initiative of the agricul- pending till 2021-22, with Rajasthan, enhancing agricultural practices. This Kerala government challeng-
tions to be paid under the Pradhan ture ministry to strengthen the Maharashtra and Gujarat reporting the technology can offer insights into crop ing the Centre’s decision to
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) or weather data infrastructure and pro- highest pendency, Parliament was told health, moisture levels, and other cru- impose a ceiling on its borrow-
national crop insurance, the officials vide high-quality data sets from a single last year. cial factors, enabling more informed ing amount. Kerala argued that
said. As per the plan, NTH, which digital platform. Claims under the PMFBY are gener- decision-making and ultimately this restriction resulted in a
comes under the ministry of con- improving productivity.” severe crisis in its budget oper-
sumer affairs, will offer ‘quality AIDING FARMERS Officials say accurate weather ations and violated the princi-
assurance partnership’ to the data is crucial to determining the ples of fiscal federalism.
Weather Information Network and CURRENT alerts PRADHAN Mantri CROP insurance ACCURATE weather correct share of financial contribu- Kerala’s suit contends that
Data System or WINDS, launched received from the Fasal Bima Yojana or claims worth around data is crucial to tions to states in droughts, floods the Union finance ministry,
weatherman are national crop ₹2,761 cr under the determine share of
by the government last year, for ‘fragmented and insurance aims to PMFBY were financial aid to states and unseasonal rains. It enables the through two letters issued by its
generating long-term hyper-local inaccurate’ help farmers pending till 2021-22 in droughts, floods government to assess the extent of public finance-state division on
weather data, the first official said. damage and allocate resources 27 March and 11 August, as well
Under the proposed project, effectively to mitigate the impact as amendments made to Sec-
NTH scientists will inspect and audit Currently, crop loss data is collected ally paid by insurance companies on affected farmers and communities. tion 4 of the Fiscal Responsibil-
automatic weather stations and rain manually, leading to a higher chance of within two months of harvesting and Queries sent to the ministries of con- ity and Budget Management
PTI gauges across the country for their sit- anomalies in insurance claims. one month of notification for invoking sumer affairs and agriculture remained Act, 2003, imposed a net bor-
ing, equipment and data transmission Crop insurance claims worth around the risks of “prevented sowing, mid- unanswered till press time. rowing ceiling on Kerala,
procedures. ₹2,761 crore under the PMFBY were season adversity and post-harvest dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com restricting its borrowings.
India, UAE
BLOOMBERG

Qatar reprieve puts spotlight on India’s strong Gulf ties

sign deal on By Shuja Asrar and Nandita Venkatesan
shuja.asrar@livemint.com
investments Qatar’s decision to release eight former Indian Navy personnel who had been served the death sentence on espionage charges marks a big
moment for New Delhi’s diplomacy in West Asia. This development came just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United Arab
Shashank Mattoo Emirates on Tuesday, followed by Qatar on Wednesday. It underscored the strengthening economic and strategic relationship between India and
shashank.mattoo@livemint.com the Gulf nations in recent years. Ties with Gulf nations are multifold: countries in this region are among India’s biggest trading partners, accounting
NEW DELHI for over 14% of the country’s total trade. The West Asian region is also home to a vast expatriate population—over 25% of all persons of Indian
origin abroad live in these nations, shows government data. A look at India’s relations with this region through charts:

I
ndia and the UAE con-
New Delhi:The Adani Hindenburg saga returned to the cluded a bilateral invest- Key West Asian countries account for nearly 14% of The current visit is Modi's seventh to the region since 2014
Supreme Court on Tuesday as petitioner Anamika Jaiswal ment agreement and also India’s total trade Visits to India by West Asian heads of state Visits by PM Narendra Modi to West Asian
filed a review petition seeking the apex court to reconsider signed a framework agree- India’s trade with key West Asian nations, April-December 2023 since 2014 countries
its 3 January judgment, which dismissed a plea to constitute ment on the India-Middle East Global rank Country Total trade ($ bn) Global share (in %) Emir, Qatar 2015 UAE 2015
a special investigation team (SIT) to probe allegations Economic Corridor (IMEC)
3 UAE 57.5 7.0 Crown Prince, Abu Dhabi 2016 Jordan, Palestine, UAE and Oman 2018
against the Adani group. KRISHNA YADAV during Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s two-day visit to the 5 Saudi Arabia 31.2 3.8 Crown Prince, Abu Dhabi 2017
Saudi Arabia 2019
Gulf nation. 24 Qatar 10 1.2 King, Jordan 2018
‘Growth rate of 7-8% needed to Modi met UAE President 28 Kuwait 7.4 0.9 Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia 2019
UAE and Bahrain 2019
Mohammed bin Zayed Al
become developed nation by 2047’ Nahyan on Tuesday for both 30 Oman 6.9 0.8 Sultan, Oman 2023
UAE 2022

Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia 2023 UAE 2023

Hyderabad: India needs to grow at 7-8% annually in order to one-on-one and delegation- 59 Bahrain 1.1 0.1
become a developed nation with $13,000 per capita income by level talks.
2047, former Reserve Bank governor C. Rangarajan said on The bilateral investment Five Gulf countries contribute 28% of India's total inward remittances 1 in every 4 overseas Indians resides
Tuesday. The former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic agreement follows a Compre- 80%: Share of UAE's exports to India that
Share in inward remittances to India, top 10 countries, 2020-21 (in %) in a West Asian country could see tariff removal under the India-UAE
Advisory Council said besides faster growth rate, the country may hensive Economic Partner-
US 23.4 Share of West Asian countries among comprehensive economic partnership
need social safety nets such as subsidies in kind or cash and basic ship Agreement in 2022. overseas Indians globally (in %) agreement signed in 2022
income. PTI The UAE was the fourth UAE 18.0
largest source of FDI in India UK 6.8 UAE 10.6 70%: Share of Gulf Cooperation Council
with investments of $3.5 bil- (GCC) countries in India's total petroleum
5.7
Govt launches rooftop solar lion.
Singapore
Saudi Arabia 8.0 gas imports in 2021-22
The two sides signed an Saudi Arabia 5.1
scheme, to benefit 10 mn homes agreement to link India’s UPI Kuwait 2.4 Kuwait 3.2 35%: Share of GCC countries in India's
total oil imports
New Delhi: The union government on Tuesday launched the with the UAE’s AANI instant Oman 1.6 Oman 2.4
‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ rooftop solar scheme with an payments platform and RuPay Qatar 1.5 $78 billion: Value of the deal signed
emphasis on providing 300 units of free power to 10 million ben- cards with the UAE’s JAYWAN Qatar 2.3 earlier this month by Qatar with India's
eficiary households. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Prime Minis- card. The partnership covers Hong Kong 1.1 Petronet LNG to continue liquefied natural
Australia 0.7 Bahrain 1.0 gas supplies until 2048
ter Narendra Modi announced the launch of the scheme that trade and investment, digital
would be implemented with an investment of about ₹75,000 infrastructure, fintech, energy Sources: CMIE, Mint calculations, Ministry of finance, Ministry of external affairs and PMO India
crore. RITURAJ BARUAH and infrastructure.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT

Trading codes may push exports of unique non-basmati rice varieties CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
A 13 February Plain Facts
Dhirendra Kumar Red and black rice, eaten in eties and when the govern- same time, we need to see that million tonnes of rice. This article, ‘Ola Electric faces a
dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com southern and north-eastern ment imposes an export ban, there are enough incentives year we will be exporting 5-6 bumpy road ahead’, should
NEW DELHI states, cannot be exported all these varieties, including for farmers to keep on produc- million... less than that. Non- have noted that the market
share of TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto,
because they are covered Gobindo Bhog, widely con- ing the normal varieties of rice basmati we are not exporting
Ather Energy and ‘others’ in

G
overnment officials are
working to assign
internationally recog-
nized identifiers—needed for
all exports—for some uncom-
mon and unique Indian rice
varieties so that they do not
inadvertently fall into the
dragnet of a sweeping export
ban.
Officials are considering
getting Harmonized System or
HS codes assigned for red,
black and Kalanamak varieties
of rice which are Geographical
Indication (GI) tagged.
under the government’s sumed in West Bengal get also, which form the core sta- because we do not know Oct-Dec 2023 was 20.2%, 13.1%,
export ban on non-basmati impacted. ple diet of the country,” he whether there will be an 10.2% and 21.6%, respectively.
rice varieties, a government “New HSN codes for some said. exportable surplus or not,” he The error is regretted.
official said on Tuesday. other varieties of rice is some- Agarwal said that there is a said.
The ban was enforced last thing which is the demand of need to strike a balance and Due to restrictions on Mint welcomes comments,
suggestions or complaints
year to check scarcity of sup- the industry. How do we dif- that the ministry take a deci- exports of rice, sugar and about errors. Readers can
plies amid hoarding. ferentiate? That is the debate sion after detailed stakeholder wheat, agri-exports may fall by alert the newsroom to any
Officials of the Agricultural we are having internally,” consultation. 9%—hence the need for HS errors in the paper by
& Processed Food Products The move is to keep GI-tagged rice varieties out of export ban Agarwal said. At present, there are six HS codes. emailing us, with your full
Export Development Author- ambit. HT “We are trying to see codes for non-basmati rice and APEDA chairman Abhishek name and address to
ity (APEDA) said the apex agri- whether there is merit in one for basmati. Dev said India exported agri- feedback@livemint.com.
cultural export promotion rized under an HS nomencla- tion (WCO). doing so or not. As a country, Another worry is that the cultural products worth Mint’s journalistic Code of
body is working on separate ture as it helps in the classifica- Rajesh Agarwal, additional we wouldn’t like to impose any Red Sea crisis may have an reached $26.7 billion in Conduct that governs our
HS codes for GI rice varieties. tion of goods across the globe. secretary in the commerce ban on rice, but we do so to impact on India’s rice exports 2022-23 and expanded the newsroom is available at
In international trade par- The system is administered by ministry, said that non-bas- meet the food security objec- this year. export basket to over 200 www.livemint.com
lance, every product is catego- the World Customs Organiza- mati rice has about 40-50 vari- tives of the country. At the “In 2022-23, we exported 22 countries.

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LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi 03

m MINT SHORTS
Pet care startup Supertails secures
Good Glamm steps up GSV Ventures bullish
on India’s edtech space
₹125 crore in series B funding
Mumbai: Pet care startup Supertails has raised ₹125 crore in a
series B funding round led by RPSG Capital Ventures and existing
investors Fireside Ventures, Saama Capital, DSG Consumer Part-
cost cutting measures Priyamvada C.
priyamvada.c@livemint.com
gUrUgram
confidence in the immense
potential in India. The VC firm
intends to pursue follow-up
investments and new opportu-

U
ners, and Sauce VC. The startup said the money will be used for S-based GSV Ventures, nities. “We’re very active here.
business growth, customer acquisition, investment in technol- which focuses solely on It’s a good time to be buying
ogy, expansion of healthcare services, including Supertails phar- edtech firms, is looking swimsuits in the winter.”
macy, and to make a foray into an omnichannel distribution. PTI Implements efficiency measures, eyes profitability before going public to invest in Indian companies, Yet, India’s education sys-
Michael Moe, founder of the tem has several gaps to address
VC firm, said in an interview. and AI will be a game changer,
Ascend Capital raises ₹50 crore Suneera Tandon He stressed the importance increasing personalization for
suneera.t@htlive.com of valuable lessons from the students at low cost, improv-
Series A round led by Infoedge new delhi Byju’s fiasco and has expressed ing learning quality, Moe said.
ISTOCKPHOTO

Bengaluru: Ascend Capital has raised $6 million (₹50
crore) in a Series A funding round co-led by Infoedge Ven-
tures and Asha Ventures. The startup will use the funding
to expand its loan book across geographies, according to its
statement. Founded by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Madras alumni Lokesh Chandra and Gaurav Maheshwari,
Ascend Capital is a non-banking financial company focused
on electric vehicle financing. K. AMOGHAVARSHA
Fintech venture PocketATM gets
pre-seed funding of ₹3.3 crore
Bengaluru: Mumbai-based fintech startup PocketATM has
raised ₹3.3 crore in a pre-seed funding round from a host of
investors including Indian Express Commercial Ventures, the
investment vehicle of Indian Express Group, Samir Modi of
Modicare, Himanshu Nautiyal from Fractal Analytics, Nirav
Mehta of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Hemant Adarkar of
Artha Center and Rajat Agarwal, partner at Vertices Partners. It
aims to allow local mom-and-pop stores to become cash dis-
pensing touchpoints and service customers by delivering cash
at home. K. AMOGHAVARSHA
IPV to invest ₹150-200 crore in
startups in 2024; exit 14 firms
New Delhi: Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) will make fresh
investments in the range of ₹150-200 crore in startups this year,
a senior company official said.The firm announced partial and
full exit from 14 firms with an average 61% internal rate of return
in 2023. IPV has made 56 investments in 2023, comprising 46
new investments and around 10 follow-on investments.
T
he Good Glamm Group, a beauty
products and content company,
has slashed marketing spending,
withdrawn discounts and down-
sized its workforce over the past
year to achieve profitability before listing
on the stock exchanges in the latter half of
2025, said a top executive at the company.
The decision follows the firm’s acquisi-
tion spree between 2021 and 2022, picking
up stakes in over 10 firms, including media
platform ScoopWhoop, MissMalini and
direct-to-consumer brand The Moms Co.,
besides rapidly growing its workforce and
product portfolio. Good Glamm sells
beauty and personal care products such as
MyGlamm, St Botanica and Sirona.
“Eventually the business needs to start
making money. This is not just an austerity
drive…We have to be predictable as a com- Darpan Sanghvi, group founder and chief executive officer, Good Glamm Group.
pany before we go in for a stock market list-
ing,” said Darpan Sanghvi, group founder regularly. Now, we have changed that strat- integrating everything since we acquired a
and chief executive officer, Good Glamm egy to what we have done via an association lot of businesses in previous years. Last
Group. with Karan Johar (launch of a makeup col- year was when we started on the quest for
In the current financial year, its beauty lection with the film maker) apart from a profitability. This year (2024) is when we
brand MyGlamm has shifted its approach, three-year deal with Dharma Production will achieve profitability and see interna-
moving away from associations with popu- for its beauty brands,” he added. tional kick in a very large way,” he added.
lar television shows such as Big Boss and The moves have helped trim marketing Its brands Sirona and baby care brand
Koffee with Karan, serving as an official expenses by 40%; and has brought down Mom’s co are already present in the Middle
makeup partner for the reality East and North Africa. “We
TV series in 2022. It now looks STRATeGIC ReAlIGnMenT will be unveiling our interna-
to forge strategic partnerships tional plans in the next 60 days
with production houses. THe move follows THIS year, the firm THe company is or so.”
Besides, the firm has down- acquisitions during
2021-22, when it
has downsized its
workforce, letting go
also expanding its
personal care and
Founded by Sanghvi, Pri-
sized its workforce this year, picked up stakes in of around 120 out of beauty brands to yanka Gill and Naiyya Saggi,
letting go of around 120 out of over 10 companies its 1,000 employees overseas markets Good Glamm operates across
its 1,000 employees . multiple verticals. The Good
“We were at 1,000-odd Brands Co comprises beauty
employees in corporate, we are down to the quantum of discounting on its brands. and personal care, while The Good Media
some 880 currently; it is actually happen- The company is also expanding its per- Co includes POPxo, ScoopWhoop, Miss-
ing as we speak but most of it is done. So, we sonal care and beauty brands to overseas Malini, BabyChakra and Tweak India.
had 25% saving in manpower cost, which markets. “The journey ahead in FY25 will Good Creator Co serves as an influencer
reflected in about 12% of employees we be of having full-year profitability. India platform, alongside The Good Community.
had.” Layoffs were across the board, he business is growing at 35-40%. For us, the In FY22 it had witnessed a staggering 380%
added. “Last year, we had sponsored Big last two years were going from MyGlamm operating revenue growth to ₹240 crore,
PTI Boss and Koffee with Karan, we were on TV to a platform of brands. 2022 was about but losses surged to ₹272 crore.

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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

71,555.19 0.68 21,743.25 0.59 19,782.90 0.55 56,893.05 1.01 22,181.60 0.63 38,765.87 0.61 44,284.48 0.18
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

71,072.49 71,292.08 21,616.05 21,664.30 19,675.20 19,709.80 56,323.70 56,425.10 22,042.10 22,090.50 38,531.14 38,584.77 44,206.78 44,107.12
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

71,662.74 70,924.30 21,766.80 21,543.35 19,796.05 19,508.75 56,939.95 55,701.90 22,196.85 21,934.80 38,821.21 38,062.00 44,330.69 43,200.02

m MINT SHORTS Renewables biz may Brigade Enterprises

UK’s strong wage growth ups the ante in office,
bolsters BOE caution
UK wage growth slowed less than expected in the fourth
quarter, underscoring the Bank of England’s caution
against moving too quickly to cut interest rates. Wages
recharge Tata Power hospitality segments
excluding bonuses rose 6.2% from a year earlier, down Dipti Sharma Harsha Jethmalani
Outsized Powering up Standing out
from an upwardly revised 6.7% in the three months dipti.sharma@livemint.com
Tata Power will spend 45% of its Tata Power sees renewables business
harsha.j@htlive.com
Brigade Enterprises saw occupancies
through November, the Office for National Statistics estimated 60,000 crore capex on contribution to Ebitda rising to 45% by FY27 improve year-on-year in Q3FY24 in

T T
said. Economists had forecast a reading of 6%. While ata Power Co. Ltd’s stock fell renewables between FY24 and FY27 FY2023 FY2027
he south India focused real office and hotel portfolios
that provides some relief for workers after the worst 8% on Monday after the com- estate developer, Brigade Ent- Occupancy (in %)
Sector capex spend 50
cost-of-living crisis in a generation, the figures suggest pany reported dull earnings erprises Ltd, is betting big on its Office portfolio Hotel portfolio
the labour market isn’t cooling fast enough to satisfy for the December quarter Conventional generation,
office leasing and hospitality seg-
Other 100
policymakers worried about price pressures. Inflation (Q3FY24). Still, the power 1 coal & shipping 40 ments. The optimism is driven by
is widely forecast to hit the 2% target in the spring, albeit producer’s outlook is upbeat owing to a 5 improvement in key metrics. In the 95
95
briefly, but money markets expect the BOE to hold likely increase in renewables business. commercial segment, the office occ-
30
interest rates at a 16-year high until the summer. Unem- The renewables segment’s revenue upancy rose to 95% in the December
90
ployment ticked down to 3.8% as more people dropped surged 30% year-on-year in the quarter Pumped quarter (Q3FY24). Office leasing at
out of the workforce and into inactivity, driven again by to nearly ₹2,484 crore, forming 15.5% of Renewables hydro 0.5 million square feet space was the
20
rising numbers of long-term sick. BLOOMBERG consolidated segment revenue. 45 15 highest seen in a post-covid quarter. 85
in %
Tata Power plans to raise contribution Office leasing is improving, espe- 80
from clean energy. As on 31 December, 10 cially in Bengaluru due to robust 80
the company’s operational capacity was demand from global capability cen-
4,270 MW in the renewables segment. 0
tres, the management said in an earn- 75 73
Tata Power Renewable Energy is cur- Transmission & Renewables Transmission ings call. The company expects to 71
distribution & distribution
rently executing projects totalling 4,752 Optional growth in
17 Coventional generation, Other complete the crucial Brigade Twin 70
transmission &
MW, and Tata Power Solar Systems has distribution
coal & shipping Tower office project in Q1FY25 and
Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation,
4,120 MW of projects under execution. 17 and amortization
lease it fully by FY25-end. 65
Q1FY23 Q3FY24
The combined clean energy capacity Source: Company In the retail segment, footfalls rose Source: Company, Motilal Oswal Financial Services
will be over 10,000 MW in 12-24 8% year-on-year (y-o-y) aided by hea-
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
months. lthy traction in the jewellery, F&B,
The company estimates renewables and 87 MW of orders won last quarter. renewables segment, and continued and salon spaces. Brigade plans to report.
will contribute 45% of Ebitda by FY27, The government announced that 10 Section 11 orders for Mundra plant, expand its portfolio by 5.2 million sq. Brigade’s net debt increased to
from 32% in FY23. Tata Power expects to million houses will be aided with solar which have been extended to June. ft. across office and retail projects, ₹2,111.5 crore in Q3FY24 from ₹1,592
spend 45% of its ₹60,000 crore-capex rooftop solutions. At the same time, Odi- The government has ordered thermal with a cumulative rental potential of crore in Q2FY24. With that, the net
on renewables between FY24 and FY27. sha distribution companies have shown power generation firms using imported ₹500 crore. debt to equity ratio also rose margin-
The company’s strategy to tap high- signs of a stronger turnaround in Q3. coal, like Mundra, to operate at top Brigade’s hospitality segment saw ally to 0.69x.
Allocation to tech is now at the highest since August margin group-captive renewable energy Apart from these, a large opportunity capacity in preparation for peak power occupancy level at 73%, up 500 basis Its residential segment pre-sales
2020. ISTOCKPHOTO opportunities, venture into brownfield of 30-40 GW from rooftop solar and demand. Under this, power producers points y-o-y. Average room rate are solid with the first nine months of
pumped hydro storage, expand its trans- pump hydro storage will be key growth will receive full compensation. improved to ₹6,503 per day, up 7% FY24, pre-sales at ₹3,769.5 crore, 90%
mission business beyond distribution, drivers for Tata Power, says Abhijeet Tata Power expects strong demand to y-o-y and was higher than pre-covid of FY23 pre-sales. In Q4FY24, the
BofA survey shows investors and reach a resolution in the Mundra Bora, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas analyst. persist. The third quarter saw power levels of ₹5,400. The company is gearing up to
are all in on US tech stock rally issue have positioned Tata demand grow 10% sequen- company has 1,474 keys Office leasing is launch 2.6 million sq. ft.
Investors are going “all in” on US technology stocks as Power for accelerated CLEAN ENERGY PUSH tially. But that may not be and intends to add 1,000 improving, of projects with potential
they turn the most optimistic about global growth in growth, said Sudhanshu enough to drive growth. keys to its hospitality especially in gross development
two years, according to a survey by Bank of America Bansal, a JM Financial TATA Power’s THE co estimates IT expects to spend Nuvama Institutional Equi- portfolio. Bengaluru due to value of ₹1,800 crore
Corp. Allocation to tech is now at the highest since Institutional Securities combined clean renewables to 45% of the ₹60,000- ties estimates flattish to low These developments across its projects in
energy capacity will contribute 45% of crore capex on robust demand
August 2020. Exposure to US equities more broadly has analyst. be over 10,000 MW Ebitda by FY27, up renewables between growth for Tata Power in will mean new capex of Bengaluru.
also risen, while easing macro risks prompted investors As of December, Tata in 12-24 months from 32% in FY23 FY24 and FY27 FY24-25 amid falling coal ₹3,000 crore over from global Brigade continues to
to trim cash levels by 55 basis points from January. Pre- Power Solar had a large realisations. Also, higher FY25-28. So, timely capability centres provide strong visibility
vious such declines in cash levels were followed by stock engineering, procurement contribution of renewables completion will aid its until FY26, given the
market gains of about 4% in the following three months, and construction order book for utility- Meanwhile, Tata Power plans to start business may take two-three years more. profitability outlook. progress made on busi-
strategist Michael Hartnett said. Technology compa- scale solar projects, with orders worth construction of 2,800 MW pumped On Tuesday, Tata Power shares recov- However, if it is delayed, the commer- ness development over the last few
nies have led US stocks to a record high this year, with ₹15,885 crore for 3,612 MW capacity. storage projects in Maharashtra by mid- ered a bit, and investors are sitting on cial and hospitality capital expendi- years, points out Motilal Oswal Finan-
the Nasdaq 100 heading for a fourth straight month of Its cell and module facility of 4.3 GW 2024, including a 1,000 MW pumped gains worth 79.5% over a year. The com- ture could put pressure on cash flows. cial Services. The brokerage remains
gains. But the rally has left the benchmark S&P 500 in is ready to contribute to earnings from storage project in Bhivpuri that is pany’s focus on scaling up its renewable “While Brigade’s operational com- watchful of the project additions in its
so-called overbought territory, which some market par- Q4, starting with module manufactur- expected to be commissioned by FY27, energy capacity, and potential opportu- mercial and hospitality assets are per- focused markets for further growth
ticipants consider a precursor for declines. Hartnett ing, and cell making by Q1FY25, the and another 1,800 MW project in Shir- nities in pumped storage projects and forming well, any weakness in the visibility. In the last one year, Bri-
said in the note dated 13 February that overly bullish company said in its Q3 earnings call. wata that’s likely to finish by FY28. solid prospects in solar EPC are already upcoming projects could cause stress gade’s shares have rallied by almost
investor positioning was increasingly becoming a con- Meanwhile, solar rooftop business has Tata Power’s earnings hinge on price priced in stock valuation, says Rupesh to the company’s cash flows and debt 100%. Investors seem to be factoring
trarian headwind for risk assets. BLOOMBERG excellent traction with 146 MW installed stability of imported coal, growth of the Sankhe, analyst, Elara Securities (India). servicing,” said a Nuvama Research a good share of the positives, for now.

