NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 16 NO.

214

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

livemint.com

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Why it’s unwise to It’s one

bank on airbags market
The Centre seems to have had a
alone on the road change of mind. Barely a week
after it justified denying start-
ups and other investors the ben-
BY SUMANT BANERJI efit of seeking central business-
The tragic death of former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry has related approvals through the
refocused public attention on car safety features and passenger habits. single clearance windows of
The modern luxury car has numerous safety features. Are they states, it now plans to allow the
enough to bring down fatalities? Mint takes a look. facility. Once in place, we would
EURO NCAP be able to seek the clearances
required at the central level
through state-run portals with-
out needing to register sepa-
rately on India’s central portal.
Notably, state-level okays are
currently obtainable through
the central window, but not the
other way round.
That anomaly needed fixing,
for it had weakened the idea of a
one-stop counter across India.
Since India’s broad goal is to
simplify compliance and make
it easier for investors to set up
businesses, both-way access
should always have been per-
How safe is a luxury Do airbags deploy mitted. It should not matter
1 car in India?
Luxury cars in India host safety
2 without seat belts?
Airbags are considered passive
whether we first log onto a state
website or the Centre’s. Inves-
features like airbags, seat belts safety systems that deploy when tors have often found that the
with pretensioners, anti-lock sensors on the vehicle trigger a ease of doing business in the
braking system (ABS) with collision warning irrespective of country doesn’t live up to the
electronic brakeforce distribution whether seat belts are fastened. hype around it. The clearance
(EBD) and electronic stability The efficacy of both systems, system was another source of
programme (ESP) that judges the however, is best when used in
dissonance, with nod seekers
performance of the vehicle as per conjunction. The seat belt keeps
terrain. Many luxury SUVs have the occupant in place, enabling the finding that a “single window”
different terrain management best posture for an airbag to work. wasn’t always available. To pro-
systems for rough roads, snow, Not wearing a seat belt in a car mote India as a unified market,
sand or slush. More advanced cars with airbags can be counter- we mustn’t leave loose ends.
may also be equipped with level 1 productive as the airbag
or 2 autonomous driving deployment itself could lead to
technologies which use high-tech injuries. Bottomline: The humble
cameras and Lidars to prompt the 60-year-old three-point seat belt
driver of obstacles on the road and
even apply brakes on its own in
remains the most potent
protection against fatal injuries in
MINT METRIC
emergency situations. a road accident. by Bibek Debroy

In Alappuzha district, a pointless fight,

3 Can autonomous tech
help reduce accidents?
Given that most accidents happen due to
The groom’s party thought they were right.
human error, autonomous technologies
More pappadam was the ask —
where computers take decisions have been Refused, they took servers to task.
pitched as a solution. For them to work
well, though, proper lane-marking and a
Several injured on a wedding night.
level of consistency in behaviour by fellow
road users is needed. It is likely that such
vehicles may arrive in access-controlled
fast highways in the country in future.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
The resilience of our supply
4 Should rear seat belts
be made mandatory? 5
Wearing seat belts is already
Will more airbags
make cars safer?
The government has been
chains and the way India has
mandatory for all passengers in a strengthening safety norms, with
provided talent to the US and
car, whether in the front or the dual airbags mandatory today. investments the US has
rear seats. However, enforcement There is widespread expectation
of the same for rear seats is not as that soon, six airbags would
provided to India, all of these
stringent. With India’s road become mandatory as well. It will cumulatively make a very
infrastructure improving and decidedly make cars safer, but low
vehicular speeds going up, non- seatbelt compliance could
good business case.
compliance by rear occupants is undermine it. A 2018 survey
emerging as a prominent reason commissioned by Maruti Suzuki
for fatalities. Seat belt alarms for revealed 75% of vehicle users in
rear, just like it has been India do not wear seat belts,
introduced for front seats, could resulting in 15 deaths everyday. PIYUSH GOYAL
be one of the ways to increase Mistry’s death is a stark reminder COMMERCE AND
compliance and in turn reduce of the risk of not wearing a belt INDUSTRY MINISTER
fatal accidents. even in a car with six airbags.

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 PLAIN FACTS

The upside of cut in life

insurance commission
BY HOWINDIALIVES.COM

O n 23 August, the insurance regulator released draft rules seeking to reduce the commissions that life insurers operat-
ing beyond their prescribed spending limits can pay agents for new policies sold. The change is not as sweeping in
scope as some previous ones but, if it becomes law, it could mark the latest cut for agent commissions in an industry
characterized by product complexity and sharp sales practices. That product complexity, where insurance is bundled along
with investment, is cited as a justification for agent commissions being higher than, say, in mutual funds or real estate. In
2001-02, when the industry was opening up to private companies and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) had a virtual
monopoly, the industry paid a steep 9.1% of premiums collected by it as commissions.
Such high payouts helped insurers, including new private ones, draw agents. The subsequent years saw aggressive selling,
and mis-selling, of life insurance plans amid a rising stock market. As regulations were not stringent, such behaviour was
most endemic from 2007-08 to 2011-12. Both new policies sold and new-business premiums soared.
The regulator eventually stepped in, cracking down on steep commissions and the sales practices they was fostering. Amid
several course corrections, commissions as a share of premiums kept falling and were 5.2% in 2020-21. This is still signifi-
cantly higher than other sectors, though the latest move could lower it further, adding to returns of policyholders. Meanwhile,
there’s another growing threat for agent commissions: direct sales by insurers themselves.

After years of aggressive sales, Agent commissions in life insurance

life insurance has stabilized are trending lower
Average new policies issued per year (million) Commissions as % of total premiums
Average new-business premium per year ( crore) 10

35,477
106,260 130,997 236,780 9

49.5
8

32.8 7
32.4
28.5

6
5.2

4
2001-02 2020-21
2002-03 to 2007-08 to 2012-13 to 2017-18 to
2006-07 2011-12 2016-17 2020-21 Source: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)

Individual To Institutional Life insurers are increasingly driving

new sales directly
LIFE INSURERS won’t mind the downward trajectory in Share of premiums from new policies, individual
and group (%)
agent commissions. In the years when commissions were high,
Corporate agents: others Others
the industry was nascent. Insurers needed agents who were feet
100
on the ground to expand the market. Today, the industry is Corporate agents: banks
more mature and insurers need them less. In 2013-14, direct
80
sales leapfrogged individual agents as the largest channel of
new premiums.
60 Direct selling
The business is shifting from individual channels to
institutional channels. Between 2006-07 and 2020-21, the
40
share of individual agents in new premiums collected by life
insurers has dropped from 74% to 25%, while the share of direct
20
sales increased from 19% to 57% and that of banks from 5% to
Individual agents
15%. A big contributing factor is group policies, which are sold
0
to companies and other organizations and account for 59% of 2006-07 2020-21
new premiums. As much as 90% of this is collected by Others include brokers, web aggregators, online, common service
centres and point of sale, among others. Source: IRDAI
companies directly.

Tata AIA, MaxLife paid out the highest

share as commissions
Commission Overhang
Commissions to Share of group policies in INDIVIDUAL AGENTS remain relevant in the individual
total premiums (%) new-business premiums (%) policies segment. In 2020-21, individual agents brought in about
Tata AIA Life 9.5 4.6 76% of new-business premiums for policies sold to individuals.
MaxLife 6.5 8.8 Insurers compensate them through commissions. Thus, insurers
PNB Metlife India 5.6 22.4
that have a high share of individual policies tend to see a greater
share of their premiums being assigned as commissions. The two
Aditya Birla Sunlife 5.6 54.5
major insurers that led on this count in 2020-21, Tata AIA and
LIC 5.5 69.3 MaxLife, received more than 90% of their premiums from
Bajaj Allianz Life 4.8 59.9 individual policies.
Kotak Mahindra Life 4.7 44 However, they may not necessarily be affected by the latest
HDFC Life 4.4 50.1 rule change. Every insurer has a prescribed limit on how much it
ICICI Prudential Life 4.2 39.8 can spend (https://bit.ly/2lWV97Q). This is linked to the nature of
SBI Life 3.5 39.4 the policies sold, premium-paying term, and duration of its
Graphic shows top 10 life insurers by total premiums. Data for 2020-21.
insurance business. The regulator is now proposing that if an
Insurers arranged in descending order of commissions to total insurer crosses a certain threshold, the first-year commission on
premiums. Source: IRDAI regular premium plans for individuals will drop from 35% to 20%.

Start And Stop Not enough life insurance plans are

continuing beyond 5 years
DATA ON how the 24 life insurance companies in India fare on Share of life insurance policies sold that continued into
this count is not available. A research note put out by Emkay 61st month, as on 31 March 2021 (%)
Global Financial Services says most major life insurers are Highest
within their prescribed limits. Smaller insurers, though, might Pramerica Life 63
face challenges. Overall, the move is a step in the right ICICI Prudential Life 56
direction. A drop in commission boosts returns for Kotak Mahindra Life 51
policyholders and incentivizes them to stay on in insurance- MaxLife 50
cum-investment plans. Typically, in these plans, policyholders LIC 48
optimize rewards over the long term, while a premature
Lowest
surrender amounts to a notional loss. In India, a large number of Shriram Life 22
policies are surrendered prematurely. In 2020-21, the best an
Future Generali India 26
insurer managed was taking 63% of policies beyond the fifth
year (Pramerica). At the other end, this was a dismal 22% to 36%. Exide Life 33
The regulator hopes this move will improve those numbers. Bajaj Allianz Life 35
www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for Star Union Dai-ichi Life 36
public data Source: IRDAI
PARAS JAIN/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEW DELhI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 16 NO. 214 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 10.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR) 18 PAGES

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Liz Truss’s inheritance: UK RBI crackdown on errant

livemint.com economy on its knees uP10 co-op banks gathers pace uP3

SENSEX 59,196.99 48.99 NIFTY 17,655.60 10.20 DOLLAR ₹79.84 ₹0.01 EURO ₹79.46 ₹0.22 OIL $94.24 $1.17 GOLD ₹50,518 ₹52

Centre may revise Suspicious trades

before block deals
Govt approves
Bharat Bio’s
DON’T MISS

intra-nasal vax
steel export levies under Sebi lens against covid
Priyanka Sharma
Govt may cut duties on some products and withdraw tax on others Jayshree P Upadhyay
BULK DEALS IN priyanka.s@livemint.com
jayshree.p@livemint.com NEW DELHI
MUMBAI
THE SPOTLIGHT Former NSE boss Ravi Narain
Subhash Narayan &

I
— Sona BLW Forgings: ndia on Tuesday gave emer- arrested in phone tapping case
CoURSE CoRRECTIoN
S
Gireesh Chandra Prasad uspicious trading activity Blackstone sold 79 mn gency approval to the The Enforcement Directorate late Tuesday
before so-called block shares, but buy orders were world’s second covid-19 arrested Ravi Narain, former managing
NEW DELHI deals, in which a large lined up for 29.5 mn shares vaccine that can be delivered director and CEO of NSE, in a case of illegal
number of shares change hands as nasal drops. The vaccine phone tapping by the exchange, an official
— IIFL Finance: CDC

T
he government may soon in a pre-negotiated transaction, was jointly developed by said, adding that he would be produced before
Group sold 13.5 mn shares; a special court on Wednesday. >P8
revise levies on steel has now become part of a Secu- buy orders were lined up Covaxin-maker Bharat Bio-
exports, cutting them on rities and Exchange Board of for 20.9 mn shares tech and Washington Univer-
some products and with- India (Sebi) probe. sity St. Louis. Centre plans to make seat belt
drawing the tax on others, “Large-scale buy orders — SBI Cards: CA Rover Drugs Controller General of
Holdings sold 40 mn shares,
alarm system must, says Gadkari
two people aware of discussions said. ahead of big deals are typically India (DCGI) V.G. Somani
while third parties lined up The Centre is planning to make it mandatory for
The revision to the taxes imposed red flags. We have observed a approved restricted emer- automakers to introduce a seat belt alarm
buy orders for 7.1 mn shares
on 22 May is being considered to number of cases where pat- gency use of the vaccine system for rear seats, Union road transport and
allow the steel industry to tap over- terns are visible. In many cases, iNCOVACC (BBV154) for pri- highways minister Nitin Gadkari said. Presently, it
seas markets amid declining domes- these buy orders do not come one case of front-running for mary two-dose schedule for is mandatory for all automakers to provide seat
tic demand and the risk of export from a single buyer but from investigation in FY21, and only people above 18 years of age. belt reminders for front-seat passengers. >P2
opportunities drying up because of multiple buyers who are buy- two were completed, according Dr. Krishna Ella, chairman
possible recessions in Europe and ing in a coordinated manner in to the regulator’s annual report. and managing director of Bha- DreamFolks Services shares
American markets. smaller quantities through sev- An examination of the trad- rat Biotech, termed the vac-
The steel ministry took up the eral accounts to avoid detec- ing patterns ahead of at least cine a “global game changer”
jump nearly 42% in debut trade
issue with the finance ministry after BALANCING ACT tion. Sebi systems have evolved five bulk deals indicates confi- in intra-nasal vaccine technol- Shares of airport service aggregator DreamFolks
receiving several representations to detect those,” a person famil- dential details about the orders ogy and delivery systems. Services ended nearly 42% higher in its debut trade
a revision will allow ThE Centre’s proposal ThERE is also a risk of against the issue price of ₹326. The stock listed at
from the steel industry in June, the steel industry to tap comes amid declining exports taking a hit amid iar with the regulator’s think- might have been leaked, allow- “Despite the lack of demand
₹505, registering a jump of 54.90% from the issue
people said, requesting anonymity. overseas markets domestic demand a recession in the West ing said, requesting anonymity. ing some to profit from the for covid-19 vaccines, we con- price on BSE. During the day, it rallied 68.71% to
“Deliberations on duty review These accounts are referred to information illegally. The scru- tinued product development ₹550 before ended at ₹462.65 apiece. >P4
have been completed recently, and as mule accounts. tiny of the deals transacted in in intra-nasal vaccines to
the revisions may be notified soon,” the two people privy to the develop- complete its analysis before deciding An email to a spokesperson 2021 and 2022 shows that the ensure that we are well-pre-
one of the people said. ment said the 15% export duty on to revise export levies. for the regulator remained stocks moved in unusual ways pared with platform technolo- 1mg raises $40 million from
Central Board of Indirect Taxes some steel products might be halved A query sent to spokespeople for unanswered. before the block deals. The sus- gies for future infectious dis- Tata Digital, joins unicorn club
and Customs (CBIC) chairman Vivek or abolished for some products. the finance and steel ministries on the The regulator has stepped up picious trades were also often eases,” Ella said, expressing Tata 1mg Technologies, which runs online
Johri said, “We have received repre- Mint reported on 5 August that the duty review remained unanswered scrutiny of front-running and found to have been squared off gratitude to the health minis- pharmacy 1mg, has raised $40 mn in a round led
sentations because there has been a finance ministry is examining duty till the time of going to press. other market manipulation on the same day. try, the Central Drugs Stan- by majority investor Tata Digital Ltd at a unicorn
change in price trends. They are cuts for the steel sector after review- In May, the government imposed cases this year following rising A bulk deal is a mechanism dard Control Organisation, the valuation. KWE Beteiligungen AG, MAF Mauritius,
under examination”. ing the price trends in the domestic an import duty of 15% on select steel complaints. The increased scru- through which promoters and government’s biotechnology HBM Healthcare Investments, MPOF Mauritius,
While the CBIC chairman did not and overseas markets. The ministry tiny is a departure from the pre- Rubal Jain and Vardaan also invested. >P3
elaborate on the possible changes, sought more data from industry to TURN TO PAGE 6 vious year when Sebi took up just TURN TO PAGE 6 TURN TO PAGE 6
02 WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
Biocon sells 5.4% stake in research
Need to see if new law is needed
arm Syngene International
New Delhi: Drugmaker Biocon on Tuesday divested a 5.4% stake
in its research arm Syngene International for a little over ₹1,220
crore through an open market transaction. According to bulk deal
to rein in Big Tech: Jayant Sinha
data available with the BSE, Biocon, the promoter of Syngene
International, sold a total of 21,789,164 shares, amounting to a 5.4%
stake, in the company. The shares were sold at an average price of
₹560.04 a piece, a discount of more than three per cent to Mon- The parliamentary panel chair said monopolistic outcomes in digital economy happen within three to five years
day’s closing price of ₹578.75 on the BSE. At this price, the transac-
tion size has been pegged at ₹1,220.28 crore, the data showed.PTI
Gireesh Chandra Prasad Big Tech is regulated in India, includ- a digital market.”
gireesh.p@livemint.com ing a potential separate law synced He said that in the case of digital
Inox Wind sees itself debt-free NEW DELHI with global best practices. markets, speedy regulatory action was
Sinha, for instance, pointed out that of the essence.
after initial public offering

T
he ruling party lawmaker competition watchdogs are globally “If you do not act quickly enough,
heading the powerful par- embracing a new model of regulating the market will very quickly tip to a
liamentary committee on tech giants by setting the ‘dos and monopolistic outcome. Therefore, the
finance has argued for don’ts’ upfront rather than investigat- role of the competition regulator also
strengthening the law to ing their conduct after the markets tip. changes. Instead of an ex-post role,
allow India’s competition watchdog to Sinha said the regulatory trend competition regulators also have to
anticipate anti-competitive behaviour worldwide is to adopt a set of ‘dos and start to very carefully understanding
by digital companies and stop them don’t’s’ or an ‘ex-ante’ approach to reg- what is happening ex-ante. That is
tipping the markets. ulation seeking to pre-empt anti-com- before the market has tipped, not after
Former Union minister Jayant petitive behaviour. the market has tipped.”
Sinha’s comments favouring what’s This contrasts with the BIG TECH He explained that if one
called an ‘ex-ante’ approach to regula- current ‘ex-post’ approach DILEMMA market tips, then an entity
tion come ahead of the panel submit- of investigating corporate can use its advantages in
Mumbai: Wind energy solutions provider Inox Wind will ting its report on anti-competitive conduct after a market has COUNTRIES are one market to strengthen
become a debt-free company after its ₹740-crore initial practices of Big Tech later this month tipped. Market tipping now regulating tech
firms by setting the
its advantages in other
share, which is awaiting Sebi nod, is over and fund infusion to the Lok Sabha Speaker. happens when a product ‘dos and don’ts’ markets.
by promoters, according to its regulatory filing. According “The whole idea of ex-ante regula- or service with very high upfront “For example, the suc-
to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with the tion is to ensure that even if you have a user adoption skews the cess in social media can
market regulator, as of June, the company had a gross debt monopolistic outcome, by setting the Sinha’s case for the new approach to competition regulation is significant market in favour of the BUT regulators have make a player very quickly
to protect choice
of ₹1,717.8 crore and cash balance of ₹222 crore, and a net rules upfront and saying that if indeed, given tech firms have become the most valuable firms in the world. MINT monopoly player, in turn as well while successful in a digital com-
debt of ₹1,494.8 crore on its books. PTI you become the monopolistic ‘win- affecting consumer inter- promoting fair munication platform and
ner- takes-all’ entity, then you have to examine whether India should get a based on an application filed by the est. competition really start to become a
behave yourself competitively in cer- new law to deal with the anti-competi- National Restaurant Association of Sinha’s case for the new major player in that mar-
Government grants income tax tain ways. Whether it is use of data, tive behaviour of Big Tech or whether India which charged the online plat- approach to competition ket.”
acquisitions, pricing, self-preferenc- it should be through amendments to forms with levying unilaterally regulation is significant given tech “You have all these markets falling
exemption to CERSAI ing, in all of these instances, the the competition law. decided commissions on restaurants, firms have become the most valuable like dominos, if you will, with a very
New Delhi: The central government has granted income tax entity’s competitive behaviour should “That still has to be evaluated. But I creating entry barriers for new players firms in the world and most of them strong player in one market resorting
exemption to Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruc- be fair and should enable high quality think there is no doubt that we will and bundling food ordering and deliv- have a large user base in India. to what’s called ‘bundling’ and ‘tying’
tion and Security Interest of India (CERSAI), a body set up to record competition,” Sinha said in an inter- have to evolve our competition law ery services without giving an option Sinha said monopolistic outcomes (of services) to become the leader in
security interest of lenders on assets. CERSAI was set up to keep view. framework.” to restaurants to use their own deliv- in digital economy do not happen over the other market,” said Sinha.
a central record of the lien lenders have on collaterals in order to “We cannot choke off competition In April, the Competition Commis- ery systems persons and failing to 10 or 20 years. We want India to be number one as
prevent people from borrowing against the same asset from differ- and we cannot result in situations sion of India (CCI) ordered a probe into share customer details with restau- “They happen within three to five far as the digital economy is concerned
ent lenders fraudulently. CBDT, in an order, said the relief was where suppliers or consumers have no allegations of anti-competitive prac- rants. years. Because of the behaviour of the and for the digital economy to flourish,
being granted under clause 46 of section 10 of the I-T Act. This pro- choice. We have to protect choice as tices against food delivery apps It is not known yet if the Speaker digital markets, competition law has to India needs the best competition law.
vides for the government to exempt specified income of entities well as competition,” he added. Zomato Ltd and Bundl Technologies will make the report public but it could evolve to think very differently about That is what we are working towards,”
such as an authority, Board, Trust or Commission from the taxable The MP said policymakers have to Pvt. Ltd which runs Swiggy. It was have a far-reaching impact on the way ensuring fairness and contestability in said Sinha.
income subject to riders. GIREESH CHANDRA PRASAD

Canara Bank raises benchmark

lending rate by up to 0.15% Rear seat belt alarms Biz to get clearance via state portals
will be mandatory Ravi Dutta Mishra &
Dilasha Seth
Besides, 13,764 approvals have
generated a total of ₹2.75 crore
in online application fees
PTI NEW DELHI through Bharatkosh and Pay-
feedback@livemint.com gov so far.

T
NEW DELHI he government on Tues- The national single-window
day said it is working on a portal is aimed at making the

T
he government is plan- “reverse integration” sys- business registration process
ning to make it manda- tem that will allow investors to easier, allowing the beneficiary
tory for automakers to get central-level business clear- to get significant approvals
introduce a seat belt alarm sys- ances from state single-window online without having to run
New Delhi: Canara Bank on Tuesday said it has hiked the tem for rear seats, road trans- portals. The Centre had told around government offices.
benchmark MCLR by up to 0.15%, a move that will make port and highways minister states earlier that investors “Currently, 24 of the 32 minis-
loans costlier. The revised marginal cost of funds-based lend- Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. would need to come through Sumita Dawra, additional secretary, Department for Promotion tries/departments have
ing rate (MCLR) across various tenors would be effective Currently, it is mandatory the national portal and apply of Investment and Internal Trade. on-boarded NSWS, and with
from Wednesday, the lender said in a regulatory filing. The for vehicle manufacturers to for state services but not the NO. 204
16 Bhalla’s
Surjit
respect to services, 181 out of
(India) at the IMFVOL.

benchmark one-year MCLR will be 7.75% against the exist- provide seat belt reminders other way round. national portal and register total 368 services identified as
f minerals like lithium and cobalt. LoC deal with
TheAHMEDAbAD,
kOLkATA, CHENNAI, HyDERAbAD, countries PUNE*
CHANDIGARH*,
African
NeW Delhi, MUMbAI, bENGALURU, is cut short to 31 Octo-
tenure
worth more could give India access to mineral and
tructure, power LoCs to over 41 countries(with Africa) metal ores such as magnesium ore,
ber.
, healthcare and than $12 billion.
It is here As the chief economic
deals would nickel ore, zinc, lead, quartz, limestone,
Until now, 322 LoC that the first set of mineral advisor, Subramanian led the
alumina, iron ore, copper and bauxite.

ing rate of 7.65%. The one-year rate is used to fix most con- but only for front seats. States had complained that there, even though they may relevant, have been
Friday, August 26,of the 2022
debt-servicing preparation of India’s Eco-
mpleted, and 277 be worked as part Apart from African countries, India
countries.”
tation,” said the obligation of beneficiary sent to min- nomic Surveys, the annual
would also explore the reworked LoC
Questions independent critique of the
istries of external affairs, arrangement with Central Asian coun-
economy from the finance
VERTURES finance, mines and coal tries, Bolivia and Russia. India has

sumer loans such as auto, personal and home loans. “Because of the death of Road transport and highways not allowing reverse integra- have already registered on the on-boarded. At the same time,
in ministry which forms part of
extended a $1 billion LoCs to Russia
PTI ended via
ssional Lines
oC)
AFRICANS have
offered to repay
some of loans by
giving India access to
remain unanswered.
Similarly, the depart-
ment of financial servi-
2020 that can now be explored to get
critical coking coal supplies for Indian
union budget documents, for
FY19, FY20 and FY21. In his last
Economic Survey, Subrama-
Exim Bank, did not steel companies.
rich mineral deposits ces, EXIM nian dealt with the policy

Cyrus Mistry in a car accident, minister Nitin Gadkari. HT tion of the single window portal ndia

above.
respond to a query about
the proposed change in
servicing norms of LoC by beneficiary
India’s financial assistance is also
channelled to neighbouring countries
through LoCs, grant-in-aid, credit
currency swaps. Most recently, New
and
dilemma of saving lives versus
livelihoods in the backdrop of
the pandemic and with other
key challenges facing the coun-
state portal to obtain certain 16 states/ UTs out of 36 have
through the Exim countries. Delhi has extended various economic

we have taken a decision that would make compliance cum- each LoC can have
under it.
India extends development assist-
ance through concessional LoC under
dia has extended the Indian Development
livemint.com
and Eco-
support measures to help Sri Lanka tide
over its ongoing financial crisis.
try including sustainable devel-
opment and climate change.
licences at the state level. on-boarded the NSWS,” the
Bed Bath & Beyond names interim there will be a seat belt beep ₹1,000 under Rule 138 (3) of bersome. “We are working to States seek ease of doing busin ess steps
ws, face
The single-window system is ministry of commerce and
system for the rear seats also in the Central Motor Vehicle allow reverse integration. An an integral part of reforms for industry said in a statement.
CFO after Arnal death
exercise this year. Nearly 16-17
ts Dilasha Seth
dilasha.seth@livemint.com
states have already come on
board the national single win-
dow portal.

vehicles,” Gadkari said while Rules (CMVR), most people investor can enter states and states for ease of doing busi- The ministry added that the
BENGALURU
The national single window
hile the Union gov- portal is aimed at making the

W ernment is onboard-
ing states and Union
business registration process
easier, allowing the beneficiary

New York: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. promoted its chief accounting addressing a Business Stan- are either unaware of this rule then enter the national single ness. Nearly 16-17 states includ- NSWS framework is being
territories to integrate their to get significant approvals
single-window portals with the online, without having to run to
national one-stop online plat- government offices.
form for approvals required to The state ranking for 2022
start and do business, states includes reforms like integra-

officer to interim chief financial officer after the death of former dard event to cel- or just ignore window system. This will be have urged the Centre to also
allow reverse integration of the
portal for easier compliance.
However, the Centre has told require integration with
tion of states’ national single
window system, India indus-
trial land bank and CERSAI
with the national portal.
ing Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and extended for states to build
finance chief Gustavo Arnal. Laura Crossen, the company’s senior ebrate India@75. Number of them, and traffic done by generating a single 22
states that investors would
need to come through the
national portal and apply for
state services and not the other
Reforms under ease of doing business
central portal systems.

