ECONOMY | PAGE 2 MARKETS | PAGE 7 BACK PAGE | PAGE 16 $300-bn AI bet: Can India power data centre boom? India can weather short West Asia shock: Citi India CEO OpenAI amending deal with Pentagon: Altman HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2026 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. NO. XXII 258, 16 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E IN THE NEWS TRUMP SAYS US CAN HOLD TARIFFS AT 15% FOR 5 MONTHS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said on Tuesday that the US can hold tariffs at 15% for five months, days after the Supreme Court struck down his import levy last month. “The courts said ‘no,’ but they said you can do it many other ways, and we are doing it,” he said, reports AP. ECONOMY PAGE 2 EPFO JOINS NEW INVIT OF NHAI AS A STRATEGIC INVESTOR THE EPFO WILL join the public infrastructure investment trust promoted by the NHAI as a strategic investor, committing funds to acquire 16.6% of the total units on offer in the maiden public issue of Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT), reports Mukesh Jagota. Tata Consumer revamps rural biz for next growth leg WITH RURAL DEMAND outpacing urban, e-commerce contributing a fifth of sales, and a sweeping revamp of its go-to-market model, Tata Consumer is positioning itself for a sharper, distribution-led growth, president and head, India sales, Punit Gupta told FE, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. ■ PAGE 6 State debt demand rises; G-sec spread falls from peak THE SPREAD BETWEEN central and state government securities has narrowed from its peak, driven by increased investor participation. The latest state development loan auction received stronger-than-expected demand, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 7 Infosys, Intel partner to scale up enterprise AI INFOSYS AND INTEL on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership aimed at helping enterprises move artificial intelligence initiatives from pilot stages to scaled production deployments, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 6 US embassy hit as conflict flares ● US,Israel,Iran ● Israel orders ● Iran president ramp up strikes on Day 4 of war ground troops into Lebanon office & Unesco ships on Strait site targeted of Hormuz: Iran Oil at 8-month high,India holds 50-day fuel cushion SAURAVANAND New Delhi, March 3 BRENT CRUDE SURGED past $85 a barrel on Tuesday, soaring for a third straight session as the widening US-Israeli conflict with Iran disrupted fuel shipments and shut off the Strait of Hormuz, triggering fresh volatilityin global energy markets. Even as oil prices hit their highest level since July 2024, officials here said it remained comfortablystocked with around 50 days of crude and petroleum product inventories,cushioning the immediate impact of the crisis. Crude oil benchmarks rose about 8% on Tuesday. Brent crude futures were up $6.05,or 7.8%, at $83.79 a barrel by 1143 GMT after touching $85.12 — their highest since »INSIDE« EDIT: NO ONE WILL WIN THIS WAR PAGE 8 FULL-BLOWN CONFLICT IN WEST ASIA, WRITES N CHANDRA MOHAN PAGE 8 FLOATING RUSSIAN OIL MAY BE LIFELINE FOR INDIA PAGE 3 July2024.US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $5.31,or 7.5%, to $76.54 after hitting $77.53, its strongest level since June.The rally followed a 13% surge at the start of the week as markets priced in the risk of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries nearly20% of global oil flows and roughlyone-third of seaborne crude exports. India,however,remains in what officials described as a stable position. “India holds sufficient crude and fuel inventories to meet domestic demand for petrol, diesel and other fuels for six to eight weeks,” a top government source said.State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) currently hold crude stocks sufficient for about 25 days and petrol and diesel inventories for another 25 days, taking the cumulative buffer to nearly50 days,over and above strategic petroleum reserves. A senior oil ministry official said the government is monitoring the situation “on a daily and hourly basis” and is confident of navigating through the crisis even if it lasts “a week or ten days.” ● Will set ablaze DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, US Their (Iran’s) air defence, air force, navy, and leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said ‘Too Late!’ We have a virtually unlimited supply of (medium and upper medium grade) weapons. Wars can be fought ‘forever’... The US is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG TATA GROUP CHAIRMAN N Chandrasekaran on Tuesday hoped that the war does not affect the supply chain, and said the conglomerate has plans to mitigate risks that can emanate from the conflict, reports PTI. He also emphasised on the safety of employees of Tata group companies working in West Asia. ■ PAGE 3 ■ REPORT ON PAGE 2 STOCKS TANK Asian stock performance on March 3 Continued on Page 4 INDIA’S $37-BILLION TEXTILES and apparel exports industryfaces fresh disruptions as the war has forced shipping lines to reroute vessels, raising freight costs and delaying deliveries to key markets in the US and Europe,reports Narayanan V. India also exports `6,500 crore worth of textiles and apparel to West Asia. ■ PAGE 3 A woman kisses her child as her husband and children arrive at Mumbai airport on Tuesday after being stranded in Dubai amid the ongoing war. Thousands of Indians returned home on special flights as Gulf airspace partially reopened. AS MANYAS27 Indian ships are stranded in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden region due to the conflict in West Asia and the government should intervene diplomatically with Iran and Israel for safe movement of Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Indian National Shipowners Association has said,reports FE Bureau.■PAGE 3 SANKHADEEP BANERJEE Wall Street crumbles over2% FE BUREAU & AGENCIES New Delhi, March 3 Govt hopes for Have plans to India’s textiles 27 India-flag a short war mitigate risks, exports to US, vessels stuck in West Asia says Tata chief Europe at risk in war-hit zone WITH THE ESCALATION of the Iran conflict raising concerns over India’s energy and fertiliser supplies as well as exports, the government has intensified inter-ministerial consultations to closely monitor developments, reports Prasanta Sahu. Officials remain hopeful that the conflict will be short-lived. ■ PAGE 2 Nothing like home: Thousands return from conflict zone WALLSTREET’S MAIN indices fell more than 2% on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting its lowest in over two months, as the warin West Asia raged with no end in sight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,083.69 points,or 2.22%, to 47,821.09 in early trade, while the S&P 500 lost 141.91 points, or 2.06%, to 6,739.71,and the Nasdaq Composite lost 483.41 points, or 2.12%,to 22,265.45.The selloff was broad and all major sectors on the S&P 500 were trading in the red. GIFT Nifty and Asian markets too extended losses on Tuesday, signalling a muted show in the Indian equity markets when they reopen on Wednesdayaftera day’s holiday ■ Kospi 7.2% ■ Nikkei 3.1% ■ Taiex 2.2% ■ Hang Seng 1.1% ■ JCI 0.6% on account of Holi.GIFTNifty— considered as India’s earlymarket indicator — was trading 209.50 points,or 0.86%,lower at 24,150.50 at 8.45 p.m. In Asia,South Korea led the market decline on Tuesday, with the benchmark Kospi plunging 7.2% in its worst session since August 2024. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped as much as 3.1%,setting the gauge on track for its worst two days in 11 months. “The investment question is not primarilyabout Iran itself — it is whetherthe conflict leads to a larger value-at-risk episode driven bycorrelation into other markets,” said Nick Ferres,chief investment officer of Vantage PointAsset Management in Singapore.“My guess is that markets traded as though the conflict would be relatively short last night. However, that view might be too optimistic.” If transport disruptions persist in the Strait of Hormuz, that could continue to weigh on Asian equities, said Dilin Wu, a research strategist at Pepperstone Group. Singtel to pare stake in Airtel 4 in 5 stocks trade below 1-year highs promoterconsolidation plan URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, March 3 BHARTI ENTERPRISES CHAIRMAN Sunil Bharti Mittal has outlined a road map to consolidate the promoter holding of Bharti Airtel under Bharti Telecom (BTL), saying the residual stake held by Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) and the Mittal family outside the promoter vehicle will be pared overthe next three to four years in an orderlymanner. In a recent investorcall,Mittal said BTL, which currently owns about 41% in Bharti Airtel, will remain the principal vehicle forpromoterownership. The remaining 8-8.5% stake — n Post restructure: FUTURE CALL Bharti Telecom holds in Bharti Airtel, with 7% held directly by Singtel and 1% by the Mittal family outside Bharti Telecom Bharti Telecom to retain 41% as sole direct promoter vehicle, while Singtel and the Mittal family will pare their residual direct stakes to nil, raising public float n Current shareholding: 41% split between Singapore Telecommunications with around 7% and the Mittal familywith about 1% outside BTL— will be brought down gradually through market transactions. The move is part of a restructuring first articulated inAugust 2022,when the two promoter groups set out plans to simplify and equalise their holdings. Since then, overall promoter shareholding in Airtel has declined from 55.9% in June 2022 to 48.9% currently, according to JM Financial. AS MANY AS 4,146 stocks (80%) are currently trading 20-98% below their respective 52-week highs, according to data sourced from Capitaline. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty are trading just 6.87% and 5.71% below their 52-week highs, respectively, but the broader market tells a different story. Around 275 stocks (55%) from the BSE 500 index have declined more than 20% from their one-year high levels. Additionally, share prices of nine companies in the Sensex have plunged between 23% and 38.5% from their respective one-year highs. Tariff-related uncertainties and subdued earnings have weighed on the performance of these companies. —Compiled by Kishor Kadam Continued on Page 4 SAT tightens the grammar of corporate governance, calls time on vague disclosures ‘Unforeseen circumstances’no longera safe haven forIndia Inc ANJANATHERESE ANTONY Mumbai, March 3 IF CORPORATE INDIA were handed an award for creative writing,“unforeseen circumstances” would surely top the bestseller list. Last week, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) delivered a gentle but pointed reminder that stock exchanges are not literature festivals. Upholding the market regulator’s `5-lakh penalty on Som Distilleries & Breweries, SAT ruled that vague phrasing cannot pass for meaningful disclosure. Investors, it implied, deserve more than a shrug in prose. Som Distilleries had cancelled an extraordinary gen- eral meeting (EGM) that was to approve a `100-crore fundraise. The official explanation to the exchanges: “unforeseen circumstances.” Only weeks later, during an investor call,did the company concede that the fund requirement had turned out to be lower than expected. SAT was unimpressed. The tribunal held that the company failed to provide clear and accurate disclosure, leaving investors guessing in the interim. Few market watchers were surprised. Senior lawyers say such linguistic gymnastics are hardly rare. The reasons vary: the relatively modest cost of penalties, commercial sensitivities, evolving boardroom decisions, or simply the temp- GETTING RID OF SMOKESCREEN ■ Market watchers say the ‘compliance by form, not substance’ approach has quietly become the status quo for many ■ The relatively ■ Companies modest penalty of will also need to tighten their disclosure language and move from form to substance `5-10 lakh hardly acts as deterrent for large companies tation to buy time. When the downside risk is a `5-10 lakh fine, some large listed entities may view it as a modest toll charge on the highway to delayed transparency. Indeed, India Inc’s disclosure lexicon is rich with protec- ■ Many believe the Som Distilleries will set a precedent and prompt regulators to weed out generic buzzwords and mandate greater granularity in disclosures tive euphemisms — “unavoidable reasons”, “unforeseen events”,“external challenges”, “no material impact”, and “temporary disruption.” They sound reassuring, almost poetic, until one looks for the footnotes and finds none. ■ Som Distilleries & Breweries penalised `5 lakh for vague disclosure Regulators, lawyers suggest, may now have to weed out such generic buzzwords and mandate greater granularity in disclosures. Companies, in turn, may need to tighten their language and move from form to substance. ■ Gretex Corporate fined `15 lakh for deficiencies and delays in regulatory disclosures Some believe the Som Distilleries case will nowset a precedent.“Manygeneric terms like these may now be avoided since the issue is now in the open,”Paras K Parekh,partner at CMS INDUSLAW, said. He added that there may be more mindfulness at the level of regulators on surveillance. Regulators,he suggested,may even need to upgrade systems with proficient artificial intelligence to weed out generic buzzwords in disclosures. The practice of legalistic obfuscation, market observers admit, is no longer confined to a handful of participants. A “compliance by form, not substance” approach has quietly become the status quo formany — though certainlynot all. Recent regulatory action underscores the point. Varun Beverages had terminated its share purchase agreement with Tanzania Bottling in March 2025, but the details were buried deep in the notes to quarterly financial statements rather than disclosed separately.In January,SATruled that such a camouflaged disclosure is “no disclosure at all”. Gretex Corporate,too,was penalised `15 lakh for widespread deficiencies and delays in regulatory disclosures. The company maintained that the failures were procedural and had not had “any material impact” on its merchant banking assignments or investor interests. “There is a prevailing gamble that as long as a disclosure is made,the regulatormight treat it as a technical lapse rather than a substantive non-compliance,”Abhiraj Arora, partner at Saraf and Partners,said. Continued on Page 4