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

Hindalco net up 71%, Moody’s upgrades 4 Adani cos ZEE plans cost cuts, synergies
but below estimate in journey after failed merger
Anirudh Laskar
anirudh.l@htlive.com
$150 billion in market capitali- upgraded the same four Adani
zation and came under rating firms to stable—Adani Green
MUMBAI pressure after a damning Energy Ltd (AGEL), Adani
Naman Suri report by the US-based short- Green Energy Restricted Lata Jha The company aims to improve

U
naman.suri@livemint.com S-headquartered rat- seller Hindenburg Research Group-1 (comprising Adani lata.j@htlive.com synergies and reduce overlaps
NEW DElHI ings firm Moody’s on 24 January last year alleg- Green Energy (UP) Ltd, Par- NEW DElHI between businesses, he said.
upgraded the ratings of ing the Gautam Adani-led ampujya Solar Energy Pvt Ltd “On the revenue side, we will

H M
indalco Industries, the
flagship company of
the Aditya Birla group,
on Tuesday reported a 71%
year-on-year jump in its con-
solidated net profit to ₹2,331
crore for the quarter ended
December driven by a robust
performance of its aluminium
and copper businesses. The
profit failed to beat the esti-
mate of Bloomberg analysts.
The copper business regis-
tered an Ebitda growth of 20%
on the back of strong volumes
and robust operations, said
Satish Pai, MD of Hindalco
Industries Ltd. Ebitda is earni-
ngs before interest, tax, depre-
ciation, and amortization.
The aluminium upstream
business Ebitda rose 54%, sup-
ported by stable operations
and lower raw material costs,
he added.
“We continue investing in
promising growth areas in alu-
minium and copper down-
stream. Our overseas business
Aluminium and copper
performance helped the
company. BLOOMBERG
can produce and produce, and
LME was also low,” he said.
“But we continue to stay on
our growth track despite chall-
enging market conditions, del-
ivering a strong performance,
driven by an enhanced prod-
uct mix and lower input costs
across our businesses,” he said.
The company’s consoli-
dated Ebitda stood at ₹6,322
crore, a 61% rise, with an oper-
ating margin of 11%.
Hindalco said it was able to
reduce the cost of production
as price of raw material like
two green energy firms and
two electricity generation and
distribution firms of the Adani
Group following improved
financials, timely debt repay-
ments and a capital infusion by
the group over the past year.
On Tuesday, Moody’s, in a
report, enhanced the ratings of
four Adani firms from ‘nega-
tive’ to ‘stable’, while keeping
ratings on eight other Adani
Group companies unchanged
as ‘stable’.
Rating actions often influ-
ence the stock prices of the
firms involved.
Adani firms lost as much as
Rally in Smids counters hits a speed bump on profit booking
Ram Sahgal
Ram.sahgal@livemint.com
MUMBAI
group of governance lapses and Prayatna Developers Pvt edia and entertainm- take steps to increase value
and “pulling the Ltd), Adani ent company Zee Ent- delivery to our advertisers,
largest con in Adani firms came T r a n s m i s s i o n ertainment Enterpr- apart from exploring alternat-
corporate his- under rating Step-One Ltd and ises Ltd (ZEE) is charting a ive content monetisation aven-
tory”. pressure after a Adani Electricity three-pronged approach—cut- ues. This also includes leverag-
C o n s e - damning report Mumbai Ltd. ting costs, reducing overlaps ing the strength and reach of
quently, in Feb- On 29 January, between businesses, and our platforms,” Goenka said.
by US-based
ruary 2023, Adani Green enhancing quality to regain He emphasised that a gradual
Moody’s had Hindenburg Energy said it has margins—after its merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises recovery in margins was
revised the out- Research completed the Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Punit Goenka. MINT expected to reflect in earnings
look on four funding for $750 collapsed, MD and CEO Punit from the second half of FY25
rated Adani million worth of Goenka said in an earnings call content and marketing—we are and Zee was targeting 18% to
Group companies to negative notes due on 9 September on Tuesday. implementing steps to optim- 20% Ebitda margin by FY26.
reflecting concerns about 2024 (Holdco Notes) with the “Going forward, there will be ise spends and enhance the ret- On Tuesday the company
their access to capital and a receipt of the funds under the a sharper emphasis on frugal- urn on investments. A sound said its net profit dipped by
potential increase in capital preferential allotment of ity, with a crystal-clear focus on recalibration of the OTT cost 6.4% to ₹53.4 crore in the third
costs. ₹9,350 crore ($1.125 billion) to quality and output. Across ver- structure will be an integral quarter of FY24 from ₹57 crore
On Tuesday, Moody’s the promoters of the company. ticals—including technology, part of this process,” he said. in the same period a year ago.
of bearishness lies ahead. profit booking hit the counter. tya Birla Sun Life AMC.
While the Nifty Midcap 150 Another stock, which has been “Surely, given the phenome-
and the Nifty Smallcap 250 the darling of the Street, nal run up in the mids and
indices corrected 3.9% and Indian Renewable Energy small cap stocks, expectations

and global recycling leader
Novelis showed a 33% YoY
improvement in Ebitda and
Ebitda per tonne, driven by
favourable metal benefits from
recycling, higher pricing, and
lower operating costs,” he said.
The company’s consolida-
ted revenue from operations
for the quarter though
declined 1% year-on-year to
₹52,808 crore in Q3FY24.
“Revenue is driven by the
amount of aluminium we sold,
which was flattish because we
were flat on everything that we
coal continued to ease in third
quarter.
Hindalco has pre-paid long-
term loans of ₹4,370 crore in
the year amid a high-interest
rate scenario, Pai noted.
The company has ₹11,000
crore in cash owing to the
Indian business.
“The company has a positive
cash level of ₹3,000 crore
(after debt). It will also main-
tain its net debt to Ebitda gui-
dance for Novelis between 2.5
to 3 (2.65 after December
2023),” Pai said.
T
he investor euphoria
surrounding certain
small and midcap (Smid)
counters seems to have abated
with the stocks having fallen
by 20-30% or even more from
their prior highs. A fall of
10-20% from recent highs is
defined as a correction, while a
fall more than 20% is a bear
market. However, despite the
recent correction, market
experts are mixed in their out-
look for smids, with some
expecting returns to moderate
while others believe a period
5.5% each from their peaks
earlier this month, stocks con-
stituting these indices have
fallen far more. Smallcaps like
Amber Enterprises, Ircon and
SJVN have fallen 20-37% from
their peaks, while midcaps like
Kajaria Ceramics, Rail Vikas
Nigam Ltd (RVNL) and NHPC
have plunged 20-26% from
their highs.
The correction in these
stocks comes after a prolific
run with markets discounting
the re-rated prospects of some
stocks ahead of their value. For
Development Agency (Ireda)
fell 24.5% from its high of
214.80 only last week to
₹162.15 on 13 February.
The stock rose fourfold
from a listing price of ₹50 on
29 November to its high on 6
February.
“Some of these stocks, espe-
Smids stocks have fallen 20-30% or more from their highs. HT cially the government run
ones, have been re-rated and
instance, construction major shedding 25% from that level. have surged because of
Ircon surged almost sixfold Similarly, RVNL rose over demand as the government is
from a low of ₹50.10 on 27 Feb- six times from a low of 56.05 using these companies to exe-
ruary last year to a high of on 1 March last year to ₹345.50 cute its projects,” said A. Balas-
₹280.85 on 23 January, before on 23 January this year, before ubramanian, MD & CEO, Adi-
of returns will have to moder-
ate from here and the earnings
and order execution will be
tracked closely.”
Balasubramanian explained
that while mutual funds had
been “very selective” in stock
picking in the smids space,
scouting for “quality,” high
networth individuals (HNIs),
using alternate investment
funds and portfolio manage-
ment service (PMS) funds,
were chasing momentum,
causing some of the counters
to run up ahead of their value .
LIVEMINT.COM
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LIC share sales in Q3 at Go Digit IPO gets go-ahead from Irdai

FROM PAGE 1 Indian stock market is deliver-

record as market soars the conversion ratio of the

compulsorily convertible pref-
erence shares, issued to Fair-
fax.”
ing strong performance on a
broad basis,” the report said,
referring to Go Digit.
Back home, Digit is likely to
be valued around $3 billion
The company is likely to go when it hits the public mar-
public in the first half of 2024, kets, the second person cited
one of the two people cited above said. “The public market
Amount from share sales at ₹39,163 crore, 31% higher than a year earlier above said. valuations have been robust.
This is Go Digit’s second The company is aiming any-
attempt at a IPO. In January where between $2.5 billion
Mayur Bhalerao & Anirudh Laskar 2023, Sebi had returned its and $3 billion in valuation,” he
mayur.bhalerao@livemint.com offer document, making added. It has so far raised
observations on the lock-in around $544 million in fund-

L
ife Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) period for promoters and ing across various rounds, data
reaped windfall gains in the shareholders, and its The approval from Irdai clears one key hurdle for Go Digit on the from Tracxn shows. Apart
December quarter, selling a employee stock options. Go road to its ₹1,250 crore IPO. It is now waiting for Sebi approval.. HT from Fairfax, it counts A91
record $4.7 billion worth of shares Digit rectified these issues and Partners, Faering Capital and
of listed domestic companies as refiled the offer document on 25th life insurance company in Fairfax refuted all claims TVS Capital among its inves-
the shares reached all-time highs during 6 April. India. made by Muddy Waters in tors.
the market bull run. Queries emailed to the Go Digit had raised capital statements issued on 8 and The company has been
According to a Mint study based on reg- spokespersons of Fairfax, Go at a valuation of $3.5 billion 12 February. growing steadily and is profit-
ulatory filings, the state-run insurer sold Digit and Irdai remained in 2021; however, this came An analyst report by able. In FY23, its revenues
part of its investments in at least 100 top unanswered. under scrutiny last week National Bank of Canada said grew to ₹5,164 crore against
listed companies, which, based on vol- Founded by Kamesh Goyal when short seller Muddy “the proposed adjustment ₹3,404 crore in the previous
ume-weighted average price for the Octo- in 2016, Go Digit General Waters Research claimed included in the Muddy Waters fiscal, while profit grew to
ber-December period, adds up to ₹39,163 Insurance Ltd offers motor, that Fairfax had overstated report for Go Digit, Recipe, ₹338 crore from ₹50 crore.
crore—the highest ever in the third quar- health, travel and property its book value by $4.5 billion, Quess and Grivalia are likely Digit’s IPO comprises a
ter of a financial year. insurance among other non- including its investments in overstated.” fresh issue of shares worth
“Most stocks that were sold during the life products. Last year, it Go Digit and Quess Corp. It “While a value-surfacing ₹1,250 crore and an offer for
quarter by LIC were at their highest ever received Irdai’s permission to said Go Digit was valued at transaction may not material- sale of 109.45 million shares.
price levels, which means the actual value start Go Digit Life Insurance only $1.5 billion, less than ize at the previous $3.5 billion ranjani.raghavan@live-
of the share sale by LIC could be far higher LIC’s substantial share sales could help improve the return on investments made by the Ltd, which would make it the the $3.5 billion valuation. financing round valuation, the mint.com
than even ₹50,000 crore,” said a person company’s life insurance policyholders in the long term. MINT
aware of the developments at LIC.
At ₹39,163 crore, LIC has raked in 31% ₹50,588 crore, respectively. limited, supported by strong fundamen-
more money from shares of Indian com- LIC’s substantial share sale could offer tals of the companies and sales as a small
panies in the December quarter of FY24, improved return on investments made by fraction of market activity,” said Atul Par-
compared to ₹29,900 crore in the same the company’s life insurance policyhold- akh, the chief executive officer at Bigul, an
ED starts Paytm bank preliminary probe
quarter a year ago. ers in the long term. However, in the short online investment and trading firm.
This happened as the BSE’s 30-share term, such a move by LIC often serves as a LIC, according to the people cited FROM PAGE 1 RBI has already ruled out a ecosystem. highway are not followed, there
Sensex surpassed its highest 72,000 level, market guidance for many small investors above, follows a contrarian investment review of its decision in the case “Many businesses are good will be consequences. India is a
rising more than 10% from October to and fund managers in view of the scale of strategy, selling the shares at highs and its or top-ups in customer of Paytm Payments Bank. The in coming out with ideas and in growing economy and equity
December, propelled by cooling inflation its investments, said experts. buying at dips, differing from the conven- accounts, prepaid instruments, second person cited above said promoting creativity and inno- investments are growing, but
in the US, hopes of a rate cut, tional approach of most wallet and FASTags after 29 further regulatory options will vation, but unless they educate its sustainability will depend on
continuous decline in US CheQue ouT investors. In the December February. be explored by themselves about corporate governance.”
bond yields and the dollar, quarter, the markets were The central bank had RBI after 29 Feb- Paytm Payments governance prin- One 97 Communications, a
and consistent purchase of AT ₹39,163 cr, LIC has LIC’s decision to sell TypICALLy, particularly bullish despite pointed out that a comprehen- ruary. Paytm Pay- Bank has ciples, roles and minority shareholder in Paytm
Indian stocks by foreign port- raked in 31% more
money from shares
shares seems to be
influenced by mkt
whenever LIC sells
shares in bulk, FPIs,
only modest year-on-year sive system audit report and ments Bank has more than responsibilities of Payments Bank, had on 9 Feb-
folio investors (FPIs). of Indian firms in the prices rather than mutual funds tend to corporate earnings growth. subsequent compliance valida- more than 300 300 million directors and ruary announced the setting up
Typically, whenever LIC, Dec quarter of FY24 To date, at least 1,779 BSE- tion report of external auditors million wallet
financial growth be net heavy buyers
wallet users and legal require- a three-member group advi-
the largest domestic institu- listed firms (excluding 294 had revealed alleged “persist- users and over 30 ments, they will sory panel led by former Secu-
tional investor, sells shares in firms in the banking, financial ent non-compliances and con- million accounts. over 30 million end up in rities and Exchange Board of
bulk, FPIs and mutual funds tend to be net “LIC’s sales likely seem to be profit-tak- services, and insurance sector) have tinued material supervisory Experts said accounts trouble,” said India chairman M. Damodaran
heavy buyers, which often prevents the ing after the stock’s strong gains while also reported their Q3 results, with overall rev- concerns in the bank, warrant- compliance and Manoj Raut, chief and comprising M.M. Chitale,
market from a drastic fall. rebalancing its portfolio. For policyhold- enues increasing by 10.95% year-on-year ing further supervisory action”. corporate govern- executive officer former president of the Insti-
During the December quarter, the mar- ers, it signals LIC’s prudence in securing and net profits surging by 25.08%.There- The restrictions on deposits ance surrounding startups are and secretary general of the tute of Chartered Accountants
ket maintained its bull run despite signifi- profits. For the market, it provides caution fore, LIC’s decision to sell shares seems to on customer accounts do not emerging as a major issue for Institute of Directors, the apex of India and R. Ramachandran,
cant share sale by LIC with domestic on its valuations. The stake sales are likely be influenced by the market prices rather apply to interest, cashbacks or the government to deal with as association for directors in former chairman and manag-
mutual funds and foreign investors buy- to put pressure on the broader market and than financial growth parameters. refunds, which may be credited the country is now home to the India. “A person can be a good ing director of Andhra Bank.
ing shares totalling ₹61,527 crore and specific stocks sold. But the impact seems mayur.bhalerao@livemint.com anytime. world’s third largest startup driver, but if the rules of the gireesh .p@livemint.com

Protesting farmers clash with Gentari to buy Fortum assets

police in march to New Delhi FROM PAGE 1 $1.5 billion in a unit of AM
Green, set up by the founders
sivity,” one of the two people of Greenko Group, Mahesh
FROM PAGE 1 an economist and daughter of cited above said, requesting Kolli and Anil Kumar Chala-
agricultural scientist Dr M.S. anonymity. malasetty.
For others like pulses and oil- Swaminathan, at an event on The deal has generated a lot Petronas president and
seeds, farmers are often forced Tuesday celebrating the Bharat of interest, given the power chief executive officer
sell to private traders at prices Ratna conferred on her father from these projects goes to Muhammad Taufik visited
below MSP. recently. state-run Solar Energy Corp. India during the second edi-
There are several deficien- The agitating farmers’ key of India Ltd, NTPC Ltd and tion of the India Energy Week
cies in the current MSP regime, demand—fixing MSP based on NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam that was held in Goa earlier
Tesla’s Solar Roof replaces conventional thatched roofs with agreed R. Ramakumar, a pro- the cost of cultivation plus a Ltd. this month.
photovoltaic tiles. fessor at the Tata Institute of 50% margin—was first recom- Fortum India president India has an installed solar
Social Sciences, Mumbai, and mended by the Swaminathan Sanjay Aggarwal and spokes- power generation capacity of