the workshop conducted by

GETTY IMAGES

dow portal will make compli-

ance cumbersome for investors
Queries mailed to the minis-
try of commerce and industry
on Tuesday remained unan-
swered.
Punjab have already come on end-to-end complete State
the department for promotion As per the proposal, the

vice president of finance and chief accounting officer, has taken Former Tata persons killed or policemen sel- user ID. It will be done in two for way round. This means that an
, the investor logging on to a state’s
estic single-window system cannot
ntral-level clearan-
of industry and internal trade
(DPIIT) earlier this month to
resolve the queries of states and
as they would need to go to the
national portal and register
there, even though they may
y reg-
national single window inter-
face will enable obtaining all
central and state level clearan-
board the national single win- SWS on the NSWS portal.
over the position, Bed Bath & Beyond said on Tuesday. BLOOMBERG Sons chairman injured due to not dom enforce the months times,” Sumita Dawra, WE BROKE dow portal. However, 20 The scope of NSWS has also
Cyrus Mistry was wearing a seat fine. additional secretary, depart- THE NEWS states/UTs including Delhi, been expanded to include spe-
killed in a road According to a ment for promotion of invest- Jharkhand, West Bengal and cial schemes such as vehicle
belt in 2020 stood
Coal production from captive and accident on Sun- recent road min- ment and internal trade told
mint DATED 26 AUGUST 2022 Chhattisgarh are yet to come scrapping, footwear and
day after his car at 15,146 & 39,102, istry report, the reporters. on board. Leather development, ethanol
commercial blocks rises 58% hit a divider in respectively number of per- Talking about the challenges Dawra said the centre most blended programme and sugar
New Delhi: Production from captive and commercial coal blocks Maharashtra’s sons killed or faced in onboarding all states to tem at all and the Centre is states will be brought on board mill exporters registration by
jumped 58% during April-August, contributing significantly to the Palghar district. injured due to not the National Single Window working with them to set it up. by the end of the year. She bundling both central and state
overall coal production in the country. During a review meeting Although failure to wear a wearing a seat belt in 2020 System (NSWS), Dawra said States had said that without added that a list of 700 approv- government approvals, the
of senior govt officials and project proponents, it was highlighted seat belt by rear seat passen- stood at 15,146 and 39,102, that seven states do not have a reverse integration the states als had been identified at the ministry added.
that the coal output during April-August was at 43.93 mt. LIVEMINT gers can attracts a fine of respectively. single window clearance sys- would need to go to the central government level. ravi.dutt@livemint.com

India and Bangladesh decide to launch talks on trade pact this year CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Mint welcomes comments,
Shashank Mattoo for Bangladesh’s final gradua- support in resolving once- and addressing cross-border waterways and coastal connec- suggestions or complaints
shashank.mattoo@livemint.com tion from the LDC status,” said stalemated negotiations. How- crimes”. tivity. Kwatra pointed specifi- about errors.
NEW DELHI foreign secretary Vinay Mohan ever, she also pointed to the Asked about the status of the cally to multi-modal freight
Readers can alert the
Kwatra. work yet to be done on water $500 million Line of Credit through Chattogram and Mon-
newsroom to any errors in the

I
ndia and Bangladesh on The CEPA, essentially a free sharing and hoped that “all out- (LoC) that India had extended gla ports in Bangladesh to paper by emailing us, with your
Tuesday decided to launch trade pact, will look to build on standing issues including the to Bangladesh for military pur- India’s Northeast as an encour- full name and address to
talks on a planned trade pact the existing strengths in bilat- Teesta water sharing treaty chases, Kwatra revealed that a aging sign. feedback@livemint.com.
this year as the two sides signed eral trade, valued at $18 billion would be concluded at an early modest sum from that LoC had MoUs in railways included
seven memorandums of dollars in the last financial year, date.” been utilized. training Bangladesh’s railway It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
understanding on the second said Kwatra, The announce- The other agreements were However, he believed it was employees in India and deploy- Readers dissatisfied with the
day of Prime Minister Sheikh ment follows a recent joint in the fields of railways, media, an encouraging sign that could ing Indian IT and computeriza- response or concerned about
Hasina’s visit to India. study that sought to examine Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart capacity building and science pave the way for expanded tion services for Bangladesh Mint’s journalistic integrity may
Prime Ministers Narendra the feasibility of a bilateral Sheikh Hasina signed several MoUs. PTI and technology. Security and defence cooperation between Railway. Increased cross-bor- write directly to the editor by
Modi and Hasina directed offi- trade pact. Bangladesh is defence cooperation was the two countries. der connections were also seen sending an email to
cials from “the concerned min- India’s largest trade partner in The MoUs covered a sweep- arrangement between our two another key feature of negotia- The two sides also made stri- as key to both sides achieving asktheeditor@livemint.com
istries to commence negotia- South Asia with major exports ing range of issues, with the countries since the Ganges tions. Both leaders “under- des in establishing cooperation their energy security needs. Mint’s journalistic Code of
tions on a bilateral comprehen- from India including cotton, agreement on Kushiyara water Water Treaty in 1996”, said scored the importance of con- on energy security and connec- Conduct that governs our
sive economic partnership cereals, fuel, vehicle parts and sharing marking a significant Kwatra. tinuing close security coopera- tivity. On the latter, Kwatra said #PM welcomes Hasina >P8 newsroom is available at
agreement (CEPA) this year in machinery and mechanical breakthrough. “This would be Speaking at a separate event, tion in the fields of counter- the two leaders sought to fur- #Adani to export power >P8
www.livemint.com
2022 and complete it in time appliances. the first bilateral water sharing Hasina thanked Modi for his terrorism, border management ther expand road, rail, inland

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First published in February 2007 to serve as an unbiased and clear-minded chronicler of the Indian Dream.
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LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi 03

1mg raises
$40 mn at RBI crackdown on errant Moody’s retains
India’s Baa3 rating
unicorn
valuation
co-op banks gathers pace with stable outlook
Dilasha Sethi
Aman Rawat & Sneha Shah dilasha.seth@livemint.com
new deLhi/MuMBAi BenGALuRu
So far in 2022, RBI has fined 100 cooperative banks, as against 124 in 2021 and 22 in 2020
T G
ata 1mg Technologies lobal headwinds,
Pvt. Ltd, which runs including the Russia-
online pharmacy 1mg, Shayan Ghosh Ukraine conflict,
has raised $40 million in a shayan.g@livemint.com higher inflation, and tightening
funding round led by its major- MuMBAi financial conditions, are
ity shareholder Tata Digital unlikely to derail India’s ongo-

T
Limited at a unicorn valuation. wo years since the govern- ing recovery from the pan-
KWE Beteiligungen AG, ment vested more powers demic in 2022 and 2023, rat-
HBM Healthcare Investments, with the Reserve Bank of ings company Moody’s Inves-
MPOF Mauritius, MAF Mauri- India (RBI) to supervise coop- tors Service said on Tuesday. The agency said India’s credit
tius, Rubal Jain, and Vardaan erative banks, the regulator Moody’s retained India’s profile reflects its strengths. AFP
Sharma also invested in the has tightened the leash on the lenders, sovereign credit rating of Baa3
Tata Group company. routinely imposing penalties for deviat- with a stable outlook. The we previously anticipated,
Tata Digital Limited ing from regulatory norms. agency said that India’s credit facilitating the ongoing recov-
invested about $32 million After the crisis at erstwhile Mumbai- profile reflects strengths, ery from the pandemic,”
while KWE Beteiligungen and based Punjab and Maharashtra Cooper- including its large and diversi- Moody’s said in the report.
HBM Healthcare Invested ative (PMC) Bank, the government fied economy, a relatively While risks stemming from a
close to $2.35 million and $2 amended the Banking Regulation Act as strong external position, and a high debt burden and weak
million, respectively, in the applicable to cooperative societies. The stable domestic financing base debt affordability remain, we
online pharmacy, according to amendment, first issued as an ordinance for government debt. However, expect that the economic envi-
the corporate ministry filings. in June 2020, gave RBI supervisory it noted that principal credit ronment will allow for a gradual
1mg is now valued at an esti- powers over such banks. So far in 2022, challenges include low per cap- narrowing in the general gov-
mated value of approximately RBI has fined 100 cooperative banks, as ita income, high general gov- ernment fiscal deficit over the
$1.25 billion said a person famil- against 124 in 2021 and 22 in 2020, ernment debt, low debt afford- next few years, avoiding further
iar with the deal. showed data compiled by Mint. ability and limited government deterioration in the sovereign
Tata Digital declined to com- Penalties imposed on these banks effectiveness. credit profile, it added.
ment. include ₹37.5 lakh for non-adherence to While the amendment came into force for urban cooperative banks with retrospective effect from 29 June 2020, for state The report follows a sharp The report comes days after
Founded in 2011 by Prashant fraud reporting guidelines; ₹25 lakh for cooperative banks and district central cooperative banks, it was effective from 1 April 2021 MINT revision of India’s growth fore- the official data showed that
Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal and non-compliance of norms on housing cast last week to 7.7% from 8.8% India’s economy expanded well
Vikas Chauhan, 1mg sells medi- finance; ₹15 lakh for deviation from effect from 29 June 2020, for state for fraud detection systems, and system- book of ₹3.13 trillion in FY21. estimated earlier. below expecta-
cine and other pharmacy prod- RBI’s income recognition, asset classifi- cooperative banks and district central atic arrangement of data, of the debtors Liberalization of financial services in It attributed mon- The report tions at 13.5% dur-
ucts via its online platform. The cation and provisioning norms; and ₹10 cooperative banks, it was effective from and the members,” said Bharat Chugh, the 1990s saw a flurry of urban coopera- etary policy tight- follows a sharp ing the fiscal first
company also provides diag- lakh for violation of exposure norms, 1 April 2021. an advocate at Supreme Court. tive banks, facilitated, to an extent, by ening, uneven revision of India’s quarter, with the
nostics services to customers. besides others. Cooperative banks have historically Chugh said RBI should frame guide- deregulation of interest rates and a lib- distribution of growth forecast manufacturing
In June last year, Tata Digi- “RBI is surely tightening the leash on been vulnerable to political influence, lines to keep a strict check on the inter- eral licensing policy. The numbers rose monsoon, and
last week to 7.7% sector performing
tal, a 100% subsidiary of Tata corrupt and mismanaged cooperative and charges of mismanagement. Add nal management of cooperative banks, from 1,307 in 1991 to 2,105 in 2004, slowing global dismally.
Group holding entity Tata banks. Main reasons for corruption are lack of adherence to proper safeguards as the members themselves being the when RBI stepped in to push consolida- growth to the from 8.8% The ratings
Sons, acquired a majority stake state government interference, mis- to the mix, and what you get is a deadly debtors, there are chances of defaults or tion, which led to a decline in the num- downward revi- estimated earlier agency had in
in 1mg. Initially, Tata Digital management and lack of proper ber of such banks. sion. October last year
acquired a 58.7% stake in the corporate governance,” said Anshul GAINING CONTROL While many may consider RBI’s Moody’s had revised India’s
company in June 2021 and later Gupta, managing partner at law firm crackdown on cooperative banks as also cut the growth estimate for outlook on its credit ratings to
increased it to about 63% by ANG Partners Advocates & Solici- FINES imposed on COOPERATIVE AFTER the crisis at AS on 31 March 2021, a crippling policy, penalties are on 2023 to 5.2% from the 5.4% stable from negative earlier on
December 2021. tors. Gupta said RBI checks whether cooperative banks banks have been
include ₹37.5L for not vulnerable to
erstwhile PMC Bank, there were 98,042
the Centre amended cooperative banks,
serious issues like risk categoriza- estimated earlier. It has esti- the back of receding downside
Tata Digital had acquired cooperative banks have complied adhering to fraud political influence, the Banking of which 96,508 were tion and monitoring of suspicious mated India’s gross domestic risks.
1mg for a cash consideration of with prudential interbank counter reporting guidelines mismanagement Regulation Act rural co-op banks transactions, experts said. “Given product growth for FY23 at Moody’s highlighted that
₹720 crore, Tata Sons revealed party limits, and whether a robust the two form robust pillars of anti- 7.6%. India could see an upgrade in
in its annual report for financial software for effective identification money laundering and combating “The stable outlook reflects the rating if the economic
year 2022 (FY22). and reporting of suspicious transactions cocktail threatening depositor interests. irregularities being cloaked. the financing of terrorism in an organi- our view that the risks from growth potential would
In April 2021, 1mg raised is in place. For instance, a borrower, Housing As on 31 March 2021, there were zation, such programmes and cracking negative feedback between the increase materially “beyond
close to $13.3 million in debt Before the 2020 amendment, RBI Development and Infrastructure Ltd, 98,042 cooperative banks, out of which down is needed to correct any lapse in economy and financial system our expectations”, supported
from Tata Digital. The startup had limited powers to regulate coopera- reportedly accounted for 70% of PMC 96,508 were rural cooperative banks, these fundamental areas which might are receding. With higher capi- by effective implementation of
bagged about $10 million in tive banks, restricting its ability to take Bank’s aggregate loans, a glaring devia- while the remaining were urban coop- signal a lack of proper effective func- tal buffers and greater liquidity, economic and financial sector
February 2020 from Bill and timely corrective action. While the tion that went unreported for years. erative banks, showed data from RBI. tioning of the banking sector,” said banks and non-bank financial reforms that led to a significant
Melinda Gates Foundation. amendment came into force for urban “With the financial sector becoming Urban cooperative banks had deposits Sonam Chandwani, managing partner institutions (NBFIs) pose much and sustained pickup in private
aman.rawat@livemint.com cooperative banks with retrospective more digitalized, there is an urgent need of ₹5.27 trillion and an aggregate loan- at law firm KS Legal & Associates. less risk to the sovereign than sector investment.

Hyundai eyes record sales in 2022 on robust demand

Alisha Sachdev also expected to hit peak output devastating second wave of
alisha.sachdev@livemint.com levels this year as supplies of covid, it had led to a significant
new deLhi semiconductors and other jump in festive season sales,
components improved follow- Garg said. Inventory levels are

T
he second-largest car- ing two years of massive covid- currently at 15-17 days.
maker, Hyundai Motor led disruptions. The company is also betting
India, expects to log its While channel inventory is big on expanding its premium
best-ever sales in the domestic just over 200,000 units, back performance range of N Line
market this year, by leveraging orders are well over 700,000 models to boost its sales in the
sustained demand for the new units, leading to waiting peri- niche segment of customers
sport utility vehicles (SUV), the ods of several months for some who prefer a sportier avatar of
Venue and Tucson, as well as its models. For Hyundai, pending the carmaker’s standard prod-
flagship mid-sized SUV Creta. booking was at 130,000 units. uct offerings. Hyundai started
The local arm of the South Hyundai was in a tight race offering the N Line in India
Korean auto major is stepping with rival Tata Motors, at the While channel inventory is around 200,000 units, backorders with the i20 in 2021. It expects
on the gas to retain its number number 3 spot, as its produc- are well over 700,000 units MINT to sell 10,000 units of Venue N
two spot in the domestic mar- tion between January and May Line next year, apart from the
ket and increase production as suffered due to the supply-side clearly been a 10% increase. We will now be able to take deliver- nearly 6,000 i20 N Lines that it
chip supplies eased just before challenges. However, easing hope that we can continue this ies of vehicles in the festive sea- sales in a year.
the festivals. Hyundai expects semi-conductor chip availabil- momentum but not all the pain son as supplies improve”, “More than the volumes, the
to surpass the record sale fig- ity has led to a 10% increase in is gone yet. We are mindful that Tarun Garg, director, sales and N Line is our attempt to move
ures it had logged in 2018-19 at production over the last three there is a scenario of high inter- marketing, Hyundai Motor towards the vision of premium-
just over 500,000 units. months. “From January to May est rate and elevated inflation India, said in an interview. ization of offerings. You can see
The company’s production we were able to produce levels. But the healthy number Last year, the festive season it with the Tucson. We would
ramp-up effort is in line with 43,000-44000 units a month. of back orders and sustained had started with ample inven- sell around 1,000 units every
other domestic original equip- We are now hovering around demand in the festive season is tory in distribution channels, year, this year we already have
ment manufacturers, who are 49,000 units so there has a positive factor. Customers and as India emerged from a 5000 bookings,”he said.

SII plans Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis vaccine

Priyanka Sharma ening bacterial diseases—teta- Medical Research expressing
priyanka.sharma@livemint.com nus, diphtheria, and pertussis interest to manufacture the
new deLhi (whooping cough). vaccine.
Queries emailed to Serum “Covid is setting down. So,

A
fter a successful run Institute of India and health a lot of pharma companies
with its covid vaccine, ministry spokesperson did who shifted their human
Serum Institute of not elicit any response till resources in the production of
India is focussing on develop- press time. covid-19 vaccines and its
ing a vaccine for Diphtheria, According to management are
Pertussis and Tetanus (Tdap). the SEC panel, SII has submitted now gradually
The company has submit- Serum Institute its phase 2-3 focussing in
ted its phase 2-3 clinical trial also presented a clinical trial data developing other
data to the Drugs Control proposal seeking to the DCGI’s important vacci-
General of India (DCGI)’s permission to nes,” said an offi-
panel seeking
expert panel seeking permis- manufacture cial seeking ano-
sion to manufacture the vac- In the last two years, SII primarily focussed on developing and Meningococcal permission for nymity.
cines. manufacturing Covishield following the covid outbreak. BLOOMBERG vaccine, and has the vaccines At the meet-
In the last two years, Serum submitted phase ing, Serum also
Institute primarily focussed Safety Monitoring Board, pre- The panel however II/III clinical trial presented a pro-
on developing and manufac- scribing information, and directed SII to submit a report. “After detailed evalua- posal seeking permission for
turing Covishield following summary of product charac- revised summary of product tion, the committee recom- additional indication of pneu-
the outbreak of the pandemic. teristics. After detailed delib- characteristics and product mended grant of permission mococcal vaccine for dose
“The firm presented its eration, the committee rec- information summary of to manufacture Meningococ- along with phase-III trial data,
proposal for grant of permis- ommended to grant permis- product characteristics, indi- cal vaccine for 18-85 year age said the official.
sion to manufacture Diphthe- sion to manufacture Tdap cating that pregnant women group.” Last week, SII launched
ria, Tetanus and Pertussis vaccine for the 4-65 year age must be excluded from it. The company is also devel- India’s first quadrivalent
vaccines, along with phase group,” according to the min- Tdap is a combination vac- oping a monkeypox vaccine human papillomavirus vac-
II-III clinical trial report, rec- utes of the meeting reviewed cine that protects against the and has filed an application cine to prevent cervical can-
ommendations by Data and by Mint. three potentially life-threat- before the Indian Council of cer.
04 WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM

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

59,196.99 -0.08 17,655.60 -0.06 15,313.05 0.12 43,865.65 0.65 18,031.30 0.05 25,702.14 0.47 29,086.44 0.1
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

59,245.98 59,285.36 17,665.80 17,695.70 15,294.40 15,339.30 43,582.75 43,806.90 18,021.65 18,061.90 25,581.20 25,648.45 29,056.74 29,184.36
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

59,566.67 58,974.26 17,764.65 17,587.65 15,386.75 15,248.00 43,895.55 43,571.65 18,125.05 17,955.25 25,748.46 25,574.42 29,297.57 28,979.89

m MINT SHORTS
Emerging Asia shares see biggest
CIL shares light up; FSA hikes needed
monthly FII inflow in 20 months Vineetha Sampath
On a strong footing Russian gas and in the process will fuel ₹24,685 crore in FY22 if the e-auction
Beijing: Emerging Asian equities ex-China saw massive vineetha.s@livemint.com demand for thermal coal,” said analysts window remains elevated at the Q1FY23
foreign purchases in August because of a rise in risk appe- In August, Coal India’s production grew sharply year-on-year but offtake was at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. level, according to Antique.
tite based on tempered inflation expectations. Data from muted because of a high base. These factors are likely to keep inter- However, there are downside risks to

C
80
stock exchanges in South Korea, India, Taiwan, the Philip- oal India Ltd’s (CIL) shares Production Offtake Volumes (in million tonnes)
national coal prices firm, which would this estimate. A potential drop in power
pines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand showed that for- are burning bright on the 60 mean higher imported coal prices, thus, demand is one risk, and another would
eigners bought equities worth a net $7.54 billion, marking bourses, having risen improving outlook for CIL’s e-auction be a drop in e-auction premium. As
their biggest monthly net buying since December 2020. almost 60% in the past year. 40 realisation. Domestic demand, espe- such, CIL’s investors are also awaiting a
Despite the net foreign purchasing of the past two months, Favourable demand-sup- 20
cially in the power sector, is raise in FSA prices, which
regional equities have seen foreign outflows of more than ply dynamics and growing global coal also strong. The coal inven- REvvInG were last revised in 2018.
$60 billion so far this year. Driven by rising interest rates demand have augured well for the state- 0
Apr 2022 May 2022 Jun 2022 Jul 2022 Aug 2022
tory at non-pit head plants is Up The impending wage hikes
and falling risk appetite, that has been the biggest outflow run coal producer. 25% of normal levels, warrant an increase in FSA
from the region since the 2008 financial crisis. However, The company fared well on produc- Coal India’s e-auction realizations are on the rise backed by elevated global according to analysts at OUTLOOK for prices so that earnings are
prices of commodities, especially crude oil, have fallen in tion in August despite it being a season- Antique Stock Broking. e-auction realization not impacted. CIL raises
coal prices and strong demand. is robust in view of
recent weeks, easing worries over inflation and supporting ally weak month because of rains. Out- E-auction average realization
The demand in the non- firm international wages every fifth year, and a
views that central banks will go easy with rate rises. Indian put rose 8.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Q1 FY22 1,569 power segment is also stag- coal prices revision has been due since
(in / tonne)
equities lured $6.44 billion in foreign money in August, the 46.2 million tonnes, but the rise in off- Q2 FY22 1,593 ing a recovery. “Taking cues July 2021. The company is in
largest volume in 20 months. BLOOMBERG take or sales volumes was subdued at 5% from the August supply to IF the Q1 e-auction talks with the employees’
Q3 FY22 1,947 levels continue to
y-o-y because of the higher base of last the unregulated sector, we sustain, CIL may see union for wage hikes.
year. Supplies to thermal power plants Q4 FY22 2,434 believe that e-auction vol- significant growth in Meanwhile, shares of CIL
stood at 86% of the total and increased Q1 FY23 4,340 ume is expected to sustain at profits in FY23 are flirting with their
by 16% y-o-y. For FY23, CIL’s offtake 20-25 million tonnes with 52-week highs of ₹236.80
Source: Company data
target is 700 million tonnes, implying realization expected to each. While environmental,
3.6% y-o-y growth for the rest of this fis- SATISH KUMAR/MINT
increase significantly compared to June social, and governance issues persist in
cal. e-auction tracks prices of international and South Africa. Also, elevated natural quarter (Q1FY23) levels,” said a report by the long run for the CIL stock, the pros-
The demand momentum in the coal, which have surged substantially in gas prices offer no respite and would Edelweiss Securities dated 1 September. pects are bright from a near-to-medium
power sector is expected to continue, 2022 so far. boost coal demand in Europe in winter. In Q1FY23, CIL’s e-auction realiza- term perspective, which reflects in the
driving a rise in offtake in the coming Europe has banned coal imports from As such, Europe has restarted its coal- tion was ₹4,340 per tonne, a 200% pre- stock movement.
days. E-auction realizations are also Russia, a key exporter of this commod- fired power plants. “We further believe mium over coal sold through FSA. CIL Even so, investors would do well to
robust. CIL supplies coal through the ity, against the backdrop of the ongoing Europe will continue to reopen as well may reap a record ₹48,000 crore annual track hikes in FSA prices. Any adverse
fuel supply agreements (FSA) and the Russia-Ukraine war. This would mean as increase the life of its remaining ther- earnings before interest, tax, deprecia- developments on wage renegotiation
e-auction route. Coal sold through an increase in coal supply from Australia mal power plants to shift away from tion and amortization (Ebitda) versus would dampen investor sentiments.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to

announce moves to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. AP Phoenix Mills stock flies high on urban consumption boost
UK retail rally on Truss could be Harsha Jethmalani level is down month-on-month room rates during the fiscal, the re-opening theme to a good
Bouncing back
short-lived as ‘storm is brewing’ harsha.j@htlive.com in August, but analysts said the Consumption at malls run by The Phoenix Mills continued to see
report pointed out. extent. So, further upsides would
London: Britain’s retailers rallied Tuesday on hopes that medium-term trend is positive. a healthy recovery in August. Phoenix Mills also achieved hinge on how a slew of factors

C
Prime Minister Liz Truss could temporarily ease the pres- onsumption recovery at Over April to August 2022, gross Gross monthly consumption (in  crore)
gross leasing of around 190,000 plays out. On Tuesday, the stock
sure of rising energy bills, but any recovery could be short- shopping malls and consumption was ₹3,720 crore, 800 sq feet in commercial assets in closed at ₹1,404.90 on NSE.
lived as spiraling inflation hits consumer wallets. Boohoo improving hotel occu- or 125% of April to August 2019. the five months to August. Of “The near-term outlook for
Group Plc, the online fashion retailer, and home improve- pancy are boosting investors’ Urban consumption was hit 600 this, around 130,000 sq feet was the stock is positive, but we
ment group Kingfisher led the pack in early trading with sentiment towards shares of The severely in the initial phases of new leasing and nearly 60,000 expect shares to hover at current
shares rising more than 8% and 6% respectively. All major Phoenix Mills Ltd, which hit a the covid-19 pandemic, weigh- 400 sq feet was renewal. With work- levels. The execution risk relat-
UK retailers from Marks & Spencer Plc and Next Plc to 52-week high of ₹1,448.95 on 1 ing on discretionary spending. from-home starting to take a ing to the opening of new malls
200
Britain’s two largest grocers Tesco Plc and J Sainsbury Plc September. However, with restrictions back seat, concerns about leas- has not been entirely priced in,”
rose on hopes of initiatives to tackle the cost-of-living cri- In August, the total consump- imposed to curb the spread of ing commercial assets for Phoe- said an analyst, requesting ano-
0
sis. “If energy bills are frozen and the rise in national insur- tion at the malls run by Phoenix coronavirus easing and fears of Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug nix Mills are expected to wane. nymity. Second, the company’s
2022
ance contributions is reversed as Liz Truss has promised, Mills was ₹738 crore. This is 125% contracting the virus subsiding, So far in FY23, Phoenix’s diversification into commercial
Note: Numbers are indicative and unaudited Source: Company presentation
then shoppers will have a bit more disposable cash to of the August 2019 or pre-pan- things are looking up for Phoe- shares have surged nearly 28%, and residential segments, where
spend on little luxuries rather than worrying about heating demic level. However, the metric nix Mills. SATISH KUMAR/MINT
smartly outperforming the 2% it does not have much expertise,
and eating,” said Susannah Streeter, a senior analyst at drops to 114% on a like-to-like “Revival of consumption at likely to culminate in robust cash the resumption of foreign and gain in the Nifty Realty index. is a crucial monitorable and
Hargreaves Lansdown. However, despite the rally, retail basis after adjusting for Phoenix malls and occupancy at hotels, flows,” Edelweiss Securities Ltd corporate travel, social events The sharp appreciation suggests could lead to a capital allocation
remains the worst performing subgroup in Europe’s Stoxx Palassio mall, which opened in and liquidation of ready inven- said in a 5 September note to cli- and staycations are expected to investors are factoring in the risk as well as increased debt, he
600 Index, plunging 36% so far in 2022. BLOOMBERG July 2020. The consumption tory in the housing segment are ents. In the hospitality segment, improve occupancy and average potential benefits of the said.

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

Oil slides as demand Porsche IPO moves ahead DreamFolks Services shares
fears return post rally Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
“We have shown a huge tried to take over control at the
resilience especially in crisis much-larger Volkswagen, but
jump nearly 42% in debut trade
times,” VW and Porsche chief the bold move that saw emo-
Reuters PTI

V
olkswagen AG is push- executive officer Oliver Blume tions run high failed when The company commanded
feedback@livemint.com ing ahead with its plan said on Tuesday. “Looking funding dried up during the feedback@livemint.com a market valuation of
to list a minority stake in back on the corona crisis, the financial crisis. ₹2,417.35 crore.