Tesla seeks Indian author of multiple books on

India’s farm policy. “Benefits of
MSP need to be spread evenly
Agriculture minister Arjun
Munda. PTI
committee in 2006.
In addition, farmers are ask-
ing for a loan waiver, social
people for Actis and Edelweiss
declined to comment. Spokes-
persons for Kotak Investment India has an installed solar
73.32GW, and a total esti-
mated solar energy potential
of 748GW. The Indian govern-

partner for rooftop across the country. For that, the

procurement infrastructure has
to be built in states where MSP
Union agriculture minister
Arjun Munda, however, said a
security benefits like pension,
and a revamp of the crop insur-
ance scheme. They also want
Banking, Petronas, Gentari,
ONGC and Sembcorp did not
respond to queries emailed on
power generation capacity of
73.32GW. AFP
ment has set a target of achiev-
ing 500GW of installed capac-
ity from non-fossil fuel sources
benefits do not reach farmers. law guaranteeing MSP cannot higher duties on imported agri- Monday night. June 2022 to accelerate the by 2030.
solar panel venture The way support prices are cal-
culated also needs a correction
to accurately reflect the costs of
be brought in a hurry without
consulting all stakeholders. He
urged farmer groups to have a
cultural produce, as duty-free
imports lead to lower farmgate
prices.
Global oil companies such
as energy giant Shell Plc,
France’s TotalEnergies, Thai-
adoption of clean energy and
build a renewable energy
capacity of 40GW, supplying
Given the ambitious scale of
India’s green energy transition
trajectory, foreign capital has
FROM PAGE 1 Tesla’s solar panel plans cultivation,” Ramakumar said. structured discussion with the The latest round of protests land’s PTT Group and Petro- 1.2 million tonnes per annum been actively investing in the
come at a time when the com- Currently, the cost of cultiva- government on the issue. comes on the back of muted nas have already established a of green hydrogen and setting space. India has received for-
capacity has grown at a com- pany is also engaging with the tion parameters used to calcu- The protests are organized farm earnings over the past year, presence in India’s green up electric vehicle (EV) charg- eign direct equity investments
pounded annual rate of 47% Indian government for bring- late MSP include an imputed by the Kisan Majdoor Morcha, as the government placed export energy sector, as the conven- ing points across the Asia-Pa- of $6,137.39 million in the
over the last five years, pre- ing its electric cars to the value of family labour, but not an umbrella body of farmer curbs on wheat, rice, sugar and tional hydrocarbon space cific, with a focus on Malaysia renewable energy sector
senting a sizable opportunity. country. The company has the rental value of farm land. unions from Punjab, Haryana onion, depressing local prices. undergoes a massive disrup- and India. over the three financial years
India’s total installed roof- sought several concessions Farmers have repeatedly com- and other states. Farm incomes were also hit tion, with increasing focus on Gentari has been actively till 30 September 2023,
top solar capacity was 11.1GW including lower import duty plained that this depresses MSP “Don’t treat farmers like they due to repeated climate shocks green hydrogen and energy eyeing green energy opportu- according to the Department
as of December, said Girish- rates for its vehicles. numbers. are criminals”, said an emo- like heat waves and uneven storage. nities in India, a recent case in for Promotion of Industry and
kumar Kadam, senior vice- The company is reportedly In an interview with PTI, tional Madhura Swaminathan, rains. Petronas set up Gentari in point being its plans to invest Internal Trade.
president and group head of willing to invest up to $2 bil-
corporate ratings at Icra Ltd. lion for setting up a factory in
While the bulk of this capacity India if the government gives
is with commercial and indus- it a concessional duty rate of
trial users, residential capacity 15% on imported cars for the
has also grown significantly, first two years of its operations,
GST cess, set to end by Mar ’26, may be replaced with new levy
reaching 2.7GW. compared to 70-100% at
“However, the installed present. FROM PAGE 1 the future. If more revenue is will also help in improving deployed for development or
rooftop capacity Tesla’s India to be raised, there can be GST revenues. If these are not welfare.
fell significantly Apart from electric plans gathered pensation cess cannot be lev- higher GST rates. These are sufficient to mobilize the The commission has time
short of the cars, Tesla makes steam again ied beyond that,” one of the issues to be decided by the required revenues, another till October 2025 to give its
40GW target that several home after Musk, the persons cited above said on council,” said the person, who option is to go in for a rationali- report. The 15th Finance Com-
the Union gov- power products company’s mer- condition of anonymity. also spoke on condition of zation of the GST rates for mission had earlier proposed
ernment had set curial chief “Products like tobacco and anonymity. select commodities,” he added. GST rate rationalization as a
covering solar
by the year executive officer automobiles currently attract- Queries sent to the GST In the current medium-term
2022,” Kadam power generation ( C E O ) , m e t ing cess over and above 28% Council and the spokesperson fiscal year, the The cess was reform goal, an
said. and storage Prime Minister GST cannot have GST ‘com- for the finance ministry Centre is originally meant issue that is still
The Pradhan Narendra Modi pensation’ cess after that. The remained unanswered at the expected to col- to compensate before the coun-
Mantri Suryo- during the lat- GST Council will decide what time of publishing. lect ₹1.45 trillion states for revenue cil.
daya Yojana, announced in ter’s US visit in June. Subse- is to be done after the compen- The second person added in compensation The current
losses in the first
January, aims to bring rooftop quently, India’s minister for sation cess is removed... It can that the GST Council will need cess, up 15% from rate of the cess
solar projects to 10 million commerce and industry Piy- continue in some other form, to decide whether higher tax The 16th Finance Commission led by Arvind Panagariya will look the year before, as five years of GST varies—from 1%
houses, each of which gener- ush Goyal visited Tesla’s fac- no doubt,” the person added. rates or another levy replacing into the future of the GST compensation cess. PTI per interim bud- till June 2022 for vehicles run-
ate up to 300 units of electric- tory in Fremont, California, in The second person said that the compensation cess will get estimates. ning on petrol,
ity per month and achieve sav- November. the constitutional guarantee require a constitutional Experts said after the com- tiny in choosing commodities A third person, compressed nat-
ings in electricity cost, Kadam Indian officials and Tesla to compensate states for reve- amendment or only an amend- pensation cess expires, a tax for any tax rate increase so that who also spoke on condition of ural gas (CNG) or Liquefied
added. The scheme, which executives have engaged mul- nue loss was only for the first ment to the law. In the event of rate adjustment or shifting the poor and middle class are not being named, said the 16th petroleum gas (LPG) meeting
allows the use of only locally tiple times since to thrash out five years of GST, and the any reduction in the tax outgo certain goods into a higher tax not adversely impacted,” said Finance Commission led by certain conditions, to 22% in
made solar modules, could the finer details of the com- extension of cess was done by on these products, the Compe- slab may be an easier way to R. Muralidharan, a practising Arvind Panagariya will look the case of sports utility vehi-
create 20-25GW of demand pany’s entry into India. a law as a special dispensation. tition Commission of India mobilize any additional reve- lawyer and indirect tax expert. into the future of GST com- cles, to as high as 290% for cer-
opportunity for domestic solar nehal.chaliawala@live- “The term GST ‘compensa- (CCI) will look into issues of nues required. “Of course, “Measures to enhance com- pensation cess, since it is a rev- tain smoking mixtures for
module makers. mint.com tion’ cess will be a misnomer in profiteering, the person said. there has to be a greater scru- pliance and arrest tax leakages enue source that can be pipes and cigarettes.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi 07

Prime Volleyball to look for EV firms stare at disruption

investors as value tops $90mn
Gaurav Laghate
gaurav.laghate@livemint.com
MuMbai
amid FAME-III uncertainty
P
rime Volleyball League,
India’s first private
sporting league, will Automakers are lining up affordable vehicles, slashing prices to lure buyers as sales stagnate
soon start looking at getting a
strategic investor, as its valua-
tion has more than quadru- Alisha Sachdev and registered at prices under the cur-
pled since its inception to over alisha.sachdev@livemint.com rent scheme.
$90 million, said a top execu- New Delhi “Having enough lead time and cer-
tive. tainty are important not just for original

T
Prime Volleyball was he government has yet to take equipment manufacturers but also for
co-founded in 2021 by Indian a call on whether to extend the ecosystem... depending on the depth
sports marketing firm Baseline the FAME-II (Faster Adoption of the cut, adoption will slow down, it is
Ventures, the erstwhile pro- Prime Volleyball was co-founded in 2021 by Baseline Ventures, and and Manufacturing of Hybrid already at stagnation levels,” Rakesh
moter of the Pro Volleyball five original franchise owners of now-defunct Pro Volleyball. and Electric Vehicles) incen- Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto,
league, along with five original tives beyond 31 March, two officials told Mint. “The subsidy quantum in itself
franchise owners of the now- ketball Association), Major “We are delighted and hon- privy to the discussions said, even as is less important than the early clarity of
defunct Pro Volleyball. In League Soccer (MLS) and oured to witness the response electric vehicle makers seek certainty on it, as it allows lead time for the supply
2020, just after the initial sea- other US sporting leagues, from top businesses and orga- continuation of the scheme that aims to chain including dealers to calibrate
son of Pro Volleyball, the Vol- where team owners are also nisations, showcasing their promote clean mobility in the country. operations. We are in touch with multi-
leyball Federation of India stakeholders in the leagues. interest in partnering with The officials cited a global trend ple levels of different ministries. FAME is
(VFI) and Baseline got In 2022, the first edition of Prime Volleyball League each where electric vehicle subsidies have changing for sure, though a firm deci-
embroiled in a dispute and the Prime Volleyball took place year. We are already in talks to been tapering off in major economies, sion is yet to be taken. Our response will
federation termi- with seven fran- add one more final team after adding that the same shall be done in need to be decided quickly based on the
nated the 10-year In 2022, the first chises, of which the third season to make Prime India. “As of today, there is no FAME-II India is likely to follow a global trend of lowering EV subsidies, say officials. AFP quantum of reduction and anticipated
contract with edition of Prime five had been part Volleyball a 10-team league,” beyond March 31 and the government is competitive response,” Sharma added.
Baseline, alleging Volleyball had of Pro Volleyball. Tuhin Mishra, managing yet to take a view on whether there which the ministry of heavy industries of an electric two-wheeler’s ex-show- “We’re awaiting clarity from the gov-
breach of trust. seven franchises, Since then, the director and co-founder of should be a FAME-III”, one of the offi- has envisioned as an extension, or “mir- room price to only 15% of its ex-factory ernment regarding the future of FAME
While the
of which five had league has added Baseline Ventures, which cials cited above told Mint. “But what is ror” of the existing ₹10,000 crore price. Sops are now offered at the rate of subsidy. We advocate continuation of
Madras high one new fran- exclusively co-owns and mar- certain is subsidies will come down FAME-II scheme. ₹10,000 per kWh of battery capacity in subsidy, with a gradual year-on-year
court-appointed been part of Pro chise every sea- kets the league, told Mint. across the board—for every vehicle seg- The move will be in line with the gov- the vehicle, lower than the ₹15,000 per reduction. While the industry is not
arbitrator found Volleyball son. Sameer He said the valuation of the ment,” the second official added. An ernment’s moves to gradually reduce kWh of incentive firms availed earlier. entirely reliant on subsidies for survival,
the contract ter- Nigam and Rahul league, after the last addition, inter-ministerial committee, with the subsidies. However, the officials cited However, with just a month-and-a- discontinuation could result in one or
mination wrong- Chari, co-fou- is upwards of $90 million. heavy industries ministry as the nodal above said that the timeline for this half to go before the scheme comes to an two years of stunted growth, pushing
ful and awarded ₹4.5 crore to nders of the payments plat- “We are already seeing agency, is currently evaluating the pro- reduction will now be tighter than antic- end, industry executives Mint spoke the industry further away from our tar-
Baseline as compensation, the form PhonePe, acquired the interest from potential inves- posed incentive scheme that will likely ipated earlier. That is, the new scheme is with said lower incentives will slow EV gets,” Ravneet S. Phokela, chief business
sports marketing agency got eighth franchise, Mumbai tors, including strategic and replace or extend FAME-II. likely to have a smaller outlay for a two- adoption, which has already been stag- officer, Ather Energy, told Mint.
the support of five franchise Meteors, last year, while Alok private equity, who want to be While demand-side subsidies, which three year period, instead of five years. nating. Moreover, the lack of clarity on Amid stagnating EV sales, automak-
owners to launch a private vol- Sanghi, director of the Sanghi a part of the league. We will lower the price of a vehicle for a cus- From June 2023, the Centre signifi- what contours the changed demand ers have been lining up affordably-
leyball league in the country Group, bought the ninth team, explore the option after talk- tomer, for EVs are unlikely to come to a cantly cut the subsidy on electric two- incentive scheme will have is disrupting priced vehicles, and have been cutting
that has an operating structure the Delhi Toofans, ahead of ing to all the stakeholders,” complete halt, their quantum will be sig- wheelers to customers under its their business plans, as ecosystem play- prices to appeal to a wider set of con-
similar to NBA (National Bas- the third season. Mishra added. nificantly reduced in the new scheme, FAME-II scheme—from a ceiling of 40% ers will have to grapple with stock billed sumers and revive business.

• Advani Hotels declares a 1:1 bonus share offering and a 100% dividend on the back of consistent revenue growth.
• Recorded a milestone of the highest ever revenue of INR 3,304 lakhs in Q3FY24, the highest revenue in any quarter in it’s
LETTER TO OUR INVESTORS: operating history, registering a growth of 11% (YoY).
Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited
• Q3FY24 Profit Before Tax (PBT) stands at INR 1,270 lakhs, clocking a growth of 8% (YoY)
(Caravela Beach Resort Goa)
• There has been a 44% growth in free reserves as on December 31, 2023 and the Company has significant reserves
available for additional follow-on bonus issuances.

Mumbai, January 29, 2024: Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited, approved the unaudited financial Announcing the financial results, Mr. Prahlad S. Advani, Chief Executive Officer & Whole-Time Director,
results for the quarter and nine-month period ended December 31, 2023. Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited stated:
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I’m very grateful to our team at Advani Hotels and the Caravela Beach
FINANCIAL TABLE INR in lakhs Resort Goa for their dedication and hard work.
Quarter ended Quarter ended Through their enthusiasm and teamwork, we have achieved significant milestones along with impressive
Particulars financial results in the Q3FY24:
December 2023 December 2022
• The highest ever Total Income, EBITDA, Profit Before Tax and Profit After Tax in a single quarter in our
Total Income 3,304 2,974
operating history.
Operating Expenses 1,949 1,725 • A declaration of a 1:1 bonus share offering.
EBITDA 1,355 1,249 • An Interim Dividend of 100%.
EBITDA Margin (%) 41% 42% • For the seventh consecutive year, the Caravela Beach Resort Goa has won the prestigious Booking.com
‘Travellers Review Award’ for the year 2024, based on verified customer satisfaction scores and reviews
Profit Before Tax 1,270 1,179 from our guests.
Income Tax (including Deferred Tax) 339 304 As we continue to ride the wave of increasing domestic travel, we remain dedicated to exceeding
Profit After Tax 931 875 expectations and creating lasting memories for all of our guests.”
About Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited:
Total Room Nights Sold (Numbers) 15,173 14,822
Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited (ADVANIHOTR) is a publicly-traded, Company incorporated in 1987,
Occupancy (%) (on available rooms for sale) 85.4% 83.6% headquartered in Mumbai and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of
Total Revenue Per Occupied Room per night India.
(TrevPOR) (INR) after subtracting taxes 21,779 20,065 It owns and operates the 'Caravela Beach Resort Goa'; an independent, 201-key, 5-Star Deluxe golf resort
on the Arabian Sea, designed by the world-famous architects WATG (who designed both the 'Atlantis'
Liquid Fund Reserves (including Fixed Deposits) 4,812 3,154
resorts).
The Caravela is located on a 23-acre estate with a 275-meter long beach-front on the powdery white sands
The Company is debt-free and the Liquid Fund Reserves (including Fixed Deposits) are at INR 4,812 lakhs as
of Varca Beach, South Goa. The Caravela is surrounded by immaculately landscaped gardens and a golf
on December 31, 2023, after deducting a 70% Interim Dividend pay-out of INR 647 lakhs in June 2023 and
course designed by the international landscape architect, Belt Collins.
after deducting cash-outflows towards capital expenditures during the nine-month period of the current
financial year. The resort was awarded the Booking.com ‘Travellers Review Award’ consistently for 7 years in a row from
2018 to 2024. The Caravela won the prestigious ‘Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award’ in 2021 & 2023,
The Total Income, EBITDA, Profit Before Tax and Profit After Tax in Q3 have been the best amongst any placing it amongst the top 10% of hotels worldwide.
quarter in the entire operating history of the Company. This is despite a decrease in demand for the overall
The audited results for the Financial Year 2022 - 2023 indicate a noteworthy set of financial ratios. The
destination of Goa, due to our domestic tourists travelling overseas for holidays (especially to Thailand)
Company is debt-free and has been consistently rewarding its shareholders through the distribution of
and due to a reduction in Russian tourists into Goa.
dividends over the last 10 years, excluding the year of COVID-19 (the Financial Year 2020 - 2021).
Significant performance indicators of the quarter ended December 2023 are below:
The Company is managed by the Founder and Chairman & Managing Director - Mr. Sunder G. Advani,
• The EBITDA increased by INR 106 lakhs compared to the same period last year, but the EBITDA margins the Chief Executive Officer & Whole-Time Director - Mr. Prahlad S. Advani and the Executive Director -
declined by 1%. This is due to strategic investments in our workforce, including hiring new talent and Mr. Haresh G. Advani; together with a distinguished Board of Independent Directors.
rewarding our existing talent pool with increments to encourage and retain our valuable employees. Over the last ten years, Advani Hotels has paid Dividends totalling to INR 57.43 crore (including dividend
• The Company’s Profit After Tax (PAT) stands at INR 931 lakhs registering a growth of 6%. tax), to all its shareholders.
• During this quarter, the hotel recorded an average occupancy of 82.4% in October, 82.3% in November After the Board of Directors have declared a 100% Interim Dividend today on January 29, 2024, this amount
and 91.3% in December 2023; versus an occupancy of 78.1% in October 2022, 82.5% in November 2022 and will rise to INR 66.67 crore (including dividend tax), to all its shareholders.
90.2% in December 2022. Dividends have been paid in ten out of the last eleven years. The only year without a dividend was the
• During this quarter, the Average Revenue Per Occupied Room per night after subtracting taxes was INR Financial Year 2020 - 2021, (during which the resort was closed for six months due to Covid-19).
18,012 in October, INR 20,606 in November and INR 26,146 in December; versus INR 17,298 in October 2022,
INR 19,547 in November 2022 and INR 21,493 in December 2022.
• On Christmas Eve, the Caravela Beach Resort Goa achieved an Average Net Revenue Per Occupied Prahlad S. Advani
Room per night after subtracting taxes of INR 33,514, at an occupancy of 88.7%. Place: Mumbai Chief Executive Officer & Whole-Time Director
• On New Year’s Eve, the Caravela Beach Resort Goa achieved an Average Net Revenue Per Occupied Date: January 29, 2024 Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited
Room per night after subtracting taxes of INR 45,318, at an occupancy of 96.9%.
• The Company has declared an Interim Dividend of 100% i.e. INR 2 per share, which will result in a pay-out
of INR 924 lakhs within the next 30 days.
• For the seventh consecutive year, the Caravela Beach Resort Goa has won the prestigious Booking.com
‘Travellers Review Award’ for the year 2024, based on verified customer satisfaction scores and reviews
from our guests who have stayed with us from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
Quarterly view on the hospitality industry:
• As per a report by NOESIS (one of India’s leading hotel investment advisors) despite the positive revenue
trajectory of the hospitality sector, it is important to note that the profitability rise may not be directly
proportional to the revenue surge. This is attributed to the incremental rise in full-scale services and
manning expenses hitting their stride since Q3FY23.
08 WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

SII to raise
HPV vaccine FIITJEE delays salaries Cash-strapped Red.Health
struggles to clear Jan salaries
capacity to
70 mn doses
citing cash flow issues Samiksha Goel
samiksha.goel@livemint.com
beNgaluRu

Somrita Ghosh

somrita.ghosh@partner.livemint.com
New DelhI
R
ed.Health, an ambulance
aggregator backed by
Competition from edtechs, high fixed costs led to ₹68.5 cr loss in FY23 Kalaari Capital, has paid
its employees only half their

P
Pune-based Serum Insti-
tute of India (SII) plans to
expand the annual pro-
duction capacity of the quadri-
valent human papillomavirus
January salaries with no word
Shouvik Das on when the remainder would
shouvik.das@livemint.com be disbursed, as the Hydera-
New DelhI bad-based startup struggles
with cash crunch, according to

(HPV) vaccines to around 70
million doses starting this
year, according to a company
spokesperson.
The company’s plan to
expand the vaccine produc-
tion capacity from 2-3 million
doses currently aligns with
the government’s efforts to
introduce the HPV vaccine
against cervical cancer for
girls aged 9-14 years, as
announced in the interim
budget by finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman.
“Currently, SII has a pro-
duction capacity of around 2-3
million doses for the Cervavac
vaccine. That said, the com-
pany plans to considerably
expand this capacity, with a
target of reaching 60–70 mil-
lion doses,” the spokesperson
told Mint.
The company did not dis-
close any financial or other
details regarding the produc-
tion boost.
Talking about enrolment of
the Cervavac vaccine under
the pan-India immunization
programme, SII said that the
National Technical Advisory
F
IITJEE Ltd has suspended salary people aware of the matter.
payments citing cash flow issues, An employee said on condi- The December salary was delayed by two days, before being
five company executives said, at a tion of anonymity that the distributed on 3 January.
time the test preparation firm is company has disbursed 50% of
squeezed by rising losses and com- the salary to paramedics and CEO Prabhdeep Singh said: rounds in India.
petition. The company has assured employees on 9 February, but “Given the nature of our busi- The company did not share
employees that salaries will be paid, but is yet to communicate when ness, we had to launch three big details about the quantum of
there is no clarity on when, the executives the remaining salaries will be hospitals (tie-ups with hospitals funds it is raising, and the
said on condition of anonymity. credited. for ambulance service) during investors in its Series B round.
FIITJEE, one of India’s largest IIT coach- While the December salary this month and had forward According to people in the
ing chains operating its own centres as well was delayed by two days and investments to be made. This know, the firm has been strug-
as franchises, conveyed the decision last was distributed on 3 January, meant prioritising those gling to raise funds for a while,
week. the management had sent a launches over paying every- hurting its ability to scale the
“Employees were told on 7 February at a communication one’s salaries on business. The founder, how-
meeting in Delhi that salaries for the month via email about The Hyderabad- the first (of Janu- ever, said the business has dou-
will be delayed. The company has been the delay in an based firm is ary).” bled since September.
struggling financially for quite some time Founded in 1992, the New Delhi-based company trains students for the Joint Entrance effort to reassure expected to “Our funding Backed by the likes of Kalaari
now, and employees were informed that Examination for top engineering colleges. the employees. announce its round is closed Capital, HealthQuad and
this is a cash flow issue that the company However, this
Series B funding and we are await- HealthXCapital, Red.Health
was working to fix. However, no timeline According to the executives that Mint reports of delays, deductions based on time there has ing money to be has raised $22.6 million so far.
was offered for when salaries would be spoke to, as well as two industry veterans, company performance and surprise cuts in been no commu- round within 15 wired by this Of this, about $20 million was
released,” one of the executives said. its profits have been declining over the past the last five years. nication from the days week. On the basis raised in its Series A round in
Founded in 1992, the New Delhi-based five years as edtechs gained, and the losses Between August and December last year, company, he of that, and to January 2022. Back then, it was
company trains students for the Joint may be even worse this year. the company asked its employees to sign a added. manage working reportedly the largest Series A
Entrance Examination (JEE) for top engi- “The company has been penalizing form, authorizing it to hold them liable for “All the communications are capital, we had given a choice to funding in the healthcare sec-
neering colleges. Its rivals include Toppers employees of ‘underperforming’ fran- its losses. “I understand and declare that happening over calls, and HR is our old employees to hold their tor.
Academy, Aakash Institute and PACE in chises by either deferring or part-paying any losses caused to FIITJEE, its associate saying that things aren’t good salaries back. Please note that Following the capital infu-
classroom coaching, and Byju’s and Physic- their salaries,” a third executive said. At or group companies etc., owing to my inac- right now and the company is most of the salaries are already sion, the company went on a
swallah in the online space. The least five outlets across Kolkata, tion/omission/gross negligence, shall be waiting for funding,” the paid,” Singh said, adding that it hiring spree, but subsequently
company employs 3,200 people Mumbai and Delhi confirmed my personal liability, and FIITJEE would employee cited above said. will announce its fundraise laid off about 800 employees
across India. this on condition of anonym- be at liberty to recover the same from the In response to queries from within 15 days, which is going to starting mid-2023, according
A second executive said
employee expenses have 3,200
No. of people
ity, stating the management undersigned,” stated the form. Mint has
pressures them to achieve seen a copy of the email, which also accused
Mint, Red.Health’s founder and be one of the largest Series B to people in the know.