O S
il fell on Tuesday after the Porsche sports-car maker semiconductor crisis, this year Following the complex hares of airport service DreamFolks Services facili-
a two-day rally as con- despite gyrating markets, pav- with the Ukraine conflict, we minority share sale, which has aggregator DreamFolks tates consumers’ access to air-
cern returned about ing the way for what could be always have been triggered govern- Services ended nearly port-related services like
weaker demand and the pros- one of Europe’s biggest initial able to show very The move will ance concerns, the 42% higher in its debut trade lounges, food and beverages,
pect of more interest rate hikes, public offerings (IPOs). high profit mar- direct funds to family is set to on Tuesday against the issue spa, meet and assist airport
trumping support from The manufacturer is plan- gins and we think foot the emerge with a price of ₹326. transfer, transit hotels or nap
OPEC+’s first output target cut ning the IPO as early as this this will be very staggering cost of blocking stake of The stock was listed at rooms, and baggage transfer
since 2020. month, unless markets worsen convincing.” 25% plus one share ₹505, registering a jump of services.
electrification
New covid-19 lockdowns in significantly, VW said late on The listing will with voting rights. 54.90% from the issue price The initial public offering
China have added to worries Prices rose on Friday ahead of Monday, targeting to finalize give the Porsche and software Others can invest on the BSE. During the day, it (IPO) of DreamFolks Services
that high inflation and rate the OPEC+ meeting. BLOOMBERG the listing by the end of the and Piech family development in preferred shares rallied 68.71% to ₹550. Shares was subscribed 56.68 times
hikes will hit demand. The year. The move will direct greater sway at without voting of the company ended at The stock rallied 68.71% to last month. The IPO was
European Central Bank (ECB) 100,000 barrel per day funds to Europe’s biggest car- their former rights. ₹462.65 apiece, higher by ₹550 during the day. REUTERS entirely an offer-for-sale
is widely expected to lift rates increase in September was maker to foot the staggering company, some 13 years after Volkswagen’s preferred 41.91%. (OFS) of 1,72,42,368 equity
sharply when it meets on more symbolic than funda- cost of electrification and soft- they were forced to sell the shares rose as much as 3.9% in On the NSE, the company In volume terms, 16.52 lakh shares and was priced in the
Thursday. mentally significant,” said ware development and return sports-car business to Volks- Frankfurt trading. The com- made its debut at ₹508.70, a shares of the company were range of ₹308-326 a share.
Brent crude was down $2.67, Craig Erlam, analyst at broker- greater influence to the billion- wagen. More than a decade pany on Tuesday also filed its jump of 56% and settled at traded on the BSE and more The 30-share BSE bench-
or 2.8%, to $93.07 at 1210 GMT. age OANDA. “But it will make aire Porsche-Piech clan over ago, the family business Por- official intention to float on the ₹462.85 apiece, rallying than 2.68 crore shares on the mark settled 48.99 points or
US West Texas Intermediate traders think twice about driv- the luxury automaker. sche Automobil Holding SE Frankfurt stock exchange. 41.97%. NSE during the day. 0.08% lower at 59,196.99.
(WTI) fell from Monday’s trad- ing prices lower in the way they
ing to $86.61, down 26 cents have recently,” Erlam said.
from Friday’s close. There was As a result of the US holiday,
no settlement on Monday, the
US Labor Day holiday.
“The OPEC+ news is now in
weekly US inventory reports
from the American Petroleum
Institute and Energy Informa-
Bitcoin seen poised to escape from tightest range in 2 years
the market and the focus has tion Administration will be
temporarily shifted to eco- released on Wednesday and Bloomberg exchanges, according to block- pushed Bitcoin to a then- the highly anticipated upgrade
nomic and inflationary con- Thursday, a day later than feedback@livemint.com chain data-site CryptoQuant. record high in April 2021. on the Ethereum blockchain
cerns among which the two rel- usual. “Folks think the market has Cryptocurrencies have stag- later this month. The most

T
evant factors are the extended Oil soared close to an all-time he cryptocurrency mar- stabilized and are willing to nated since June, when prices commercially important net-
covid lockdowns in China and high of $147 in March after the ket appears by some make bigger speculative posi- tumbled in the aftermath of the work is set to move from its cur-
Thursday’s ECB rate decision,” Russia-Ukraine war exacer- measures to be poised to tions,” said Darius Sit, collapse of the Terra stablecoin rent system of using miners to a
said Tamas Varga of oil broker bated supply concerns. Con- break out of the narrowest co-founder of Singapore-based ecosystem, the demise of hedge more energy-efficient one
PVM. cern of a recession in the West, trading range in almost two crypto investment fund QCP fund Three Arrows Capital and using staked coins. Data col-
“Undoubtedly, they raise soaring inflation and interest years. Capital, who pointed out that the bankruptcies of Voyager lected by blockchain research
fears of demand destruction.” rate hikes have since weighed. Based on one gauge, the lev- traders who see a so-called tail Digital and Celsius Network. firm Kaiko show that perpetual
On Monday, the Organiza- After ECB’s meeting, a US erage ratios for the two largest risk, or the chance of a loss hap- Despite recent hawkish swap contracts’ open interest
tion of the Petroleum Export- Federal Reserve meeting will tokens by market value, Bitcoin pening due to a rare event, are comments from the Federal denominated in Ether reached
ing Countries and allies led by follow on September 21. and Ether, are at the highest on “getting priced out.” Bitcoin traded last week within a range of about 5.4%, the Reserve about inflation and the an all-time high at the end of
Russia, known as OPEC+, Lending oil support on record even with prices of both Crypto traders tend to favor narrowest since October 2020. ISTOCK economic slowdown continu- August.
decided to cut their October Tuesday were signs that a pact down more than 50% this year. perpetual contracts, which, ing to weigh on riskier assets “As we get closer to the
output target by 100,000 bar- to resurrect Iran’s nuclear deal That is calculated by taking the unlike traditional calendar Bitcoin, which accounts for rowest since October 2020, including crypto, more traders Merge, ETH leverage will con-
rel per day. Prices rose on Fri- with world powers was less amount of open interest for futures, don’t expire, in part, about 40% of the estimated data compiled by Bloomberg appear to be putting on bullish tinue to build up,” said Shiliang
day ahead of the meeting and imminent, delaying any return perpetual swap contracts and because it allows them to keep market value of all cryptocur- show. The lull two years ago leveraged bets. Tang, chief investment officer
on Monday after the decision. of around 1 million bpd of Ira- dividing that by the amount of highly leveraged positions in rencies, traded last week within was followed by a months-long Overall, the biggest catalyst at crypto asset investment firm
“The decision to reverse the nian crude to the market. coins held in reserve on place. a range of about 5.4%, the nar- surge in prices that eventually of the growing leverage is likely LedgerPrime.
LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi 05

RIL buys
m MINT SHORTS
HDFC ERGO to build insurance
Indian TV cos buy software majority
platform on Google Cloud
New Delhi: HDFC ERGO General Insurance has roped in Goo-
gle Cloud to build an online platform to sell insurance, offer tai-
lored digital experiences to customers, respond to regulatory
licences to challenge China stake in
SenseHawk
changes faster, and identify insurance risks using data analytics
and machine learning. HDFC ERGO plans to completely migrate Debjyoti Roy
to the cloud by 2024. ABHIJIT AHASKAR debjyoti.roy@livemint.com
The aim is to move to designing and to handle larger portion of the manufacturing process NEW DELHI

Realme plans to offer festive

R
eliance Industries Ltd
Prasid Banerjee & Shouvik Das said on Tuesday it has
discounts worth ₹ 700 crore NEW DELHI
Brand paucity signed definitive agree-
BLOOMBERG While nearly 100% of all TVs sold in India are made locally, homegrown ments with SenseHawk Inc. to

T
brands are slim.
elevision makers in India are buy a 79.4% stake in the Cali-
acquiring key software licen- 13 fornia-based solar software
ces for value addition in 12 Market share (in %) startup for $32 million (₹255
domestic manufacturing crore).
of TVs to take on Chinese The capital will be used by
companies who dominate the global SenseHawk for its growth,
market. 8 commercial rollout of prod-
Such licences are key for contract 7 ucts, and R&D, RIL said. The
manufacturers in the country to gradu- transaction is expected to be
ate from original equipment manufac- 2-5 completed by December-end.
turers (OEMs) to original design manu- The four-year-old startup’s
facturers (ODMs). While the former is cloud-based platform and
responsible for producing pre-de- application modules are aimed
New Delhi: Chinese smartphone brand Realme has signed products, the latter owns the at tackling challenges in the
announced discounts and offers worth ₹ 700 crore during design. Manufacturers in China, which development, construction
its upcoming Realme Festive Days sale, which starts on now supply to some of the world’s larg- Indian
and operation of solar sites.
Thursday. These would be offered on all Realme products est electronics brands* “RIL is
on its website realme.com, Flipkart, Amazon, and offline companies, (includes BPL, Daiwa and Onida), *estimated Source: Counterpoint IoT Service, Q2 2022
commit-
stores. Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth said the firm wants started as OEMs Brands had to deal with ODMs in China. ted to rev-
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
to thank its users through the festive sale.ABHIJIT AHASKAR decades ago. olutionize
On Monday, Dixon Technologies, TV-based products to more brands by Group are some of the key Chinese around 12 million units a year, which is the Green Energy sector and
one of India’s largest contract manu- this year-end. It already makes TVs ODMs. expected to rise as exports grow. He has a vision to enable 100 GW
CashFlo raises $8.7 mn in funding facturers, announced a pact with Goo- under the Kodak and Thomson brands, By developing into ODMs, the also noted that the country still has of solar energy by 2030. In col-
gle to acquire the licence for Android among others. Indian companies are essentially look- nearly 200 million cathode-ray tube laboration with SenseHawk,
round led by General Catalyst and Google TV platforms. Dixon isn’t So far, TV brands would have had to ing to handle a larger portion of the (CRT) TVs in use, which are yet to be we will drive down costs,
Bengaluru: CashFlo, a supply chain finance startup, said it has the first though. In July 2021, Noida- deal with ODMs in China, who had manufacturing process. “When you upgraded to Light Emitting Diode enhance productivity and
raised $8.7 million (around ₹70 crore) in a funding round led by based Videotex International Pvt. Ltd exclusive licences to platforms like have the licence, then you’re sourcing (LED) and smart TVs. improve on-time performance
General Catalyst with participation from existing investor, Eleva- became the first manufacturer to Android. This means that the Indian everything yourself, using your own To be sure, China has nearly three- to deliver the lowest LCoE
tion Capital. Elevation had first invested in CashFlo’s initial fun- obtain the licence for LG’s webOS fold of India’s TV manufacturing (Levelized Cost of Energy) for
draising in 2019. Angel investors including Jitendra Gupta (Jupi- platform for TVs in India, while MOVING TO MAKE IN INDIA capacity. However, geopolitical solar projects globally and
ter); Amrish Rau (Pine Labs); Nitin Gupta (Uni); Rangarajan K Super Plastronics Pvt. Ltd (SPPL), tensions and covid-related lock- make solar energy the go-to
(FiveStar); Gokul Rajaram, Whiteboard Capital and Atrium which is also based in Noida, had DIxON announced VIDEOTEx was the NOIDA-based INDIA’S total TV downs have hit China’s capacity. source of power in lockstep
Angels also participated in the round. ANUJ SUVARNA acquired a licence for Google TV atopact with Google first manufacturer to Super Plastronics
acquire licence for obtain licence for had acquired a
production capacity
is expected to
An industry executive, requesting with our vision for solar
back in 2020. Android and Google LG’s webOS platform licence for Google increase as anonymity, estimated China’s energy,” said RIL chairman
Videotex makes TVs running on TV platforms for TVs in India TV back in 2020 exports grow capacity at 40 million smart TVs in and managing director
MSA Novo enters India with over Android for brands like Lloyd, 2021, which is expected to fall to 32 Mukesh Ambani.
Hyundai, Realme, Hisense and million this year, and may drop fur- SenseHawk counts Alpha
$15 mn investments in six startups Toshiba. It also has an in-house brand OEMs would have to pay the Chinese materials etc. Otherwise, you have to ther to 28 million by December-end. Wave Incubation and Eleva-
New Delhi: Global venture capital fund MSA Novo on Tues- called Daiwa, and has onboarded ODMs for all key components like buy everything from them (the Chinese Building a presence in the design-led tion Capital among its institu-
day said it has invested over $15 million (around ₹120 crore) another 15 brands to make TVs running open-cell displays, LED lights and cabi- ODM). So, first you’re buying from an manufacturing sector has been among tional investors. It offers end-
across six Indian startups, marking its debut investments in on webOS. Dixon, said in an exchange nets. ODMs have partnerships with ODM in China, then paying me (the fac- the key asks from industry veterans for to-end management of solar
the country. The investments were made in MPL, Slice, Jar, filing on Monday, that it can produce chip makers too, which means that the tory) and then reaching the customer,” a long time. While the government has assets. It claims to have helped
AppsForBharat, Flint and Questbook, with a focus on early up to six million TVs a year. Avneet main board powering a TV goes said Arjun Bajaj, director of Videotex. offered a production linked incentive over 140 customers in 15 coun-
and growth-stage tech-enabled startups, MSA Novo said in a Singh Marwah, chief executive of through them as well. Companies like Marwah noted that India currently (PLI) scheme for various sectors,it has tries adopt new technology for
statement. SHUBHOBROTA DEVROY SPPL, said it will start supplying Google TCL, Skyworth and BoE Technology has a total TV production capacity of not been offered to TV makers. assets over 100 gigawatts.

Wakefit in talks to raise $40 mn; Upskilling woes

Investcorp among frontrunners
More than 52% gig workers in a survey of 4,070 individuals by CIIE.CO, an accelerator based out of IIM-A,
feel their work makes it challenging to upskill and find new job opportunities. Women constituted around
10% of the individuals surveyed. The report states there should be acknowledgement of importance of
building a measure of well-being for gig workers such as physical, mental and financial health while
Debjyoti Roy & Sneha Shah proposing a decentralized platform that holds holistic data. Of the 3,581 individuals who shared data on
had stints at Cognizant Tech- their first jobs, 26% said to have started their careers as delivery boys. The possibility of career
NEW DELHI/MuMbAI nology Solutions, Tapzo and progression diminishes as there are no avenues for skill development at the start of the career for young
YourStory Media, his LinkedIn Indians, the report stated.

M
attress maker and profile states. Chart 1. Current education level of gig workers Chart 2. Gender of survey
home solutions com- Wakefit primarily sells its respondents
pany Wakefit Innova- products on its online portal as Middle school (6th to 8th) 1,176 Female
tions Pvt. Ltd is in talks with sev- well as e-commerce sites such as
eral local and global private Amazon, Flipkart and Pepper- High school (8th to 10th) 1,125 10.2
equity investors to raise around fry. It has also opened 10 physi- Undergraduate 590 While the company doesn’t plan to raise fresh capital this year, it
$40 million (₹319 crore), two cal stores in locations such as may go for a pre-IPO round within two years. ISTOCK
persons aware of the deal said. Delhi, Bengaluru and Lucknow, Primary school 486 (In %)
Bengaluru-based Wakefit has
appointed investment bank
IndigoEdge to find potential
The firm is seeking a valuation
of over $500 million.
aiming to provide an omnichan-
nel experience. The company
expects to get 15-20% of its busi-
No schooling

Diploma
300
276
Curefoods aims to
89.8
investors, said one of the two
people cited above, both of
whom spoke under the condi-
nor deny this,” a spoksperson
for Wakefit said in an emailed
ness from offline channels,
50-60% from its own portal and
15-20% from other channels.
Post graduate 63 Male
turn profitable by
tion of anonymity. The com- response to queries. In May, the co-founders said
pany is seeking a valuation of
over $500 million for the trans-
action.
IndigoEdge did not respond
to an emailed query till press
time. A spokesperson
in an interview that Wakefit had
posted an over 50% rise in reve-
nue at ₹636 crore in FY22, and is
Chart 3. Distribution of
Gig workers with
Intention to Shift Jobs
Chart 4. Insurance Policy
Health insurance
Two-wheeler
insurance
Life insurance
No insurance
Chart 5. Number of jobs held by
gig workers since 2015
1,718
mid-2023: CEO
Maybe Yes 1,406
Bahrain-based for Investcorp planning to cross ₹1,000 crore Aman Rawat Sixteenth Street Capital’s
7.4
asset manager Invest- declined to comment. in FY23. It expects to break even 482 aman.rawat@livemint.com founder Rashmi Kwatra, Soft-
corp has emerged as Wakefit was by FY24. 27 NEW DELHI Bank Investment Advisors’
33.4 22.3
one of the frontrunners to invest founded by Ankit Garg and VCCircle also reported earlier founding partner Lydia Jett,
(In %) 46.9 (In %)

C
in Wakefit, the second person Chaitanya Ramalingegowda. this year that Wakefit and 190 loud kitchen startup and CRED’s founder Kunal
added. IIT Roorkee alumnus Garg ear- another venture capital- backed 80 41 Curefoods Pvt. Ltd Shah as its angel investors.
“We are always in conversa- lier worked at Bayer Chemicals company HomeLane, which 23.4 19 12 3 16 1 aims to turn profitable Cloud kitchen startups face
tions with potential investors to as a management trainee while count Sequoia Capital India as a 39.6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 by the middle of next year, competition from casual and
onboard the right partner. We Ramalingegowda, an MBA from common investor, are in talks No Number of jobs
founder and chief executive fine-dining restaurants, which
Source: CIIE.CO
will neither be able to confirm, the Indian School of Business, for a merger. Ankit Nagori said. are witnessing a rebound in
COMPILED BY ANUJ SUVARNA & SHUBHOBROTA DEVROY/MINT; GRAPHIC BY SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
“We’re looking to get Ebitda footfalls amid the easing of the
(earnings before interest, pandemic. However, the wan-
taxes, depreciation, and amor- ing of the pandemic also marks

Industry hails GoM’s move to tax online gaming separately tization) level profitable in the
first quarter of the financial
year (FY) 2024,” Nagori said in
the return of employees to
physical offices, which is help-
ing cloud kitchens to get more
an interview. orders, said Nagori.
Abhijit Ahaskar This was criticized by the would be levied on the full online gaming with gambling Curefoods’ FY22 revenue Floated by Cure.fit
abhijit.ahaskar@livemint.com online gaming industry which consideration. and horse racing. stood in triple-digits, said co-founder Nagori, Curefoods
NEW DELHI cited various court judgments “GoM recognizing the con- “They all have different Nagori. However, he declined began operations in 2020. So
that recognized online games stitutional and legal differ- economics, operating proce- to reveal the losses. The Ben- far, the startup has raised $110

I
ndia’s online gaming indus- like fantasy sports, rummy ence and nuances of online dures, and profit margins. It galuru-based com- million in equity and
try is heaving a sigh of relief etc. as a game of skill. games is very only makes sense pany is yet to file its $15 million in debt.
after a decision by a Group In online gaming, players promising,” said THE RElIEF that they are taxed annual financial The company
of Ministers (GoM) to treat combine their money to cre- Roland Landers, FINAllY as per their stan- statement for FY22 counts Iron Pillar,
online gaming separately from ate a prize pool, which is then chief executive of dards,” he said. with the Registrar of Compa- Chiratae Ventures, Sixteenth
horse racing and gambling used to pay out winnings. The All India Gaming Stakeholders were Jay Sayta, a nies. The last day to file the Street Capital, and Accel Part-
while imposing taxes. difference between these F e d e r a t i o n worried that
applying 28% GST to
prominent tech- document is 30 September. ners, among others, as its
In July, the combined deposits (AIGF), an indus- GGV will lead to a nology and gaming Curefoods aims to turn net backers. It has also raised debt
Goods and Services and winnings t r y b o d y f o r significant rise in tax lawyer, agreed that profitable ahead of its plans for from Alteria Capital, BlackSoil
Tax (GST) Council makes the GRR. online gaming. the GOM’s decision an initial public offering (IPO) Capital and Trifecta Capital.
decided to increase Industry experts He said that the The industry cited to seek legal opin- in the near future, said Nagori. Curefoods last raised $50
court judgments that
the tax on online gaming from and stakeholders were wor- industry is hope- recognized online ion is a welcome “Profitability is very important million in a Series C round in
18% to 28%, which the industry ried that applying 28% GST to The GoM was set up in May to review GST on online gaming, ful that the GoM gaming as a game of move. for us, as we are keen to go June 2022. The round was led
was mostly onboard with. Cur- GGV lead to a significant gambling, and horse racing. HT will arrive at a skill. However, he public in near future,” he said. by Cayman Islands-based
rently, the 18% GST applies to increase in tax the industry “progressive and lamented that the While the company doesn’t Crimson Winter, along with
gross gaming revenue (GGR). has to pay, and force some corns like Dream Sports and consultations with the indus- constitutionally delay in finalizing plan to raise fresh capital this the participation of new and
However, the GoM had firms to shut down. Mobile Premier League, it is try and seek legal opinion sound recommendation for the report has resulted in year, Nagori said it may go for existing investors.
been mulling over applying India’s online gaming sec- still at a nascent stage. before submitting a final rate and valuation for online uncertainty for the sector. a pre-IPO round within two Curefoods houses food
the 28% tax on gross gaming tor is expected to grow to $5 The GoM was set up in May report on levying new GST gaming.” He hoped that the GoM will years to give an exit to a few brands such as EatFit, Cake-
value (GGV), which is the total billion by 2025, according to to review GST on online gam- rates. It was also decided that Rohit Agarwal, founder, take a decision soon and apply backers, including angel Zone, Frozen Bottle, Sharief
value of the stake put in by a report by BCG and Sequoia ing, gambling, and horse rac- online gaming will not be and director of gaming mar- the tax on GRR as is being investors. Bhai and Nomad Pizza. The
players, across online gaming, India. While the sector has ing. In its latest meeting on clubbed with gambling and keting firm Alpha Zegus, said done in most international The startup counts Iron Pil- startup fulfils close to 40,000
horse racing and gambling. seen the emergence of uni- Monday, it decided to hold horse racing where taxes that it makes sense not to club markets. lar’s board partner Adil Allana, orders a day, Nagori said.
06 WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Centre may
NGOs may serve as micro Big Tech’s $95 mn
revise levies spending spree
on exports of
steel items
lenders with Sidbi backing stalls antitrust bill
Bloomberg
FROM PAGE 1 feedback@livemint.com

RBI, microfinance sector bodies in talks to push financial inclusion in under-served districts
A
products, including pig iron, high-profile push by
flat-rolled products of both car- the US Congress to rein
bon steel and stainless steel, bars, in that nation’s biggest
rods, and non-alloyed steel, to Shayan Ghosh internet companies is at risk of
Financing the masses
check rising steel prices and rein shayan.g@livemint.com failing with time running out
Access to credit, an important aspect of financial inclusion, has improved in the 117 districts identified as aspirational.
in inflation. The duty changes mumBAI to pass major legislation ahead
were also made for iron ore pel- Active Customer Active Loans (in million) Jun 2021 Dec 2021 30+ days Delinquency (in %) 90+ days Delinquency (in %)
of mid-term elections.

T
lets, where a 45% export duty he Reserve Bank of India Penetration (in million) Alphabet Inc.’s Google,
was imposed while export duty (RBI) and microfinance Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc.
8.6
on iron ore and concentrates was industry associations plan to and Meta Platforms Inc. and
8.1 12.7 13.4
raised to 50% from 30%. “As a enlist non-profits to help their trade groups have
result of the export duty, the extend credit to vulnerable 2.36 poured almost $95 million into After a 2-year battle, the Bill is
domestic price of benchmark populations in backward districts and 11.80 lobbying since 2021 as they now at a critical juncture. ISTOCK
hot-rolled coils fell over 26% boost financial inclusion, a person aware Portfolio Outstanding (in ₹ crore) seek to derail the American
from a record ₹76,000 per tonne of the discussions said. Innovation and Choice Online which represents the major
in April to just about ₹56,000 The idea is to develop some of these Act, which has advanced fur- tech companies.
per tonne now. In the absence of non-governmental organizations 28,737 ther than any US legislative Failure would be a setback
a big pick-up in domestic (NGOs) as microlenders. They could effort to address the market for politicians, activists and
demand, steel firms are now sad- receive funding from the Small Indus- 2.70 power of some of the world’s regulators who argue Silicon
dled with rising inventory and tries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) 6.87 richest companies. Valley has too much control
face the prospect of hurting mar- and operate as financial intermediaries. 31,918
After a nearly two-year bat- over people’s lives. It would
gins in the absence of an alterna- Initially, 112 districts were identified by tle, the bill is now at a critical mark a huge win for Big Tech,
tive outlet,” a top executive at a the government in 2018. Now the num- juncture as the Senate returns which has argued that the
leading steelmaker said, asking ber has grown to 117, he added. Source: Microfinance Pulse by Sidbi and Equifax
this week for a final stretch measure would weaken pri-
not to be named. “Bandhan Bank had started as an before the November mid- vacy, threaten national secu-
“The Ukraine-Russia conflict NGO, then went on to become a non- SATISH KUMAR/MINT
terms. Backers of the measure rity and degrade products that
had opened doors of European bank financier, and finally a bank. Sidbi think tank NITI Aayog to enhance the increased from 8.1 million to 8.6 million tion of the Companies Act. This was a swear they have the necessary consumers enjoy.
markets, but the duty has made supported Bandhan in its journey, and human development index of the areas during the six-month period. blanket exemption, irrespective of the votes, yet it is unclear if they Although clipping the wings
steel prices uncompetitive. So, a we are looking at such small NGOs who based on composite indicators such as As on 31 December, banks had the size of the companies. do, and the Sen- of tech giants
duty revision even now will help could transform lending in these under- health and nutrition, education, agricul- highest portfolio share in these districts However, earlier this year, it with- ate will be busy Its failure would through antitrust
the sector without adding to served pockets,” the person said, seek- ture and water resources, financial at ₹12,441 crore, followed by the non- drew the exemptions for non-profit with other must- be a setback for reform had sup-
inflationary pressure,” he added. ing anonymity. inclusion, skill development and basic banking financial company-microfi- companies with assets of ₹100 crore and pass spending those who argue port from both
The export duty has restricted RBI will discuss the proposal, which is infrastructure. nance institution at ₹12,420 crore. Not- above operating in the microfinance legislation. Silicon Valley has Republicans and
steel exports, which have fallen still at an early stage, with the govern- According to data released in May by for-profit institutions’ share in the port- space. These entities have now been The view that Democrats dur-
from 1.5 million tonnes (mt) in
too much control ing this Congress,
ment, he added. Identified NGOs asked to get registered as NBFC- momentum for
over people’s
April to just over 500,000 ton- will require training in financial DRIVING INCLUSION MFI, a category of microfinance len- the bill is slowing
lives
a likely GOP
nes in July. Iron ore exports have intermediation and fair recovery ders regulated by the RBI. is based on con- majority in the
also fallen 69.1% in April-July. practices but may not be directly NGOS could receive THE NGOs will need IN the 117 identified ACTIVE customer “With Sidbi funding, some not- versations with House next year
Despite a fall in exports, domestic regulated by the RBI as NGOs are funding from the
SIDBI and operate
training in financial
intermediation but
backward districts,
financial inclusion
penetration rose
from 8.1 mn to 8.6 mn
for-profit entities can transition to nearly two dozen is expected to
consumption has not increased. either registered as trusts or socie- as financial may not be directly indicators are between June 2021 become NBFC-MFIs, giving them a of its supporters and critics — focus on allegations that inter-
The government imposed an ties under different acts. They can intermediaries regulated by the RBI already improving and December 2021 wider reach and a larger microfi- including policy experts, lob- net platforms squelch con-
export duty on several commodi- also be registered as a Section 8 nance kitty,” the person said. byists, congressional aides and servative viewpoints.
ties in May to check price rise. company under the Companies Act. The idea of supporting these advocates. One Hill staffer That’s why tech lobbyists
The industry exported a record “Even if they can lend in small quanti- Sidbi and credit bureau Equifax, finan- folio was at ₹430 crore, the data showed. NGOs for microfinance operations is not summed it up as a do-or-die have been trying to run out the
13.49 mt of steel in FY22, a ties, say, ₹5,000, many people in these cial inclusion indicators are already Meanwhile, RBI has made changes to new. In 1994, Sidbi started disbursing moment. clock.
growth of 25% from the previous districts would benefit, furthering RBI’s showing some improvement in the dis- its microfinance regulations. In January microcredit via NGOs, using them as “If supporters of this bill had Leading Republicans like
year amid a rise in demand and financial inclusion programme,” the tricts. The microfinance portfolio out- 2000, RBI granted exemption from reg- financial intermediaries to issue loans to enough votes, it wouldn’t be a California’s Kevin McCarthy,
prices. The trend continued in person said. Email queries to RBI and standing in the districts stood at ₹31,918 istration requirements and minimum the underserved sections, especially bill, it would be a law,” said who is on track to become
the early months of this fiscal, but Sidbi did not elicit any response. crore as on 31 December, as against net-owned funds, among other regula- women. It was later scaled up to serve Matt Schruers, president of Speaker under a GOP major-
things changed thereafter as In January 2018, 112 aspirational dis- ₹28,737 crore on 30 June 2021, the data tory requirements, for non-profit com- the huge unmet demand for microfi- the Computer & Communica- ity, have publicly opposed the
domestic demand fell. tricts were identified by the government showed. Active customer penetration panies registered under a specific sec- nance across India. tions Industry Association, antitrust push.

Suspicious trades Binance seeks to convert users’ Elbers takes charge at IndiGo
before block deals USDC into its own stablecoin Anu Sharma
anu.sharma@livemint.com
“It may be noted that as per the
original terms of appointment
Mr. Dutta was required to serve
under Sebi lens
New DelhI
Bloomberg Hagen Rooke, a partner at law six months’ notice. However, at

P
feedback@livemint.com firm Reed Smith LLP in Singa- ieter Elbers on Tuesday management’s request, he
pore. “Commercially it is a took charge as chief exec- agreed to be relieved by serving

B
FROM PAGE 1 shares and sold 3.14 million inance, the largest crypto smart move for Binance utive officer of IndiGo, 4.5 months of notice, thereby
shares the same day. Sanghvi exchange by volume, will because its service offering will India’s largest airline. The foregoing 1.5 months of notice
institutional investors buy or sell Associates also bought and sold start converting any now increasingly converge Dutch national is an aviation pay,” the company’s exchange
shares on the exchanges. These the same quantity of shares, existing user balances and new around its house-own BUSD veteran with more than 30 filing on 30 August read.
are pre-negotiated transactions 2.92 million. deposits of USD Coin (USDC), product,” Rooke said. years of experience at the Neth- Dutta joined IndiGo as a prin-
where the buyer, seller and price Mint reached out to Marwadi Pax Dollar (USDP) and True Users likely won’t be left erlands’ KLM. cipal consultant in December
are already set. Ideally, they Shares and Mansi Shares for USD (TUSD) into the com- “materially out of pocket” as Ronojoy Dutta, the outgoing 2018 to chalk out a five-term
should happen between only comments on their trading but pany’s own stablecoin, accord- the stablecoins involved are all CEO of IndiGo, has agreed to an business plan. He was
the intended parties—the buyer did not receive a response till ing to a statement published on intended to be pegged to the enhanced non-compete for a IndiGo chief executive officer appointed CEO for a period of
and the seller—but it appears press time. Mint could not Monday. The conversion is dollar, he said. However, the period of two years as against Pieter Elbers. BLOOMBERG five years with effect from 24
that third parties often use the ascertain the identity of scheduled to begin 29 Septem- Binance will start conversion conversion may irk users wish- one year earlier, the company January 2019. While Dutta
information to profit from the Sanghvi Associates. ber. USDC, issued by Circle on 29 September. REUTERS ing to use their third-party sta- had said on 30 August, against dent since 2014, Elbers joins came to IndiGo at a time when
price swings caused by the large It is not possible to establish Internet Financial, is the sec- blecoins like USDC on applica- accelerated bonus and amount with significant experience in the airline needed stability after
order, a practice called front- who placed buy orders in pre- ond-ranked stablecoin after up competition among the tions that specifically support in lieu of stock options. The developing international hubs the resignation of long-term
running. Moreover, since the opening sessions based on pub- Tether’s USDT, with a market three largest stablecoins, which them, like for yield generation non-compete clause says Dutta and connectivity. president Aditya Ghosh, Elbers
transaction happens through lic disclosures. value of nearly $52 billion, are digital tokens designed to on a decentralized protocol, shall not engage with any busi- IndiGo has made it clear that has to rapidly expand IndiGo in
regular order-matching mecha- “It seems some participants according to data from Coin- maintain a peg to the US dollar. Rooke said. ness or allied business that is in had it not been for the pan- international frontiers and gen-
nisms of exchanges, other buy- are capitalizing on confidential Gecko. Binance’s stablecoin, Because stablecoins are an Binance doesn’t anticipate any way similar, identical or demic, it would have already erate diverse revenue streams.
ers can potentially interfere in information ahead of bulk BUSD, is a distant third at $19.3 integral part of the crypto eco- any regulatory implications competitive and will not advanced substantially in the The airline has considered
the transaction if their bids are orders. This puts market integ- billion. system and are often used as an from the change, which it had engage in the Indian aviation international segment. opting for wide-body aircraft for
identical to those fixed for the rity into question around these The exchange said the move intermediary for switching agreed on with Circle and other sector or providing consult- Dutta was relieved of his long-haul international flight
bulk deal. large deals,” said the equity is intended “to enhance liquid- between cryptocurrencies and involved third parties in ancy services to an entity duties on 5 September, and not operations multiple times in the
Mint analyzed five such deals head of an institutional buyer, ity and capital-efficiency for cash, bolstering BUSD may advance, a spokesperson for engaged in Indian aviation. on 30 September as informed past. While the wide-body dis-
of ICICI Lombard, SBI Cards, requesting anonymity. users”. Binance will also support Binance’s push to the company said by email. The board of IndiGo has by the airline earlier, a com- cussions have not fructified in
Sona BLW Forgings Ltd (Sona In another recent bulk deal in remove and stop any trading on cement its status as the top Binance didn’t say why the high expectations from Elbers, pany official said. In fact, Dutta the past, the airline has created a
Comstar), IIFL Finance and which CDC Group Plc offloaded spot pairs that involve USDC, marketplace for digital assets. changes don’t involve Tether’s who oversaw the restructuring agreed to a shorter notice strong network of medium to
Dabur, and in each of these 13.5 million shares of IIFL USDP or TUSD, the exchange The decision “is quite bold USDT, which now has a circu- at KLM during the pandemic. period as per the request of the short distance global routes
trades, large quan- Finance on 19 said. Binance’s move may heat and unprecedented,” said lation of around $67 billion. Having served KLM as presi- management. using its narrow-body aircraft.
tities of buy orders Sebi has stepped August, it was
were placed in up scrutiny of found that buy
pre-opening hours front-running and orders totalling
before retail inves-
tors are allowed to
trade.
other market
manipulation
20.9 million shares
from third parties
were lined up
Govt approves Bharat Bio’s intra-nasal vaccine against covid
For instance, cases following before the negoti-
on 18 August, a rising complaints ated sale could be FROM PAGE 1 Delivering a vaccine in the first dose. The vaccine candi- reactogenic events and
Blackstone entity, transacted. In the form of nasal drops is expected date showed successful results adverse events that were doc-
Singapore VII case of SBI Cards, department and Washington to make it more cost-effective in phase I, II and III clinical umented during the trial were
Topco III Pte Ltd, sold 79.5 mil- on 17 March 2021, CA Rover University St. Louis for sup- in low- and middle-income trials. highly comparable to pub-
lion shares in Sona Comstar to Holdings, a Carlyle group entity, port and guidance. countries. Nasal vaccines stim- “Heterologous booster dose lished data from other cov-
raise about ₹4,000 crore. How- sold 40 million shares, and 7.1 Hyderabad-based Bharat ulate antibodies in airway pas- studies were conducted for id-19 vaccines.
ever, third parties already lined million shares buy orders were Biotech has established large sages, making them effective safety and immunogenicity in The intra-nasal nature also
up buy orders of as many as already lined up in the pre-open- manufacturing capabilities for against viruses that attack res- approx. 875 subjects, with enables faster development of
29.5 million shares in the pre- ing session from parties not the vaccine in Gujarat, Karna- piratory tissues. They can be BBV154 intra-na- variant-specific
opening trading session. involved in the transaction. Sim- taka, Maharashtra and Telan- self-administered, easing sal vaccine, Trials were vaccines and easy
According to disclosures on ilar patterns were seen when 10 gana. pressure on healthcare per- administered post conducted at nine delivery that ena-
Trendlyne, two brokerages— million shares of Dabur changed With the receipt of sonnel and making them more two doses of the sites across the bles mass immu-
Marwadi Shares and Finance Ltd hands via block deals on 19 Feb- approval, the product will be acceptable to people who fear two commonly country and the nization to pro-
and Mansi Shares and Stock ruary 2021. launched and made available needles. administered
vaccine is stable at tect from emerg-
Advisors—purchased and sold Last year, foreign portfolio for use across the country. A recent paper published by covid-19 vacci- ing variants of
shares in bulk the same day. In investors’ lobby bodies Asia Trials for the vaccine were Bharat Biotech claimed its nes,” the com- 2-8°C, enabling easy concern.
addition, another party not Securities Industry and Finan- conducted at nine sites across intra-nasal covid-19 vaccine is pany said. storage, distribution So far, India
involved in the block deal, cial Markets and Asia trade India. The vaccine is stable at safe, well-tolerated, and “iNCOVACC has two vaccines
Sanghvi Associates, also bought forum wrote to Sebi highlight- 2-8°C, enabling easy storage Delivering the vaccine in the form of nasal drops is expected to make immunogenic for primary was evaluated to —Covishield,
and sold the shares the same day. ing eight other deals where and distribution. it more cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries. AP dose, as well as for heterolo- determine its impact on safety. manufactured by Serum Insti-
Rajkot-based Marwadi similar trade patterns occurred. “Big Boost to India’s Fight gous booster dose, as per the An evaluation was also carried tute, and Covaxin—approved
Shares bought 4.1 million The investors alleged that Against covid-19! Bharat Bio- mary immunization against results of phase 3 trials con- out for the ability of iNCO- for manufacture for sale or dis-
shares and sold 4.1 million beneficiaries of these buy orders tech’s ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S covid-19 in 18+ age group for On Monday, China became ducted in 3,100 subjects across VACC to elicit long-term tribution in the country; while
shares. A relatively little- were sophisticated and informed covid-19 (chimpanzee adeno- restricted use in an emergency the first country to approve an sites in India. memory T and B cell Sputnik-V, ZyCoV-D, Cor-
known firm situated in the Bor- participants and requested a virus vectored) recombinant situation,” Union health min- inhaled version of a covid-19 Heterologous dose refers to responses against the ances- bevax, Covovax and Sputnik
ivali suburb of Mumbai, Mansi probe by Sebi. Mint has nasal vaccine approved by ister Mansukh Mandaviya vaccine made by CanSino Bio- a second or third dose vaccine tral and omicron variants,” the Light are under restricted
Shares, purchased 850,000 reviewed excerpts of the letter. @CDSCO_INDIA_INF for pri- tweeted. logics Inc. which is different from the company said, adding that emergency use.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi 07

FMCG firms bet big on Bollywood pins revival hopes on good

show by superhero flick Brahmastra
bumper festive sales Lata Jha
lata.j@htlive.com
new delHI
weekend already.
Karan Taurani, senior vice-
president at Elara Capital Ltd
said lifetime box office for the

S
uperhero film Brahmas- film is estimated to be in the
tra, which releases in cin- wide range of ₹130-200 crore,
ITC is witnessing a strong uptick in demand with the onset of festivities emas on Friday, is being basis the strong advances, and
seen as a test case for the recov- that word-of-mouth and audi-
ery of flailing Bollywood as well ence acceptance can help the
Suneera Tandon as Star Studios that shelled out film breach the upper end of
suneera.t@livemint.com more than ₹300 crore to make projections.
new delHI it. Film industry analysts said “Brahmastra is the first sci-
there are high expectations of ence fiction-based Hindi film

F
ast moving consumer goods com- Brahmastra with advance franchise, and augurs well (for
panies are ramping up supply bookings touching ₹5 crore up the theatrical business) as the
chains and investing in marketing until Sunday. Box office takings will also determine if producer Disney India audience wants to watch large-
campaigns as they expect stronger Box office takings will also will continue to invest in local movie production. MINT scale content with visual effects
sales this festival season. determine if producer Disney in cinemas,” Taurani said.
Packaged food, beverages and cosmetics India will continue to invest in being marketed aggressively and Malayalam and in 2D, 3D The film, co-produced by
manufacturers said festive season initia- local movie production that overseas,” said film producer, and IMAX formats, benefiting Karan Johar’s Dharma Produc-
tives, including expansion of the distribu- had been on pause since the trade and exhibition expert from higher ticket prices for tions has carried out a huge
tion network and trade and consumer-led pandemic. Trade observers peg Girish Johar. This May, Brah- these premium formats. Trade marketing campaign in the
brand promotions are gathering pace. the opening day revenue at mastra became the first Indian website Box Office India said south with Baahubali director
Hemant Malik, divisional chief execu- upwards of ₹20 crore given the film to be added to Disney’s several multiplexes were SS Rajamouli being roped in for
tive, foods division, ITC Ltd, said the com- film’s release across multiple global theatrical film slate reporting faster bookings than promotions and Telugu star
pany is witnessing a strong uptick in languages. They said Bolly- announcement along with big- tent pole titles released pre- Nagarjuna as part of the cast.
demand with the onset of festivities, after wood desperately needs a big ticket Hollywood titles like covid such as War, Thugs of “Brahmastra is an old com-
two years of subdued festive demand due to success story to stem its losses. Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Hindostan and Sultan. mitment and will decide the
pandemic-led restrictions. “There is obviously immense Panther: Wakanda Forever and Things look good even in way forward for Disney as far as
“ITC’s agile supply chains and extensive confidence that Disney has Avatar: The Way of Water. smaller cities like Patna, Indore theatrical film production goes
distribution network are fully geared to placed in Brahmastra given Directed by Ayan Mukerji, and Jaipur. As of Monday, PVR in India,” a former employee of
ensure availability of a wide range of prod- ITC’s gift packs comprising B Natural juices and Sunfeast milk shakes saw encouraging that advances have been Brahmastra will launch in Cinemas said it had sold Star Studios said declining to be
ucts across staples, snacks, noodles, frozen demand during Rakshabandhan. MINT opened early and the film is also Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada 100,000 seats for the first named.
snacks across channels including e-com-
merce,” Malik said. ITC’s gift packs com- covid sales. the remaining of the gifting season to per-
prising B Natural juices and Sunfeast milk Chocolate and cookie maker Mondelez form like never before. Like every year, we
shakes saw encouraging demand during India, too, said consumers are likely to are introducing a segmented portfolio
Rakshabandhan, and more than a dozen spend with “renewed fervour” this festive across channels and at different price
specialized offerings are being crafted season. “Advertising and promotional points catering to a diverse consumer
StayVista raises ₹40 cr from DSG, others
across its foods portfolio, including Fabelle investments like every year will be greater cohort. The amplification will be through
chocolates, Sunfeast cookies and B Natural and in line with the expected return on different multimedia channels,” he said. Varuni Khosla “We want to scale from a It also has a large number of had raised ₹10 crore ($1.32 mil-
beverages, for the upcoming festivals, he investment, and while we are taking pre- Pandey said the scale and volume of varuni.k@livemint.com revenue of ₹120 crore per homes in Kasauli, said lion) in funding led by DSG
added. Parle Agro’s brand activation new delHI annum to over ₹1,000 crore in Damani. Consumer Partners, with par-
“Supplies are an outcome of GEARING UP have increased. “We are sure the next 3-4 years. For this, the In March, the company ticipation from CA Holdings,

H
demand. We foresee huge we will be able to drive impact ospitality firm Stay company would rebranded itself Artha India Ventures and
demand in September-Octo- ITC’s agile supply MONDELEZ India COMPANIES as well as sales for our brands,” Vista Pvt. Ltd on Tues- like to have about The company has f r o m ‘Vista Everest Flavours’ founder
ber and we have geared up our chains are fully
geared to ensure
said consumers are
likely to spend with
facing high
commodity prices
he added. To be sure, FMCG day said it has raised 2,500 homes in a portfolio of Rooms’ to ‘Stay- Anand Ladsariya. Companies
entire supply chain, particu- availability of a wide ‘renewed fervour’ have resorted to volumes dipped 0.7% in the ₹40 crore in a Series B funding the portfolio,” nearly 500 villas Vista’ to focus pri- like Singapore Angels Net-
larly our factories. We are also range of products this festive season price hikes June quarter, according to round led by existing investor said Damani. The and homes on its marily on being a work and individuals like
expanding our infrastructure researcher NielsenIQ. Compa- DSG Consumer Partners, with c o m p a n y , hospitality part- Rajan Anandan of Sequoia
platform across
and distribution, which will nies facing high commodity participation from Capri founded in 2015, ner for villa own- Capital had also invested in the
tackle the spike in demand and lead to cautions due to the inflationary pressure, prices have resorted to price hikes. Overall Global and CA Holdings. is adding food 50 locations in ers, and not just firm’s angel round.
higher reach in the market,” said Madhur we, as a business, are well placed to strategi- inflation and FMCG price hikes have The company has nearly and beverage and the country be a platform Hari Premkumar, India
Pandey, vice president, marketing, at bev- cally combat the situation,” said Anil Vis- impacted household consumption as well. 500 villas and homes on its spa services to where customers head of DSG Consumer Part-
erages company Parle Agro, the maker of wanathan, vice president, marketing, Mon- However, firms expect a strong festive platform in close to 50 loca- increase revenue. can find home ners said StayVista has demon-
Frooti and Appy. delez India, which makes Oreo cookies and season. Data from Bizom, a retail intelli- tions in the country. The fund Most of the company’s rent- stays. Including this round, the strated resilience in navigating
Pandey said during Ganesh Chaturthi Dairy Milk chocolates. gence platform, suggests that FMCG sales raise is likely to accelerate als are in two Lonavala and company has now raised a the pandemic while driving
and Independence Day the company wit- “We will be leveraging our full portfolio grew 6.3% sequentially in August after growth, co-founder Amit Goa, where it has signed up total of ₹58 crore since its revenue growth in a capital-ef-
nessed demand exceeding covid and pre- across most of our stores since we expect three consecutive months of decline. Damani said. 100 and 50 villas respectively. inception in 2015. In 2021, it ficient manner.

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TWEETS & QUOTES

Anil Agarwal Kamala Harris Nirmala Sitharaman
Soumya Swaminathan @AnilAgarwal_Ved @KamalaHarris @nsitharaman
@doctorsoumya Chairman, Vedanta Resources Vice President, the US Finance Minister
Chief scientist, WHO Dream of creating another Thanks to unions & Demat accounts surpass 100
Social, environmental Silicon Valley in India labour movement, we million for the first time. A
and commercial deter- doesn’t lie that far ahead. have overtime pay & large part of growth over the
minants account for a This will give rise to employ- more. When unions past two years has come from
lot of poor health ment opportunities & posi- are strong, America is tier-2 and tier-3 cities
tively impact our nation strong

Panel for drafting THE WAY AHEAD Adani will export

Cooperation Policy power to B’desh

T G
he government on Tuesday announced autam Adani plans to start exporting
the constitution of a 47-member electricity from a coal-fired plant in
committee headed by former union eastern India to Bangladesh before the
cabinet minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, for end of the year, helping to alleviate energy
drafting the National Cooperation Policy shortages in the South Asian nation.
document. The new National Cooperative Adani Power Ltd. will commission a 1.6
Policy is being formulated to realise the gigawatt facility in Jharkhand state and a
government’s vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’, dedicated transmission line for the exports by
the ministry of cooperation said in a statement. 16 December, Adani said in a Twitter post late
The constitution of the committee was on Monday after meeting Bangladesh’s Prime
announced by the Union home and Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi.
cooperation minister Amit Shah. The project underscores India’s push to use
The new National Cooperation Policy infrastructure as part of its diplomatic outreach
document is being formulated with a view to to neighbors. Adani—Asia’s richest person
fulfilling the mandate given to the new controlling a business empire spanning ports,
ministry of cooperation, which includes infrastructure and energy—is also involved in
realising the vision of ‘Sahakar se Samriddhi’; investments in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh has been
strengthening cooperative movement in the suffering energy shortages as the price of fuels
country and deepening its reach up to the like gas and coal surge following Russia’s
grassroots; and promoting cooperative-based invasion of Ukraine. BLOOMBERG
economic development model. PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati
Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. REUTERS

ED arrests ex-NSE boss Narain Eswara Reddy was in judicial custody on

corruption charges. MINT
Flipkart owns online travel company Cleartrip.

Flipkart starts hotel

MINT

in illegal phone tapping case Delhi HC grants bail

to Eswara Reddy
booking service
T
he Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted

F
lipkart, an e-commerce marketplace, has bail to joint drug controller Dr S. Eswara
announced the launch of a hotel-booking Ravi Narain will be produced before a special court on Wednesday for custody Reddy who was in judicial custody on
feature on its platform for the travel corruption charges along with a Biocon
sector. Biologics executive in connection with phase 3
To offer better reach and options to Jayshree P. Upadhyay Pandey and Chitra Ramkrishna, a former NSE at the cost of the broader market. “In furtherance clinical trials for an insulin injection. “It cannot
customers, it said it will offer three lakh jayshree.p@livemint.com chief, were arrested later in July in the illegal to the conspiracy, the said private company was be overlooked that the alleged recovery in the
domestic and international hotels. It will also New DelhI phone-tapping case. Ramkrishna was first allegedly engaged in the guise of conducting instant case is not pursuant to any usual trap
offer benefits like flexible travel and booking- arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation ‘periodic study of cyber vulnerabilities at the NSE. proceedings and the consideration of credibility

T
related policies, EMI options. he Enforcement Directorate (ED) on (CBI) in March in the co-location case. It was further alleged that top officials of the NSE of circumstantial evidence would have to be
The company owns online travel company Tuesday night arrested Ravi Narain, Incorporated by Pandey in 2001, iSec Services issued agreement/work orders in favour of said assessed...,” the court said.
Cleartrip whose application programme former managing director and CEO of was among the private company “...the alleged intercepted calls between the
interface it will use and integrate it into its app NSE, in a case of illegal phone tapping companies that and illegally inter- accused persons have to be weighed at the altar
and website. In addition to the deals, it will by the exchange, an ED official said. He conducted security ED had registered an Enforcement cepted phone calls of admissibility and legality of evidence,” the
have a customer care center for support and will be produced before a special court on audits at NSE Case Information Report in July for of employees by court said in an order seen by Mint.
user-related queries. Wednesday for custody, the official added. between 2010 and
“New travel trends like exploring lesser- ED registered an Enforcement Case Informa- 2015, when the the alleged tapping of employees’ installing machines,
in contravention of
Media reports said the high court has also
granted bail to L. Praveen Kumar, an official of
known destinations, work-cations, long stays, tion Report (ECIR) in July against former Mumbai co-location scam phones between 2009 and 2017 provisions under Biocon Biologics, and Dinesh Dua of Synergy
and vacation rentals are becoming police commissioner Sanjay Pandey and former allegedly took place. the Indian Tele- Network India Private Limited, who are co-
mainstream. These developments are giving a heads of the NSE for allegedly tapping employees’ The investigative graph Act,” CBI said accused in the case. PRIYANKA SHARMA
boost to the travel industry. Given the 70% phones between 2009 and 2017. This is the sec- agencies have been investigating the role of the in an FIR filed in July this year.
growth in the last quarter compared to a CAGR ond case being probed by the agency, which is security auditor as it should have been able to ED and CBI have alleged that interception was
of 60% over the last two years, the next festive investigating the alleged violation of money laun- detect the breaches in the NSE system when the done without employees’ consent, and transcripts
quarter is expected to be even better for the
overall travel industry,” the company said in a
dering norms in the co-location scam. This is the
first time Narain has been arrested after irregular-
scam occurred. of the calls were recorded by ISec Services for a
In the co-location scam, some brokers got fee of ₹4.45 crore. The transcripts were provided
SoftBank may bet
statement. VARUNI KHOSLA ities at NSE surfaced five years ago. faster access to the NSE systems, data and trading to senior officials of the NSE.
on GoMechanic

S
oftBank Group is in talks to invest $35
India’s CAD to triple million in Indian car service and repair
Coal plants told to cut sulphur by ‘27 firm GoMechanic, in what would be one
this fiscal: Nomura of the Japanese investor’s smallest bets in India
by its Vision Fund, which typically signs bigger
most polluted air. Thermal utilities, which cheques, two sources told Reuters.

R
esearch house Nomura expects India’s produce 75% of the country’s power, SoftBank has for years been a prominent
current account deficit (CAD) as a share of account for some 80% of industrial backer of Indian startups, investing close to $4
the gross domestic product to triple this emissions of sulphur- and nitrous-oxides, billion last year alone, according to data from
fiscal year, saying that a global economic which cause lung diseases, acid rain and Venture Intelligence. Its big-ticket
slowdown will further skew the country’s trade smog. investments include digital payments firm
imbalances. India had initially set a 2017 deadline for Paytm and online education firm Unacademy.
In a note dated 5 September, the research thermal power plants to install flue gas But investment industry executives say
house said it now expects India’s CAD to rise to desuphurization (FGD) units to cut sulphur SoftBank has started taking a more measured
3.5% of GDP in the current fiscal year from 1.2% emissions. That was later changed to approach to its investments after a global tech
last year. It had previously forecast the share to varying deadlines for different regions, rout. Last month, its boss Masayoshi Son said
be 3.3% of GDP. ending in 2022, and further extended last The sixth instalment of ₹7,183 crore to 14 states SoftBank would invest much less this year than
Further, the slight decline in India’s trade year to a period ending 2025. Only 40% of has been released. MINT in 2021, following a record $26.2 billion
deficit to $28.7 billion in August from a record This is India’s third pushback on clean-up India’s total coal power capacity of 211.6 quarterly loss at its Vision Fund on falling tech
$30 billion in the previous month offers little
relief, Nomura said. The pace of growth of both
commitments BLOOMBERG GW have been awarded bids for installing
FGD while another 4% have already
6th revenue deficit valuations. REUTERS

grant released
I
imports and exports moderated, though the ndia extended a deadline for coal-fired installed it, according to government data.
slowdown was more pronounced in exports, it power plants to install equipment to cut Most of the bids awarded were by federal
added. “While moderating commodity prices sulphur emissions by two years, the government-run NTPC Ltd.
TMB IPO on day 2
T
and the uneven pace of growth recovery will government said in a notification on The order on Tuesday said power plants he finance ministry on Tuesday released
affect import growth in coming months, slowing
global growth is likely to weigh further on
Tuesday, marking the third pushback on a
commitment to clean up dirty air.
will be forcibly retired if they do not
comply to norms on sulphur emissions by
the sixth instalment of revenue deficit
grant of ₹7,183 crore to 14 states for the is subscribed 1.53x
exports and lead to persistently elevated trade Indian cities have some of the world’s end-2027. REUTERS current fiscal.