Group on Immunization
(NTAGI), the highest advisory
body on immunization in the
country, has recommended
the inclusion of the vaccine in
the universal immunization
programme (UIP).
While discussions on pric-
ing for government procure-
ment are still preliminary, the
vaccine’s inclusion in the UIP
could dramatically increase its
accessibility and impact.
shot up due to “bumper targets or receive restricted employees of “many derelictions of duties,”
hikes” for teachers, while employed by the payouts. FIITJEE’s adding such issues have “affected company
non-teaching staff pay has firm across India employee expenses rose growth and profitability.”
remained flat for nearly six 37.2% to ₹347 crore in FY23, A former senior executive at a top edtech
years. Posts by former and including ₹21.4 crore in directors’ said, “Entities such as Aakash Institute
present employees across forums salaries. could invest heavily right as the pandemic
also make similar claims. Emails and messages sent to FIITJEE started receding, driven by the backing of
FIITJEE clocked a net loss of ₹68.54 remained unanswered. Byju’s. FIITJEE, however, has been strug-
crore in FY23 even as revenue rose 20% to FIITJEE has had troubles paying salaries gling for a while because of fixed expenses,
₹541.68 crore, its annual report accessed and making final settlements for ex-em- and its revenue has been around the ₹400-
via business intelligence platform Tofler ployees in the past as well, the executives 600 crore bracket for a while now. Cash
showed. In the previous year, the company said. Anonymous reviews on Glassdoor, flow expenses affected by rising competi-
had made a net profit of ₹37.36 lakh. Quora and AmbitionBox show nearly 100 tion would not be surprising, as a result.”

Success of non-film numbers such as Heeriye hints at a shift in

listening habits.

Lack of marketing
for music worries
theatre owners
Lata Jha music. According McKinsey,
lata.j@htlive.com Gen Z comprises people born
New DelhI between 1996 and 2010.
The challenge is further

T
he potent link between compounded by inadequate
music and box-office marketing efforts, especially in
success of a Hindi film smaller cities, Sharma said, and
appears to be weakening, par- a noticeable lack of enthusiasm
ticularly among audiences in from actors in promoting songs.
smaller towns. As of Tuesday, the list of top
Typically, hit songs could 50 songs on Spotify in India
boost a film’s opening box office was dominated by older hits
revenue by at least 20%, serving such as Satranga and Pehle Bhi
as a vital marketing tool. How- Main, both from the movie Ani-
ever, the emergence of inde- mal, and Chaleya (Jawan)
pendent music and a noticeable besides non-film tracks such as
The Nashik District Central Co-op. Bank Ltd., Nashik
decline in music marketing Heeriye and Husn, indicating a
efforts by studios shift in listening Head Office, Old Mumbai Agra Road, Near C.B.S. Nashik-422002
Ph. No.- 0253 2504381, Email - ceo@nashikdccbank.com, Website -www.nashikdccbank.in
are diminishing Typically, habits.
the role of film hit songs Yet, the endur- TENDER NOTICE FOR SALE OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
soundtracks in could boost ing appeal of film The Nashik District Central Co-op. Bank Ltd., Nashik hereby invites Bids/Offers in
creating pre-re- a film’s opening songs and their sealed envelope for sale of Land & Building of Renuka Devi Audyogik Sahakari Sanstha
lease excitement, role in driving box Ltd., Dyane Tal.Malegaon Dist.Nashik as per the provisions of the SECURITIZATION &
box office
say theatre owners. office success are RECONSTRUCTION OF FINANCIAL ASSETS & ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY
The success of revenue by at undeniable, with INTEREST ACT, 2002(SARFAESI ACT 2002). The Schedule of program are as follows.
recent films such least 20% tracks leaving a Sr.No. Details Date
as Pathaan and lasting impact
Animal under- beyond their cin- 1 Buy/Download Tender Document 14/02/2024 to 05/03/2024 by 10:30 am-5:30 pm
scores that effective music can ematic run, said Yusuf Shaikh,
still be crucial to building antici- business head of feature films at 2 Inspection of the Property 14/02/2024 to 05/03/2024 by 10:30 am-5:30 pm
pation before a movie’s release. production and distribution 3 Submission of Tender On or Before 05/03/2024 By 5:30 pm
Amit Sharma, managing firm Percept Pictures.
director of Miraj Entertainment For instance, Ekta Kapoor’s 4 Bid Opening Date 06/03/2024 at 12:00 pm
that operates multiplex theatres, Ragini MMS 2 had greatly ben- 5 Contact Officer Shri.Gorakh Ramchandra Jadhav,
emphasized the importance of efited from the Baby Doll track Authorised Officer/Divisional Officer,Malegaon
music in attracting audiences to featuring Sunny Leone when Division, Malegaon Mob.No. 9823730933
theatres, suggesting that the released in 2014, and Emraan The detailed Terms & Conditions, guidelines and further details are available on banks official
industry needs to elevate its Hashmi-starrer Aksar is still Website: www.nashikdccbank.in from 30/11/2023 onwards. Sd/-
game in film music to match the remembered for the Jhalak G. R. Jadhav
diverse tastes of Gen Z, who are Dikhla Ja song sung by Himesh Date : 14/02/2024 Authorised Officer & Divisional Officer,Malegaon
also consumers of international Reshammiya. Place : Nashik The Nashik District Central Co-op Bank Ltd., Nashik
LIVEMINT.COM
WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi 09

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited

139, Sector – 44, Gurugram-122003, Haryana (India)
Tel: 0124-4535500, Email: procurement@canarahsbclife.in
NOTICE INVITING BIDS/OFFERS
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dtd 13-Feb-24. Above tender has been uploaded on https://www.canarahsbclife.com/
tenders-notices.html, website of Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Ltd. All prospective
bidders are advised to visit the aforesaid website for downloading the RFP.

Have
fun
with
facts on
Sundays
Catch the latest column of

A
A quiz on the week’s
development.

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10 WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

Senate passes $95 bn

aid bill for Ukraine,
Early adopters of Microsoft’s AI
Israel and Taiwan bot wonder if it’s worth the money
Reuters
feedback@livemint.com

T
he Democratic-led US
Senate on Tuesday Artificial-intelligence aide handles email, meetings and other things but its price, limited use have some skeptical
passed a $95.34 billion
aid package for Ukraine, Israel
and Taiwan, amid growing Tom Dotan much smaller groups. that “Bob” spoke about “product
doubts about the legislation’s feedback@livemint.com Microsoft says it is confident the strategy.”
fate in the Republican-con- time and money saved through the The problem was that no one

trolled House of Representa-
tives.
The lawmakers approved
the measure in a 70-29 vote
that exceeded the chamber’s
60-vote threshold for passage
and sent the legislation on to
the House. Twenty-two
Republicans joined most
Democrats to support the bill.
“It’s certainly been years,
perhaps decades, since the
Senate has passed a bill that so
greatly impacts not just our
national security, not just the
security of our allies, but the
security of western democ-
racy,” Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer said.
The Senate vote occurred
before sunrise, after eight
hardline Republican oppo-
nents of Ukraine aid held an
overnight marathon of
speeches that dominated the
chamber floor for more than
six hours.
Democratic President Joe
Biden has been urging Con-
gress to hurry the new aid to
Ukraine and US partners in the
Indo-Pacific, including Tai-
wan, for months. After Hamas’
7 October attack on Israel, he
also requested funds for the US
ally, along with humanitarian
aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
Ukrainian officials have also
warned of weapons shortages
at a time when Russia is press-
ing ahead with renewed
attacks. Both houses of Con-
gress must approve the legisla-
tion before Biden can sign it
into law.
Schumer said he believes
the measure would receive the
same strong bipartisan sup-
port if it came to a vote in the
President Joe Biden has been
urging Congress to hurry the
new aid for months. AP
House.
But the bill appears to face
long odds of getting to the
floor of the House, where
Republican Speaker Mike
Johnson faulted it for lacking
conservative provisions to
stem a record flow of migrants
across the US-Mexico border.
“In the absence of having
received any single border
policy change from the Senate,
the House will have to con-
tinue to work its own will on
these important matters,”
Johnson said in a statement
issued late on Monday.
“America deserves better
than the Senate’s status quo,”
said Johnson, who has sug-
gested in the past that the
House could split the legisla-
tion into separate bills.
The legislation includes $61
billion for Ukraine, $14 billion
for Israel in its war against
Hamas and $4.83 billion to
support partners in the Indo-
Pacific, including Taiwan, and
deter aggression by China.
It would also provide $9.15
billion in humanitarian assist-
ance to civilians in Gaza and
the West Bank, Ukraine and
other conflict zones around
the globe. Republicans have
demanded for months that the
foreign aid bill include border
restrictions.
M
icrosoft ’s new artifi-
cial-intelligence
assistant for its best-
selling software has
been in the hands of
testers for more than six months and
their reviews are in: useful, but often
doesn’t live up to its price.
The company is hoping for one of its
biggest hits in decades with Copilot for
Microsoft 365, an AI upgrade that plugs
into Word, Outlook and Teams . It uses
the same technology as OpenAI’s
ChatGPT and can summarize emails,
generate text and create documents
based on natural language prompts.
Companies involved in testing say
their employees have been clamoring
to test the tool—at least initially. So far,
the shortcomings with software
including Excel and PowerPoint and its
tendency to make mistakes have given
some testers pause about whether, at
$30 a head, it is worth the price.
“I wouldn’t say we’re ready to
spend $30 per user for every user in
the company,” said Sharon Mandell ,
the chief information officer at net-
working hardware company Juniper
Networks , which has been testing
Copilot since November.
Microsoft has said that early
demand from users is unprecedented
and the companies testing it have
found it valuable. The company hasn’t
shared specifics about sign-ups.
The company has bet billions—
notably through its $13 billion invest-
ment in OpenAI—that i t can lead the
way in AI . Its shares have soared on
the belief that the technology will tur-
bocharge its revenue, making it the
most valuable company in the world
. On Sunday, it showed its first Super
Bowl ad in four years, touting Copilot
as a tool that can help young people
realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
“Copilot has to be a success for the
stock to work,” said Rishi Jaluria , an
tool are worth the cost.
In November, Microsoft’s survey of
early testers of the software found
that 77% of them didn’t want to give it
up because it saves workers’ time.
Meeting summaries saved people
about 30 minutes a meeting. Artifi-
cial-intelligence-assisted writing
saved users six minutes on writing
first drafts, Microsoft said.
Materials-science company Dow
plans to roll out Copilot to approxi-
mately half of its employees by the
end of 2024, after a test phase with
about 300 people, according to
Melanie Kalmar , chief information
and chief digital officer at Dow.
“There have been tremendous effi-
ciency gains,” Kalmar said. The com-
pany, based in Midland, Mich., has
Satya Nadella, chief executive officer, Microsoft. MINT approximately 35,900 employees.
Early testers who spoke with The
analyst with RBC Capital. Bing has gained less than 1 percent- Wall Street Journal said the AI add-
During Microsoft’s recent earnings age point of market share. ons for Microsoft’s workplace com-
call, Copilot was mentioned more Some companies are hesitant to munication software Teams were
than 50 times. Chief Executive Satya dive into adopting AI technology. A most useful.
Nadella likened it to the adoption of survey from Boston Consulting Group Some had already become reliant
the personal computer in workplaces. showed that while nearly 90% of busi- on Copilot if they were late to a meet-
“We’ve moved from talking about ness executives said generative AI was ing, to get a summary of what had been
AI to applying AI at scale,” he said. a top priority for their companies this said. Those in different countries and
Microsoft’s earlier AI upgrades year, nearly two-thirds said it would time zones now have the option to skip
have had mixed results. In 2022, the take at least two years for the technol- meetings and just read summaries.
company released ogy to move “It has allowed people to say, ‘You
GitHub Copilot, beyond hype. know what, there is already 10 other
which helps pro- About 70% of them people on the call. I’m going to skip this
grammers write were focused only one. I’m going to catch up in the morn-
code faster using AI. The feature, on small-scale and limited tests. ing by reading the digest and skipping
which starts at $10 a month, has 1.3 Microsoft had been betting that the to the parts of the meeting I really
million subscribers—up 30% from the desire to use the AI would persuade needed to hear,’” said Art Hu , the global
previous quarter, Microsoft execu- companies to sign up for massive con- chief information officer at Lenovo .
tives said. tracts. When it made the assistant In other areas, testers say the tech
The AI-powered chatbot added to widely available in November, compa- has fallen short: Copilot for Microsoft
Bing search has struggled to make nies had to sign up for at least 300 sub- 365, including other generative AI
waves. Despite a flashy rollout from scriptions. Many were resistant to that tools, sometimes hallucinated, mean-
Microsoft, it didn’t make much of a size of commitment for unproven soft- ing it fabricated responses. Users said
dent in Google’s search market share ware, said a Microsoft software reseller. Copilot, at times, would make mis-
. Executives had expected potentially Last month, Microsoft eased its takes on meeting summaries.
billions in new revenue if Bing gained minimum requirement, allowing At one ad agency, a Copilot-gener-
on Google, and nearly a year later, businesses to pilot the software with ated summary of a meeting once said
named Bob was on the call and no one
spoke about product strategy, an
executive at the company said.
In other programs—particularly the
ones that handle numbers—hallucina-
tions are more problematic. Testers said
Excel was one of the programs on which
they were less likely to use the AI assist-
ant because asking it to crunch num-
bers sometimes generated mistakes.
Jared Spataro , Microsoft’s corpo-
rate vice president of workplace
applications, said that Excel was still
in preview and lagged behind the
other programs in usefulness.
Other features that Microsoft has
touted, including the ability for Copilot
to generate PowerPoint slides, have also
been disappointing, some users said.
Guido Appenzeller , a partner at
investment firm Andreessen Horo-
witz, posted a thread on X showing
the mistakes it makes when
prompted to make a presentation.
“It is a mess and not anywhere close
to adding value,” Appenzeller said.
Ethan Mollick, a professor of AI at
the University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School, noted in a post that
in Outlook, Copilot suggested times
for a potential meeting that were
booked or on Saturdays.
Mollick otherwise gave the soft-
ware a positive review, calling it a
“pretty impressive set of tools.”
Microsoft’s Spataro said Power-
Point is “still learning its way.”
Some early adopters said the initial
excitement about the AI tools wore
off quickly. Lenovo said that aside
from the AI used to transcribe meet-
ings on Teams, there was about a 20%
drop in the use of Copilot for most
software after a month.
Microsoft’s Spataro said the com-
pany plans to address the drop-off
issue by incorporating more alerts
and tips to nudge users.
©2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC.

It’s crunch time for one of Europe’s The world is quietly losing the
land it needs to feed itself
last big Wall Street players Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
Josh Mitchell investors think the banks will fixed-income securities, equi-

T
feedback@livemint.com struggle to generate a decent ties and derivatives. But profit he greatest threats to
return for shareholders using has slumped of late, as both our existence today are

T
wo years ago, C.S. Ven-
katakrishnan was unex-
pectedly thrust into the
top job at British banking giant
Barclays . A year later, he felt a
lump on his neck and was
diagnosed with cancer.
Now, after successfully
undergoing treatment, Ven-
katakrishnan faces a career-
defining test. The Indian-born
risk specialist is trying to suc-
ceed where his predecessors
failed, to persuade investors
that Barclays ’s eclectic mix of
Main Street finance and Wall
Street heft makes sense. He is
preparing to unveil his blue-
print for the bank alongside
annual results due Feb. 20.
Venkatakrishnan, 58 years
old, took over as chief execu-
tive in November 2021, after
then-CEO Jes Staley resigned
over his ties to convicted sex
offender Jeffrey Epstein .
Since then, Barclays shares
in London have fallen by more
than a quarter. Dozens of top
bankers quit last year for other
institutions. Consumer balan-
ces at its vaunted credit-card
arm are down sharply since
the pandemic, while competi-
tion is mounting in Main
Street banking in Britain—
including from Venkatakrish-
nan’s old employer, JPMorgan
Chase .
Barclays has one of the big-
gest investment banks of any
non-U.S. player, advising on
mergers and stock offerings,
and executing market trades.
While Venkatakrishnan has
sought to play down expecta-
tions of a major restructuring,
he says he wants to shift the
focus elsewhere, and has
acknowledged the company’s
weak share price is a problem.
In an early sign of that empha-
sis, he is splashing out more
than $750 million on the bank-
ing arm of Tesco , the British
C.S. Venkatakrishnan was hired in 2016 as chief risk officer,
before becoming head of the arm that oversees global markets.
supermarket chain.
“At the core of Barclays is
our U.K. bank,” Venkatakrish-
nan told The Wall Street Jour-
nal in Davos, Switzerland, last
month . “Any strong global
bank has to be really good in its
domestic market, and that has
to be the core of our ambition.”
“I think if you’re going to
aim for higher returns and a
better valuation, you need to
have a more balanced bank,”
he said.
Often known simply as Ven-
kat, the cricket-loving banker
splits his time between Lon-
don and New York, and tries to
be in the
office by
6:30 a.m.
Venkat-
akrishnan had never run a
bank before and spent much of
his career managing risk, a
position that by default
emphasizes caution. Now,
some analysts say, he will have
to act boldly.
Potential courses of
action—analysts, investors and
industry veterans say—include
shrinking the investment bank
or even selling it. Other
options include cutting costs
throughout the bank and buy-
ing back larger amounts of
shares. In theory, buybacks
could help lift the share price
and better position Barclays to
acquire other businesses fur-
ther down the line.
Any serious cuts to the
investment bank would likely
meet fierce resistance.
“It will require them to
make some difficult decisions.
It is down to him,” said Edward
Firth, a banking analyst at
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
“My sense is he’s a thor-
oughly nice man,” Firth said.
“We all know people at Bar-
clays’s investment bank. There
are a lot of big heads and wide
shoulders there, and to go up
against them, you need a
tough guy. And whether Ven-
kat’s got that, I don’t know.”
Barclays’s struggles reflect a
broader
reordering
of the
g l o b a l
economy and financial system
since the 2008-2009 financial
crisis. Share prices for big U.S.
banks such as JPMorgan
Chase have surged, and Amer-
ica’s capital markets have
grown considerably, aided by
cheap cash and a technology-
driven boom.
But banks in the U.K. and
continental Europe have gen-
erally fared far worse, in part
because of weaker economies
and tougher regulators.
The shares of Barclays and
numerous other European
banks trade considerably
below book value—or the
value of their assets beyond
what they owe. That suggests
the assets at their disposal.
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
once the world’s largest bank
by assets, reinvented itself as
the retail-focused NatWest
Group . It is still partly owned
by the U.K. government after
RBS’s crisis-era bailout.
For its part, Barclays
avoided a bailout and tried to
remain a big, multiservice
bank on both sides of the
Atlantic. It even bulked up on
Wall Street with a fire-sale
purchase of the U.S. arm of
Lehman Brothers.
Robert Diamond , a former
Barclays CEO, said U.K. len-
ders are at a disadvantage
against U.S. banks because of
British “ringfencing” rules that
stop cheap retail deposits from
funding investment banking.
Those rules make capital cost-
lier and make it harder for
banks to expand, he said.
Underscoring the challenge
facing Venkatakrishnan is a
previous failed reinvention
under Antony Jenkins , the
retail banker who succeeded
Diamond. In 2015, Jenkins
proposed to drastically shrink
the investment bank’s assets.
The board tentatively agreed
to do so but reversed after
pushback from the unit’s lead-
ers, according to a person
familiar with the matter.
The board, frustrated by the
bank’s performance, later fired
Jenkins . Former JPMorgan
banker Staley came in, and
instead tried to make Barclays
into a compact version of the
U.S. powerhouse.
Venkatakrishnan was hired
by Staley in 2016 as chief risk
officer, before becoming head
of the arm that oversees global
markets.
The investment bank at
Barclays boomed early in the
pandemic, driven by the global
markets unit, which trades
bond trading and dealmaking
have slowed down.
Self-inflicted wounds, such
as mistakenly selling billions
of dollars of securities that
weren’t properly registered in
the U.S., and getting stuck with
risky debt from Elon Musk’s
Twitter takeover , have added
to the problems.
The investment bank’s vola-
tile earnings are dragging
down the bank’s share price,
said Benjamin Toms, an ana-
lyst at Royal Bank of Canada .
Meanwhile, Barclays has
lost ground in its own back-
yard. The share of U.K. con-
sumers identifying Barclays as
their primary bank fell to 13%
in 2023 from 16% in 2020,
according to research from
RFI Global. The equivalent
market share for smaller busi-
nesses fell to 17% from 20%.
Barclays remained the largest
U.K. bank by number of cus-
tomers in both fields.
Its other major line of busi-
ness—credit cards—has been
hit by a pandemic-related
trend: Consumers, armed with
cash, have paid down balances,
reducing the interest income
that Barclays receives.
Some market participants
are more sanguine. The invest-
ment bank has slowly but
steadily become more profita-
ble, as measured by return on
tangible equity, said Ambrose
Faulks of London-based Arte-
mis Investment Management,
a large Barclays shareholder.
The unit that executes market
trades typically provides a
steady stream of cash during
economic downturns, cush-
ioning the bank during tough
times, he said.
“The investment bank actu-
ally is a better asset than peo-
ple give it credit for,” Faulks
said.
©2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC.
caused by human activ-
ity rather than nature acting
alone, according to a recent
United Nations report.
Many people are familiar
with human contribution to
climate change and perhaps
also the loss of biodiversity.
But there’s a third environ-
mental impact that rarely gets
the attention it deserves:
desertification, also known as The world is rapidly losing usable land for self-inflicted reasons
land degradation. and climate change. AFP
The world is rapidly losing
usable land for self-inflicted ing of the term desertification. land degradation that also
reasons, ranging from inten- That’s why we also use ‘land don’t have benefits for other
sive agriculture and overgraz- degradation,’” Thiaw said. problems we face,” he said.
ing of livestock to real estate Ironically, one of the biggest Along with curbing emis-
development and, yes, climate challenges in the fight against sions, a World Economic
change. The crisis is further land degradation is universal: Forum report found that
fuelling food and water inse- We need to eat. About 40% of investing about $2.7 trillion
curity, as well as adding to the planet’s land – 5 billion each year in ecosystem resto-
more greenhouse gas emis- hectares – is used for farming. ration, regenerative agricul-
sions. One third of that is to grow ture and circular business
Environmental scientists crops and the rest for grazing models could help add nearly
haven’t ignored the problem. livestock. 400 million new jobs and gen-
In fact, the Earth Summit held Unfortunately, the world erate more than $10 trillion in
in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 led to doesn’t have a great track economic value annually.
the creation of three UN con- record for sustainable agricul- Governments globally
ventions: climate ture practices. spend more than $600 billion
change, biodiver- Land degradation Over the past 500 on direct agricultural subsi-
sity and desertifi- due to human years, human dies that can be redirected
cation. activity in 500 activity (mainly toward practices that help land
The climate years contributed agriculture) has restoration and increase
convention holds led to nearly 2 bil- yields, said Thiaw. “There’s
to a quarter of
big COP summits lion hectares of nothing more irrational than
each year — such greenhouse gases l a n d b e i n g taking public money to
as COP28 in today degraded. destroy your own natural capi-
Dubai — that now That’s contrib- tal,” he said. “But it is being
frequently make uted to about 500 done election after election.”
front-page headlines. billion tons of carbon dioxide One reason why the prob-
However, while the biodi- equivalent released from soil lem of land degradation has
versity and desertification disturbance, or about a quarter been largely ignored might be
conventions also hold COP of all greenhouse gases con- that humans have lost their
summits, they are only once tributing to additional warm- link to the land, according to
every two years and rarely get ing today. Further land degra- Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, pres-
that much interest. It’s a lost dation until 2050 could add ident of COP16 on desertifica-
opportunity, says Ibrahim another 120 billion tons of car- tion, which will be held in
Thiaw, executive secretary of bon dioxide equivalent to the Saudi Arabia this year.
the UN Convention to Combat atmosphere, worsening cli- “A big portion of the popu-
Desertification, who hinted it mate change. lation lives in cities now. We
could be a branding issue Thiaw said focusing atten- live in a concrete forest,” Faq-
because people think it’s only tion on land restoration pro- eeha said. “So few people have
about deserts. jects could flip this script. a direct connection between
“There is a misunderstand- “There are no solutions for us and food production.”
LIVEMINT.COM NeWs WraP WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi 11