T
deficits.” REUTERS The states for which the Post Devolution he initial public offer (IPO) of Tamilnad
Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant has been Mercantile Bank (TMB) got subscribed
recommended by the 15th Finance 1.53 times on Tuesday, day two of the
Commission during 2022-23 are—Andhra subscription.
Suresh Raina announces retirement from all forms of cricket Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
The ₹831.6 crore public offer received bids
for 1,33,68,460 shares, against 87,12,000
Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, shares on offer, according to an update

F
ormer India batter Suresh Raina on Tuesday announced his retirement Uttarakhand and West Bengal. available with the NSE.
from all forms of cricket, a move that makes him eligible for competing in “The department of expenditure has on The retail Individual Investors (RIIs)
overseas T20 leagues. Tuesday released the 6th monthly instalment category received 3.61 times subscription. The
The 35-year-old had followed M. S. Dhoni into international retirement on 15 of PDRD grant of ₹7,183.42 crore to 14 states,” portion for non-institutional investors got
August. He continued playing the IPL in 2021 but was released by Chennai the ministry said in a statement. subscribed 1.27 times and the Qualified
Super Kings ahead of the 2022 season. “It has been an absolute honour to The 15th Finance Commission has Institutional Buyers (QIBs) quota was
represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from recommended a total PDRD grant of ₹86,201 subscribed 98%.
all formats of cricket,” Raina tweeted while thanking the BCCI, Uttar Pradesh crore to 14 states for the financial year 2022-23. The IPO of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank got
Cricket Association and CSK. The grant is released in 12 equated monthly fully subscribed in early trade on Tuesday.
Since an active India or domestic player can’t take part in overseas leagues, instalments. The initial public offer (IPO) of 1.58 crore
Raina needed to take this step for him to explore T20 leagues around the world. The ministry said with the release of the equity shares has a price range of ₹500-525 a
Raina played his last competitive game in October 2021 when he turned up sixth instalment for the month of September share.
for CSK against Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi.As an India player, Raina played 2022, the total amount of PDRD grants The IPO of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank
18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20s. He was part of the World Cup winning squad in released to the states in 2022-23 stands at received an 83% subscription on the first day
2011. PTI Suresh Raina was part of the World Cup winning squad in 2011. PTI ₹43,100.50 crore. PTI on Monday. PTI
LIVEMINT.COM GLOBAL WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi 09

China maintains strict

lockdown despite quake
The 6.8-magnitude quake in surrounding province of Sichuan killed 65
AP Tents were erected for more
feedback@livemint.com than 50,000 people being
BEIJING moved from homes made
unsafe by the quake, the offi-

A
uthorities in cial Xinhua News Agency
southwestern reported.
China’s Chengdu State broadcaster CCTV
have maintained showed rescue crews pulling a
strict Covid-19 woman who appeared unin-
lockdown measures on the city jured from a collapsed home in
of 21 million despite a major Moxi, where many of the
earthquake that killed at least buildings are constructed
65 people in outlying areas. from wood and brick. Around
Footage circulating online 150 people were reported with
on Tuesday showed workers varying degrees of injuries.
wearing top-to-bottom pro- Another 28 people were
tective gear preventing resi- Rescue workers evacuating residents in China’s southwestern killed in neighbouring Shi-
dents of apartment buildings Sichuan province AFP mian county on the outskirts
from exiting through locked of the city of Ya’an. State media
lobby doors following Mon- national holidays. shortages of food, medication reported 248 people injured,
day’s 6.8 magnitude quake Outbreaks have been and access to health care. In a mainly in Moxi, and another 16
centered in the surrounding reported in 103 cities, the sign of how little has changed, people missing. Three of the
province of Sichuan. highest since the early days of at least one district in Chengdu dead were workers at the Hail-
Buildings in Chengdu and the pandemic in early 2020. has banned even the ordering uogou Scenic Area, a glacier
other parts of western China Most Chengdu residents are of takeout meals and coffee, and forest nature reserve.
were shaken by the quake. No confined to their apartments according to a notice posted Along with the deaths,
damage was reported in the or residential complexes. In on the internet. authorities reported land-
city. The quake struck a moun- the eastern port city of Tianjin, China has stuck to its hard- slides that damaged homes,
tainous area in Luding county, classes were moved online line “zero-Covid” policy of caused power interruptions
which sits on the edge of the after a handful of new cases compulsory testing, lock- and stranded people behind a
Tibetan Plateau roughly 200 were reported. downs, quarantines and mask- newly created lake. One land-
kilometers (125 miles) from China’s authoritarian Com- ing despite advice from the slide blocked a rural highway,
Chengdu, where tectonic munist political system World Health Organization leaving it strewn with boul-
plates grind up against each demands strict adherence to and moves by most other ders.
other. measures dictated by the cen- countries to open up again The earthquake and lock-
Despite only recording a tral leadership overwhelm- since the virus was first down follow a heat wave and
handful of cases, Chengdu’s ingly dominated by party detected in the central Chi- drought that led to water
lockdown is the most severe leader Xi Jinping. nese city of Wuhan in late shortages and power cuts due
since China’s largest city of Local leaders, including 2019. to Sichuan’s reliance on
TRIPURA STATE ELECTRICITY
Shanghai was placed in isola- Sichuan’s recently appointed China on Tuesday reported hydropower.
CORPORATION LIMITED
tion over the summer, provincial party secretary, are 1,499 new cases of local infec- China’s deadliest earth-
(A GOVT. OF TRIPURA ENTERPRISE)
prompting rare protests in often parachuted in from Bei- tion, most of them asympto- quake in recent years was a 7.9
person and online. jing with little knowledge of matic. Sichuan accounted for magnitude quake in 2008 that NOTICE INVITING E-TENDER
In all, 65 million Chinese in local conditions and a firm 138 of that total figure. killed nearly 90,000 people in Additional General Manager (DP&C), TSECL, Bidyut Bhaban, Agartala
33 cities including including mandate to carry out Xi’s dic- The quake knocked out Sichuan. The temblor devas- invites tenders on behalf of TSECL for the work "Development of Distribution
seven provincial capitals are tates. power and damaged buildings tated towns, schools and rural Infrastructure under the Revamped Reforms-based and Results-linked.
Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS)". at all the 08 (Eight) Districts of Tripura
currently under varying levels The ruthless and often cha- in the historic mountain town communities outside
State (separate tenders for each District) through electronic tendering
of lockdown while the govern- otic enforcement of the of Moxi in the Tibetan autono- Chengdu, leading to a years-
(e-tendering). Details can be seen in the websites www.tsecl.in &
ment is discouraging domestic Shanghai lockdown led to mous prefecture of Garze, long effort to rebuild with
https://www.tripuratenders.gov.in
travel during upcoming widespread complaints over where 37 people were killed. more resistant materials.
10 WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

reporTaGe | TaLKinG poinTS | ideaS | inSiGhT | The BoTTomLine

LIZ TRUSS’s INHERITANCE:

UK economy on iTS KneeS
The new PM faces record inflation, a faltering pound, spiraling energy costs and an ill-timed labour shortage

Queen Elizabeth II has asked Liz Truss to form a new administration, marking the moment the new leader of the Conservative Party officially becomes UK prime minister. REUTERS

Max Colchester Only sanctions-ravaged Russia will ing the winter months, when cold weather brisk walks in the park and bundle up unemployment low but has raised costs to
mint
feedback@livemint.com have a worse economic performance next will drive up energy bills for homes and SHORT instead. In the coming year, energy costs businesses. Post pandemic, the U.K. work-
lONdON year among all major economies, the IMF businesses. Starting in October, the aver- STORY could chew up half the monthly income of force was around 680,000 people smaller
predicts. While a prolonged period of age British household will pay £3,549 a pensioners like her, according Cornwall than expected, according to the Office for

B
ritain’s new Prime Minister, Liz stagflation—the unusual condition when year to heat their homes—nearly triple the Insight, the energy consulting firm. Budget Responsibility, a U.K. govern-
Truss, will face the most daunt- high inflation combines with stagnant rate paid last year, according to figures by WHAT ment-funded body that provides eco-
ing economic outlook for an consumer demand and relatively high U.K. energy regulator Ofgem, which sets 1970s criSiS nomic forecasts. This was due to an unex-
incoming British leader since
her political hero, Margaret
Thatcher, became the U.K.’s first female
unemployment—isn’t yet on the cards,
“policy makers need to be aware that there
is an enhanced risk,” said Mr. Flanagan.
a cap on household energy prices. Ofgem
periodically revises its energy price cap to
reflect market prices. By next April, that
UK is on track to record the
lowest economic growth and the
highest inflation in the Group of
B ritish conservative politician Iain pectedly high number of people with
Macleod coined the word “stagfla- long-term sickness, early retirement or
tion” in 1965. It came to symbolize years of people opting to go to college.
prime minister in 1979. The British govern- could soar to £5,300 a Seven rich countries next year. economic discontent in Britain as the Meanwhile the state has increased in
Britain’s slowing economy is poised to ment has said those year, according to esti- The economy may record zero nation suffered a combination of price size to cope with Covid-19 and an aging
enter recession, inflation is at its highest risks are overblown. mates by independent growth in 2023. increases, bouts of recession and high population. Mr. Johnson raised taxes,
rate in decades and households are facing U.K. Chancellor of the energy consulting firm unemployment following the 1973 oil leaving the country’s tax burden on track
crippling energy bills from the war in Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi pointed to the Cornwall Insight. shock. The resulting mass-strikes and to hit the highest level in 70 years. Ms.
Ukraine. country’s record high employment and Unlike Germany, which has large SO power blackouts are etched in the nation’s Truss has vowed to reverse some of the
Productivity growth has dropped to half said many households built up savings domestic storage facilities for natural gas, psyche. planned tax moves, and pay for it by refi-
the rate it was in the early 2000s, real during the pandemic and that its financial the U.K. shut down its last gas storage Liz Truss will face the There are echoes of that crisis in Britain nancing longer-term debt.
wages are falling, the pound is nearing sector is well capitalized. “I think the U.K. facility in 2017, giving it no cushion continuation of what has been a today. Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, Inflation is expected to wipe out 40% of
record lows and an aging population is economy is pretty resilient,” he said in an against shocks in the spot price. The gov- long, hot summer of discontent. Britain’s productivity and economy have planned government increases in spend-
placing a growing strain on public servi- interview. ernment is now rushing to reopen the Wage growth has lagged behind grown more slowly than the U.S., a trend ing on public services, according to the
ces, even as the government tries to rein in facility. rising prices, and recent months that has continued since the U.K.’s deci- Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economics
the public spending that soared during SuMMer of diScontent Britain hasn’t yet matched the policies have seen numerous strikes. sion to leave the European Union in 2016. research firm. This is particularly bad
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Britain’s exit from the European Union M s. Truss hasn’t yet laid out what she
will do to mitigate what the public
has hampered trade with the country’s and press call the “cost of living crisis.”
of some European countries that have
stepped in to shield customers from rising
energy prices and are putting plans in NOW
Ms. Truss, who grew up in northern news for the U.K.’s nationalized health-
England to left-wing parents, toured the care system. Already struggling with a
country repeatedly stating her admiration record backlog of 6.6 million patients
largest trading partner, and immigration The 47-year-old former foreign secretary place to reduce energy consumption this of Mrs. Thatcher, the former Conservative waiting for treatment following the Cov-
restrictions have choked off access to is a libertarian who campaigned on tax winter. Truss is expected to announce prime minister who pulled the U.K. out of id-19 crisis, analysts say the National
inexpensive European labor. That has cuts to revitalize the economy rather than “I feel like I am standing on the cliff large-scale state intervention to stagflation by crushing trade unions, Health Service is showing severe signs of
worsened a labor shortage of a scale not on more government spending. The Con- edge asking myself, ‘When are we going to help households and deregulating the economy and later cutting strain. People suffering strokes or burns in
seen in the rest of Europe, driven by an servative Party’s 172,000 members fall off?’ ” said Andreas Antona, who owns businesses deal with higher gas taxes. Ms. Truss has long touted herself as England waited on average an hour for an
unexpectedly high number of people selected her to replace Boris Johnson as Simpsons, an upmarket restaurant in Bir- prices. This could push up a free marketer, and unlike recent Conserv- ambulance in July, well above the target of
leaving the workforce prime minister in part mingham, England. government debt dramatically. ative prime ministers she 18 minutes.
after the pandemic. because she promoted a His 80-strong staff are asking for pay has a strong conviction Earlier this summer
The energy crisis The 47-year-old former feel-good vision of a raises to cover their bills. “The business that the state should be Britons are struggling to get Michael Gove, a cabinet
combined with a labor foreign secretary is a smaller, nimbler British can’t really take it, as we can’t put up our drilling more in the North Sea. shrunk. passports, driving tests or minister in Mr. John-
crunch is an inflationary state. However, she is prices,” said Mr. Antona, who also runs a “I will work to deal with the supply The shine of Mrs. son’s government, said
double whammy. libertarian who campaigned expected in the coming pub in the area. issues and also make sure people are able Thatcher’s market- appointments with doctors as that large parts of the
“They have the worst on tax cuts to revitalize the days to announce large- The government has pledged some to keep more money in their own pocket,” based reform has long public services creak in the state were “simply not
of both worlds,” said scale state intervention help for households to help them absorb she said recently. That is expected to be since faded. In the 1980s, functioning.”
Mark Flanagan, who economy rather than on to help households and some of the energy price hike, but there coupled with a support package for poorer output per hour worked wake of the covid pandemic Graham Alexander,
until recently led the businesses deal with isn’t a program for small businesses such households and businesses. She has said in the U.K. was growing the general manager at
U.K. team at the Interna- more government spending. higher gas prices. This as pubs and restaurants. Bankruptcies in she may review the Bank of England’s at an annual rate of 2.8%. and funding shortfalls. AJ Engineering & Con-
tional Monetary Fund. could push up govern- the U.K. rose 80% to 5,629 from the April mandate and give the government more In the decade after the struction Services Ltd.,
The country is on track to record the ment debt dramatically. to June period compared with the period power to cut financial regulations. 2008 financial crisis it grew at 0.7% a year. in Forres, Scotland, which makes metal
lowest economic growth and the highest She will face the continuation of what last year, according to government statis- “We do not have to resign our great This decline in British productivity structures used in construction, had to
inflation in the Group of Seven rich coun- has been a long, hot summer of discon- tics, and economists warn of a wave of country to managed decline,” she told growth “is uniquely large” among devel- raise his 125 staffers’ wages by 5% in March
tries next year, according to the Organiza- tent. Wage growth has lagged behind ris- bankruptcies over the winter. supporters recently. oped nations, said Neil Shearing, at Capi- and an additional 7% in August. He recently
tion for Economic Cooperation and ing prices, and recent months have seen Val Burrows, who runs a laundry shop Many economists say her government tal Economics, an economics research put on hold investment in an automated
Development. The economic-policy numerous strikes, including the biggest in East Grinstead, England, said she was will have to announce a larger bailout for firm. Reasons include a lack of investment steel cutting machine because his costs are
forum predicts the U.K. economy will rail walkout since 1989. recently notified her company’s energy individuals and businesses to help cover by firms and underperforming small busi- rising, meaning some metal plates con-
record zero growth in 2023 and that infla- Threats of a coming recession have bill would jump from £10,000 a year to energy bills if it wants to avoid a deep nesses. tinue to be cut and welded by hand.
tion will run at 7.4%. The U.S., meanwhile, weakened the pound, which is flirting £16,000 a year. She has hiked prices by recession and a wave of bankruptcies Uncertainty after the 2016 Brexit refer- The company is increasingly looking to
is forecast to grow 1.2% and have far lower with its lowest level since the mid-1980s, 30%, but that isn’t enough to break even. this winter. endum about how trade would work with take on work based on a flexible day rate
inflation at 3.5%. making travel and imports more expen- “I will need to consider closing next Sheila Correll, an 80-year-old retiree the EU made companies hold back on rather than locking in prices with longer
Without major government interven- sive. The U.K. is a net importer of food, year,” the 64-year-old said. “It is soul-de- living on a state pension, said she is reluc- investment—it is around 30% below term contracts because inflation is push-
tion, the combination of higher energy energy and manufactured goods, leaving stroying.” tant to go food shopping given recent price where it would have been if the pre-refer- ing up prices so fast.
prices and weak wages will translate to a it vulnerable to global price swings. increases. “It’s not just a few pence. It’s 1 endum trend had continued, according to He said Brexit is also adding difficulties.
fall of roughly £3,000, or about $3,500, a Britons are struggling to get passports, MiniSter’S plan pound, 2 pounds, and prices keep jump- European bank Berenberg. Since leaving Two of the company’s welders left during
year in average disposable income for U.K. driving tests or appointments with doc-
households by 2024—the biggest single tors as public services creak in the wake of
decline in living standards in a century, the Covid-19 pandemic and funding
M s. Truss, who has argued that a
recession isn’t inevitable, is
expected to detail an economic plan in the
ing,” said Ms. Correll. “I steer clear of shop-
ping now because it’s so nerve-racking.”
She is worried about rising energy bills.
the EU, small business exports to Europe Covid-19 to return to Poland and never
have been hampered by increased came back. “In Poland the wages were
bureaucracy, and there is lingering worry higher than they expected,” he said.
according to the Resolution Foundation, shortfalls. coming days. Politicians close to her back Last winter, she said, she didn’t turn on about a possible trade war with Europe. —David Luhnow contributed to this
a British think tank. Things are expected to get worse dur- boosting energy supply by fracking or her heaters a single day, opting to take Britain’s labor shortage is keeping article.
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi 11

How much a house costs in Kolkata

’The 5 credit cards I own are
A
house is probably the biggest spend for most Indians.
And with urban population increasing manifold,

mapped to specific needs’

buying a house in a large city, which is where most
jobs are likely to be, has become difficult—the main obstacle
being cost. Determining a property’s value is difficult.
Our compilation of property prices of prominent localities
in major cities and surrounding areas across India may
help you compare and make an informed decision.
Here are the prices of some properties across three bands.

No. of Average unit Average price Approximate

Location
bedrooms size (sq. ft) (₹/sq. ft) price (₹ lakh) Adhil Shetty says his credit card bills are the first expense that he clears out every month
Under ₹30 lakh
Shipra Singh
Uttarpara 1 BHK 3,000-3,220 12.15-16.15 WHAT'S YOUR DO YOU INVEST
415-490 shipra.singh@livemint.com 1 CURRENT 7 THROUGH SIPS
ASSET MIX? OR LUMPSUM?

A
Narendrapur 1 BHK 430-520 3,100-3,450 13.56-17.56
dhil Shetty, CEO of Bank-
Bazaar owns five credit A Equity 80%  Mix of both. I do
Madhyamgram 1 BHK 470-540 3,200-3,500 15.00-19.00 B Debt 20% monthly SIPs and use
cards, each tailored to a
windfalls to make
Joka 2 BHK 2,950-3,100 21.44-25.44
regular expense. Shetty, C Gold NA
700-850 lumpsum investment.
who runs one of the largest D Real estate NA
Rajarhat 2 BHK 660-780 3,300-3,600 22.84-26.84 credit card marketplaces in the coun-
try, has reaped significant benefits E Alternate asset YOUR FIRST
through rewards earned on these
class NA 8 INVESTMENT AND
₹30 lakh-₹75 lakh DO YOU STILL
cards, but is extra careful about not
DO YOU NOT OWN HOLD IT?
Maheshtala 2 BHK 800-900 4,000-4,200 32.85-36.85 defaulting on bill payments. In an 2 GOLD AND REAL
interview with Mint, Shetty shared his  ELSS funds for tax
ESTATE AT ALL? saving. Only have index
thoughts on credit cards, the invest-
Garia 2 BHK 930-1,000 4,050-4,300 38.55-42.05  I do buy gold, but as funds now.
ment strategy he follows and other bits
of his personal finance journey for the gifts for my wife. As for
Behala 2 BHK 900-950 4,100-4,300 36.90-40.90 als, real estate, I just own the
‘Guru Portfolio’ series. Edited excerpts house I live in. WHEN DID YOU Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar
Lake Gardens 2 BHK 935-990 5,500-5,700 51.90-56.45
from the interview: 9 SEGREGATE
PERSONAL AND
New Alipore 2 BHK 950-1,000 6,750-6,850 64.13-68.50
What is your current portfolio 3 HOW HAS YOUR
PORTFOLIO
BUSINESS
FINANCES? HOW MANY DO YOU INVOLVE
allocation? PERFORMED IN 12 MONTHS OF 15 YOUR SPOUSE IN
Above ₹75 lakh About 80% is in equity and 20% is in THE LAST YEAR?  It happened EMERGENCY FAMILY FINANCES?
debt. The house that I and my family automatically in early FUND DO YOU
Equity: 3.5% days after BankBazaar  Yes. I keep her
BT Road 3 BHK 1,450-1,550 5,350-5,500 78.00-85.25 live in is my only real estate investment. PROVISION FOR? 
(absolute returns)
raised institutional informed of all the
Don’t you have any gold or alter-  3-6 months' salary. investments, insurance
nate asset exposure at all? Debt*: NA funding.
NewTown 3 BHK 1,400-1,550 6,100-6,300 90.00-94.00 *Returns don't matter as debt is for
and other financial
I do buy gold as anniversary and short-term needs holdings.
birthday gifts for my wife, but it’s lim- WERE YOU ABLE
VIP Road 3 BHK 1,500-1,650 6,350-6,650 100.80-105.60 HOW MANY 13 TO GO ON A
ited to the sentimental value of the gold
DO YOU TAKE MF 10 CREDIT CARDS HOLIDAY IN THE WHAT IS YOUR
EM Bypass 3 BHK 1,600-1,700 6,650-6,750 108.73-117.73 as it is in the form of jewellery that she 4 DISTRIBUTOR OR DO YOU OWN? PAST YEAR? 16 IDEA OF WEALTH?
enjoys owning. Currently, I don’t have PMS SERVICES?
any alternative investment per se. But  Five. Each card is  Yes, family vacation  One is truly wealthy
Bhawanipore 3 BHK 1,450-1,550 8,500-8,550 123.25-132.55 I should call out that I have my equity  Neither. I directly invest mapped to a regular to Italy. when they can happily
in index funds. expense. live within their means.
Look out for real estate data in this space for cities such as Delhi and NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, ownership as a founder at BankBazaar,
Pune and Hyderabad. The list is not exhaustive. Data as on 22 August 2022. which I think gives me significant LIFESTYLE CHANG-
The average price is the base rate on saleable area, and excludes infrastructure charges and government taxes. 14 ES DURING THE WHAT DO YOU
Source: Cushman and Wakefield Research India
exposure in terms of alternative invest-
ment in the fintech or the startup space.
5 DO YOU INVEST IN
DIRECT STOCKS?
DO YOU HAVE LIFE
11 AND HEALTH LOCKDOWN THAT 17 TEACH YOUR KIDS
INSURANCE? BECAME PERMA- ABOUT WEALTH?
How have the different asset  No.
NENT?  She is only 4 right
classes in your investment portfo-  Life: I have a term plan.
lio performed over the past year?  Two main changes: now. I want to pass on
WHAT ABOUT
6 INTERNATIONAL
How to create will for properties My equity portfolio is primarily in
passive index funds. In the past year, it
has delivered about 3.5% absolute
EQUITY EXPOSURE?
 No plans right now.
Health: Have a
mediclaim policy for
family with a cover for
the next 30-40 years.
daily workout and
ensuring
proper
atleast
sit-down
meal every day.
one
family
the one principle that
there will always be a
trade-off between what
you need and want.

situated in different countries? returns but I invest in equity with a

long-term horizon in mind and one
year doesn’t give the right picture. If
you look at indices over the last decade, Have you ever invested in finances for a long time after they gift vouchers and used them to buy
Hemang Parekh & Mitali Naik cate of the relevant society. For my investments have delivered about stocks? start their venture. How has your books for my daughter. Two other
the freehold plot of land, the 12% CAGR. No. We need to be smart about journey been on that front? cards that I use regularly include a
If I own properties in vari- concerned legal heir will be My current debt portfolio is in ultra- money because protecting wealth is as The separation was easy for me as co-branded card that offers 6-12
ous countries, then should the owner upon issuance of short term mutual funds. Return on my important as making wealth. You don’t BankBazaar started raising institu- months no-cost EMI on electronic
I create a common will for probate. However, the legal debt portfolio is not too important for need to be an active investor picking tional money early on. Once the Wald- goods every month and one gives me 5x
all my properties, or create heir will have to inform the me as it is for my short-term needs, stocks, taking risks in order to reap the ens, Sequoia and Amazons of the world accelerated rewards on fuel.
separate wills for each same to the concerned author- such as vacations, child’s fees, etc., and rewards of the stock market changes. invest in you, the segregation is auto- Are you regularly on the lookout
country? ities to ensure that all the for emergencies. Stability is important One basic of investing that I learned matic because you’re a professionally for new cards depending on new
— Name withheld on request records are updated to reflect for short-term requirements. in college has greatly influenced me– run company, you’re presenting quar- offerings in the market?
the legal heirs as the owners. Do you have an investment the index presents the efficient frontier terly MIS (Management Information Not really. Each of the cards I got,
While there is no restriction advisor or an MF distributor? Or do between risk and return. I do under- System) reports and you’re going was mapped to a need. I bought the air-
under Indian law to make a Can my spouse, if made a you take Portfolio Management stand that there are exceptions, but through due diligence with each round miles card when it was the number one
common will for properties nominee in my society’s Services (PMS) considering that frankly, I don’t have the foresight or the of financing. So, the segregation category in credit cards. After the pan-
situated in various countries, records, automatically you’re an HNI? time to pick out the between business, per- demic receded, my fuel
it is advisable to have separate ASK MINT become the owner of our I don’t take any m GURU PORTFOLIO winners and losers, sonal and institutional I don’t have the expenses increased as I
wills for each country where m LEGAL flat after my demise or am I professional A MINT SERIES among stocks or money happened right foresight or time drove my daughter to pre-
the property is situated. This is required to make a will? advice or services. actively managed from day one. to pick out the school so, I bought the
because each country may per which, my children will — Name withheld on request I’ve handled my investments and over- funds. So I just stick to the index. The challenge I faced Save Max card that gives
have a separate legal require- be entitled to these proper- all finances on my own since the begin- Are you planning to change your was different. I was so
winners and me accelerated reward
ment for a valid will, and it may ties after my death. Do I Society’s nomination is not ning. When I went to Columbia for investment strategy? involved with managing losers in stocks or points and waives sur-
be practically difficult to make need to register my will? the same as a testamentary graduation, one of the tenets of corpo- I’ve been thinking about diversifying my corporate finances, actively managed charge. So, again, a need
a common will that meets with — Name withheld on request document, and hence by vir- rate finance I learned over there was into equal-weighted index funds and that I put my personal funds drove it. I use it for all my
all such requirements. For tue of nomination a person that the market typically performs bet- an index that invests in a large number financial management on fuel and grocery expenses.
example, under Indian law, the As per Indian law, registra- does not become the entitled ter than actively managed funds. Data of companies, say 100 or even 200 the back burner. I think, I Do you have any loans
person making the will should tion of Will is not compulsory, to the flat. The ownership, post too corroborates this. If you look at the companies, compared to 30-40 com- was quite late by the time I started currently? Or loans that you have
be signing the will in the pres- even if the same seeks to create demise of the member, will be one-year period ending June 2021, panies that the main index has. investing and bought insurance. serviced in the past?
ence of two witnesses, who rights in immoveable prop- governed only by the succes- which was a fairly turbulent period, the The challenge with, let’s say, the BSE You sell credit cards to everyone. I had a student loan when I was
also need to sign the will. Fur- erty. Since your properties are sion laws which govern the index funds in a majority of cases out- Sensex and the Nifty 50 is that the top How many do you own? studying in the USA and I took a car
ther, the process for imple- situated in Mumbai, your legal deceased member and not performed the actively managed funds. 10 companies typically hold 66% I own five credit cards but before giv- loan for my first car. Both the loans are
mentation of the will may also heirs will have to obtain a pro- merely by nomination. I have stuck to this fundamental and weightage because the big companies ing any other information, I want to call closed now.
differ from country to country. bate of your will post your Hemang Parekh is a partner have a light touch investment approach tend to dominate the index. But, an out that I manage them prudently. This I have a home loan that I recently
It is therefore advisable to demise. Once the probate is and Mitali Naik is an associate that not only will work for me in the equal weighted index fund will not go includes paying all the bills first thing refinanced to a lower rate of 50 basis
make separate wills. issued by the court, with partner at DSK Legal long run–for my daughter’s education heavy on the big companies and give every month. The oldest card in my points just before the rate hike. I opted
respect to the flats in the and my retirement savings–but it is also exposure to smaller companies as well, collection right now is an air-miles card for BankBazaar switch-hit feature,
I own several immovea- co-operative societies, the Do you have a personal an approach which is easily understood which I believe will do better over time that I got five years back. I’ve been able which enabled me to retain the EMI
ble properties in Mumbai. concerned legal heirs will have finance query? Send in your by my family and me. I understand that once they start to innovate and grow to buy international holiday tickets for amount despite the lower interest rate,
including, three flats in to approach the relevant soci- queries at there are exceptions, but I’m happy faster than the largest companies my family with rewards earned on this reducing the loan tenor.
co-operative housing soci- ety for becoming member mintmoney@livemint.com with the 12% CAGR I’ve been able to today. The idea is to have a broad base. card. When the pandemic hit, there Prepaying the loan will reduce my
and get them answered by
eties and a land plot. I thereof and get his/her name achieve with the passive BSE Sensex Entrepreneurs often fail to seg- was no use of the card so I converted interest outflow and help me close the
industry experts.
intend to prepare a will as endorsed in the share certifi- and the nifty 50 Fund. regate personal and business the accumulated rewards into Amazon loan faster.

MANAGING DEBT MARKET VOLATILITY BY INVESTING IN DYNAMIC BOND FUNDS

Dynamic bond funds are open-ended debt funds that have the Fund performance uary 2015, they would have earned an extended internal rate of
flexibility to invest in securities of different maturities including return of 9.2%. The value of their investments would have grown
POWER money market instruments, medium/long bonds, and G-secs.
These funds predominantly invest in high credit quality instru-
Returns (in %)
3-years 5-years
NAV
(in )
Average
5.7
to ₹3.8 lakh as against a cumulative investment of ₹2.7 lakh.
While staggered investments help in distributing the risk and
POINT ments as the focus is on generating returns through capital gains Aditya Birla Sun Life Dynamic Bond 35.88
3.6
3.6 a dynamic duration management helps in reducing the impact
by capturing market movements rather than through an accrual 6.3 of change in interest rates in the long-term, it is important to
D P SINGH Axis Dynamic Bond 23.46
income. 6.2 understand that this can also lead to higher volatility in the short
These funds do not have any restriction in terms of average 7.0 term. Hence, it is advisable to invest in dynamic bond funds with
ICICI Prudential All Seasons Bond 29.03 6.5
We welcome your views and comments at maturity or duration, and the fund manager can change the an investment horizon of at least three
mintmoney@livemint.com 5.9
maturity of the fund based on his interpretation of the market IDFC Dynamic Bond 27.41
5.8 These funds do years and more.
dynamics and interest rate cycle. This means if the fund manager 6.1 not have any This allows dynamic bond funds to

W
hile debt as an asset class is relatively less volatile as expects the interest rates to move up, they will reduce the average Kotak Dynamic Bond 29.85 offer tax-efficient returns as compared
6.7 restrictions in
compared to equity, we have seen a fair share of volatil- maturity of the portfolio and if interest rates are expected to move 4.9 to traditional investment avenues
ity in the debt markets in recent times. Inflationary lower, the average maturity of the portfolio will be increased. Nippon India Dynamic Bond 29.31
4.9 terms of average since debt mutual funds offer the ben-
concerns have led to a change in the monetary policy stance of This is because change in interest rates is inversely proportional SBI Dynamic Bond 28.41 6.0 maturity or efit of indexation.
central banks across the globe, including India. to bond prices and longer maturity bonds have higher price 5.9 duration The long-term capital gains tax on
*Returns are annualized NAV as on 30 June
We are in the midst of a rate hike cycle and the ever-evolving impact from change in interest rates as compared to bonds hav- investments held for more than 3 years
growth inflation dynamics globally has kept debt markets on ing shorter maturity. So, with this dynamic management, the aim is 20% post indexation (adjusting the
their toes. While this volatility is here to stay for some time, it is is to reduce the losses in times of rising interest rates by running evenly. During a period of rising interest rates, staggering invest- investment for inflation) as compared to marginal tax rates in case
important for investors to understand that sitting on the sidelines a lower average maturity and generate capital gains in times of ments helps to smoothen volatility by accumulating higher units. of traditional investment avenues.
and waiting for the volatility to ease out can impact their overall falling interest rates by maintaining a higher average maturity. These higher units then help in earning higher returns when the So, if you understand the risk and can stay patient during vola-
portfolio returns and they can miss out on investing at higher Further, as we are in the middle of a rate hike cycle with the interest rate cycle reverses. tile times, systematic investments in debt funds can help you
yields. potential of a further increase, investors can look at staggering Let’s understand this better with an example. Consider a build a reasonable corpus over a period of time. The important
There is usually confusion among investors whether to choose their investments over the next six-12 months through systematic monthly SIP of ₹10,000 in Crisil Dynamic Bond Fund AIII Index aspect for any investment to yield returns is to stay invested and
long or short duration funds and the opportune time to shift from investment plans (SIPs). from January 2010 to March 2012, which was a rate hiking cycle. ride the current cycle to your financial goal.
one to the other. With changing market dynamics and timing dif- Investing via SIP can help in managing volatility effectively as Those who invested in a staggered manner during this period and DP Singh is deputy MD and chief business officer at SBI Mutual
ficulties, dynamic bond funds should be considered. regular investments over a period of time help in distributing risk stayed invested in the fund for more than three years, say till Jan- Fund
12 WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW DelHi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | ON THE OTHEr HANd

AFP

Free popcorn could draw Hindi

cinema audiences back to halls
It may just do the trick as online options and a lack of original content keep movie goers off theatres

drawing rooms in the early 90s; only starring Kartik Aryan benefitted from
then did we realize how fast football was the fact that Aryan is a big star among
actually played and that Bikash Panji, a children. When a child wants to see a
top footballer of that era, was essentially movie, adults need to go along and
playing in slow-motion. Similarly, OTT ticket sales automatically increase.
exposure has probably led to people Now that leaves us with the Yash
getting used to better content. starrer K.G.F: Chapter-2, which has been
In fact, director Anurag Kashyap, in a the biggest Indian hit so far this year.
recent interview with film critic Barad- Possibly, it’s the scale of the movie and
VIVEK KAUL waj Rangan, had an interesting take on the massive fan following Yash managed
is the author of ‘Bad Money’. the content of Hindi cinema. Kashyap to build among the youth with K.G.F:
said that the Hindi film industry is Chapter-1 that explains its success.
controlled by second-generation film- Also, every few years, what works in
makers who grew up in cinema trial Hindi cinema tends to shift. From the

A post-pandemic policy
rooms. They have a very limited ability socially relevant films of the 50s, the
to understand original scripts and are ‘Muslim socials’ of the 60s, Salim-Javed’s

O
mkar Prasad Nayyar was a very usually looking for reference points angry young man of the 70s, the mind-
famous music director of Hindi based on cinema that already exists. less action flicks of the 80s, the double-
cinema in the 1950s and 60s. So, Mad Max: Fury Road becomes meaning songs, romance and NRI love

rejig must be timed well His work fizzled out in the 70s, but he
attempted a comeback in 1992 with a
film called Nischaiy. Its music seemed of
a bygone era and it sank. The times had
Shamshera. The trouble now is that the
audience has already sampled the origi-
nal. “It would have worked three years
back,” Kashyap said. This possibly also
spread across the 90s and 2000s and the
small-town stories of the 2010s. Given
this, perhaps the action genre mounted
on a huge scale telling uniquely Indian
changed. Hindi cinema seems to be explains the failure of Advait Chandan’s stories is coming into fashion.
going through a similar situation Lal Singh Chaddha, a remake of Forrest That possibly explains the success of
An exit from our covid crisis needs an economic agenda for the years ahead that combines currently. Big-budget or low-budget Gump. Now, does this mean that the movies like Pushpa, KGF-2 and RRR in
movies, superstar or plot-driven, Hindi film audience is willing to watch their Hindi dubbed versions. The huge
inflation control with a bend in the Centre’s fiscal glide path and a calibrated export thrust nothing seems to be working. The films with ‘original’ stories in theatres? scale on which RRR was mounted could
times have changed. Doesn’t seem like it, given that they only be appreciated on the big screen.
The last few years have seen the rise of gave Kashyap’s Dobaaraa a miss too. That it came from the maker of Baahub-
the smartphone along with the availabil- I really wanted to watch Dobaaraa, ali also helped. By that logic, Shamshera

I
n the long run, the bulk of our current will eat away nearly half this year’s net tax ity of cheap mobile phone data plans. but then the entire idea of first looking should have worked as well. But just
population will be alive. Therefore, our receipts. These must be reined back for other Before this, we watched TV almost every for a taxi, then suffering traffic for 25-30 because we can analyse things doesn’t
day at predefined times. We watched minutes on roads with huge potholes mean we can explain everything.
economic policymakers putting heads allocations to be made. Moreover, inflation cinema now and then, usually in a cin- and then paying ₹500 for a ticket and Also, all this does not explain the
together on how best to haul India out of its control is harder to achieve with a loose fisc. ema hall, perhaps twice a month. ₹300 for a cup of coffee put me off, huge success of The Kashmir Files. One
lower mid-income league in 25 years would The fiscal glide path proposed by the Centre for Now things are available on one’s given that I have the option of watching way to look at it is perhaps that most
be a welcome exercise. Despite today’s itself, however, envisions a decline from a pro- mobile phone, including over-the-top the movie when it releases on OTT. people who ended up watching the
weak supply responses to price signals, an jected 6.4% of GDP this year to 4.5% in 2025-26, (OTT) streaming services, which run Also, the definition of ‘entertainment’ movie didn’t go out to get entertained;
everything from serials and films to has changed. There is a lot of free and they watched because word-of-mouth
enlarged role for market forces in the economy which would be much too gradual for us to sports. More importantly, one is not tied interesting content available on You- made them curious and some probably
should be part of our strategic ‘plan’, with escape the drag of a fiscal bloat. While capital down to a specific time for watching. Tube, an explosion of podcasts that one wanted to support a cause as well.
central planning kept minimal. Even Keynes’ expenditure and other musts should be kept up Of course, smart phones, cheap inter- can listen to and ever more WhatsApp Things will only get tougher for Hindi
dismissal of long-run outcomes in favour of to the extent possible, we need to set tighter net and OTT apps have been around forwards and Instagram reels to sample. film producers because it’s not just the
instant state action, after all, left space for free outgo limits that bend the fisc’s path well below for at least half a decade. So, why is it So, Hindi cinema is competing with lack of good content that is holding
hurting footfalls in cinema halls now? stuff that it doesn’t realize as yet. people back from flocking to cinemas.
interactions of demand and supply to deliver the government’s proposal. The next Union Since April 2020, many people have Finally, many films that have worked They have more and cheaper choices of
prosperity across time. A far-horizon agenda, Budget must mark a drastic dip, with various been working from home (or not work- in movie theatres in the recent past have entertainment available. Hence, multi-
however, cannot afford to neglect the problems expenses earmarked for big snips in 2023-24. ing at jobs at all), which has allowed appealed to children or the child in plexes need to offer an attractive propo-
we confront in the near and medium terms. How to compress India’s current account them to sample a lot of content available adults at some level. Be it films in the sition to get people back into theatres.
Blows taken on the external front this fiscal year deficit, which threatens to exceed 3.5% of GDP on OTT menus. It’s like when European Marvel Cinematic Universe, or RRR for How about offering free popcorn? That
football was first broadcast into Indian that matter. Even Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 might just do the trick.
have shaken our macro stability and riddled our in 2022-23 if our oil import bill doesn’t abate
exit path from pandemic relief with extra com- further, has no easy answers. Even if this year’s
plexity. The recovery has been sharp but some- hydrocarbon squeeze were to ease significantly
what wobbly, with covid scars in evidence (rather than a bit), it’s perilous to rely on capital
calling for a sustained safety net for the poor, inflows to plug our trade gap, especially in a
even as budgetary outlays to ‘crowd in’ private world of rich-country policies jarred by worries
investment will likely prove slow to take effect. of stagflation. A push for clean energy could www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Friday, September 7, 2012 Vol.6 No.214 `3.00 in Delhi­NCR/`4.00 outside Delhi­NCR
+ 12 PAGES MEDIA MARKETING
24 PAGES
24 PAGES + 4 MARKETS
INITIATIVE
+ 4 MARKETS PAGES

This, even as we stare at yawning deficits on the reduce our import dependence someday, but a Social indicators
GRAPHIC:
in VVIP constituencies >10
SPORTS: Videocon shows interest
in Deccan Chargers >8

foreign and fiscal fronts to accompany an out- self-reliant India is just an aim for now. In the EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
ECONOMY: Downside risks to financial
stability on the rise, says RBI >7
WSJ: Human genome far more
complex, new research shows >20

break of inflation. Our central bank must tame interim, we’ll need a major export thrust. The SENSEX 17,346.27 Æ 32.93

COAL BLOCKS
NIFTY 5,238.40 Æ 12.70 DOLLAR `55.66 æ `0.24 EURO `70.06 æ `0.39 GOLD `31,700 Æ `220

MICHAEL PROBST/AP
OIL $114.35 Æ $1.03

QUICK EDIT

Govt worried about Flight

prices and go through with the tightening of key enablers of a robust strategy appear distant, loans to miners
plan
T he phrase ‘pork-
barrel politics’ may

Art is a very difficult

not be widely used, but
the practice is one that
all Indians are familiar

money it began earlier this year. The task of though. Efforts to attain global supply-chain
with. Pampering a certain
Banks have been asked ey to the companies against group, usually one’s own
to collate information these. Negative publicity, an
investigation by the Central
Firms may constituents, in order to
curry favour with the
on such debt; some Bureau of Investigation (CBI), have falsified electorate is accepted as
lenders already looking and a ruling by the Supreme part of common political
closely at their books Court cancelling all 122 licenc-
es awarded thus have meant
equipment practice. Now, civil
aviation minister Ajit
orders to get

business, and cinema is

that banks have become reluc- Singh wants Meerut to be

twin-deficit reduction will be tricky, but must integration and a well-whetted edge in overseas
B Y A NUP R OY, tant to lend to any telco. developed as a back-up
R EMYA N AIR &
U TPAL B HASKAR
One Mumbai-based banker
admitted that this is indeed the
coal blocks airport to Delhi (see
Page 11). Currently, there
························· case with coal. are no scheduled flights
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI “What can we do when li- to the Uttar Pradesh city,
B Y R UCHIRA S INGH &

T he government is wor-
ried that loans given by
banks to companies be-
ing investigated over irregular-
cences allotted get cancelled
after five years? This is irre-
sponsible, and if banks are sit-
ting with bad loans, nobody
U TPAL B HASKAR
·····················
NEW DELHI

S everal companies al-

which has an airstrip
owned by the state
government.
Before this, former

be done—and needs to be timed well. markets will take time to fructify. A trade policy
ities in the allotment of coal should blame us,” said an ex- lotted captive coal chief minister Mayawati

both art and business.

mines may turn bad, and has ecutive director with a big blocks for their power had pushed for an
asked them to collate informa- public sector bank, who didn’t projects claimed to have international airport in
tion on such debt. want to be named. “It is like placed orders for power Greater Noida, also just
“We are aware of the situa- telecom lending. We loaned generation equipment outside the national
tion and have asked banks for (money) on faith and now we with Chinese manufac- capital. Meanwhile, the
details. We are collecting the are holding the can.” turers to strengthen their state tourism department
data through Indian Banks’ As- How the issue can be re- candidature—only, these wants an international
sociation. We should get it in a solved isn’t clear. were not really orders. airport set up in Agra,

A double-digit gap as a proportion of GDP for that spurs e-com exports would help, but we
few days,” said a senior gov- “A lot of banks have loaned An engineering, pro- home to the Taj Mahal.
ernment official directly in- money to developers on the curement and construc- Given that the state
volved in the discussions with basis of these captive coal tion (EPC) contract works ruling party is a rival of
banks. blocks. In the event of cancel- like this: the buyer identi- Buying bonds: European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi at the aviation minister’s
Mint couldn’t ascertain the lation of the blocks to be de- fies a supplier and awards a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday. ECB unveiled grouping, getting Meerut
quantum of the exposure of cided by the inter-ministerial it the contract, but this radical new measures to support the debt markets of fiscally challenged on flight schedules may
banks to companies that have group, what happens to those doesn’t become an order countries and ensure that their banks have enough access to its credit not be all that easy.
been allotted coal blocks. loans?” said a person aware of till the former pays an ad- lines. Global markets climbed after the announcement. See Page 19
Indeed, some banks have al- banks’ exposure to companies vance and sets a delivery

2022-23 between the financial intake and out- can’t afford to deploy cheap-currency tactics so
ready started looking closely at allotted coal blocks and who date.
their books. “We are examin- spoke on condition of ano- “There were many who
ing what is the impact, but it is
a bit early to estimate it, given
nymity.
A case in point concerns the
claimed that they had
placed EPC orders with SC ruling on NORTH-EAST EXODUS
the complexity and evolving Abhijeet Group, which is in the Chinese manufacturers
arbitration to Legal notices sent over
S. S. R a ja mou l i
nature of the issue,” said S. Ra- eye of the coal storm. A draft such as Dongfang Electric
man, chairman and managing red herring prospectus for Ab- Corp. and Harbin Power
director (CMD), Canara Bank.
Bankers insist there is no
hijeet Power Ltd reviewed by
Mint states that it was incorpo-
Equipment Co. Ltd to im-
prove their chances. But
cheer foreign ‘anti-social’ messages
flows of the Centre and states combined can be long as our inelastic use of imported essentials investors
cause for alarm. rated as Abhijeet Infrastruc- they never placed any
“We are not reacting in a ture Capital Pvt. Ltd and that firm orders. That’s a
knee-jerk fashion; we are mon- “for the Banka Power Project, question that needs to be B Y S AHIL M AKKAR Twitter accounts. These people
itoring the outcome of the is- we have received sanction let- asked,” said the chief ex- B Y A NIL P ADMANABHAN sahil.m@livemint.com were sent notices as we are sure
sue to chart our course of ac- ters/underwriting arrange- ecutive officer of a private anil.p@livemint.com ························· of their identities. They have
tion. Obviously, when such an ments for an amount of sector power firm who ························· NEW DELHI been asked to explain their case
issue comes, we will have to
check our books,” said K.R.
Kamath, CMD, Punjab Nation-
`74,000.00 million (`7,400
crore) from Axis Bank, Punjab
National Bank and UCO Bank.”
spoke on condition on
anonymity.
This seems common
NEW DELHI

I n a ruling that should cheer

foreign investors, especially
U nion home minister Sushil
Kumar Shinde and director
of the Intelligence Bureau Neh-
before the committee,” a high-
ranking official said on condi-
tion of anonymity.

ascribed to a viral scourge that demanded fiscal lumps us with the pain of bigger bills than a
al Bank. “Axis was a part of three knowledge in the power those entangled in contractual chal Sandhu on Thursday “For the rest, we have written
Still, there’s no denying the banks which sanctioned the business, although Mint disputes with their Indian part- sought immediate steps to tight- to Google and Facebook asking
risks. Some analysts are al- initial loan to Jas Infrastruc- couldn’t immediately ners, the Supreme Court has re- en cyber security as the govern- for details of accounts that host-
ready beginning to compare ture and Power Ltd, but since strained Indian courts from in- ment began sending legal notic- ed such anti-social information,
this issue with the so-called 2G then the loan has been syndi- TURN TO PAGE 3® terfering in foreign arbitration es to those who allegedly posted and were blocked... Once we re-
scam where telecom licences cated to an eleven-member proceedings and awards. inflammatory messages and ceive information from Google
and spectrum was awarded to consortium of which Axis is a Delivering a seminal judge- morphed images related to eth- and Facebook, we will send no-
some companies on favourable part. The bank, however, can- tified, State Bank of India (SBI) ment on Thursday, the apex nic violence in Assam on social tices to the rest of the people,”

expansion. But, even though our covid crunch related gain in exports can justify. It’ll take an
terms, and banks loaned mon- not share details of its specific has an exposure of around court set aside its own previous networking websites. the official said.
exposure currently. However, `2,200 crore to the group, but rulings to remove the ambiguity The messages and images At least 90 people were killed
we do not have any exposure has `3,200 crore of collateral. that had crept into the interpre- had sparked a panic exodus of and 400,000 displaced after eth-
to the company’s coal block This person added that some tation of provisions of the Arbi- north-eastern people three nic clashes broke out between
under question,” said a of SBI’s associates, too, may tration and Conciliation Act, weeks ago, fleeing back home Bodo tribals and Bengali-speak-
spokesman for Axis Bank Ltd. have some exposure to the 1996, which allowed interfer- for safety from cities such as ing Muslim settlers in Kokra-
Abhijeet Infrastructure has group. SBI has had a relation- ence by domestic courts. Bangalore, Pune and Hydera- jhar, Dhubri and Chirang dis-
been named in the Comptrol- ship with the group for at least The order that had led to the bad. tricts of Assam.
ler and Auditor General of In- 20 years, he said. ambiguity in interpretation was The government may register Following that, attacks

hasn’t yet fully eased, the debt burden left by it energy reset to crack this nut and grant our
dia (CAG) list of 57 companies Earlier this week, CBI the Venture Global Engineering a case against people found against people from the North-
over irregularities in the allot- booked five companies that order delivered in January 2008, guilty of inciting violence East were reported from various
ment of three coal blocks in had been allotted coal blocks which in turn drew from a through “anti-social” messages metros, culminating in the rush
Jharkhand. on the basis of misrepresenta- March 2002 ruling in the Bhatia on social networking websites back home.
A spokesman for the Abhi- International case. The Su- such as Twitter, YouTube and Sandhu said anti-national el-
jeet Group said he was unable TURN TO PAGE 3® preme Court said on Thursday Facebook. ements used encrypted commu-
to provide details on the status that “with utmost respect, it was Notices have been sent to nication channels to incite vio-
of the loans obtained by the ALSO SEE unable to agree with the conclu- Twitter account holders, asking lence. “There is a strong case of
group for various projects im- sion recorded in the judge- them to appear before a com- police forces to develop capaci-

needs to be tackled before it weighs our growth trade dynamics much-needed price elasticity.
mediately. “This matter is tak- >Coal blocks: The unlikely winners >P4 ments of this court”. mittee on 10 September at the ty, not just to keep track of post-
en care of by the finance >Jindal lobbied for coal block, As a result of the ruling, no office of the Computer Emer- ings on the Net, but to all identi-
team,” the spokesman said. but didn’t get it >P5 one will be entitled to claim in- gency Response Team. fy those responsible for them so
Mint is also available for R7 with According to a senior bank- >Jayaswal Neco faces CBI probe into “Notices have been sent to at
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
er, who didn’t want to be iden- iron ore block >P5 TURN TO PAGE 2® least four people who have TURN TO PAGE 2®

prospects down. As budgeted, interest outgoes Till then, let’s play our export game by the ear.

MY VIEW | EX MACHINA

What our new telecom regulatory law should look like

through licenses that became the primary approach today. Rather than issuing differ- through software. For instance, the Audio- network that connects operators in different
RAHUL MATTHAN expression of regulatory intent. And once we ent licences to various participants in the tex licence regulates conference call servi- locations and to one another. They should
got accustomed to stretching language to sector, often repeating general conditions ces. While it might have been necessary only be authorized to provide services to
suit our purpose, there was no turning back. with minor variations, we should just encode when the only way multiple callers could authorized telecom service providers and
Today, telecom regulation in India is such regulatory obligations into the law. Where speak to one another was on a conference not directly to customers. Access providers,
an ugly, anachronistic mess that most of us specific obligations are required, particu- bridge, today all smartphones have built-in on the other hand, should be authorized to

T
elecommunications in India is regu- in the sector have lost hope that it will ever larly in relation to different services, they features to call into conference any number deal with customers, both individual and
lated under the Indian Telegraph Act, be unravelled. Which is why the Depart- can be set out in purpose- of users on the fly. It is enterprise. They could be further divided by
1885, a law that came into force at a ment of Telecommunications (DoT) consul- built rules that apply pointless to continue with a function—those that provide only data servi-
time when the internet, voice telephony and tation on the need for a new legal framework selectively to entities It must minimize licence requirement for ces (equivalent to Internet Service Providers
many of the services we take for granted governing telecommunications in India which offer that particular this. But since it remains in under the current regime) and those that
today were not even technically possible. came as such a pleasant surprise. type of telecom facility. complexity and our rule book, service pro- provide both voice and data. All the telecom
Never in their wildest dreams would the The paper suggests that the government Authorization to pro- viders feel compelled to services we consume today will fit neatly
British draftsmen of this law have imagined intends to develop a new future-ready law, vide a service should be
be technology obtain it by way of abun- into this configuration.

is a partner at Trilegal and also

that it would regulate one of the most
important sectors of the economy, which
consolidating existing regulations while
keeping in mind global best practices. It
granted through a simple
approval letter addressed
neutral for it dant caution. Numerous
examples like this abound.
There is one additional element to be
mindful of—the importance of ensuring that
has a podcast by the name Ex
Machina. His Twitter handle is
today has a bearing on virtually every aspect
of modern life.
emphasizes, on the one hand, simplification
and comprehensibility, and, on the other,
to the entity permitted to
provide that service. This
to serve as the Even the services we
actually use are carved up
these regulations are technology neutral by
design. Defining any part of our regulatory
@matthan We often marvel at how British-era laws regulatory certainty to promote investment. letter can incorporate by growth enabler into a convoluted set of cat- obligations in terms of a specific technology
hold good to this day. But in the telecom For more efficient use of scarce spectrum reference the provisions of egories and sub-categories risks having the law rapidly become redun-
context, our reliance on a century-old law resources, it seems to recommend re-pur- law and specific rules that India needs for reasons lost in the mists dant. To extend this concept further, we
has grievously hamstrung the industry. posing and re-farming of spectrum bands in will apply. of time. We need to radi- should remove all regulatory distinctions
It started with the decision to continue to line with changing technologies. But more importantly, cally simplify this Byzan- between plain voice services and voice over
rely on pre-internet legislation to govern In short, the government seems willing to this is an opportunity to re-imagine the fun- tine mess if we are to create a more efficient internet protocol services, so that one can be
communication technology that had completely re-imagine the way in which the damental design of our regulatory frame- regulatory regime. My suggestion would be freely converted to the other.
evolved from carrying sounds by wire to country’s telecom sector is regulated. So work. Today, telecom services are catego- to categorize telecom companies by type, As radical as all this might sound (espe-
transmitting data packets over radio spec- now that we have a blank slate, what should rized under different licences that cover a based solely on whether they provide car- cially from our current vantage point), many
trum. As a result, the law had to be inter- the ideal telecom regulation look like? range of activities. Many of these licences are riage or access services. peer countries are already well down this
preted in ways that extended its meaning In the first place, I would do away with the redundant, referring to services that are no Carriage service providers build and path. It is not radical liberalization to catch
well beyond what was originally intended— licences that lie at the heart of our regulatory longer needed or provided more efficiently maintain the infrastructure of the telecom up with the rest of the world.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS WEDNESDay, 7 SEptEmbEr 2022
NEW DElhi 13

my VIEW | CAFE ECOnOMICS M I N T C U R AT O R

The supply side is back on policy China’s EV battery domination

looks set to strengthen further
radars across much of the world Its CALB is raising big money to compete with mega-player CATL

The hope of supply adjusting to changes in demand was crushed by disruptions and policymakers must work out solutions

BLOOMBERG

ANJANI TRIVEDI
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
industrial companies in Asia.

NIRANJAN RAJADHYAKSHA
is CEO and senior fellow at Artha India
Research Advisors, and a member of the
academic advisory board of the Meghnad
Desai Academy of Economics.