₹30,297 cr 40,000 ₹637.50 cr $7 mn ₹163 cr

NEWS
IN
THE COMBINED profit of the 12 Indian
public sector banks in Q3 FY24, up 3.84%
NUMBERS from ₹29,175 crore in the year-ago period,
led by Punjab National Bank.
THE NUMBER of freshers leading IT
companies intend to hire in the upcoming
six months, according to TeamLease
EdTech’s Career Outlook Report 2024.
THE AMOUNT for which Eris
Lifesciences, a pharma company, acquired
a 51% stake in Swiss Parenterals to expand
its presence in sterile injectables market.
THE AMOUNT the US govt is spending to
maintain a superyacht it seized in May
2022 from a Russian oligarch sanctioned
by the US treasury department.
THE NET loss reported by Bharat Heavy
Electricals in Q3 FY24 against a net profit
of ₹31 crore in the year-ago period, due to
higher raw material costs.

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

Tata Motors cuts THE LAST SORTIE OIL profit falls on

EV prices by ₹1.2L low crude prices

T S
ata Motors’s electric vehicle (EV) unit on tate-run explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL)
Tuesday said it has reduced prices of its reported a 9.3% fall in third-quarter profit
cars by up to ₹1.2 lakh in what is the first on Tuesday, hit by lower prices for crude
instance of a price cut by an electric carmaker oil and a windfall tax levied by the government.
in the country. Standalone profit was ₹1,584 crore for the
Electric variants currently form just 2% of car quarter ended 31 December, compared with
sales in India, as buyers are wary about the ₹1,746 crore a year earlier. Average crude prices
higher upfront costs despite lower running fell 6.5% in the December quarter, as per LSEG
costs and as range anxiety persists. data. The government’s windfall tax on crude oil
“With battery cell prices having softened in producers since July 2022 has also hurt its
the recent past and considering their potential bottom line. The government has set the tax rate
reduction in the foreseeable future, we have at a level that ensures a steady range of $73–$76
chosen to proactively pass on the resulting per barrel net crude realisation for Oil and
benefits directly to customers,” said Vivek Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) and Oil India,
Srivatsa, chief commercial officer at the TPG- analysts at ICICI Securities said in last month.
backed Tata Passenger Electric Mobility. While revenue from Oil India’s crude oil
The company, which dominates EV car sales segment rose 5.7%, pre-tax profit fell 7.3%.
in India, also cut the price of its electric small Revenue from the natural gas business fell 15.1%,
car Tiago by ₹70,000. pulling down the overall revenue by 1% to ₹5,815
The base version now costs around 8.1% crore. REUTERS
lower at ₹7.99 lakh. REUTERS

The remains of a Hawk trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force after it crashed during a training sortie, at Kalaikunda in West Bengal. PTI

The 60-day extension aims to give the airline

India’s adex to grow at 10% in The tablet is in line with the ministry of consumer
affairs’ ‘right to repair’ programme. HT
additional time to finalize its CIRP.

NCLT extends Go
PTI

’24 to reach ₹1.55 tn: GroupM BharatGPT, VVDN

launch new tablet
First’s moratorium
H
CL cofounder Ajai Chowdhry’s Epic

I
n a respite for bankrupt airline Go First, the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
on Tuesday approved a 60-day extension
for its moratorium, aiming to give the airline
additional time to finalize its corporate
insolvency resolution process (CIRP).
This extension, stretching from 4 February
to 4 April, extends Go First’s timeline to 330
Foundation, in partnership with
Slower than last year but India still to be among fastest-growing ad markets globally Bengaluru-based startup CoRover
and Manesar-based contract manufacturer
VVDN Technologies, on Tuesday announced
Varuni Khosla and Gaurav Laghate 57% of total ad spending pie, GroupM reported. The agency highlighted that unlike in western the launch of a tablet squarely targeting
varuni.k@livemint.com “The advertising landscape is evolving with the markets, where traditional media is declining, in customers in the education field. The tablet is in
NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI fragmentation of search, the rapid rise of influen- India traditional media is also growing. line with the ministry of consumer affairs’ ‘right
cer marketing and retail media,” said Ashwin Pad- Print is likely to grow at 5% to reach ₹15,350 to repair’ programme, and claims to be

days to complete its resolution process, with
over 270 days already spent under CIRP.
The resolution professional (RP) overseeing
Go First’s case informed the court that the
airline has received interest from three
potential buyers, all of whom have already
deposited funds, prompting the request for
more time to seal the deal.
The airline’s creditors have unanimously
agreed to seeking this extension, the
resolution professional’s legal counsel told
the NCLT. Under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC), if the resolution
professional seeks an extension of up to 60
days, the NCLT can allow it to push the
process beyond the standard 330-day limit if
deemed necessary. KRISHNA YADAV
A
dvertising expenditure (adex) in
India is expected to grow at 10.2% in
2024, slower than last year’s 11.3%,
according to media investment com-
pany GroupM. But even at that pace,
India would still be among the fastest-growing ad
markets globally.
Overall advertising expenditure this year is
expected to increase by ₹14,423 crore to ₹1.55 tril-
lion, GroupM said Tuesday in its annual forecast
titled ‘This Year Next Year’.
In absolute terms, that’s about the same
amount spent on advertising in 2023, when
growth in ad spending turned out to be slower
than the initial 15.5% pace GroupM had projected.
Digital media advertising is likely to grow by
13% to reach ₹88,502 crore in 2024, cornering
manabhan, president-investments, trading, and crore in 2024, with a 10% share of total ad pie. ‘upgradable’ to increase its longevity. The tablet
partnerships, at GroupM India. Last year GroupM had to lower its growth fore- will natively support domestic generative
“Within digital ad cast twice, from the artificial intelligence platform BharatGPT’s
revenue, search original 15.5% to 12% application builder suite. Speaking at the venue,
contributes 22%, The agency said traditional media is in June and further Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of BharatGPT maker
retail media 18%, growing in India. Print is likely to grow down in December CoRover, said that the model BharatGPT
and the rest 60%.
Sectors like auto, at 5% to reach ₹15,350 crore in 2024, to “We 11.2%.
had cut our
application will help appeal to students across
India’s technical education sector—and help the
realty and offline with a 10% share of total ad pie full-year growth newly-launched tablet capture market share
retail are expected forecast from 15.5% against established foreign brands such as Apple
to power the overall to 11.2% last year, but and Samsung. SHOUVIK DAS
advertising growth,” he said. ultimately, 2023 ended with 11.3% growth.
Television is expected to grow by 7% and con- Despite facing macroeconomic challenges, we
tribute 29% of the total ad spending, down from remain optimistic about the industry. At 10.2%,
30% in 2023. Cinema is expected to see the high- India will be the fastest-growing top market,” said
est growth of 15%, although from a low base, to Prasanth Kumar, chief executive, GroupM South
Sterlite Power gets
touch ₹879 crore, GroupM said. Asia.
₹2,400 cr funding

S
terlite Power has secured ₹2,400 crore
JSW inks electrical funding from state-owned REC Power
India gains on China in MSCI index Development and Consultancy Ltd
steel output pact (RECPDCL) for its Beawar transmission project
in Rajasthan.
inflows of about $1.2 billion, analysts said. In a statement, Sterlite Power said “it has

J
SW Steel Ltd has announced the formation
of a 50:50 joint venture with Japanese steel
manufacturer JFE Steel Corp. to produce
grain-oriented electrical steel in India. The
new company will be named JSW JFE
Electrical Steel Private Ltd. It will have a
manufacturing base in Karnataka and a
planned investment of ₹5,500 crore, JSW said
in a public disclosure on Tuesday. The
groundbreaking ceremony for the partnership
took place on 12 February and was attended by
the top brass of both companies.
Electric steel is a type of high-end steel that
has been modified to possess magnetic
properties, and is used in sectors like electric
In comparison, China’s weight in the index fell
to 25.4% after the February revision. AFP
In comparison, China’s weight in the
index fell to 25.4% after the February
revision, from 26.6% a year ago.
The convergence of weights between
Indian and Chinese stocks has intensified
since August 2020, when China’s
weightage was five times that of India’s.
MSCI’s revisions will come into effect
after market close on 29 February. Indian
shares had a 17.9% weight on the index
ahead of the February review.
The gain for India can be attributed to a
sustained rally in equities and relative
underperformance of other emerging
markets, especially China, Nuvama
Its exports were 6.4% in the quarter, compared
with a peak of 16.8% in fiscal 2022.
‘Royal Enfield bike
successfully achieved financial closure for its
Beawar Transmission Ltd (BTL) project.” This
accomplishment comes within four months of
Sterlite Power acquiring the project.
Sterlite Power acquired the BTL SPV in
September 2023 to execute the inter-state
green energy transmission project on BOOT
(build, own, operate, transfer) basis, for a
period of 35 years.
The project involves construction of a 350
km, 765kV transmission corridor that will
BLOOMBERG connect the renewable energy zone at
Fatehgarh III to a proposed substation at
Beawar. PTI

I exports to pick up’

power and electric vehicles. JSW Group also
plans to enter the electric vehicle business and
has announced plans to build an EV ecosystem
in Odisha. The company aims to commence
production at the facility by fiscal year 2027,
and plans to further expand its capacity to meet
the growing market demand for grain-oriented
ndia has narrowed the gap with China in
MSCI’s Global Standard index, which
tracks emerging market stocks for
investors, after the latest revision.
Index provider MSCI raised India’s
weightage in the index to an all-time high
of 18.2% on Tuesday, which could lead to
Alternative & Quantitative Research said in
a note on Tuesday.
India could surpass a 20% weight on the
GAIL, IGL secure
E
MSCI index by early 2024, on consistent icher Motors said on Tuesday that it expects
flows from domestic institutional investors
and steady foreign portfolio investor
international sales of its Royal Enfield
motorcycles to pick up in the next two to RIL coal seam gas
participation, Nuvama said. REUTERS three quarters after struggling with exports for

electrical steel in India.
JEE-Main results: 23 candidates bag 100 score in 1st edition
NAMAN SURI nearly two years.
Strong domestic sales of Royal Enfield, a
premium-priced motorcycle, helped Eicher
post a bigger-than-expected 12.3% jump in
revenue to ₹4,179 crore for the October-
December quarter.
However, Royal Enfield exports, as a share of
S
tate-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd and
the nation’s largest city gas operator
Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) have walked
away with most of the coal seam gas that
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) auctioned, people
in the know said.
Reliance earlier this month conducted an e-

T
wenty three candidates have bagged the perfect 100 score in the
engineering entrance exam JEE-Main 2024 with a maximum of them
being from Telangana, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on
Tuesday. Over 1.17 million candidates had appeared for the first edition of the
crucial exam. Among the candidates who secured an NTA score of 100, seven
are from Telangana, two from Haryana, three each from Andhra Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Maharashtra, two from Delhi and one each from Gujarat,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. All of them are males.
According to NTA officials, NTA score is not the same as percentage of marks
obtained but normalized scores.
NTA scores are normalized scores across multi-session papers and are based
on the relative performance of all those who appeared for the examination in
one session, a senior official explained.
The marks obtained are converted into a scale ranging from 100 to 0 for each
session of examinees, the official added.
total sales, were just 6.4% in the quarter,
compared with a peak of 16.8% in fiscal 2022,
nearly two years back.
The drop was mainly due to high interest
rates and inflation in key export markets such as
the UK, US, Europe and Thailand, Royal Enfield
chief executive B. Govindarajan said in an
analyst call. However, most of these countries
are expected to start lowering rates later this
year as inflation eases, which should help sales of
pricier products like the Royal Enfield.
“We may see growth in international markets
in the next two-three quarters but have to look at
it from a country-to-country basis,”
PTI Over 1.17 million candidates appeared for the 1st edition of JEE. MINT Govindarajan said. REUTERS
auction for sale of 0.90 million standard cubic
metres per day of gas it will produce from coal-
bed methane (CBM) block SP (West)-CBM-
2001/1 in Madhya Pradesh.
Users have been asked to quote a premium
they are willing to pay over and above 12.67% of
the dated Brent crude oil price, according to a
tender floated by the company. The auction saw
GAIL and IGL walk away with most of the gas,
offering as much as $11 per million British
thermal unit price, two people with direct
knowledge of the matter said. In the auction, the
gas price was set as higher of 12.67% of dated
Brent plus premium ‘V’; or the government-
declared monthly price for conventional gas. PTI
12 WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

DECODING MYNTRA’S PUSH

To sell lipsTick ANd Blush
The fashion e-tailing giant has added a second growth engine—beauty products. Should Nykaa be worried?

Suneera Tandon
suneera.t@htlive.com
NeW Delhi

R
ecently, a colleague of mine
started looking for lip colours.
Her online searches took her to
e-tailing giant Amazon, beauty
retailer Nykaa and fashion plat-
form Myntra—yes, the Flipkart group
company also sells beauty products.
On Myntra, she zeroed in on a nude
shade sold by MAC Cosmetics, an Ameri-
can cosmetics manufacturer, called ‘Pow-
der Kiss Lipstick’. She loved playing with
a ‘virtual try-on’ feature. That’s a trial
room of the online world where aug-
mented reality and virtual reality technol-
ogies are used. Over live camera or
through a selfie uploaded, one can check
exactly how a shade looks and feels.
“Myntra’s virtual try-ons are great and
addictive; the platform is so well-stocked;
the search results are intuitive,” the col-
league told me.
But, she did not buy from Myntra. She
bought the same lipstick from Nykaa.
Why?
“I got a ₹420 discount. The listed price
was ₹2,550. In addition, I also received a
MAC cleansing oil free,” she said.
Discounts work like magic in e-tailing
and this is nothing new. For almost a dec-
ade now, Amazon and Flipkart have
engaged in a battle to grab a customer at
any cost. Many e-commerce companies,
who couldn’t sustain the ever ballooning
costs of customer acquisition, bit the dust.
While that battle was mostly fought for
mobile phones, other electronic items and
household products, beauty is a relatively
newer category. For many years, online
beauty shopping was Nykaa’s playground.
It’s getting crowded.
Last year, the Tata group launched
beauty retail platform Tata Cliq Palette;
Reliance Retail Ventures launched Tira to
sell ‘mass and prestige beauty products’;
Sephora, a global beauty retailer part-
nered with a subsidiary of Reliance Retail
Ventures to develop beauty retail in India.
Myntra, which became synonymous with Nandita Sinha, the chief executive officer of Myntra. The company wants to be a lifestyle destination. Beauty is a natural extension of this journey, she said. PRADEEP GAUR/MINT
fashion shopping online, now sees beauty
as its second growth engine.
Myntra always sold some beauty prod-
ucts but there was little focus before the tion. Beauty is a very natural extension of have also led to more personalization.
pandemic. In 2020, the company decided to what this journey is all about,” she told me. Apart from the virtual try-on we men-
mint WHAT NUMBERS SAY
SHORT
build the category more strategically. In this Over the last many years, Myntra has tioned earlier, there is a ‘skin-analyzer’. STORY Myntra has grown its revenue four times in four years
short time, it has partnered with a host of already built a large consumer base, many The app integrates with Revieve, a Chic- MYNTRA DESIGNS PVT LTD
premium domestic and international of whom are premium fashion shoppers. ago and Helsinki-based company that
brands—apart from MAC, there is NYX Pro- The company claims that 55 million users provides artificial intelligence and aug- What Revenue from operations (in  cr)
4,375
Total loss for the period (in  cr)

fessional Makeup, Victoria’s Secret, Makeup
Revolution London, Armani, Bath and Body
Works, L’Oreal Paris, Lakme, Maybelline
New York, Shiseido, Forest Essentials and
Philips. Yet, as my colleague’s shopping
behaviour shows, cracking this category
won’t be easy. What exactly is Myntra’s
strategy and why is the company so bullish
on selling beauty products?
On a foggy morning late January, I
caught up with Nandita Sinha, the chief
executive officer of Myntra. She was in
Delhi (Myntra is headquartered in Benga-
luru) and we met at Shangri-La Eros, a
plush hotel near Connaught Place. In a con-
versation that lasted well over an hour, over
multiple cups of black coffee and cookies,
she reasoned why Myntra stands a great
chance to take on anyone in the industry.
DRESS AND A PERFUME
visit its platform every month; it added 75
million new users last year. The trick will
be to convert these users, who primarily
shop for tees, jeans, dresses and shoes,
into buyers of lipsticks, lip liners, blushes
and concealers among others.
“Of course, the platform needs to be
able to offer the right journey for the con-
sumer,” Rohan Agarwal, partner at Red-
seer, told me over phone. “For example,
there is a lot more nuance beyond the size
and fits that are there in fashion. In the
case of beauty, the cataloging needs to
cover skin tones, skin type, issue types,
etc—the variety needs to be very dynamic
and cohesive,” he added.
Provided Myntra is able to give that expe-
rience, it can extend the lifetime value—an
estimate of the average revenue generated
over a period of time—of existing customers.
Sinha claims good results already
mented reality-powered solutions. It will
Myntra, known for fashion -539.4 FY19
ask you a series of questions before ana- 3,501
lyzing your skin type. Product recom- e-tailing, did not focus on beauty
-744.4 FY20
mendations follow. products before the pandemic. 2,407
“We saw great traction in terms of how Now, the company is making
-429 FY21
consumers are responding—there is a investments and views beauty 1,675
20% to 30% higher conversion rate for as a growth engine. 1,041
-597.6 FY22
consumers who interact with these tools,”
Sinha told me during the meeting. -782.4 FY23
Beauty also has a big content part. Why FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23
Nearly all beauty platforms look like
Beauty is an adjacent business Nykaa is now a profitable company
media companies, very similar to the
approach fintech companies dealing in to fashion. The company claims FSN E-COMMERCE VENTURES LTD (NYKAA)
personal finance and markets have taken. that 55 million users visit its Revenue from operations (in  cr) Loss/profit after tax (in  cr)
5,144
Unlike fashion, which is about visual platform every month. The
inspiration, beauty is about application. trick will be to cross-sell to
-26
New consumers, particularly GenZs, these customers. 3,774
need to be educated about applying foun- -23
dation or mascara. “Ten years back, India
used to be a kajal and lipstick market. But 2,441
61.6
Education has helped democratize the 1,768

B efore joining Myn-

tra, Sinha worked at
Flipkart for eight years,
among its top customers.
“Our average order val-
While Myntra is looking for a ues continue to be
market,” Sinha said.
Myntra, on its part, has created “snack-
able content” to help users understand a
Myntra will take time to build the
business. A new discounting war
could be on the horizon. The
1,159