A
s countries across the world look to
grab a share of the electric vehicle
(EV) supply chain in a rush to go
green, energy storage is a key battleground. China has a firm grip on EV power pack
To add to the pressure, yet another large supply chains REUTERS

T
here is little that can match the ability Chinese battery player is emerging. China
of a crisis to focus minds. The latest Aviation Lithium Battery Technology Co reach CATL’s scale any time soon, but it has
edition of the annual central banking (CALB), is looking to go public in Hong been expanding at a faster pace. Over the
shindig at Jackson Hole, a small moun- Kong for $2 billion. Formed in 2015 under next two years, the company expects its
tain resort in Wyoming state in the US, Luoyang Company, a wholly-owned unit of effective production capacity to grow to
is a case in point. the China Airborne Missile Academy— about 55 GWh, compared to CATL’s 170
Many of the recent meetings, hosted every part of state-owned aerospace and defence GWh plus as of 2021. It has set up industrial
August by the Kansas City Fed, have been about firm Aviation Industry Corp of China— bases across China, from Changzhou in the
conceptual issues. This year was all about the CALB filed public offer documents earlier south to Hefei in the east, and all the way to
immediate challenges faced by monetary policy- this year. It will raise money just as the race Xiamen, Chengdu, Wuhan and Jiangmen.
makers, and unsurprisingly so. The sharp increase to build manufacturing scale heats up. To circumvent supply chain hiccups,
in inflation across most—but not all—major econo- CALB makes battery cells, modules and CALB stocked up on raw materials and fin-
mies ensured that attention was focused on the packs for EVs and industrial-scale energy ished goods. It’s also secured supplies with
urgent task of taming the inflation dragon. One systems, both in high demand as China a stake in metals giant Tianqi Lithium Corp,
of the papers presented at the conference had a amps up its storage facilities, with consumer alongside the likes of LG Chem, plus a 2.5
succinct first sentence: “Inflation is back.” Central interest in EVs surging and an energy crisis billion-yuan contract with Yunnan Energy
banks have thus been forced to focus on their holding back factory floors globally. With New Material, which makes separator, a key
dharma above all. about 7.5% of the Chinese market, CALB is component of powerpacks that’s getting
The hawkish message from the central bankers the second-largest maker of ternary packs— scarce. All told, these moves are designed to
at Jackson Hole naturally captured the most global those with high nickel content that boast ensure it can keep expanding.
mind space, especially in financial markets. How- greater energy density compared to other CALB’s battery offensive will help plug
ever, there was another message from the confer- chemistries—trailing the world’s biggest the growing gap between global demand
ence, though an implicit one, that also deserves battery maker, Contemporary Amperex and supply. Meanwhile, the rapid emer-
attention, since it will have profound implications Technology Co (CATL). It also makes the gence of a third and powerful player bodes
for how central bankers think about their jobs. It lithium iron phosphate type. By next year, well for China’s supply chain dominance.
can be called the return of the supply side. the Jiangsu province-based firm is expected CALB also has no shortage of state-backed
Over the past couple of decades, central bankers, persist because of geopolitical tensions as well as protectionist sentiment across the world means to become one of the largest globally, with shareholders, with a roster of heavy hitters
especially in advanced economies, have broadly the new tide of protectionism. Against this back- that governments want to produce key goods 145 gigawatt-hours of production capacity, that include a finance ministry-backed fund
believed that their main task was to manage aggre- drop, here is a sample of what some of the heavy- inside their borders; but it is worth asking whether overtaking the Warren Buffett-backed dedicated to upgrading manufacturing and
gate demand in the economy. The supply side weights said at Jackson Hole. the quest for resilience in each individual country BYD, but still behind CATL, South Korean Three Gorges Capital. Beijing’s support
would smoothly adapt to changes in aggregate Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal will lead to a loss of resilience for the world LG Energy Solution Ltd and yet another hasn’t hampered its overseas ambitions or
demand, especially since the rise of China in effect Reserve: “Current high inflation in the US is the economy as a whole. Chinese player, EVE Energy, according to raised geopolitical concerns so far: It has
expanded the supply of labour as well as produc- product of strong demand and constrained supply.” Second, the disruptions since early 2020 Nomura analysts. established entities in Germany and the US.
tive capacity on a global scale. Votaries of modern Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of because of covid restrictions and the war in Right now, every global player is trying to Until recently, Luoyang, which designs
monetary theory even argued that slack—or excess the International Monetary Fund: “Better models Ukraine will eventually ease. A more serious set of build scale—quickly. Last week, firms from and produces batteries for civil and military
capacity—was a permanent feature of a modern of aggregate supply—including those that take supply shocks are on the horizon as the world Panasonic Holdings to Toyota Motor Corp industrial use, was a controlling share-
economy. more account of capacity constraints at the learns to adapt to the harsh reality of climate announced billions of dollars of commit- holder. It became a subsidiary in prepara-
Monetary policy could then look past temporary sectoral level—are… needed.” change. This involves both the disruptions from ments for production facilities. Around the tion for going public and to “minimize the
supply disruptions, since steady inflation expecta- Augustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank extreme climate events as well as the transition to world, industrial policy focused on EVs and impact and potential risk which could be
tions as well as a responsive supply side would not of International Settlements: “We are used to new forms of energy, mobility and living. Policy- batteries is also getting more aggressive, resulted from the military industrial busi-
lead to demands for higher wages or encourage viewing the economy mainly through the lens of makers have begun to bring climate concerns into with the introduction of the US Inflation ness,” CALB’s offering document noted. It
firms to increase prices in competitive markets aggregate demand, with supply assumed to adjust their models—both mental as well as statistical— Reduction Act and China’s extension of its hasn’t been smooth sailing. Last year, CATL
(remember the “transient inflation” debate?). The smoothly in the background… We cannot take but the actual conduct of macro policy will involve EV subsidies that were due to expire this filed an intellectual property infringement
moderation of inflationary pressures also meant aggregate supply for granted.” a steep learning curve. year. Beijing has already handed out about suit against CALB and asked its rival to pay
that it was safe for a government to run an econ- Isabel Schnabel, member of the executive board Third, while the flip side of aggregate demand is $15 billion in the past decade. around 190 million yuan for losses and
omy hot for some time, since a flatter Phillips of the European Central Bank: “The breakup of the aggregate supply, recent months have shown that CALB’s capital raise will fund a speedy expenses incurred, later raising the com-
Curve would ensure that loose macro policy did Soviet Union and global economic liberalization the actual micro structure of the economy is as expansion of its production bases across the pensation amount to over 500 million yuan.
not lead to the sort of inflation that the world had from the 1980s onwards led to about half of today’s important as the aggregate situation. The best country. Since 2019, its spending on con- CALB said it is contesting the claims.
to battle in the 1970s. And in case inflation did world population being integrated into the global example of this is the automobile industry. The struction in progress has more than dou- There are also risks for investors because
climb at some point of time, the output that would economy. Labour supply became so abundant, and shortage of one key input—semiconductors—has bled each year, as has capacity. Factory and it has been added to the US’s list of non-
need to be sacrificed to get it down to comfortable production capacity so large, that even periods of upset production schedules of car companies operating staff account for almost half its sanctioned Chinese military industrial
levels would be minimal. strong demand rarely succeeded in putting per- across the world. The smooth flow of intermedi- employees, while research and develop- companies. Still, it has managed to attract
Many of these assumptions have been pro- sistent upward pressure on prices and wages.” ate goods through complex supply chains can be ment (R&D) technicians make up around support. CALB and other Chinese battery
foundly challenged in the past two years, thanks to This revival of interest among global policy- hindered if even one link in that chain breaks. 45%. Facilities are expected to range from 10 makers’ expansion shows how far behind
supply chain disruptions, rising energy prices and makers in supply side shocks or disruptions leads However, hoping to locate an entire supply chain gigawatt hours to 20-gigawatt hours, with global players remain in this arena. It also
the risk of food shortages. The supply side has been to several important questions. First, is the world in one place goes against the logic of modern an investment of 5 billion yuan ($724 mil- underscores why China’s battery industry is
rigid rather than flexible. And the situation may headed into a new era of rigid supplies? The rise of manufacturing. lion) to 10 billion yuan in each. It may not far ahead of the rest. ©BLOOMBERG

guEsT VIEW

An India keen to accelerate mustn’t leave safety behind

helped identify some of the primary reasons are the securing of exposed hard structures, ensures minimal loss of time in referring front and rear seat belts (or helmets in case of
PIYUSH TEWARI behind our high toll. The most significant is closing of unauthorized gaps in the median, patients to the specialized care they require two-wheelers), staying within speed limits
over-speeding, which led to 87,050 fatalities ensuring against poor road construction and are essential. The current Emergency Care and designated lanes, and never driving
in 2021. Close on its heels was dangerous or maintenance, and making provisions for system in India is archaic and needs a dra- under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
careless driving that led to 42,853 lives lost. pedestrians and road safety at intersections matic overhaul to reduce the loss of lives. For better vehicular safety, the immediate
Other major causal factors include driving and vulnerable zones. Speed management studies must also be measures necessary include a vigorous per-

O
n Sunday, the car that Cyrus Mistry, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, To ensure that speed limits and other undertaken to establish appropriate speed manent car safety assessment rating system,
ex-chairman Tata Sons, and three mechanical defects in vehicles, driver fatigue, safety rules are adhered to, limits. These studies should on the lines of the Bharat New Car Assess-
others were travelling in hit the par- lack of infrastructure and rear-end collisions optimal and robust speed factor in all elements asso- ment Programme introduced by India’s min-
apet wall of a bridge over the Surya River on involving vehicles parked illegally on the enforcement is extremely Higher speeds ciated with our highways, istry of road transport and highways through
the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. Mistry shoulder of a road, among others. Reasons for important. This can be including the vehicular mix a draft notification on 24 June 2022. Six air-
was seated in a back seat along with Jehangir crashes must be bifurcated from the causes of ensured through active must go with using them and their mode- bags in all passenger four-wheelers and a
Pandole. Both lost their lives in this crash. subsequent injuries and deaths, with vehicu- traffic-rule enforcement wise speed limits, as well as rear seat belt alarm system are measures that
Road crashes are a pandemic to which lar, behavioural and other risks analysed using both manual as well
commensurate design elements from a civil require standardization across the board for

is the founder and chief

about 1.35 million lives are lost every year. As
per National Crime Records Bureau data, in
apart from issues of post-accident life saving.
With such gargantuan fatality numbers,
as electronic surveillance,
including high-visibility
infrastructure, engineering perspective.
Understanding the terrain
ensuring stable structures that provide ade-
quate protection and lower the probability of
executive officer of SaveLIFE
Foundation, a non-profit
2021 alone 155,622 people were killed and
371,884 injured in 403,116 road crashes in
targeted measures to ensure greater road
safety for all types of users is the need of the
and high-speed patrol vehi-
cles, drones and speed
safer vehicles of high-speed corridors as
well as the areas they pass
life-threatening injuries and fatalities.
Industry opposition to those mandates are
organisation. India. Of these, over 60% fatalities occurred hour. As India develops faster and better tracking cameras, espe- and properly through, apart from all the safety roadblocks that require a firm govern-
on national and state highways; 63% of all highways, we must deploy commensurate cially within and ahead of connecting roads and ment stance, followed by laws and rules
deaths occurred in the 18-45 age group. What systems suited for high-speed corridors. Such high-risk zones. trained drivers bylanes, are essential in aimed at safer vehicles to help ensure a
makes our road safety picture particularly highways require adequate crash barriers While these pre-emptive mapping the road user base secure commute for every road user.
grim is the fact that not only does India hold spaced uniformly for the safety of users in the measures are essential for of these stretches. This will High-speed traffic corridors are essential
the global road crash fatality top spot, it also event of an accident. Similarly, we need more the prevention of road crashes, simultaneous help in gauging what limits as well as checks to the overall development of a nation, so
has the highest global crash severity, at 38.6 road signs in the correct size and placed at apt action is necessary towards ensuring a rapid and balances need to be deployed where. there is no arguing with these. However,
deaths per 100 crashes in 2021. Last year’s fig- intervals to convey speed limits (and their trauma response and emergency medical On the part of road users, the elements working towards ensuring the safety of road
ure is also the highest crash severity level changes), leaving room for adequate time and care system. The deployment of ambulances that require cognizance and mindfulness users is of paramount importance towards
logged in India during the last two decades. space for road users to take note and act close to high-fatality zones, advanced ambu- include the driver’s capacity to manoeuvre guaranteeing that our highways and other
Official records and forensic investigations accordingly. Other infrastructural elements lances that can support road crash victims in vehicles on high-speed stretches while streets function as intended and contribute
of road crashes by SaveLIFE Foundation have that need attention on high-speed stretches transit and a proper triage system that adhering to set rules, such as the usage of to the economic growth of the country.
14 WeDNeSDay, 7 September 2022
NeW Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE SPORTS LIVEMINT.COM

US Open: We are seeing a

change of guard in tennis
This year’s men’s US
Open champion will be a
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in action for Napoli.
first-time winner. It might AFP

be the same for the

women’s draw after
Meet ‘Kvaradona’,
Serena Williams loses
Sumit Chakraberty
Napoli’s new
feedback@livemint.com

t will be only for the second time since

great hope
I 2003 that none of the Big Three of
men’s tennis—Rafael Nadal, Novak
Djokovic, and Roger Federer— will be
appearing in the quarter-finals of the
US Open. Age and injuries slowed down Nadal
enough for rising American star Frances Tiafoe
to take him down in the fourth round. Djokovic
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia prompts
comparisons with Diego Maradona
AFP
was unable to participate for his refusal to be

K
vaccinated against covid, and 41-year-old Fed- hvicha Kvaratskhelia is the name dancing around Napoli
erer hasn’t played competitive tennis since his fans’ lips thanks to a stunning start to life in Italy which has
loss in the Wimbledon 2021 quarter-finals. swept away the summertime blues ahead of Wednesday’s
A change of guard has been imminent this visit of Liverpool. Kvaratskhelia has been nicknamed “Kvara-
year. But Nadal defied the odds to win the Aus- dona” after scoring four times and setting up another goal in the
tralian Open and French Open after missing the first five rounds of Serie A fixtures. The Georgian will be leading
second half of last year to recover from ankle Napoli’s bid for a big win in their Group A opener at the Stadio
surgery. He then had to pull out of the Wimble- Maradona, especially as Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen is a
don semi-finals after tearing an abdomen mus- Ajla Tomljanovic defeated Serena doubt with a muscular problem.
cle during his epic five-set quarter-final victory Williams, while Frances Tiafoe And while comparing him to Napoli’s and possibly football’s
over another rising American, Taylor Fritz. (below), dumped Rafael Nadal out of greatest ever player might seem like blasphemy, it is testament
The victory over Fritz was another instance of the US Open. ALL PHOTOS GETTY IMAGES to how well he has slotted into a team which until the first day of
the 36-year-old Spaniard’s indomitable spirit the Serie A season appeared to be deep in crisis. Such has been his
that makes him the holder of a record 22 Grand impact he has also been called the “new KK” after Kalidou Kouli-
Slam titles. But the US Open proved a bridge too baly, one of four big players to leave the club since their league
far as he had to modify his service after the new title challenge collapsed at the tail end of last season.
injury. He lowered the point of impact to reduce Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti has been keen to dampen
the strain on his abdomen as he reached up to and draw in the Grand Slam events. expectations of the 21-year-old, who arrived from Dinamo
serve, compensating for the loss of speed by Thus the Medvedev-Kyrgios match was wor- Batumi in his home country but who had already impressed over
putting more spin on the ball. thy of a final in terms of quality, even though it three years at Rubin Kazan before leaving following the Russian
The lowering of Nadal’s level, combined with came in the round-of-16. The first set was hard- invasion of Ukraine.
an elevation in the 24-year-old Tiafoe’s, in front fought, with Medvedev coming back from a “He’s a really sweet kid, a good kid, one of those who at times
of his home crowd, ended the Spaniard’s run. break down and both players squandering set doesn’t want to be in certain situations because he’s so timid,”
The son of immigrants to the US from civil war- points before Kyrgios prevailed 11-9 in the tie- said Spalletti on Saturday after his latest match-winning display
ravaged Sierra Leone, Tiafoe spent his forma- breaker. The Australian virtually threw in the at Lazio. “When you see him walk about he’s all floppy like he’s
tive years at a junior tennis centre where his towel in the second set after being broken early, on springs, but when you give him the ball he knows how to
father was a maintenance man. His rise to the keeping points short and conserving his energy move. He’s got a quality in how he
upper echelons of professional tennis is no less for the sets to follow. It paid off as the heat and Kvaratskhelia’s strikes the ball and brings down any-
inspirational an American story than that of the humidity got to Medvedev in the third set, just instant impact thing you throw at him.”
Williams sisters. when Kyrgios lifted his game. In the end, the Kvaratskhelia smashed home the
Tiafoe’s push to go deeper in a Grand Slam 23rd seed dominated the top seed to win the in the Serie A decisive second in Napoli’s 2-1 win at
event came even as Serena Williams, who will fourth and final set 6-2. “I’ve played Novak and has Napoli fans Lazio which put them two points
turn 41 later this month, bowed out of the game. Rafa. They play amazing tennis. Nick today dreaming of a behind Serie A leaders Atalanta, and he
Her appearance at the US Open in diamond- played kind of at their level,” said Medvedev league win could easily have had more. His beauti-
studded shoes and a sequined dress designed by after the loss. fully struck effort from distance can-
herself was a farewell ceremony for the winner The upsets of Medvedev and Nadal, and the noned off the post in the first half and
of 23 Grand Slam titles. She had hardly played at Wimbledon. He has been an underachiever Kyrgios’ victory over top seed Medvedev at the 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz’s victory he should have put Napoli ahead moments before his 61st-minute
in tournaments this year, and it would have since then. Until this year. US Open was as big an upset as 22nd seed Tia- over Croatian Marin Cilic, who won the US winner, shaving the bar from an almost identical chance.
been understandable if she had gone out in the He reached his first Grand Slam final a couple foe’s win over second-seeded Nadal. But the Open title in 2014, clear the deck for a new win- His instant impact and obvious delight at playing for such a sto-
first round itself. Once on court, however, her of months back at Wimbledon where he lost to Australian’s current ATP world ranking of 25 ner to emerge. None of the players in this year’s ried club have been the perfect antidote to the negative vibes
competitive spirit ensured that she fought Djokovic in four sets. Kyrgios was in fact the doesn’t accurately reflect the level of his tennis. quarter-finals has ever won a Grand Slam event. which had been almost as suffocating as the heat of a Neapolitan
through to the third round, defeating World No. dominant one at the start of the match until He has been one of the most dangerous players It marks a shift in the landscape after two dec- summer. Fans were livid after seeing some of their crown jewels
2 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia along the way. Djokovic subtly adapted to gain parity. In the on the circuit since June this year. ades of the Big Three grabbing the lion’s share sold off with few of the replacements seen as adequate for a team
Finally, Australian Ajla Tomljanovic ended the end, the Serb played ATP rankings are of titles. Djokovic is restricted to playing only who were in last season’s exciting Scudetto race until April. They
career of the six-time US Open champion, by the big points better skewed in favour of two out of the four Grand Slam events because implored owner Aurelio De Laurentiis to sell the club, using the
keeping her composure in front of a partisan and the Aussie let Rafael Nadal’s vanquisher players who play of his covid vaccination status. You can never hashtag “A16” on social media as a reference to the motorway
New York crowd. himself down by get- Frances Tiafoe says that in the more tournaments, write off Nadal but it will be a tall order for him which connects Naples with Bari, another southern city where
Meanwhile, Tomljanovic’s former partner ting distracted by his whereas Kyrgios to reprise his 2022 feats, given the increasing the film mogul owns the club.
Nick Kyrgios was also in the limelight in the own verbalising. future, the Big Three will be keeps his appearances toll on his body. And a Federer comeback During a summer training camp event organised to present the
men’s section. The in-your-face Aussie pulled Kyrgios continued supplanted by the Big Twelve to the barest mini- appears increasingly improbable. team Spalletti was interrupted by a enraged supporter who
off a stunning win over World No.1 and defend- his progress after mum required. Being But with the likes of the colourful and tal- shouted at him to “wake up” from his supposed torpor. But nine
ing champion Daniil Medvedev to advance to Wimbledon, beating from Australia, he has ented Kyrgios, the backstory of the speedy and goals from their first two games, Kvaratskhelia’s sparkling form
the quarter-finals. The six-foot-four-inch-tall Tiafoe en route to winning the Citi Open in to be on the road for months on end to compete powerful Tiafoe, and the teenager touted as in both and the subsequent arrival of Italy starlet Giacomo Raspa-
Kyrgios, who combines a rocket serve and Washington DC and then Medvedev in the in the circuit, unlike European players who get Nadal’s successor, Alcaraz, there’s no shortage dori, Giovanni Simeone and Tanguy Ndombele swept away the
thumping forehand with deft drop shots and net Canadian Open. So he has in fact beaten the to play a number of tournaments that are just a of new talent to keep us engrossed. Who among ill feeling. A fresh league title bid looks on the cards, but the ques-
play, arrived on the Grand Slam scene eight World No.1 twice this year, after losing to him in short flight from their homes. Playing fewer the young lot will emerge as the new Big Three? tion is now whether Kvaratskhelia and Spalletti’s exciting side
years ago as a precocious 19-year-old when he the second round of the Australian Open. tournaments might prioritise quality over Tiafoe has the best answer to that: “I don’t think can make the sort of impact on the Champions League that Italian
beat Rafael Nadal in a fourth round encounter In terms of ranking and seeding, 23rd seed quantity, but ranking does affect the seeding it’ll be a Big 3, more like a Big 12.” clubs have failed to do for too long.

Star golfers are the real winners of the churn in the game
As the PGA Tour and LIV tial promise that despite such a stellar there’s no denying that the absence of headlines about the millions of dollars
career record, the Ulsterman is routinely players like Dustin Johnson and Bryson being won by players.
Golf Tour fight for criticised for not realising his potential, or DeChambeau dulled the sheen on the Perhaps that’s why the decision to stick
supremacy, the main letting big victories slip out of his grasp. PGA Tour’s marquee tourney. with the PGA Tour has been easy for play-
To be fair, it has appeared—especially On the other hand, there’s no doubt that ers like McIlroy: for the Irishman playing
beneficiaries are the big when he choked while leading big the competition has forced the PGA Tour golf is about fulfilling his destiny—to be
golfers with big paydays events—that McIlroy did not share the to create greater incentive for players to remembered as one of the game’s greats.
golfing world’s confidence in his ability to stay under its wings. Recently, PGA Tour At the age of 33, the FedEx Champion
get the job done. commissioner Jay Monahan announced has, at best, a decade of his best golf ahead
Meraj Shah At the season-ending Tour Champion- the introduction of a mini-series within of him.
feedback@livemint.com ship in the last week of August, McIlroy the regular season that will pit the game’s While there will always be the occa-
sent out an emphatic message to the world top players against each other with bigger sional Phil Mickelson—a Major winner at

C
irca 2004. Gerry McIlroy, a bar that he’s vanquished his demons. Sinking spoils on offer. With purses in the $20 to 50—professional golf has firmly tilted in
steward in Belfast, placed a call to a 31-footer on the 15th hole of the final $25 million range, the events are slated to favour of younger players. Who do you
Labrokes—the UK’s leading book- day’s play to tie the lead, McIlroy eventu- begin in 2023. The Tour’s Player’s Impact think the oldest man in the field at the
maker—to enquire about the odds of his ally prevailed over Scottie Scheffler—the Programme will now award $100 million USPGA Tour’s season-ending Tour
son winning the Open Championship in world No. 1 golfer—to win the Tour to players who use social media effectively Championship was? That would be
the next decade. As the story goes, Gerry Championship. The win propelled McIl- to reach out to fans. 49-year-old Adam Scott—a veteran by
and three of his friends eventually ended roy to the top of the points table for the The obvious question that comes to modern golf’s standards. Scott, arguably
up wagering £400—a significant sum of season and with it, the FedEx Cup. It’s the mind is why the PGA Tour did not intro- past his prime, fits the profile of a golfer
money for the working-class men— third time the Irishman has won golf’s big- duce these changes unilaterally over the who might be tempted to join the LIV Golf
against 500-to-1 odds that Rory McIlroy, gest prize—a feat unrivalled since the past few years. At least in that respect, the Tour: to maximise his earnings over the
then just 15 years old, would lift the Claret Playoffs began. Rory McIlroy with the Tour Championship trophy. GETTY IMAGES players have gained from the ongoing tus- last few years of his career. Despite this
Jug before he turned 26. In 2014, Gerry McIlroy’s come-from-behind victory sle. But there’s a thought that keeps com- obvious temptation Scott has decided to
and friends cashed in on that bet, making (he started six shots behind Scheffler) ble for a layman to get a sense of the con- is, well, money. McIlroy took home an ing back, and I wonder if it occurs to the stick around and sees the changes being
£3,42,000, when the Irish phenome- achieved something even more remarka- test. At other times, the winner was unprecedented $18 million with the rest of top players who had to watch from the brought in by the PGA Tour as a vindica-
non—by then the 10 to 1 favourite— won ble: infuse excitement and interest in the decided even before the last event took the $75 million purse shared amongst the sidelines at the Tour Championship: the tion of that decision. “I think the hardest
the Open Championship. Today, 12 years PGA Tour’s blighted FedEx Cup. And no, place, sabotaging any chance of an excit- best players in the world. Or rather, in the reason the FedEx Cup has never captured thing for the Tour is it’s trying to be all
after joining the PGA Tour, McIlroy has that’s not a harsh assessment of the PGA ing finish to the season. field. Some of the best players in the world the imagination of golf fans is because it’s things to all people. It’s a very, very hard
racked up 21 wins on that Tour, and nine Tour’s season-ending playoffs. Ever since At the end of the day, the Playoffs con- weren’t at the Tour Championship. The just about the money. And with no malice thing to do. It’s impossible to please every-
victories around the world, pocketing a they were instituted, the Playoffs have not tinue to matter only to the players and not coterie of players who’ve signed up for the towards that circuit, the LIV Golf Tour’s body. They certainly can’t have everybody
cool $66 million that make Gerry’s win- caught the fancy of the golf fan. In the to the fans. They don’t rival the prestige Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour, were not biggest allure is also money. Is it any sur- happy, but you’ve got to please someone,”
nings seem like small change. early years, the rules were too complex the Major Tournaments command. What allowed to compete in the Playoffs. The prise that no one’s watching the Tour’s he remarked. No one’s complaining, cer-
It’s no small measure of McIlroy’s ini- and convoluted, making it near-impossi- makes the Playoffs significant for players issue and validity of that move apart, events? There’s certainly no hype, except tainly not the players.
 NEW DELHI, mumbAi, beNGALuru, kOLkAtA, cHeNNAi, AHmedAbAd, HyderAbAd, cHANdiGArH*, PuNe* VOL. 16 NO. 214

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Govt approves Bharat Bio’s Suspicious trades before block

livemint.com intra-nasal vaccine uP1 deals under Sebi lens uP1
 PROPERTY SOUTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI GURUGRAM DLF − SUSHANT LOK SOUTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI
PAMPOSH ENCLAVE (GK-I) 200 Yds, PAMPOSH ENCL 700 Yds F.F Under MINI FARM 400 sq yards @ Ansal RENTED FREEHOLD Shops for sale. DLF PH-1 Qutab Plaza, Sale Shop, GF, OKHLA PHASE-2 Lease Available. NEW. CORNER. Super Luxury. 3BHK,
NORTH DELHI Nicely Built Ground Floor comprising Const.with Pvt. D'way, Pvt.Lift 4 Side Villa Satbari / 3bhk built up old / Rented to brands in Gurgaon @ 60 130 sqft. Excl Loc., heavy footfall (2) FF (2750 sq.ft) & Basement (1400 Study. ACs.Bar. Luxury Fitting.
3 BR's attach Baths, D/Dining, Stilt 2 open wide Road, 6 Car Parking, Huge Excellent location Delhi Registry / Lacs, Rent 32000 p.m. Bank loan Rent Office Space FF Suncity Success sq.ft). On freehold 600 sq.yds Metro. Airy. Bright. LGF like GF.
Car Parking, S.Qtr @ 4.25Cr. Alpha Pvt. Lobby on Stilt Superb Quality of Price : 3.25 CR / Contact Owner: available. 30 years lease, 6 years Tower 4000 sqft. apprx Sec-65, Golf plot. Near C.Lal Chowk. Contact Parking. Pocket 40. CR Park
Properties 9810073183, 9810029691 Construction .Contact 9810805352 9810007165 lockin, 6 months rent advance. course ext.Rd.# Gujral 9654410009 9810899361, 9810038660 # 9810425955
#9999585335, 7827196253, 99905-
DEFENCE COLONY 345yd Corner SALE GREATER Kailash-1 (Rs.3.75cr) 62644,7973755737, 9911164884
TF+Terrace with Lift+Stilt Also GK-1 SALE DLF-1 : Kachnar Marg Size OKHLA PHASE–2, Basement Area
Kailash Colony corner (Rs.3.50cr) 2000 'ft and 2nd floor Area 3500 ft
300yd Bsmt+GF+Stilt Triplex with both 300 syds GF 3 BHK Parking. & 1022 sq yd Greenbelt Facing Wide
Sep Gate and Sep Lift 4BHK. Road Rate 2.60 per sq yd. Cont : available for rent. Contact
EOK E-block 240yds FF 3BHK big park 9810033404
Call -9999062968 corner no lift Rs 3.05 cr 9910648999 Pawan Sharma 9999769990.