24.8
41.3

across product catego- second growth engine, higher for our top 10 mil- product and its application better. In par- company needs more brand
FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23
ries such as fast moving lion customers—they allel, the company invested in a ‘beauty partnerships and exclusive deals
Consolidated financials Source: Company filings sourced from Tofler
consumer goods, books, beauty brands need an drive a lot of the growth squad’—influencers on social media—who to lure customers.
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
home and furniture. She alternative to Nykaa, the in terms of how new cat- push doses of inspiration regularly, apart
knew that beauty and egories are adopted,” she from educating buyers.
personal care was a large largest pure play beauty said. Overtime, she The other building block was the sup- tion with Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s Lakme Flipkart. I think the top five million con- discount on offer compared to Nykaa.
and growing market. believes, the adoption ply-chain. Beauty is a tad different from brand. In 2022, she launched a fresh range sumers will be on Myntra from a socio- Second, analysts point out that Myntra
According to esti- platform today. will penetrate deeper fashion. While fashion products don’t of cosmetics under LoveChild. Today, the economic point of view. And the ones would need more brand partnerships,
mates by Redseer Strat- into its customer base. have an expiry date, beauty products do. brand sells everything from concealers to below 10 million will be more on Flipkart,” particularly exclusive partnerships, to
egy Consultants, a consulting firm, this As of now, one in three women shop- So, the company had to put in place expiry perfumes. It was listed on Myntra last year. Mukherjee said, further explaining why establish itself as the go-to beauty plat-
market in India is expected to grow from pers on Myntra have already bought at date management processes, replenish- “Myntra beauty is a channel to watch out Myntra matters to his brand. form. Nykaa has exclusive brand partner-
$17 billion in 2021 to $30 billion in 2026, least one beauty item on the platform and ment systems and inventory placement for and brands like us will be foolish if we Another seller who didn’t want to be ships with a range of players—E.L.F,
a CAGR of 12%—among the highest more than half of its ‘insider base’—con- systems, also optimizing them for speed. don’t invest in it,” Pratik Mukherjee, busi- identified said that the competition, Urban Decay, ColorPop, Charlotte Til-
within the retail categories. The online sumers who are part of the company’s loy- Remember, we have become impatient. ness head of beauty, Lovechild by Masaba, Nykaa particularly, is closely watching bury and Sol de Janeiro among others.
beauty and personal care market is alty programme—have bought beauty, the We simply don’t want to wait two days for told me over phone from Mumbai. Myntra’s moves—more closely than Reli- Sinha, who came from Flipkart, knows
expected to grow even faster, at 27% company stated. a product to be delivered. “That’s because the captive audience of ance’s Tira. “Myntra is hungry for growth well that exclusives can fire up an e-com-
annually between 2022 and 2026, to $8.4 “We were able to grow 3x versus the fashion is actually good for cross selling and ready to accommodate brands to merce company. Flipkart’s rise in elec-
billion. The growth is expected as the NUTS AND BOLTS industry in beauty in the last one year and beauty—both skin and makeup. Brands and grow. It’s more about getting customers to tronics was propelled by exclusive mobile
beauty business is getting organized. For
years, India lacked the presence of large, T
organized beauty retail chains. Instead, business.
here are many legs to how Myntra is
going about building the beauty
continue to be a big partner for many key
brands in the country,” Sinha said, under-
lining the early success, partly because all
beauty marketers need to build the number
two growth engine after Nykaa and that
answer is still missing. Maybe Myntra can
use beauty along with fashion. For some
premium direct-to-consumer brands,
Myntra is already touching 60-70% of
phone deals—a decade back, it tied up
with Motorola to exclusively sell Moto G
phones, boosting sales to $1 billion in 2014.
customers would buy lip colours, kajal First was to aggregate and curate the the nuts and bolts of the backend systems be that growth engine for beauty e-com- sales they do on Nykaa,” the seller told me. Many view this as the inflection point in
sticks and foundations from one-off supply-side—the brands, domestic and are in place. “Today, we are the fastest merce,” he added, sounding hopeful. India’s e-commerce story.
beauty stores in their city. Now, online international. In the last two years, like we growing partner for many big brands. We So, while Myntra is looking for a second THE MOTO G MOMENT “Nykaa has done a phenomenal job on
commerce chains have created more mentioned earlier, it did manage to create
awareness around the category, product that ecosystem of premium brands. There
discovery is easier and they have been are over 1,500 beauty brands selling on
continue to drive a large part of their
e-commerce growth,” she added.
growth engine, beauty brands need a sec-
ond alternative, too. There is Flipkart, of
course, but beauty brands perceive it as
I t is early days but Myntra appears to
have grabbed reasonable eyeballs.
Nonetheless, the path ahead will not be
customer engagement and education in
beauty. Myntra has innovated on multiple
fronts in the fashion customer journey but
able to establish trust. In the business of Myntra today and about 25% of its beauty SECOND ENGINE ‘mass’ rather than premium. that rosy. Unlike Nykaa, Myntra is still fashion does not require a lot of customer
beauty, counterfeits are a nuisance.

market because beauty is an adjacent

business is currently driven by luxury and
Sinha sees a clear synergy to play in this international brands.
The second leg was banking on tech-
T o hear what brands think, I spoke to a
few executives. One of them works
with LoveChild By Masaba.
Nykaa is currently the largest online
beauty platform for LoveChild followed
by Amazon. Prices for its products range
making losses. It reported a total loss of
₹782 crore in 2022-23 compared to
Nykaa’s profit of ₹25 crore in the same
education unlike beauty,” said a market
watcher who didn’t want to be identified.
“Myntra has no past expertise in beauty.
space to fashion. Buy an evening dress, nology to create a differentiation. There’s Designer Masaba Gupta, who is known between ₹1,000 and ₹1,500. year. A new pricing war in a hot segment It would take some time for them to build
and you would want to get a matching lip the mother app and then a beauty app for designing bold prints and fusion out- “Flipkart is more mass where brands is almost a given—my colleague would up that portfolio,” the executive told me.
colour, a makeup kit, a perfume. within the mother app. This helps in fits, unveiled her beauty line in 2016-17 as sell lipsticks priced at around ₹200 to have happily shopped for her Powder Kiss Things will probably turn more inter-
“Myntra’s aim is to be a lifestyle destina- cross-selling. Technology investments a limited edition of lip colours in associa- ₹300. These brands are doing better on on Myntra if there was a similar or more esting two years from now.
LIVEMINT.COM
Why NRIs in UAE enjoy tax
benefits on MF investments
A tax treaty provides special benefits, but there are real-life challenges in implementation
Sashind Ningthoukhongjam
sashindnj@livemint.com
T
he going has always been
good for non-resident Indi-
ans (NRIs), particularly those
based out of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). For one,
they do not have to pay any income tax
in that country. Two, they can also take
advantage of a double taxation avoid-
ance agreement (DTAA) signed
between the UAE and India, and thus
avoid capital gains taxes on invest-
ments made here, say financial experts.
To be sure, India has signed DTAAs
with multiple countries, but not all of
them have the same two conditions
mentioned above.
Typically, If an investor were to put
in ₹10,000 every month in an equity
mutual fund (MF) for 20 years, they
would get around ₹1 crore assuming an
annual growth rate of 12%. However,
the gains would be subject to 10% long-
term capital gains taxation, which
would be around ₹7.6 lakh. Debt MFs
are taxed at a higher rate based on the
investor’s income tax slab rate. But an
NRI from the Emirates is exempt from
paying any capital gains tax, thanks to
the DTAA signed between India and
the UAE in 1992 to avoid double taxa-
tion of residents of both countries on
the same income. “This treaty alleviates
the burden on taxpayers and promotes
cross-border economic activities,” said
Sagar Soman, a chartered accountant
(CA) whose practice caters to NRI cli-
ents who are mostly high-net-worth
individuals.
To be eligible for this benefit, inves-
tors need to prove that they were
present in the UAE for a total of 183
days, continuously or otherwise, in the
calendar year concerned. They also
need to furnish a tax residency certifi-
cate and file Form 10F online with the
tax authorities.
Do note that capital gains tax is appli-
cable on the purchase and sale of stocks
directly. Earlier, this was exempted.
When the treaty was amended, shares
were included to be taxed in India, but
there was no specific mention of MFs.
Under another clause for capital gains,
it is mentioned that gains on assets
apart from shares and immovable
properties will be taxed in the country
of residency, the UAE in this case.
Gautam Nayak, a partner at CNK &
Associates, a chartered accountancy
firm, points out that as per the DTAA,
gains on assets such as MFs, corporate
bonds or government securities (G-secs)
will be taxed only in the country of resi-
dence, which is the UAE. And since
there is no tax on personal income there,
these gains become effectively tax-free
under the agreement. For immovable
property and shares, there are specific
provisions in the agreement that allow it
to be taxed in India.
As for portfolio management servi-
ces (PMS), since the underlying securi-
ties are bought and sold in the name of
the holder and through the holder’s
brokerage account, the taxation
depends on the assets that the PMS
manager is buying. If these are shares,
the gains would be taxed. Other securi-
ties are exempt from capital gains taxa-
tion. Income from category-1 and cate-
gory-2 alternative investment funds
(AIFs)—those that invest in a broader
range of assets, including real estate
and startups—is also treated as pass-
through income. It is taxable in the
A LESSON IN STRATEGIC INVESTING FROM PROFESSIONAL SPORTS PLAYERS
THE MONEY
MIND
VIVEK KAUL
We welcome your views and comments at
mintmoney@livemint.com
M
atthew Syed was the number one English table tennis
player for many years. Since his retirement he has been
a journalist and a writer. In a book titled Bounce—The
Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice, he recounts an interest-
ing experience of playing tennis with Michael Stich, a German
tennis player who won Wimbledon in 1991.
Syed wanted to use this occasion to carry out a little experi-
ment. He asked Stich to serve at maximum pace. This was 2004.
It had been a few years since Stich had retired from playing pro-
fessional tennis. Nonetheless, Stich was one the fastest servers
that tennis had seen and Syed was curious to see whether his own
reactions “forged over twenty years of international table tennis,”
would enable him to return the serve.
Stich’s first serve went past Syed’s right ear “with a speed that
produced what seemed like a clap of wind”. Syed then asked Stich
to send down another serve. At the end of it, Stich had served four
MINT MONEY WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi 13
Compare your bank FD rates
B ank fixed deposits (FDs) continue to be popular investment products not just
among senior citizens, who are looking for guaranteed income, but also among
investors who can’t stomach risk. But overexposure to FDs is not good, and you need
to assess your asset allocation and goals to decide how much money you should
park in them. For instance, saving for your child’s
higher education that’s 15 years away through FDs
may not be effective as the post-tax interest rate
of an FD may not give you a real return (return
that’s above the rate of inflation). But if you plan to
take a holiday in two years, an FD can help. Before
choosing an FD, you should compare the interest
rates on offer. Here is a list of banks that offer the
highest FD rates for deposits up to ₹1 crore over
various tenures.
Interest rates (%) for fixed deposits up to ₹1 crore
6 months 1 to < 2 2 to < 3 3 to < 5 5 years
to < 1 year years years years and above
DCB Bank 6.25-7.25 7.15- 7.85 7.55-8.00 7.40-7.90 7.25-7.65
Axis Bank 5.75-6.00 6.70-7.20 7.10 7.10 7.00
HDFC Bank 4.50-6.00 6.60-7.10 7.00-7.15 7.00-7.20 7.00
IndusInd Bank 5.00- 6.50 7.75 7.25-7.75 7.25 7.00-7.25
Why UAE NRIs don't pay capital gains tax on MFs in India IDFC First Bank 4.50-5.75 6.50-7.75 7.25-7.75 7.00-7.25 7.00
A special provision under the India-UAE DTAA allows NRIs to forgo capital gains tax on RBL Bank 5.50- 6.05 7.50-8.00 7.50-8.00 7.10-7.50 7.00-7.10
Indian MFs but practical hassles remain.
YES Bank 5.00-6.35 7.25-7.75 7.25 7.25 7.00-7.25
How to apply UAE-India DTAA
ICICI Bank 4.75- 6.00 6.70-7.10 7.00-7.10 7.00 6.90-7.00
Stay >183 days Get a tax residency Purpose: To avoid double
in UAE certificate taxation of residents in Canara Bank 6.15-6.25 6.85-7.25 6.85 6.80 6.70
both countries*
To qualify as UAE NRI From UAE tax authorities
Article 13 (4): Shares will Dhanlaxmi Bank 6.50 6.75-7.25 6.50-6.75 6.50-6.60 6.60
be taxed in India
Apply refund of Federal Bank 5.00-6.00 6.80-7.50 7.05 7.00 6.60
Get Form 10F Article 13 (5): Anything
capital gain tax*
From Indian tax portal
other than shares and Bank of Baroda 5.60-7.10 6.85-7.15 7.25 6.50-7.25 6.50
immovable properties will
Rectification application not be taxed Indian Overseas Bank 5.75 6.90-7.10 6.80 6.50 6.50
or Hence, MF are tax free Punjab National Bank 6.00-7.05 6.75-7.25 6.80-7.00 6.50-7.00 6.50
If claim whereas stocks are taxed
rejected
Appeal before CIT (A)
or *amended in 2007; earlier shares State Bank of India 5.75-6.00 6.80-7.10 7.00 6.75 6.50
File revision petition
were also tax free
*Assuming TDS is deducted DTAA: Double tax avoidance agreement Union Bank of India 4.90-5.75 6.50-7.25 6.50 6.50 6.50
CIT: Commisioner of income tax
Jammu & Kashmir Bank 4.75- 6.00 7.10 7.00 6.50 6.50
What if you missed applying for this benefit?
If NRIs basd in the UAE have filed their tax return for AY23-24 without claiming DTAA benefits, they
Data taken from respective bank's website as on 8 February 2024; Only main entity of the merged banks are taken. Banks which merged
with its main entity are removed from the table; The list of 15 banks is based on highest fixed deposit rates available for 5 years and above
can't revise it since the deadline passed on 31 Dec 2023. Here's a workaround: Source: www.Bankbazaar.com
3 SCENARIOS
Are you liable to pay
capital gains tax
No scrutiny
IT accepts return
Subject to scrutiny
Can't do new claims
Apply to CBDT
File condonation
Stocks
Mutual Funds
How do I legally ensure fair asset
Unchanged or
modified slightly.
during proceedings application
for refund claim
AIF*
PMS**
distribution among my heirs?
File a new claim, Note: There is no provision ISTOCKPHOTO
No option of but risk or
rejection. for a revised return to be Aditya Chopra & Amay Jain
appeal since no Bonds ment that specifies how a per-
accepted after the deadline.
claim made But CBDT has the power to
*Cat-3 AIF pays tax and not investors
son’s assets will be distributed
admit claim refund
Appeal against **Depends on underlying; MF & bonds How can I legally ensure upon their death. Through a
that order* CBDT: Central Board of not taxed (same for AIFs) that fair asset distribution will, individuals can designate
File revision Direct Taxes
happens among heirs, min- beneficiaries for specific
petition
imize disputes, and opti- assets, outline guardianship
If rejected, file
through tribunal Does it only work in theory? mize tax efficiency? How arrangements for minor chil-
Some experts say there are challenges do tools like trusts and dren, and even establish trusts.
or powers of attorney facili- By having a clear and compre-
 Getting UAE TRC is expensive* tate this process? hensive will in place, individu-
Submit petition to
revise scrutiny  Not all CAs are aware of provisions —Name withheld on request als can prevent potential dis-
order  Hard to convince AMCs, cos not to deduct TDS putes among heirs and provide
*Before CIT appeal  Might lead to litigation & scrutiny from IT dept In estate planning, individ- clarity on their final wishes
Singapore & Germany NRIs *Govt charge: approx 1,050 AED (24,000), plus CA charges
uals employ various legal regarding asset distribution.
also enjoy similar benefits. TDS: Tax Deduction at Source mechanisms to ensure fair Furthermore, estate plan-
Source: P.R. Bhuta & Co. Chartered Accountants asset distribution among heirs, ASK MINT ning may involve the strategic
minimize disputes, and opti- m E S TAT E P L A N N I N G use of insurance policies, such
PARAS JAIN/MINT
mize tax efficiency. One cru- as life insurance. Life insur-
hands of the recipient and depends on life challenges in its implementation. certificates and show the online filed cial tool in this process is the ance proceeds offer financial
the type of underlying security. “It sounds good only in theory,” said Form 10F to asset management compa- establishment of trusts. Trusts ney (PoA). A PoA grants security to beneficiaries, espe-
In the case of category-3 AIFs, which Harsh Roongta, co-founder and princi- nies (AMCs) to claim the benefits. But enable individuals to transfer authority to a designated cially in cases where the pri-
trade in shares, securities and deriva- pal officer of Fee Only Investment Roongta said it is difficult to convince assets to a separate legal entity individual (the attorney-in- mary income earner passes
tives, taxation happens at the scheme Advisors. AMCs to not deduct tax at source since managed by a trustee for the fact) to act on behalf of the away. By incorporating life
level and the income is Roongta said that get- they do not want to take the risk of get- benefit of beneficiaries. By grantor in financial or health- insurance into their estate
exempt for the investors. India and the UAE ting a tax residency certifi- ting into such a complicated tax creating trusts, individuals can care matters. By appointing plan, individuals ensure that
So, UAE NRIs don’t get signed the DTAA cate for the UAE is costly arrangement. specify how and when their trusted individuals as attor- their loved ones are financially
any specific benefit for in 1992 to avoid but not very difficult to get. On the other hand, Karan Batra, assets are distributed, ensur- neys-in-fact, individuals protected and can maintain
income in this case. double taxation Comparatively, getting a managing partner at Chartered Club, ing precise execution of their ensure effective management their standard of living even
When it comes to inter- tax residency certificate said that claiming benefits under the wishes. of their financial affairs in after their demise.
of residents of
est-bearing instruments, for Singapore is easier to DTAA might often lead to litigation and Trusts also offer flexibility in case of incapacity or unavail- Aditya Chopra is managing
the tax in India cannot both countries on get and is likely cheaper. scrutiny from the income tax depart- managing assets, particularly ability. This prevents disrup- partner, and Amay Jain is sen-
exceed 12.5% of the gross the same income Also, not many CAs are ment. He said that not all tax officials in cases involving minors or tions in asset management ior associate, Victoriam Legalis
interest earned. Indian aware of the DTAA bene- are aware of this clause, which makes it beneficiaries with special and ensures timely decision- - Advocates & Solicitors.
residents pay taxes on fits. “It is complex because difficult to convince them. Batra spe- needs. Moreover, trusts aid in making, safeguarding the
interest-bearing instruments, such as it involves understanding of double tax cializes in tax matters related to the minimizing tax liabilities by interests of both the grantor Do you have a personal
fixed deposits, as per the slab rates they treaties, how the Indian Supreme UAE and India. allowing strategic asset alloca- and their heirs. finance query? Send in your
fall under, which is generally higher. Court has looked at such treaties, UAE “If it’s a big amount, then it’s fine, tion and distribution. Additionally, individuals queries at
Although the above tax treaty pro- laws, etc.,” said Nayak. “It’s something otherwise the CA who’s representing Another vital legal mecha- can utilize wills as a funda- mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
vides special benefits to NRIs based out which most CAs struggle with.” you might charge more if it goes for nism in estate planning is the mental component of estate
industry experts.
of the UAE, experts say there are real- UAE NRIs can submit tax residency scrutiny,” said Batra. execution of powers of attor- planning. A will is a legal docu-
straight aces. As Syed writes: “He told me that he had slowed time you play a dud tennis shot, it’s immediately and embarrass-
down the last two serves to give me a fighting chance. I hadn’t ingly obvious that you’re no good. But, when you make a dud
even noticed.”
This story leads to a few interesting realizations. First, skills in
investment, the outcome is typically disconnected (by time) from
when you first made it.” And even after a stock becomes a dud
one area aren’t necessarily replicable in another similar area. At investment, the investor might feel that there is still a good
a very basic level, table tennis and tennis are very similar sports, chance of the price bouncing back or their recollection of how
where one player serves, the other player returns the serve, and they ended up investing in that stock might have changed.
then they rally. Second, Syed, having played a sport at an interna- Of course, most such retail investors hoping to emulate the
tional level, thought that he would at least be able to return a investing greats do not have the neces-
serve against a Wimbledon champion. It would have been inter- The final result sary skill set or the time or the motiva-
esting to see how a similar experiment in table tennis would have in investing tion to sit and learn the processes and
worked. If one were to Indianize this example, no college-level methods followed by the greats. And
cricketer would entertain the delusion of facing Jasprit Bumrah, isn’t always this is why so many retail investors, who
even if Bumrah chose to bowl with a tennis ball. immediately really have no idea about what a com-
When it comes to sports, this distinction is very clear in our obvious as it is pany does or where do its earnings
heads, but many of us fail to make this distinction when it comes in sports come from or does it really have a moat
to investing, and harbour the delusion that we can emulate some around its business model, end up buy-
of the most successful investors out there. GETTY IMAGES ing stocks, simply based on stock tips
As Michael Kemp writes in The Ulysses Contract—How to Never rah, his lack of skill at batting would be obvious after facing the given by finfluencers on social media and those appearing on TV.
Worry About the Share Market Again: “Too many people simply first ball itself, even if Bumrah decided to simply bowl a slower They even pick up stock tips from their friends and acquaintances.
assume that they have the skill that it takes to be a successful inves- ball, instead of bowling at his usual full pace. So, there will be an Now, in an environment like the current one, where the stock
tor. In fact, it’s a worldwide delusion on a mass scale… countless end point at the end of the first ball, and this writer will come out prices of almost anything and everything have gone up, this
stock market punters reckon that they’re in with a chance to emu- looking stupid for having decided to face the number one fast seems like a successful strategy to follow. And so many retail
late [Jim] Simons or [Warren] Buffett when it comes to investing.” bowler in the world. investors continue to play the game because the results have
Why is this the case? The answer lies in the fact that the lack of But investing doesn’t work like that. The final result isn’t been in their favour, at least in the short-term. And in their minds,
skill in sports is immediately obvious when an expert plays a non- always immediately obvious as it is in sports. As Kemp writes: tomorrow is going to be like today. And so the story continues.
expert. If this writer were ever lucky enough to face Jasprit Bum- “Even bad investment decisions fail to quell this delusion…Each Vivek Kaul is the author of Bad Money.
14 WeDNeSDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | On THE OTHER HAnD

AP

Stock front-running has moved

along with the changing times
What was done via TV is happening online and this makes it even harder to squash the practice

mouth and then hope that enough peo-
ple act on the tip. But with the advent of
business TV, anyone intending to front-
run a stock could broadcast it as a rec-
ommendation and get things going.
Now, with social media, even those who
are not in a position to appear on busi-
ness TV channels can front-run stocks
through online posts, reels and stories
VIVEK KAUL on popular platforms.
is the author of ‘Bad Money’. Here is a sample of investment advice
made in some reels seen by this writer:
1) Before 2028, ₹50,000 will become
₹50 lakh by investing in these powerful
and that market is still the same; only
the mode of delivery has changed. As
Kemp puts it: “Why bother undertaking
all that hard work when social media
delivers the answer right there in the
palm of your hand?”
Second, in an environment where
stock prices have been going up, even
random stock recommendations can
end up doing well. This helps those
offering stock-buying advice on social
media attain popular credibility. As
Robert H. Frank writes in Under the
Influence: “Profitable exchanges are

Farm reforms remain a

stocks.... 2) Here are financially strong possible only when people can trust one
penny stocks under ₹10 and ₹20 that another.” Rising stock prices help

L
ate last week, the Securities and you can invest in.... 3) In 2024, these are accentuate this phenomenon. There are
Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the the powerful shares you should invest many such stories in the market right
regulatory body for securities and in. Your ₹50,000 investment will turn now. The stock prices of companies

challenge yet to be met commodity markets, blew the lid off a

front-running fraud being carried out
by guest-experts appearing on Zee Busi-
ness, a business news channel. Certain
into ₹1 crore.... 4) Just close your eyes
and invest in these three penny shares
in the solar energy sector....
Each of these short reels featured a lot
with very poor earnings and not much
of a future have gone through the roof.
Finally, how can a stock market regu-
lator regulate something like this?
guests appearing on it would make of hyperbole and expressed certainty Front-running on TV is relatively easy
stock recommendations. Before over making a lot of money. And they to identify, given the existence of
The demands of protestors are largely untenable but a paradigm that treats our farmers as appearing on TV, they would share had thousands of ‘likes’ from those recordings of what was said. The same
their recommendations with other watching these reels. Now, who is to say pattern on social media is very difficult
captive suppliers to the state must be shifted and farms given freedom to maximize earnings individuals, who, with help from other that individuals making these reels to spot, given that so many recommen-
individuals and firms, would trade on aren’t also front-running, like those dations are being made. How does a reg-
this information. appearing on TV? Social media in a way ulator that works only office hours keep
Now, let’s say an expert suggests that has democratized the practice. Earlier, track of a market that operates 24/7?

F
armer groups from Punjab have
seemed bent on a confrontation with
the Centre, and Tuesday’s clashes
with police betrayed no evidence of
their backing off. Their threat of
storming Delhi—in a replay of earlier
farm-bill protests—just before national polls
looks like a ploy to maximize bargaining power.
Their list of demands is long, and many of them
are untenable. Their call to withdraw from the
World Trade Organization and freeze all free-
trade pacts, for instance, can be dismissed as
over the top. They also want the Land Acquisi-
tion Act of 2013 to be reinstated, a pension of
₹10,000 a month for every farmer aged above
60, the limit on rural job-guarantee work-days
to be doubled to 200, its daily wage upped to
₹700, and the dropping of all cases against last
time’s protestors. They have other asks as well,
but the main one is for a law to back a minimum
support price (MSP) for all commodities as a
government assurance. This list, though, is not
the only reason the agitators could be mistaken
for employee unions asking for a better deal.
embrace would mean a greater role for price investors on a given day should buy a one had to appear on TV or have some Also, reels and stories can disappear.
signals that emerge from the interplay of particular stock, aware that this recom- standing in stock investment circles to As the Sebi order said in the Zee Busi-
mendation would lead to an increase in think of indulging in it. Now anyone ness case: “It is necessary for investors to
demand and supply. In this case, it would buy orders for it, driving up its price. As with a smartphone can think of doing it. exercise due diligence while listening to
encourage farm supplies acting in response to the price rises, friends of experts who As Michael Kemp writes in The Ulysses such experts on TV or on social media.”
prices that capture de facto demand, as derived had advance information of the recom- Contract: “Digital platforms have, Or, as Kemp puts it: “There are plenty of
from actual diets (healthy ones, ideally, with mendation would sell the stock they unfortunately, provided a voice to the benefits that come from the ongoing
carbs balanced by protein, fibre, etc), rather had already bought before the TV unenlightened, who are using this voice digitalisation of our world, but gaining a
announcement, and thus make a profit. to guide the blindly unaware.” financial education from a smartphone
than being guided by what the state procures. This money would then be shared by The question is why retail investors isn’t one of them.”
No doubt, the state will have to remain a bulk these profit-makers with experts. trust such individuals. First, figuring The trouble is that investors who are
buyer of foodgrain and other farm produce so Front running in stock markets is an out stocks to invest in on your own punch drunk on short-term gains aren’t
long as it needs to offer free or cheap food under age-old phenomenon, probably as old requires a lot of reading and thinking. really going to buy—for lack of a better
its legal mandate. But state buying can distort as stock markets themselves. Nonethe- Given this, investors have always loved term—this global gyaan (knowledge).
less, the rise of business TV channels others giving them stock tips. Earlier, For them, the night is still young and
cropping patterns. It can incentivize the over- and online advisors has made it easier. these tips would be spread through there is a lot of money to be made. The
production of carb-heavy staples like wheat and Business TV channels started to word of mouth, but now they can reach regulator can only watch from the side-
rice, for example, while a better-fed populace become a force to reckon with around large numbers across social media and lines. And, as and when things take a
may want protein-rich edibles and vegetables the turn of the century. Before that, front-running can easily happen. In that turn for the worse, it can just about
cheapened by better acreage and cold chains anyone trying to front-run had to sense, there has always been a market of whisper, ‘We told you so.’ But that’s not
spread information through word of investors who want to be actively lied to, going to help anyone.
(for perishables). For evolving demand to be
satisfied more efficiently, farm incentives must
align better with market forces. And for this, we
would need various old restrictions eased and
markets bustling with multiple buyers.
Since price flexibility cannot do its market job
with price floors and caps in the way, MSPs www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Monday, February 17, 2014 Vol.8 No.41 `4.00 in Delhi­NCR/`5.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24 PAGES

And therein lies both the irony and nub of it. for mandatory state procurement (instead of PHILANTHROPY: A
helping hand
for adolescent girls >10
BANKER’S TRUST: The capital problem
of Indian banks >6

To be sure, this agitation differs from last optional) cannot be baked into Indian law with- CONTENT PARTNER
AVIATION: Kingfisher Airlines CEO
Sanjay Aggarwal resigns >6
MINT MONEY: What Sebi’s new measures
mean for mutual funds >14

time’s in its participation and aims, but that out turning our back on reforms. But then, the SENSEX 20,366.82 ®

EARNINGS REVIEW
NIFTY 6,048.35 ® DOLLAR `61.93 ® EURO `84.91 ®

RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT

The return
GOLD `30,620 ®

QUICK EDIT
OIL $109.08 ®

Profit, sales of Citizen Bank

does not obscure the need for a big-picture view old paradigm still prevails. State-set MSPs for growth fastest
Kejriwal tremors
E ven as India has done
well to get its current

The farmer has to

CAPITAL CALCULUS
account deficit under con-
ANIL PADMANABHAN trol, there seems to be an

in six quarters
emerging worry for inves-

of farmer discontent. Agriculture is a laggard nearly two dozen commodities do suggest a
Operating profit margin
at 12.4% was best in six
quarters, average net
H ow quickly things have tors: the growing pile of
turned on their head. Six bank loans that have
months ago, nobody (barring soured because of the eco-
the party itself) thought that the nomic downturn.
cerned,” he said, adding that fledgling Aam Aadmi Party The recent tremors at
while there is no denying that
the positive signs and optimism
(AAP) would be more than a
footnote in the Delhi assembly
United Bank of India could
perhaps be an advance
seen in the September quarter elections. And the day after it warning of deep fissures as

be an optimist or he
profit margin at 9.5% are continuing, it is too early to exited after 49 days of a roller- the results of State Bank of

sector at risk of stagnancy, with adverse conse- purchase promise. Another sign of the Centre’s
best in four quarters
B Y A MI S HAH
ami.s@livemint.com
·························
MUMBAI
call the results a turnaround. “A coaster run at the helm in Delhi, India showed over the
lot depends on the election re- the speculation has shifted to weekend. The stress in the
sults and how the new govern- what it is likely to achieve in the loan books of banks means
ment steers the economy,” Bali- 16th general election slated to that the next government
ga said. get underway in April-May. will need to move fast to
The average operating profit The explanation underlying rebuild bank capital if they
the early exit of the AAP in Delhi are to be in a position to
margin at 12.4% was the best in

I ndian companies grew at

their fastest pace in six quar-
six quarters, and the average net
profit margin at 9.5% was the
probably lies buried in these ex-
treme reactions. It was indeed
support an economic re-
covery. Most public sector

quences in store since it supports a big bulk of comfort with state-controlled farming popped
ters in the October-Decem- best in four quarters. The raw the big idea of the just-conclud- banks have adequate capi-

wouldn’t still be a farmer.

ber period, pointing to improved
operational efficiency as they
learned to work with tighter
budgets and cope with the pro-
longed economic slowdown.
Any significant turnaround,
though, is unlikely before the
next government is formed later
material-net sales ratio dipped to ed assembly polls. But I believe tal right now, but that will
36.2% from 36.7% in the previous Arvind Kejriwal, an astute politi- not be enough if more
quarter, suggesting that input cal mind, was seeing a diminish- loans go bad.
cost pressures had eased. The ing trade-off in continuing to be Such problems are typi-
employee expenses-net sales ra- chief minister and in seeking a cal features of a credit bub-
tio dropped to 7.2% from 7.5%. larger role nationally for the ble that has popped. Of
“There has been a significant start-up. It is now looking to course, unlike China, India
contribution from pharma com- evolve from being just a disrup- does not have high levels

our population. Structurally, the sector’s para- up recently in the form of export bans. Imposed
this year, analysts cautioned.
Net profit for these companies
in the December quarter in-
creased 18.9% from a year be-
fore, while net revenue grew at a
more modest 7%, showed a Mint
analysis of 299 companies that
are part of the BSE 500 and for
which comparable data was
panies, and also large-size com-
panies in IT (information tech-
nology) have posted decent set
of numbers. FMCG (fast-moving
consumer good) has benefited
from muted volume growth and
increase in prices has reflected,”
said Deven Choksey, managing
tor to a usurper—a process it is
TURN TO PAGE 4®
Set for delivery: Finance minister P. Chidambaram after giving the final ALSO SEE
touches to the interim budget 2014­15 on Sunday. Chidambaram will
on Monday present before Parliament the UPA’s final budget ahead of >Core support for AAP may increase
after resignation
a national election due by May.
of bank credit as a propor-
tion of its gross domestic
product. So the effect of a
banking sector weighed
down by bad loans is rela-
tively less acute—but it is
still a big worry.
>P4

digm is one of farmers at work for the state, on non-basmati rice and onions, for example, it
available for the previous 15
quarters.
On both the metrics, the pace
of growth was the fastest since
director and chief executive of
KR Choksey Shares and Securi-
ties Pvt. Ltd. “The (overall) posi-
tive trend has continued and will
continue. We have stabilized on Cars in India EFFECTIVE ADVICE

So, you want to create

the end of the September 2012
quarter.
Banks, financial institutions,
and software and energy compa-
which lends a shoulder to their plough with reinforced the conception of farmers as captive
nies were excluded from the re-
view as they follow a different
earnings model than the other
companies on this list.
“Some positive signs we saw in
the September quarter earnings
seem to be carried forward. Cost
rationalization is reaping bene-
to take a leap
WI L L ROD G E R S
the base, but are waiting to ride,”
said Choksey.
Among the stand-out per-
formers this quarter was Sun
into the future
an advisory board?
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd,
which sharply raised its revenue
forecast for the financial year B Y A MRIT R AJ
ending March after posting a amrit.r@livemint.com
74% jump in net profit for the ·························
December quarter on strong
overseas sales.
Smaller peer Aurobindo Phar-
NEW DELHI

I t may not be enough any

fits. Learning and benefits from
ma Ltd posted a fourfold jump in
longer that you are able to
sync your smartphone to your
F aced with increasing head-
winds, many multinational
companies (MNCs) in India are
mint SERIES-I
setting up advisory boards. It’s Boards are in the news, and also on the someone who
radar of regulators. As corporate should know—Ravi

subsidy support, all of it aimed at national food suppliers. While such moves may help cool
cost-cutting lasts much longer
and can lead to accelerated mar-
gin expansion in an up-cycle,”
said Ambareesh Baliga, manag-
ing partner of Edelweiss Global
Wealth, the wealth management
arm of Edelweiss Financial Serv-
ices Ltd.
“We seem to have bottomed
consolidated net profit on the
back of higher sales due to prod-
uct launches and growth in its
formulation business in the US
and Europe. Rival Cipla Ltd
bucked the positive trend in
pharma earnings trend and post-
ed a 17% drop in net profit main-
ly on the back of increased mate-
car. Auto makers want their
cars to be smarter.
The kind of cars that can ac-
cess the Internet, read out your
emails, messages and social
media updates, put out dis-
plays on an LED screen, pull
up a route map, or make
calls—all on the command of
not just MNCs that are using
advisory boards; some Indian
listed companies are also ex-
perimenting with such boards,
albeit with a more narrow focus
on issues such as family mat-
ters or research and innova-
tion. While advisory boards are
all the rage currently, the
governance becomes more important— Venkatesan, a
analysts are beginning to comment on former chairman of
it, a bunch of proxy advisories have Microsoft India and
emerged, and the new companies a member of the
legislation codifies some practices— Infosys board. In the
Mint presents a four­part series on first part, he looks at the phenomenon
boards, and their roles, authored by of advisory boards.

security. The easing of food scarcity and the inflation, they deprive farmers of a chance to
out as far as the economy is con- rial costs and foreign exchange
losses.
Auto makers mostly posted
earnings that surpassed analysts’
expectations.
Tata Motors Ltd smashed
street expectations after its profit
almost tripled, as its UK unit Jag-
uar Land Rover Automotive Plc
your voice. Or call an ambu-
lance in an accident.
Smart cars, possibly with ec-
osystems of their own, aren’t
products of the distant future.
Sankalp Kale, in fact, be-
lieves he will be able to buy
one of these maybe soon after
he graduates from engineering
chances are that most will be
ineffective and eventually be
wound down to much disap-
pointment. How do you avoid
this? Should you have an advi-
sory board? If you do, how do
you really make one effective?
The fundamental question of
course is whether you should
tiple challenges in India such
as high rates of software piracy,
the challenge of free and open
source software such as Linux,
difficult relations with the gov-
ernment on matters ranging
from taxation to software pric-
ing. It was also the quintessen-
the global market to fit local
needs in large and complex
markets such as China and In-
dia. Should you enter on our
own or through a joint venture
or an acquisition? What prod-
ucts should be introduced?
What should the pricing strate-

emergence of our economy, however, have maximize earnings—which is the very pitch
reported robust sales of luxury
cars and premium sport utility
vehicles, balancing out another
dismal quarter for its domestic
operations.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd,
India’s largest maker of utility
vehicles, posted an 11.7% in-
crease in net profit as demand
school next year.
That, of course, would be a
car with several smart features,
but far fewer and less powerful
than what global car makers
are envisaging.
At the recent Delhi Auto
Expo, the 21-year-old student
of SRM University in Ghazia-
create an advisory board. For
MNCs, such boards are useful
in several ways:
Policy, regulation and
access
If your business is complex
and faced with lots of difficult
policy and regulatory challeng-
tial American MNC and there-
fore an “outsider” with very
limited access to policymakers
and policy influencers. In such
a situation, an advisory board
can be invaluable as indeed it
was.
Local business models
gy be? How should products
and offerings be adapted for
India? What about branding
and distribution? The mistake
that even well-run MNCs often
make is rigidly replicating the
global model; an insightful ad-
visory board can be of tremen-
dous value in finding the right

made space for a shift that recruits market effi- reformers must make to solicit their buy-in for
for tractors rose and it cut costs, bad was glued to Tata Motors es, it can be very advantageous A second area where a board balance between being “mind-
countering a decline in passen- Ltd’s ConnectNext concept to have a good set of advisers to can add value is in localizing lessly global and helplessly lo-
ger vehicle sales. Maruti Suzuki car, the kind of car he might help you think through these the business model. The big- cal”.
Mint is also available for R8 with issues. For instance, in 2005, gest challenge for most MNCs
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
TURN TO PAGE 3® TURN TO BACK PAGE ® Microsoft was confronting mul- is deciding how much to bend TURN TO PAGE 2®

ciency to revive the sector’s fortunes. A market greater market-orientation as we go along.

MY VIEW | EX MAcHInA

Think of AI as a complex adaptive system to regulate it

tally stray into potentially hazardous areas.
RAHUL MATTHAN It also calls for building manual overrides
and authorization choke-points directly
into these AI systems, so that humans can
effectively take control of operations where
needed. It makes the case for “transparency
For that reason, I agree with the proposal think of weapons, power grids, etc—doing so the first place was to avoid biased human
to put in place a dedicated and agile expert will force us to build them from scratch, and, decision-makers. Now that we have commit-
regulatory body with the power to issue as a result, forgo many of the benefits that ted ourselves to this path and integrated
directions and amend regulations on-the-fly could have come from building on top of machines into our workflows, we have
as and when required. If such a regulator is what has already been developed. reached a point where humans can no
obliged to operate in accordance with a set This is also why the goal of ensuring “dis- longer keep up. Our poorer senses and

L
ast month, the Prime Minister’s Eco-
nomic Advisory Council (PM-EAC)
released a paper proposing a new
approach to regulating Artificial Intelli-
gence (AI). It argues that while our current
approach of enacting reactionary regula-
tions might work in a static, linear system
with predictable risks, it is unlikely to work
and explainability,” so that there will always
be public scrutiny of these systems. The
PM-EAC paper also suggests that we ensure
“distinct accountability,” so we can always
identify the entity or individual responsible
for any unintended consequence. Finally,
the paper recommends that we put in place
an AI regulator with the expertise and the
of principles aligned with the democratic tinct accountability” might be impossible to slower reaction times mean that we are no
values of the country, I see achieve. Today, AI is match for our machine counterparts.
this as no different from designed to be interopera- And then there is the demand for trans-
the principles-based regu- The PM-EAC’s ble, with access provided parency and explainability. As I have argued
lation approach that I have through application pro- before, whenever we insist on transparency,
called for in earlier articles proposal of this gramming interfaces (APIs) it is almost always in exchange for accuracy,
in this column. designed for deep integra- and while in certain circumstances—such as
That said, there is much
novel approach tion of AI into other digital where human life and liberty are at stake—

is a partner at Trilegal and the

author of ‘The Third Way:
India’s Revolutionary Approach
to Data Governance’. His X
(formerly Twitter) handle is
@matthan.
in the context of AI, which comprises emer-
gent, non-linear systems. It argues that
since AI is a dynamic network of diverse
agents whose interactions generate emer-
gent behaviours, we need to think of it as a
complex adaptive system (CAS) and design
regulations accordingly.
We already have experience dealing with
complex adaptive systems like stock mar-
kets. The paper attempts to extract regula-
tory principles from those systems, so that
we can apply them to AI. For instance, it
suggests that we put in place guard-rails
and partitions to define operational spaces
within which AI can operate, so that, if
needed, we can be sure it will not acciden-
mandate to recalibrate regulations on the
fly to deal with the dynamic requirements
of CAS regulation.
If nothing else, categorizing AI as a CAS is
a refreshingly novel approach to finding solu-
tions for a particularly challenging problem.
AI policies tend to be knee-jerk responses to
manifestations of harms resulting from the
use of this technology, but regulators using
this whack-a-mole approach will constantly
find themselves behind the curve. By taking
a step back and thinking of the entire AI land-
scape as a CAS that displays emergent behav-
iour and is continuously and spontaneously
evolving is an effective way to arrive at a
workable long-term solution.
that I disagree with in the
paper, like the idea of
has merit but products. Technologies
like IFTTT and Zapier take
this might be appropriate, in others, it will
not be. For instance, AI can analyse radiol-
guard-rails and partitions
that it suggests. While the
also aspects this interoperability even
further by allowing do-it-
ogy images with far greater accuracy than
humans. If this gives me a better chance at
concept itself may be that are hard yourself combinations of detecting a potentially fatal disease, I don’t
sound, given the way in services without any need see why I should give this up simply because
which AI has already been to implement for coding expertise. All of we need algorithms to be explainable.
built so far, this suggestion which is to say that even Using a CAS approach to formulate regu-
would be virtually impossi- though we are at the dawn lations for AI is indeed novel and refreshing
ble to implement. Much of AI development of the AI age, it is already impossible to pin as a way to solve a wicked problem. But we
has been modular—particularly lower down distinct responsibility for AI outcomes on a cannot blindly apply these regulatory prin-
the stack, with customization mainly taking single individual or entity. ciples to AI without a proper understanding
place at higher levels. As a consequence, for I am just as sceptical of the paper’s blind of how it will impact operations in this
all intents and purposes, this is a ship that insistence on human oversight and the need important sector. Instead, we should work
might have already sailed. While it is still to always have humans in the loop. One of at adapting CAS principles so that we can
possible to ‘air-gap’ some core systems— the reasons why we moved to automation in achieve the desired outcomes.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS WeDNesDAy, 14 FebruAry 2024
NeW DelhI 15

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

There’s both the will and a way to We should lift the shroud over
how AI firms fight deepfakes
unleash India’s digital potential Too little is known about safety checks in place for generative AI

India is not yet a digital star but it’s certainly rising as one and a well-focused action plan could accelerate this trajectory

REUTERS

PARMY OLSON
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
technology.