EAST OF kailash, Ground flr, Builder RADHE MOHAN Drive Farm House
flat, 3 bed, old const. (2) Multi 2.2 Acres, (wide Frontage)
storyed Mount kailash, Duplex 3 bed
(3) Kavery Appt, Alakhnanda for SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE & adj. Areas
Immediate Sale. Contact
Amit Arora 9810022531 9999973766 D 105 Anand Niketan, Gr Flr & First Flr
Immediate sale. Cosmos 9810001682 200/300/500/1000 Yds, Houses and (Elaborate Details in Meeting) comprising 3Bedroom, Study on each
Luxurious Floors N-East/Park facing, OWNER SELLING 502sqyds plot in DLF flr equipped with AC's, Lift, Backup &
G.K 400 sq.yds G.F. & F.F. @ 11 Cr, Corner, Ready /U.Const also Wanted VASANT VIHAR -400- 600- Exclusive 1. Prime location very reasonable Prking in Stilt. Suits Expat/Diplomat.
Hauz Khas Encl. 450 sq.yds F.F park Collaborations/Kothies. 9899893333 Ready to move /Booking Basement/ Price owner represented Salwan 9810062871, 9810063891
facing New @ 7.40 Cr; Panchsheel Ground also First & Third Terrace #9999973766
Park 500 sq.yds F.F New @ 7.50 Cr. VASANT VIHAR, Brand New 400 sqyd specious 4 Beds D/D sept lift & D'way COMMERCIAL /OFFICE For Rent at GREATER KAILASH-2 Market
PPS 9818881000, 9599808726 B+GF & TF+terrace Garden Sep. Lift, Reputed Builder Rajesh 9810209711 Khirki Extn Main Rd | 3000 sqft GF | Basement, Ground, first available
4BHK, with CC, Sep.parking, luxury Opp. Vishal MegaMart | 20kVA for Lease, suits Restaurants,
interior, Brk. Exu. # 9910000257 CR PARK 30Lac office on Mixed Land 3 phase | Parking, Toilet & Pantry showrooms, Retail stores.
Main Road 1st Flr 200ft. with pantry, #9810411063 Purri Realtors 9811015635
BISHT PROPERTIES Pvt. Ltd. (Since toilet & sep. entry, indp Electricity &
Water connection assured return 8% PANCHSHEEL ENCLAVE PG
9999973766
1980) Managed by Retd. Govt. officer.
Sale, Purchase, Rent & Collaboration. 9810017982, 9810364472, Bahlsons accommodation for Girl student/
All Sectors in Rohini. 9811134984, Working Women with all meals
9650045100, 9999784468 4TH & 5th Avenue Farm no.7, Bandh equipped with AC,Power back up,
Rd, N/E facing, Prime Loc. Corner SL1 215SQYDS, middle floor, facing Attached bathroom.9810317169
2Side, Newly built Beautiful Villa, N/W on18 Mtr wide road available
11000sq.ft. 1210sq.yds with Borewell for sale@1.80cr. Many more
Registry Deal. Puneet 9810423456. options # 9999973766
VASANT VIHAR park facing 400 syd
second floor 4BHK+ 1 SQ + 3 Car GREEN PARK 330 Yds, Newly Built VILLA FOR Sale, Vipul Tatvam Villas, E 4/7, Vasant Vihar, Park Facing
parking in stilt, Peaceful Reasonable F.Flr/3rd Flr+Terrace each Luxurious Sohna Road, Gurgaon, 4 BHK, Duplex 400 sq yards, Ground Floor, 4 Bed
price. Sanjay Malik 9810039071 4 BR's, D/D, Lobby, SQ, Lift,Separate 360 Sq.Yds., 500 Sq.Yds. Indp. Pool D/D with basement and car parking
Visit: malikestateagents.com Gate Stilt 2 Parking, Ready to Move. Villas with Lawn, Gated Community, in Stilt. Suits Expat/ Diplomat.
call: (R.B. Properties) 9999-363660 24/7 Security. Contact:- 7503003311. Salwan 9810062871, 9910034566.
PLOT IN DLF Ph-1 500yd @2.85, S.Lok-1
NICE KOTHI / Flat Model Town 272-600 215yd @5.5 corner/park, South City-1 B 14, Anand Niketan, 717 sq yards, First
yd / all cheque & circle @ / Gujrawal
360yd / Civilline 300-4000 yd / Hdsn
VASANT VIHAR 400yds Third Floor
with Terrace 4Bedrooms, D/D, Wide CENTRAL DELHI DLF − SUSHANT LOK 240yd @4.70, Builder Floors av'ble Flr, 4000sqfeet, 4 Bed D/D equipped CENTRAL DELHI
in DLF, S.Lok, South City all sizes. with AC's, Car Parking, Backside
& Otrm Line/ MukrG Ngr 160 yd / Road & Also Anand Niketan 250yds Millennial Estates 8826352111
& around 9873255806 First Floor 3Bedrooms, D/D @4.25cr. DLF-2 OLD bulit-up House 400 sqyd Garden, Suits Expat/ Diplomat.
SURYA KIRAN, K.G. Marg, Beautifully Salwan 9810062871, 9810063891. CONNAUGHT PLACE Fully Furnish AC
Call Dogra 9811087358 furnished office, 740 sqft carpet (P-6/7) N/E, Park also Sector-43 Plot
542 yd (117-P) Corner south, Park DLF CITY one 500 yards plots. North Power Back-up office space on Rent
area for immediate sale, also 12 meter road. Low ch @15/50. Area 2200-6500 Sq.Ft.Suits MNC PSU
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE Builder Flat 480 sqft Ambadeep Building. facing. # My Real Home.in Pvt. Ltd.
150yds Well Maintained D/D, 98735 52213, 8383875112 Deeparul estate. 9811068621. S.B Arora 9810054005, 9560040074
VASANT VIHAR Bsmt+GF 400/600yd; Cosmos 9810001682 Em:shashibhushanarora@yahoo.com
3Bedrooms, 2 Cars Parking at Stilt Shanti Niketan Bsmt+GF 600yds;
Lift. For Immediate Sale. Grover Westend SF 500yds; Anand Niketan RENTED OFFICE For Sale 500 sq.ft., FOR SALE 100 sqyds new building LUXURY BUILDER Floor on 500 Sq.yds IMMEDIATE SALE 2 Bedroom D/D
Associates 9810173911, 26511118 3rd+Terr 370yds. Also Bungalow Rent- 55K, Fully Furnished, Sector 43 Stilt +4,2 B/R Hall, Top floor with Roof Right @4.50 Cr. flat, 955 sq feet on 4th Floor, Maple AVAILABLE OFFICE for Rent Vandhna
avilb these area. Tara 9899755500 fresh lease at attractive return. kitchen on each floor @2.65cr in DLF -3. More options of 316, 402, Heights, Block C, Sushant Lok, Phase Building Connaught Place 1000sqft
K G Marg, Connaught Place. Return upto 1.20 lac pm Contact 502 Yds. Plots. 9311000034, 1, Gurugram, Haryana. Contact: newly renovated with 3 Cabins10-12
GREATER KAILASH 1 300yd Price 5,5 Contact- 9899005002, 9899833419 O.C Realtors 9810677191 9811278164 Salwan 9810062871, 9910034566 work stn, Air Cond. Pref to Govt/semi
cr Top floor with terce garden 4 Beds C 114, Anand Niketan, 379 sq yards, -govt/LTD co. RK GUPTA 9811014184
att Baths D/ Dining lobby Modular Ground Floor, 3 Bed D/D with front
Kitchen lift stilt Sep 2 Parking s, qtr NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA DLF CITY Plot, J Block 500 Yds
reasonable Price, Perfect and back courtyard. Suits Expat/ FOR RENT offices Narain Manzil
also avlble G, F+bsmt M, 9811654291 Diplomat. Salwan 9810062871, centrally air condition and back up
Estate Agency 9810001863 building area 800 to 5000 sq ft
9910034566.
SHANTI NIKETAN -600- Best location SOUTH CITY-I - Plot 500 Yds. Both call 9810050659
Bsmt/Ground duplex specious 4 Beds Side Open, 360 Yds. 18 Mtr Rd, DLF-I bgbrk.cp2008@gmail.com
GREATER KAILASH ( 300 ) Luxury - Kothi 500 Yds 5BHK+SQ N/E Face, LOCAL SHOPPING complex at South
D/D, sept. Lift & D'way Also Anand Extn -1,D-Blk, Bsmt,G.F,1ST & 2nd Flr
Ready Bsmt + Ground / First Floor / Niketen 500 corner facing park FF by DLF-II - Plot 300 Yds. East Facing, 12
Second / Third Floor + Terrace Mtr. Rd. Call : 9810599833 Each Floor 1800 to6000 sqft with
Reputed builder Rajesh 9810209711 lift.Suits Grocery Store/Health Care/
4 Bed / Lift / Parking / CC ULTRA LUXURY Floors DLF-2 (Q-blk)
# 9999785858 # 9560672632 Bank/Institute/Clinic# 9811235586
ANAND NIKETAN -400 sq. Yds- Corner 316 yd gated- North- park facing,
3 Side open Wide Road , Green view A++ construction, ready possession.
Second Floor with separate Life & Surendra (Mech Engr) 9810980000
NEAR SEC-22 Rohini Kanjhwala Road separate Driveway, North facing, U.C. PAIR PLOT 450+450m N/W Sec 44.
(Karala) 130 sq.yd building for sale Contact : Mani Singh 9818999419 900m East Facg Sec 47,72,92.
with 8 flats floor wise out right both 600m Park Fang N/E Sec 44.
with parking Lift provision also there SAKET BRAND New 300yds TF+Terr 600m N/E 18m Sec 44. FLOORS DLF-1 500yd @4.95cr, 300yd
power of attorney. Cont:9999909016 4BHK Also Sarvapriya Vihar New # 9871392196, 9810170178 @2.80cr, 215yd @2cr, DLF-4 360yd
240yds FF Corner 3BHK & 230yds @3.25cr, Sushant Lok-1 300yd @
GF 3BHK with Sep Gate. PRIME - Res.Plot/Kothi 112-162/ 200- 2.40 cr, 418yd 3.70cr, S.Lok-3 377yd
EAST DELHI 450M Cor/CC,New Flats Noida, Comm @2.40 Cr Call 9810921797 DLF-2 MOST Prime 18 mtr Cassia Marg
G.K.-I, G.K.-II : Independent Houses, Call-9999297098 200 yds Independent House north
15-75M Rent-RoI@5%, Indl.Plot-Bldg-
Exclusive Mandate Deals, All East 250-4000M/2000-50000sft Noida/ west facing @ 7.25 Cr. Call: Praveen
FOR SALE New Rajdhani Enclave, facing: 208 Yds (2 Options); 262 Yds YEW.Bright9650736746,9560247539 Chanda 98119-40340
250 Sq Yrd, corner 2 side open, (1 option); 273 Yds (1 option); 300
North East facing 2nd floor + Yds (2 options). Call: 9013899999 DLF CITY. Old builder floor. Well
(terrace with big Room & maintained. 400 top with terrace
Bathroom) Vaastu Compliant. ARADHANA ENCLAVE near Chanakya- @285. 300 Ground. @235/ FOR LEASE 2000 sq.ft, Connaught
contact Mukul Jain 9810139555 puri 370 Sq. yard Bunglow North Deeparul Estate. 9811068621. Place, Block-M, Ground & First Floor,
East, Park, Vastu perfect,Gated DLF PLOTS 1000 sqyd Kachnar Marg, Opposite Fire Station, Good Location
FLAT FOR Sale Dilshad garden Jak Community, Free Hold, 42 Cr. Comm- 500 sqyd Silver Oak, A-11 lane, 400 for Wine Shop, Showroom &
Pocket Infront of the garden, 2nd sqyd M-2 Lane, K-5 lane & L-2 Lane. COMMERCIAL OFFICE Space for Rent Restaurant. Contact: 9910053325
ission will paid by us # 9667640446
floor 3-bed room MIG Side Flat 2 bal- DEFENCE COLONY 217/ 325/ 400 Yds, 4BHK, 1750 sqft apartment at DLF SHIMLA Furnished/Unfurnished in Defence
cony 2 bathroom near Metro station. Corner, N-East/ Park facing Floors, Oakwood Estate. Call 9911492862. Col./Lajpat Nagar /South Ex./ Saket
HAUZ KHAS Enclave 1300 sqyd Exclusive Third Floor with Terrace Area 2000sqft to 4500 sqft Contact:- COMMERCIAL OFFICE Space 12000
Contact 8606322570, 9810194607 Independent Bungalow, 6 BHK SECTOR-46:- 200MTR on 18 mtr Rd,
Garden 3&4 BHK @ 4.75 Cr onwards. SHIMLA CHHOTA nr Sectt, Moon Intl Sabarwal - 9899135037 Sq-ft (4000 Sq-ft Per floor) for rent
Corner, State of the Art Const., #RV Homes 9953101010, 9811227622 Sec-108:-300 Mtr Kothi on 24 Mtr Rd Hotel Complex, 4BR+baths, D/D SQ in Rani Jhansi Road Near C.P.
Prime Loc. Power Backup, Park (B+G+F+S), 200 Mtr on 18 Mtr Rd,162 Rent- Negotiable. Call - Virender
WEST DELHI Facing # 9910000257 mtr park fac, Sec-105:- 250 mtr East
2000 sq.ft easy walkup top flr valley KAILASH HILLS (150)yd Ground
97119 62243
RETAIL SHOPS on GF available 300 view. Owner Kapur whatsapp flr fully furnished 2Beds D/D att.
facing.#Manoj Agarwal- 9650644977 Sq.ft to 2000 Sq.ft ready to move 9811116548. cdkapur09@gmail.com
WORTH 2CR Sell 1.15Cr (Offer only for bath Prkng gud loc. easy approach
RENTED SHOP for sale Rs. 100500/- and also under construction starting reasonable rent 50,000 Nego.cont FOR RENT furnished office area
price 2.35cr. prime location on ajmal those who pay in 5 -10 days): Kalkaji from Rs. 17500/- Per Sq.ft onwards
210 Yds, Corner/Park fac. 3rd Floor+ Sharma 9810166637, 9910166637 2500, 6000, 7000 Connaught
khan rd karol Bagh fresh lease Contact 9205622514 / 9810001863
garments brand guinue buyers only Terrace 3BR+option for 4th BR, lease DWARKA place near metro station
hold Rental 50K. Owner 8287555436 D-71, AMAR Colony, Lajpat Ngr., 3rd Call. 9810050659, 01123353370,
contact 8510049009/9710049009. BRAND NEW 4BHK for Sale in May- Email:- bgbrk.cp2008@gmail.com
field Garden Sec-57,427 Sq.Yd. IInd & BRAND NEW floor Dlf City Plot Size Floor, 2 BR, big D/D, kitchen,
400yd 4bhk @3.59cr and Sushant DWARKA SECTOR 19, Amrahi Near 2 washroom, A 1 Flooring, East/park
Fourth Flr+Terrace,N E Facing Stilt + Welcome Hotel & PNB head office. facing, 24x7 water, ideal loc., Indp.
GREATER KAILASH-I/II, Defence Col. Lift+Power Backup 30 Mtr. Wide Lok 1 500yd 4bhk park facing @ 4.59
CR Park 160/200/250 Yds, Luxurious Road @2.70cr Onward, #9811282135 cr ready floor Sabharwal Associates - Avail. RTM 2 BHK Flats at 32 to 45
Lac. Rental 15k to 22k Well interiors,
Entry # 9312244540, 9818061090 NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
3 BR All Floors with SQ, Lift, Parking, 9810061698
450M CRNR 12x12m Sec44.N/E NwlyBlt 66 to 72 yards. Contact : 9818785447 SAKET DISTRICT Centre 2900 Sq.Feet
Ready/U.Const also Kothies & AVAILABLE FOR Sale Regency Park-2, SECTOR 126 Basement+8 floor
Wanted Collaborations. 9818158345 Kothi 300m 18m Rd Sec44.N/E300m- 3 BHK with SQ, Higher Floor, (Office Space) Immediate Lease.
450m Sec44,47,92,93B,105,108.4000 FOR SALE LUXURY Builder Floor Fees 3 Months, First 2 Months No Furnished Building for rent area
Excellent View / GF in Pink Town
m. IND Sec 63. 450m Fntnl Ind Plot House, DLF-3 Deeparul Estates -
UGF 4BHK on 500Y plot excellent TOLET Maintenance. Contact Amit Arora 7700sq ft per floor total area 60000
sq ft at Rs 65 per sq ft Contact
Sec 63.# 9871392196, 9810170178 location near golf course road, 9810022531
9654466539 / 8287036746 Metro & Park in SL-2, D- block st 9871800565, 9717718658
SDA 450Y First Floor on wide
road. Old. One parking and a sq. very cheap price call-9910032042
MGF PLAZA, MG road Gurgaon
Easy approach. Asking 6.50. Furnished office Area 2850 NORTH DELHI FURNISHED/UNFURNISHED SPACE
Negotiable. Also 200y Floors. Sq.ft for Sale / Lease Contact: Available for long lease/rent in
Puneet Bhogra 9810417610 9810001863 Sec-10,nr. DND Road, Noida, Bsmt-
1250 sq.ft, GF-1250 sq.ft, SF-1550
E-349, EAST of Kailash Park facing sq.ft, TF-1550 sq.ft. Call 9811142911.
Third floor with Terrace 125 Yds 3 DEFENCE COLONY @ 5CR !
Beds, D/D with Lift & one car Parking 325 Yds. C-Block F.FLR 3 Beds
in stilts & with servant quarter Houses: 217yd with 200yd Lawn GURUGRAM
Contact Varun Dhawan 9811565632 325 Yds Livable Corner / Park NOIDA PLOT & Kothi All Sectors
Sterling Realtors 98100-81588 Sec-44,46,47, 92,93B,99,100, Sec-
E-50 ANAND Niketan Third floor, 105, 108,122,128,131,133 Also we SEC-17C, GURGAON 3500 Sq.ft can be
fully furnished. 3 bedrooms, Deals in Jaypee wishtown Yamuna used for office / fabrication unit /
Drawing/Dining, terrace. Ex-way Auth. Plots @ 9911714666 godown / small factory - Basement,
9540301090 GF and FF. Place has 4 big halls and
NEW SHED / R.C.C Building for 2 Office spaces For rent 9711301059.
REASONABLE PRICE 500yds Builder Industries warehouse for sale on
Flat First Floor Hauz Khas First Express Highway Sector- 156, Size
FOR IMMEDIATE Sale Ground Floor, 10,000mtr. very reasonable price.
D-36, Ajay Enclave, Subhash Nagar, Occupancy Seprate Gate,Stilt Parking SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE 500 Sq Yds,
Lift, SQ, 4Beds, D/D, Lounge. Grover Contact: 7011764629 Park facing F.Flr Luxurious 4 Beds
100sq yards, Ready to move.
# Contact: Ajay Kapoor- 9311543543. & Associates 9810173911, 26511118 LUXURY FLOORS in DLF/ S. Lok-1; 215/ attach Bath, D/D, Lobby, S.Qtr, Lift, 2
BUNGALOWS : Westend/V.Vhr 1200yds 300/ 400/ 500 Yds @2 cr & above. Car Parking, Reasonable Rent. Japan
VIKASPURI HOUSE for sale, Kautilya Marg 1200yds N/East Facing High end specs with mod kitchen, Singh Nag 9810799398, 9899092298
CIVIL LINES 3BHK, 2nd flr 2000 sq.ft
9999973766
200sqyd, Block-A, Prime Location, Panchsheel Park 1200yds N/E Facing ACs, PB, Lift. Also Collaboration/
Maharani Bagh 1100y Duplex Livable Turnkey 9990305533 Premium Residential Apartment for
Brokers Excuse, Genuine buyer Lease. Prkg, common lawns, terrace.
only call at 9811159668 & Call : Naresh Aggarwal 98101-20612
SALE SUSHANT Lok-1 : Size 502 Quiet, Green surroundings. Upscale
8121960012 for details clients only. # 9810115915 UNITECH CYBER Park office space
JANGPURA EXTN. Ready /Bkng Pre- sq yd A Block 12 mtr wide Road 5000-10000 sqft to be furnished
mium Builder Floors.Area 300 /250 / East facing Gated Rate 2.45 area available for lease and many
200 Crnr/Park Facing all floors. Also per sq yd. Cont : Pawan Sharma more options #9999973766
B'ments For Lawyers offices. Chopra CORNER PLOT 209 sqyd (175 mtr) 9999769990 WEST DELHI
HAUZ KHAS ENC ( 1000 ) Luxury Park Asso. 9650992839, 9650702839. excellent location, attached green
Facing Triplex New Ground Floor + belt, 15 mtr road, S/E facing, full PRIME LOCATION Office Space for
Basement 5 BR - Private Driveway - KAILASH COLONY Renovated N -1 FF sunlight in JP Wishtown, KP-1, SALE DLF 2 : Size 682 sq yd Three lease Plug n Play JMD Pacific Square
Lift - CC # 9560672632 /9999785858 very specious 2BHK & 2BHK (adjoini- Sector -133. # 9953333354 side Corner Touching NH 8 Rate 2500 sqft On National highway.
ng) 2800 sqft can be used separately 3.10 Per sq yd. Cont : Pawan Opp 32 milestone. Gurgaon.
or together as office cum Resi. attra- Sharma - 9999769990 PLOTS SUSHANT Lok-1 500syd blk-A, Tathasthu Pvt. Ltd. # 9811788877
FARM HOUSE Plot Harcharan Bagh
NARAINA VIHAR Top Locations (1)125 1400y prime loc delhi reg @80,000/- ctive price 9810099326,9810209711 LUXURY FLOORS/ Plots/ Kothis DLF-1, 418syd blk-A, B, DLF-1 500syd,
Sqyds 2 Storey Independent House GK-II 300y GF new 4BR lift 2 car 5cr 2, 316, 400, 500, 680,1022 corner 300syd, DLF-IV 500syd, 360syd
(2) 125 Sqyd 3 Storey Liveable Inde- GK3 217y GF3br lift 2car sep gate3.15 FARM HOUSE: 1 Acre, 2.5 Acres, park, wide rd, North-East, Best Deal BUILDER FLOORS : DLF City-I/II/IV on
Plot 200-270-300-360-400-500-1000
Corner Park Gated Kothis wide DLF − SUSHANT LOK
pendent House (3) 240 sqyd 2nd Flr CRPrk 230y new TF+Trc lift 3car 4.25 5 Acres & Above.1000,2000 Sq.Yds thru. Surendra (Mech. Engr.) Range. 9810052738
#9810017982, 9810364472 Bahlsons 9810980000, 9910980000 Yds, Luxurious 3/4/5 BR All Floors.
Main Rd Can use for Office/Residence at Westend Green, Vasant Kunj, For visit call Piyush Jain 9811320391 DLF PARK Place 2704 sft 2721 sft top
Sultanpur, DLF Chattarpur, Dera Sundeep Gulati 9810157319 floor, garden facing, preferably for
Mandi Ravi Bhatnagar:9810081507 PRE RENTED, Rent 141000,
Expats, MNC executives & their
SOUTH DELHI PLOT/KOTHIE 162, 275, 300, 450m,
Tenant Grey Orange, Area
families. M/s Harbans Mahajan
2500 Sq.ft Orient Bestech OFFICE SPACE Available for Sale
Sec-30,36,39,44, 47,50, 51 Cnr., Park Business Park ROI 7% 1000 Sq. ft to 1 lac Sq.ft, 9810039789, 9811071565
GREATER KAILASH-1, 300 Yds Third 18m Rd, N/E, 162, 250, 300, 450m Contact 9205622514 Rs. 5000/- Per Sq.ft onwards
floor with Terrace Duplex with Sec-105,108, 93B, 92, 46, 48,G.Belt Contact 8076764079
7838871114 AGRA
Private lift, Private Driveway , Wide N/E Venus 9810417663 TATVAM VILLA 500 syd, South facing,
Road, Swimming pool, on Booking. BMT/GF/FF, 4700 SqFt. 4BHK, family
Contact -: 9810805352 WE HAVE buyers of pre-leased lounge, S/R, swimming pool, power
INDEPENDENT HOUSE for Sale, GK-1, and non-leased Industrial, Com- backup. Price 10 Cr. M/s Harbans DLF FLOOR : 300 Yds, DLF-II North JANAKPURI 3APTS - 4BHK, Fully JUNGPURA EXTENSION 325 Sq.Yds PRIME LOCATION showroom/office
Area 500 Sqyd, Behind Park, Double mercial and Institutional properties. Mahajan 9811071565, 9810039789 Facing, 4 BHK+ Servant. Pwr backup, Furnished, TF, Lift; 3BHK, TF & 4BHK, Ground Floor, Brand New Corner, space on MG Rd. Sadar Bazar, Agra.
Storey, 7BR, East Facing, Prime To sell your properties at attractive Gated Security. Mind Blowing interi- GF, Geysers, Lights, Fans, Company / Lift, stilt Parking, S.qtr. Fully 1000 sq. All new const. Power Conn
SALE 208-1000 Sqyd Koties SJE/ SDA / price, please contact # 8810376695 ors. All Floor Available Owner : Bank Lease preferred, Contact: Furnished. Ajay Rajani 98188 20507. AC fitted, suitable for Bnk/Insu/NBFC
Location, Call 7838871114 Neeti Bagh/Vasant Vhr Anand Nikten 9811047417 9810092120, 01149854698. Broker Please Excuse /telecom. Long lease -9359571555
/ GK / GolfLink / JOR bagh / Sunder
Nagar / Lutiyens Delhi & Around AVAILABLE FOR Sale 3BHK, Kothi
(Family Stlment Deals) 9873255806 180 sqm, Semi Furnished, Fully
Furnished Basement with attached
Toilet Sector-41, Noida Contact FLATS FOR Sale: Pinnacle, Belaire,
FRIENDS COL. Mob.: 9891822325, 9999564621 park place, summit, Westend Heights
Royalton, Trinity,beverly Park,Penth-
5000 Yds, N/E facing ouse: Orchid Garden & other many
opti. Call 9999000179, 9999000172
GOLF LINKS
SHANTI NIKETAN 400 sq yds,Third Flr, 1250 Yds, Corner
4 Bedroom, D/D with half terrace,
Servant room and one car parking in
driveway. Immediate Sale: Contact
VASANT VIHAR
Salwan 9810062871, 9910034566 1000 Yds, N/E facing
SUNDER NAGAR Independent Livable
Bungalow, 867 sq.yd, 9 BHK, Lavish JOR BAGH RESI PLOT / Kothi Sec-105,162m on 24
m Road,Sec-108,162 Kothi,24m Road,
Interiors, Prestigious Location, Front
Garden, Vastu perfect # 9910000257
375 Yds, Park Facing 200m Sec-105 18m Road 300m, Sec- FOR SALE : Plot 336 Sq Yards
& 500 Sq Yards in Emerald Hills, S.C.O FOR sale in Sector-53, Gurgaon,
AURUM HOMES 108 12m Road, 300m 24m Road Sec-
105. Call Ram Niwas : 9871146434 Two side open. Contact - Prime location, Near to golf course
FOR SALE SARVODYA ENCLAVE
Park facing 600 Sq.Yards Builder
98110-44485 9818499711. road, 146 Sq Yds Exclusive Deal,
VERY PRIME location, Factory Main Road Facing,9999774666
Floor Ground plus Basement 8 yrs Available for sale Sector - 83,
old High end luxury interiors.Cont: SALE DLF-2 : Old Kothi 502 sq yd
Near Metro station. Suitable Park Facing 12mtr wide Road Gated
Sachin kheterpal # 9811006402. for office industries. SALE DLF-2 : Gulmohar Marg
100% power backup Touching
Contact: 9971831792 Metro station Rate 3.10 Per sq. yd . Size 1022 sq yd Two side open
GREEN PARK Main 340 yds first floor Cont:Pawan Sharma - 9999769990 Beautiful Location Gated NH 8
4 bedrooms drawing dining stilts Facing Rate 2.90 per sq yd. Cont :
parking SQ etc call 9811032447 FARIDABAD DLF. 300 yards plots. K 11/ Park
Pawan Sharma 9999769990
Rajesh Gupta 9811352892 Parveen
facing K 7/ north K 3 north.
FARIDABAD: SALE , Purchase, M 4/ East. L 4/ East. Best location.
COMMERCIAL SPACE for Sale Deeparul estate. 9811068621
Sundar Nagar Market- G. Floor : Renting , All HUDA Sectors , Contact
650 sq.ft.; 1st Floor : 1350 sq.ft.; Nagpal Properties (Since 1980)
VASANT KUNJ D-2 Ground 2.6 cr./ # 9810087015 , 9818034148 , WANTED/ AVAILABLE Plots /Floors in
2nd Floor : 1350 sq.ft. Freehold, B-5/6 first + Second duplex. Ansal Esencia & Versalia, Anant Raj,
Newly Built, Lift, Ample Parking. 9811023234
2.6 cr./ AB first floor 2.20 cr. / ADANI,IREO Nirwana,Malibu,Mayfield
Suitable for Jewellery Shop, C-9 first duplex. 2.30 cr. Garden and SL II/III &All Huda
Lawyer Office. Contact (Mr. Lall) :
9810001383
Contact # 9716109010. GURUGRAM Sectors, Vijay Estate- 9811282135

SAKET -350- Yds Bungalow Exclusive BUILDER FLOOR DLF City –II, CONFIRM PLOT Sushant Lok -1, 538 yd.
HAUZ KHAS Encl. 1000 sqyd B+GF Location Corner perfect Vaastu Also SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE Triplex 300 SECTOR 23 Plot 342 Sq. Yards. Facing 3 BHK, 300 Yards Ground floor corner, green belt, A block, South
Duplex, 5 BHK, Park facing, sep. gate Saket -250-Yds Bungalow perfect sqyd Basement +Stilt + Ground, Park Huge Green Land FAR Included File Old Built Up well Maintained city -1 , 240 sq. Yd. North, Corner,
for 4 car parks, luxury interior, Vaastu Crystal Clear Deal.Contact facing, East facing, Sep. Gate 2 car in hand Best for Builder Floors. Call: Bargain Price. Contact 360 sq. Yd. 18mtr road Sabharwal
Vastu perfect # 9910000257 Rajesh Kathuria 9810209711 parking # 9990533391 9811018495 9810001863 / 9205622514 Asso. 9811196843