KUSHE BAHL & RAJAT DHAWAN

are, respectively, a partner at McKinsey &
Company’s India office in Mumbai, and
managing partner based in Delhi.

W
hen people fret about artificial
intelligence (AI), it’s not just due
to what they see in the future,

A
t first glance, India looks like a digital
star, with inexpensive bandwidth,
rising enthusiasm for e-commerce,
and a fast-growing cluster of innova-
tive companies. Our public digital
infrastructure is getting broader and
deeper by the day, and the number of internet
users is fast approaching 900 million, more than
double the figure of 2016.
And yet, we still have a lot of catching up to do.
Only one out of every 10 Indians, or 140 million
people (compared to 710 million in China), is a
regular online shopper; e-commerce penetration
is just 19%. Venture capital funding dropped two-
thirds in 2023, making it more difficult for digital
startups to get the capital they need.
How can India turn its enormous potential
into growth that fosters both equity and economic
competitiveness? Four opportunities come
to mind.
Focus on inclusion as well as profitability: Earlier
this year, McKinsey estimated that about three-
quarters of Indians fall short of full economic
empowerment (estimated at a per capita income of
about $5 a day), and that faster growth and busi-
ness innovation could lift 700 million to that level
by 2030. The digital economy, which has grown
2.5 times faster than the overall economy since
2016, could be a powerful force for sustainable and
inclusive growth, not only through greater pro-
ductivity, but as a way of delivering social goods, as
the success of the Aadhaar and the CoWin and
U-Win vaccination platforms have proven.
Much more could be done. For example, tele-
medicine could improve access and health out-
comes by offering lower-cost prevention and
treatment programmes. Such consultations cost
30% less than in-person visits and could unlock
$40-$60 billion in value by 2030. In education,
digital learning modules could be used to train
many of the 70 million new entrants to the labour
force each year and also deliver new content to
schools at all levels. Financial inclusion is already a
success story, thanks to India’s Unified Payments
Interface (UPI) and similar efforts. But more can be
done to make credit accessible to India’s 64 million
micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Activate the entire value chain: Consumer-ori-
ented startups dominate funding and digital con-
sumption has grown 18-fold over the last five years.
For India to fully benefit from the potential of digi-
tal technology, however, it’s important to look at
everything from product development to procure-
ment, manufacturing and logistics. In life sciences,
for example, the product-development cycle can
be speeded up through use of digital and advanced
analytics, including generative artificial intelli-
gence (Gen AI). Manufacturing plants in industries
such as steel, aluminium, pulp and paper, tyres and
batteries have seen efficiency improvements of
10% to 20% through the use of advanced analytics.
These transformations not only release resources
needed for broader digital adoption, but also
enable the creation of new products, services and
business models.
Harness the power of AI to build frugal customer
acquisition and engagement capabilities: Due to the
high costs of customer acquisition and engage-
ment, many companies have seen excessive cash
burn or margin dilution in their digital invest-
ments. It is possible to reduce these costs signifi-
cantly by using smart AI tools and techniques.
Over 60% of today’s customer interaction reach-
outs could be automated using AI in the next five
years, including by means of AI-generated out-
bound marketing messages for customer engage-
ment. Digital companies could deploy a weekly
marketing sprint rhythm, enabled by a content
engine, an influencer network and the use of
assisted selling and offline activation support.
Build for the world: From 2020 to 2022, the
Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment grew
65% a year, twice as fast as the rest of the world,
and private investment reached $15 billion. Given
structural advantages of talent, cost and expertise,
India is well positioned to do more. By 2030, the
SaaS market could be worth $50-70 billion and
account for more than 500,000 jobs in India.
Success will require concerted efforts by the gov-
ernment (regulatory support and open-source
assets), businesses (by way of partnerships to
develop products) and the industry at large (which
could identify best practices). India’s digital
expertise could be both a positive example to other
countries and a significant export opportunity.
Our UPI platform has already been adapted in
Oman, Nepal, Singapore and the UAE.
And one more thing: Across the board, more
needs to be done to develop the talent required to
make all this happen through on-the-job skilling
programmes that accelerate apprenticeship,
industry-oriented education curricula and
exchanges. India has the third-largest AI talent
pool in the world, but there is still a sizable short-
age of data scientists, data architects and machine-
learning engineers. Venture capital is important,
no doubt, but it’s clear that human capital matters
most of all.
So, no, India is not yet a digital star, but it is
certainly a rising one. Accelerating its trajectory
should be a matter of urgency.
but what they remember from the past:
notably the toxic effects of social media.
For years, misinformation and hate speech
evaded Facebook and Twitter’s policing
systems. Now deepfakes are infiltrating
those platforms, and while Facebook is still
responsible for how bad stuff gets distrib-
uted, AI companies have a clean-up role
too. Unfortunately, they’re carrying out
that work behind closed doors.
I reached out to a dozen generative AI
firms whose tools generate photorealistic
images, videos, text and voices, to ask how
they made sure their users complied with
rules. Ten replied, all confirming that they
used software to monitor what users churn
out, and most said they had human checks
too. Hardly any agreed to reveal how many
humans were on this job. And why should
they? Unlike pharma, auto and food, AI
companies have no regulatory obligation
to divulge details of safety practices. They,
like social media firms, can be as mysteri-
ous about it as they want. Europe’s upcom-
ing AI Act has touted “transparency
requirements,” but it’s unclear if it will
force AI firms to have their safety practices
audited in the same way that car- and food-
makers do. It took decades for those indus-
tries to adopt strict safety standards. But
the world can’t afford for AI tools to have a
free rein as they evolve rapidly. Midjourney
recently updated its software to generate
images that were so photorealistic they
could show the skin pores and wrinkles of
politicians. At the start of a huge election
year when close to half the world will go the
polls, a gaping regulatory vacuum means
AI-generated content could have a devas-
tating impact on democracy, women’s
rights, the creative arts and more.
One way out is to push AI companies to
be more transparent on safety, which starts
with questions. When I contacted OpenAI,
Microsoft, Midjourney and others, I made
these simple: How do you enforce your
rules using software and humans, and how
many humans do that work? Most shared
some details on their processes for misuse
prevention, albeit in vague PR-speak.
OpenAI, for instance, had two teams of
people helping retrain AI models to make
them safer or react to harmful outputs. The
company behind Stable Diffusion said it
used safety “filters” to block images that
broke its rules, and human moderators
checked flagged prompts and images. Yet,
only a few disclosed how many humans
had oversight. Think of them as internal
Deepfakes could wreak havoc across
democracies this year ISTOCKPHOTO
safety inspectors. In social media, they are
known as content moderators, and they’ve
played a critical role in double-checking
the content that social media algorithms
flag as racist, misogynist or violent. Face-
book has more than 15,000 moderators to
secure integrity without stifling freedoms.
It’s a delicate balance that humans do best.
Sure, with their built-in safety filters,
most AI tools don’t churn out the kind of
toxic content that people do on Facebook.
But they could still make themselves safer
and more trustworthy if they hired more
human moderators. Humans are the best
stopgap in the absence of better software
for catching harmful content.
Pornographic deepfakes of Taylor Swift
and voice clones of President Joe Biden
and other international politicians have
gone viral, underscoring that AI and tech
companies aren’t investing enough in
safety. Admittedly, hiring more humans to
help them enforce their rules is like getting
more buckets of water to put out a house
fire. It might not solve the whole problem
but it will make it temporarily better. “If
you’re a startup building a tool with a gen-
erative AI component, hiring humans at
various points in the development process
is somewhere between very wise and vital,”
says Ben Whitelaw, the founder of Every-
thing in Moderation, a newsletter about
online safety.
Several AI firms admitted to having just
one or two human moderators. The video-
generation firm Runway said its own
researchers did that work. Descript, which
makes a voice-cloning tool called Overdub,
said it only checked a sample of cloned voi-
ces to make sure they matched a consent
statement read out by customers. The
startup argued that checking their work
would invade their privacy.
AI companies have unparalleled free-
dom to conduct their work in secret. But if
they want to ensure public trust, it’s in their
interest to pull back more of the curtain to
show how exactly they enforce their rules.
Hiring more humans would help too. Too
much focus on racing to make AI “smarter”
so that fake photos look more realistic, or
text more fluent, or cloned voices more
convincing, threatens to drive us deeper
into a hazardous world. Better to bulk up
and reveal those safety checks now before
it all gets much harder. ©BLOOMBERG

THEIR VIEW

Paytm crisis: Can an advisory panel make a difference?

Needless to say, an appropriate measure
SRINATH SRIDHARAN would have been if the bank’s board had
sought external advice independently.
Further, an advisory board making sug-
gestions on how to enhance compliance
with the rules would only be as good as the
equivalent of hiring an emergency set of per-
sonal tutors, especially from the same set of
school teachers, just as one flunks a school
exam. This sort of approach is not known to
change the behaviour of students. And it
would surely not be looked upon by other
As a payments bank, PPB has had multiple
run-ins with RBI; it has had warnings and
even a large monetary penalty imposed on it.
As a parent entity, One97 has reportedly had
concerns expressed by the regulator about
dealings between its payment app and its
and know-your-customer processes. Well,
that’s a start, even if it is rather late in the
day. What was the bank doing when the
banking sector’s regulator raised its con-
cerns first? Nearly two years have now
passed since RBI’s 2022 action, which too

I
n the current crisis of India’s largest pay-
ment company, Paytm, there are many
allegations that one can only speculate on,
until regulators share more information
with the public. But any financial entity reg-
ulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
getting a long rope on non-compliance
needs a rethink. It is no surprise that Paytm’s
entity’s compliance culture.
Having a panel of wise counsel is a display
of good intent, which businesses must do,
especially regulated and listed entities. But
then, such advisory committees could even
be established in the normal course of busi-
ness. Indeed, that would convey an effort to
add value and adopt higher standards of
stakeholders in positive light.
Instances of compliance
failure can be on account
of either operational rea- Whether it can
sons or the very intent or
culture of the organiza- help beyond
tion, and it is always hard
to ascertain which of the
the optical front
banking arm. Yet, nothing seems to have
been done until RBI took
action. Doesn’t it say some-
thing about Paytm’s orga-
nizational culture vis-a-vis
regulatory compliance ?
Other questions arise.
While a creative or innova-
followed a long period of review, as warn-
ings and discussions had preceded that too.
In other words, a long rope already seems to
have been given to PPB.
Can newer developments alter the state of
play? Will the reputation of the advisory
panel play a role in what unfolds next? If that
happens, it would quickly become the play-

is a policy researcher and

corporate advisor. @ssmumbai
parent entity One 97 Communications has
appointed an advisory board of prominent
experts, including an ex-regulator, to advise
it on regulatory and compliance matters.
Consider the following points. One97,
Paytm’s parent, is not the regulated entity. It
is Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) that is regu-
lated by RBI and in trouble for repeated non-
compliance. How can an advisory panel
appointed by the parent entity have a say in
advising a regulated entity (PPB) on regula-
tory compliance? If this panel is advising
One97, then it has to ensure that informa-
tion shared with the external advisory panel
is within regulatory kosher limits and does
not infringe on the role of PPB’s board.
internal governance as a matter of routine
and good business hygiene.
However, what may seem like an expen-
sive investment in usual times, the kind of
idea that often makes business promoters
cringe, tends to assume a whole new appeal
once the stakes rise and compliance
becomes a matter of fiefdom retention. This
can happen, for example, if the business’s
board has forgotten its core job of corporate
oversight, necessitating an advisory body to
perform that function. And if this is the case,
then it reveals a fundamental flaw in the
structure of governance.
The sudden creation of an august advisory
group in the midst of a crisis sounds like the
two it is. In all these
aspects, however, the buck
is doubtful for
starts and stops with the
leadership and board.
reasons drawn
If operational gaps in from norms of
compliance are found,
then it can be addressed governance
through enhanced internal
training on how to comply
with the prevailing rules. At times, manage-
ment changes in some functions are needed
to ensure that such gaps don’t recur. If all
functions are not aligned with the demands
of regulatory compliance, then the entity
would need a change in leadership or risk
regulatory action hitting shareholder value.
tive company may be
widely admired, can it get a
free ride on compliance?
Also, can the deep market
penetration of a company’s
services be an argument for
a regulatory reprieve?
No poster boy for inno-
vation can expect special
allowances. One school of thought suggests
that high-profile businesses make for good
examples to be set for others on the conse-
quences of faulty rule-adherence.
According to recent news, PPB has put
out a request for proposals inviting external
auditors to assess the bank’s compliance
book for other regulated entities to adopt,
while pushing the idea of board responsibil-
ity for compliance further into a grey zone by
its precedent.
Care would have to be taken that no awk-
ward messages on mechanisms of bank gov-
ernance and the handling of non-compli-
ance allegations are sent out. Banks always
need tighter regulation. People trust them as
keepers of money at least partly because
they are aware of RBI’s oversight. The more
discerning track the regulator’s own inde-
pendence as well. When the leader of a non-
compliant bank seeks and gets an appoint-
ment with a Union ministry, that becomes
yet another ponderable.
16 WeDNesDay, 14 February 2024
NeW Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE SPORTS LIVEMINT.COM

Indian TT’s road to Olympics

India’s table tennis failing which they would have to rely on
PTI

have to get our best out there, we have to lowed by a lower back strain, admits to
the world rankings (as of March 2024) to play as a team. Harmeet is playing really focussing on mixed doubles at the cost of
stars are charting a sneak in. well—he has hit his best form and I hope his results in individual events. His singles
The latter is more challenging, given he continues that for a couple of more world ranking, which hovered around the
path to the Paris that team rankings are based on individ- months. As a team, we are backing each 30s mark for a few years, has slipped to 91
ual player rankings. India’s highest other up.” now. “I felt that in mixed doubles, getting
Olympics later this ranked male player, Harmeet Desai, is No. Table tennis at the Olympic Games, into the top 16, you are two rounds away
year. This is how 68, followed by Manav Thakkar at 87,
while among the women, Manika Batra is
from 27 July-10 August, will have five
events—men’s, women’s singles, men’s,
from a semi-final,” the 31-year-old says.
“Mixed doubles for me is the real focus, at
they’re doing it at No. 37 and Sreeja Akula is 49. But if an women’s teams and mixed doubles. The least for the next few months till the 30
Indian team qualifies, through Busan, teams’ event will have a draw of 16, with April deadline.”
India will also automatically get two sin- one team of three athletes per country. Mixed doubles, as a category, is being
Arun Janardhan gles spots for Paris. The mixed doubles event will also consist introduced as a medal event in the Olym-
feedback@livemint.com “The team is, let’s say, my baby. I want of a draw of 16, which shortens the path- pics for the first time in Paris.
to get these guys there,” says A. Sharath way for competitors to the medal rounds. While there has been a smattering of

T
he International Table
Tennis Federation (ITTF)
World Team Table Tennis
Championships that begins
in Busan, South Korea, on
16 February will mark India’s first chance
of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics
this summer. With athletes from China
continuing to dominate the sport—includ-
ing the world’s top five male and top four
female players—India’s best chance of suc-
cess in TT in Paris will come from the team
event and mixed doubles.
Currently ranked No. 15 and 17 in the
world respectively, the Indian men’s and
women’s teams will have to make it to the
quarterfinals in Busan to qualify for Paris,
Kamal, the 41-year-old senior pro whose
ranking has dropped to 97, while referring
to the other top players.
For individual places,” Sharath adds,
“there’ll be one spot within all of us
because we have to play South Asia region,
and in that region, India is by far the best.
One of us will go. I’m not looking (out) for
me. My primary target is the team, we
need to get there as a team, then we can
choose two players who will represent us.”
If the (men’s or women’s) teams do not
qualify through Busan, singles players will
have to find their way to Paris through
continental qualification events or singles
rankings, which have limited quotas. That
would require the players to compete in
Manika Batra is among the Indian TT stars aiming for Paris.
more events, for more ranking points.
“If we qualify as a team, then it wouldn’t
matter much to play a lot of tourna-
ments,” says Desai. “We would plan in a
way that we don’t focus a lot on the rank-
ing, but to get match practice. But if we
don’t qualify as a team, then everybody
would run after points. We will be com-
petitors amongst each other. It will be a
totally different scenario and then we
have to plan accordingly.”
G. Sathiyan, a medal winner in the
Commonwealth Games and Asian Games,
adds that merely reaching the quarters in
Busan does not complete the picture. “It’s
a matter of small margins,” he says. “We
“Probably the biggest chance of an
achievement is here, on the team,” says
Sharath, who also chairs the ITTF ath-
letes’ commission. “So for me, that is the
be-all and end-all of the Olympic Games at
Paris. I’m really not even thinking about
singles. I just want to put all my energy
focus into the team at this moment.”
India’s best chance of getting into the
medal round would be in the mixed dou-
bles, in which Batra and Sathiyan are cur-
rently ranked 11th in the world. Batra-
Sathiyan can get to Paris on the back of
qualification events or through rankings,
which would be decided by March-April.
Sathiyan, who has not been completely
fit in recent times due to a knee injury fol-
medals at the Commonwealth Games and
Asian events—Ayhika and Sutirtha Muk-
herjee won a bronze medal in women’s
doubles at the Asian Games last year—
Indian players have not broken any major
barriers yet at the world stage. But with an
increasing number of tournaments,
changes in format of international compe-
titions, wider talent pool and resources,
there are greater expectations.
“There will, of course, be expectations,”
says Batra. “Sometimes we just think that
because of these expectations, we have to
win every match. But the focus needs to be
on every match, doubles, mixed doubles
and singles. When I am on the table, there
is me and the opponent.”

England’s captain Ben Stokes REUTERS

Ben Stokes gears

up for his 100th
Test against India
The architect of ‘Bazball’, Ben Stokes aims
for victory in the third Test against India
AFP
feedback@livemint.com

B
en Stokes will win his 100th Test cap when he leads England
against India in the third Test beginning Thursday in Rajkot, as
both sides have to contend with the absence of key players.
The five-match series is on a knife-edge at 1-1 after India’s 106-run
victory in the second Test in Visakhapatnam followed England’s
28-run win in Hyderabad. To millions of our customers
Batsmen Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be absent for India while
England’s senior spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the final
three matches with a knee injury suffered in the first Test.
for being an inseparable
Stokes, 32, was lauded for his leadership after England won the
series opener in Hyderabad to hand India only their fourth Test loss
part of our journey, and
at home since 2013 and then aggressively chased 399 to win in Visa-
khapatnam before falling short.
over 1.5 million investors for their
England have won 14 Tests out of 20 since Stokes and coach Bren-
don McCullum took the reins with an attacking style dubbed “Baz- overwhelming response to our
ball”, but one former great thinks the term is overplayed.
“Much of England’s success has been attributed to ‘Bazball’ -- the Initial Public Offering (IPO).
desire to score quickly and tactically rattle the opposition -- but this
is a misnomer,” former Australia captain Ian Chappell was quoted as
saying on Cricinfo.
Stokes was “What Stokes has really done is set out to
lauded for his achieve victory from ball one by playing
aggressive cricket -- in all aspects of the
leadership after game,” he added.
England won
QIB NII RII
All-rounder Stokes, who is playing in the
the opener in series as a batsman after recovering from
Hyderabad knee surgery, has scored 6,251 runs and
taken 197 wickets since his Test debut in PORTION *
PORTION PORTION
2013.
India will be without their batting great Kohli, who will be unavaila-
ble for the rest of the series for “personal reasons”, having missed the
79.56 54.14 31.25
first two Tests. Batsman Rahul will again miss out having not recov-
ered completely after missing the second Test, but was named in the
squad and is expected to be fit for the rest of the series after Rajkot.
The England squad travelled to Abu Dhabi for a rest and to spend
time with family members after the second Test, but are already back
training in Rajkot.
Rohit Sharma’s side started the series with the defeat in Hyderabad
after Ollie Pope’s brilliant 196 turned the game on its head after India
had taken a 190-run first-innings lead.
In Visakhapatnam, India survived some nervy moments during
England’s spirited chase before securing the series-levelling win.
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin needs just one wicket to reach *Excluding anchor investors portion
the 500 Test dismissals in Rajkot, while England seamer James APEEJAY SURRENDRA PARK HOTELS LIMITED has filed a Prospectus dated February 7, 2024 (“Prospectus”) with the Registrar of Companies, West Bengal at Kolkata (“RoC”). The Prospectus is available on the website of the
Anderson needs five more to reach 700 victims, a mark bettered only Company at www.theparkhotels.com, SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in, websites of the Stock Exchanges i.e. BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited at www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com, respectively, and the BRLMs,
i.e. JM Financial Limited, at www.jmfl.com, Axis Capital Limited, at www.axiscapital.co.in and ICICI Securities Limited, at www.icicisecurities.com respectively. Any potential investor should note that investment in equity shares involves a
by spinners Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800). high degree of risk and for details relating to such risk, please see the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 29 of the Prospectus.
The 42-year-old Anderson will play his 185th Test, if selected, and The Equity Shares offered in the Offer have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any other applicable law of the United States and, unless so registered, may
could be joined in the attack again by young spinners Tom Hartley, not be offered or sold within the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the Equity
Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed who have just six caps between Shares are being offered and sold only outside the United States in ‘offshore transactions’ as defined in, and in reliance on, Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act and the applicable laws of the jurisdiction where those offers and
them. England’s spinners, including part-timer Joe Root, have sur- sales are made.
prisingly stood out so far with 33 wickets.