BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 24 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 11 IPLadrevenueslikelyto surpass`5,000crore Apnaishelpingworkforce unlockopportunities NEW DELHI, MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2026 Paristradetalksmaylead toTrump-Xisummit FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 13, 24 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) 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 COMPANIES PAGE 4 AI-FIRST PUSH RESHAPES ROLES AT INFOSYS INFOSYS’ SHIFT TOWARDS becoming an AI-first company is beginning to reshape both how it works with clients and the kinds of technology roles it is building internally, reports Poulomi Chatterjee. Profit-booking leadstoselloffin corpbondfunds THE CORPORATE BOND funds category ofmutual funds has reported net outflows of`21,194 crore in the last three months,with January seeing `11,473-crore selloff, reports Kushan Shah. ■ PAGE 6 Thermalplantsmay havetoshoulder moreloads COAL-BASED THERMAL POWER could see an increased role in coming months as supplies from gas and hydro fall, according to brokerages, reports Raghavendra Kamath. Renewables now account for 22% of generation. ■ PAGE 2 USWANTSALLIES’WARSHIPS FOR HORMUZAS OILPRICES RISE Trumpwarns ofmore strikes on Kharg Island CrisisinWest Asiahitshotel bookings ● Turmoil in oil market unlikely to end soon MAYA GEBEILY, EMILY ROSE & JARRETT RENSHAW Palm Beach/ Dubai/ Jerusalem, March 15 URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, March 15 US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island and said he was not ready for a deal with Tehran to end the war which has shut off the vital Strait of Hormuz and caused chaos in global energy markets. With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its third week, Trump said US strikes had "totally demolished" much of the island and warned of more, telling NBC News on Saturday, "We may hit it a few more times just for fun." The comments marked a sharp escalation from Trump, who had previously said the US was targeting only military sites on Kharg, and dealt a blow to diplomatic efforts to end a war that has spread across West Asia and killed more than 2,000 people, most in Iran and Lebanon. Continued on Page 13 »INSIDE« Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed rumours circulating online that he had been killed in an Iranian strike, appearing in a video message where he joked about the claims while sitting at a cafe. "I'm dead for coffee," he said sarcastically on his X account Iran hails initiative for ‘complete end to war’ IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran would welcome any initiative that leads to a “complete end to the war”, even as tensions in West Asia continued to escalate. “Tehran welcomes any initiative that leads to a complete end to the war,” A QUIET SHIFT on India’s factory floors is rewriting the country’smanufacturingstory. Nearly 100,000 young women are now assembling iPhones in India for global markets, a scale of employment that industryexecutives say marks one of the largest private-sector hiring and skilling exercises of women workers in the country. Latest employment figures submitted to the government by Apple’s contract manufacturers — Foxconn and Tata Electronics — show that the five iPhonefactories operating in the countryemployas many as 140,000 workers during peak production cycles. About 70% of them, close Continued on Page 11 INDIACOULDABSORBASIGNIFICANT HALF-OPENSHUTTERS: WHENTHE IRAN CONTINUES TO TARGET ARAB PORTIONOFRUSSIANOIL PAGE 2 BREAKFASTRUSHFALLSSILENT PAGE4 STATES WITH MISSILES PAGE 2 Women powerIndia’s iPhone manufacturing RISHI RAJ New Delhi, March 15 Araghchi said, according to Iranian state media, Reuters reported. His remarks come as the conflict in the region entered its third week, with Iran simultaneously issuing a series of warnings about intensifying its response to the United States and Israel. AGENCIES INDIAN HOTEL CHAINS are seeing a sudden reversal in business as escalating tensions in West Asia disrupt international travel, triggering a wave of room cancellations in key markets such as Mumbai and Delhi. Hospitality executives told FE that leading chains, including Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which operates the Taj Hotels brand, and ITC Hotels have recorded 80-100 room cancellations a day in these cities since the conflict escalated at the start of the month. The cancellations are translating into a daily revenue loss of roughly `15-20 lakh per property in the two markets. Across multiple properties run by large chains, the industry estimates the combined loss could run up to about `10 crore a day. GENDER PARITY 100,000 young women now assemble iPhones for global markets ■ About ■ Foxconn and Tata Electronics employ 140,000 workers during peak production cycles ■ Womencomprise 70% ofthe workforceacross5iPhonefactories to 100,000 employees, are women largely in the 19-24 age group. Mostarefirst-timejobseekers.The hiring surge has taken place over the past five years after Apple began large-scale iPhone production in India followingthelaunchofthesmartphone production-linked incentive(PLI)schemein2020. The scheme is scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, and government officials say work isunderwayonasecondvariant aimed at sustaining the momentum in electronics manufacturing and exports. Continued on Page 11 upGrad signs term sheet to acquire Unacademy ● All-stock deal; Gaurav Munjal to stay as CEO DEAL AT A GLANCE ■ Valuation to be disclosed only after the transaction formally closes FE BUREAU Bengaluru, March 15 ■ Earlier, Unacademy was ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION platform upGrad has signed a term sheet to acquire edtech firm Unacademy in a 100%share-swaptransaction, reviving acquisition talks that had collapsed earlier this year overvaluation differences. Unacademy co-founder and chief executive Gaurav Munjal confirmed the development,adding that the companieswill not disclose thevaluation until the deal is formally closed and transaction papers are filed. Under the proposed arrangement, Munjal will continue to lead Unacademy as co-founder and CEO,focusing on building online learning products for Indian and global learners. Announcing the signing of the term sheet on X, upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala said the agreement includes a break fee if the transaction does not close. “They disrupted the sector once, and now with AI they plan to do it again. We are already seeing Airlearn gain global traction,” Screwvala said, adding that upGrad’s integrated model spanning K12 to lifelong learning would gain significant momentum if the acquisition goes through. The development marks a valued at $300–400 mn, sharply below its $3.4 bn peak valuation ■ Combined entitycould createoneof India’slargest K-12-tolifelong-learning platforms turnaround from January, when upGrad walked away from acquisition talks with Unacademy over disagreements on valuation and deal structure. That proposed transaction had also been structured as an all-stock deal and was expected to value Unacademy at around $300400 million, a sharp markdown from its $3.4-billion peak valuation in 2021. In a separate post on X, Only Bengal to have polls in 2 phases ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN Assam,KeralamandPuducherry will be held on a single day on April9,inTamilNaduonApril23 andintwophasesinWestBengal on April 23 and 29,while votes will be counted for all polls on May4,theElectionCommission announcedonSunday. Compared to eight voting days spread across almost a monthin2021,therewillbethree pollingdaysina20-dayperiodin theseelections,whichwillseethe BJP trying to retain power in Assam, while it will be pitted against ruling parties in West Bengal,Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Puducherryis governed byNDA partnerAllIndiaNRCongress. A total of 174 million voters are eligible to vote in the electionstofiveassemblieswith824 constituencies, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar saidatapressconference. PTI Espresso growth: Coffee tech startups brewa success story INDIA’S COFFEE BOOM is usually measured in the number of shiny new cafes and the rise of specialty roasters, but behindtheswirloflatteart,the real adrenaline shot is coming from the companiessupplying the shiny, high-tech beasts behind the counter. As café culture spreads and home brewing graduates from instant coffee to precision pour-overs, startups selling coffee machines and related services are scaling up briskly. The domestic coffee machine market was valued at around $194 million in 2024, and industry executives say demand is no longer confined to café chains. Offices, hotels, restaurants and an increasingly discerning band of home brewers are RISING DEMAND ■ Domestic coffee machine market was valued at about $194 mn in 2024 ■ Demand being driven not just by cafe chains but also by offices and hospitality businesses all lining up for better coffee — and the machines that make it possible. Thesestartupsearnnotjust by selling or distributing machines—whethertheirown or sourced from global manufacturers—butalsobylayering services on top. Installation, barista training, maintenance andtechnicalsupportareoften bundled into subscriptionstyle offerings. In other words, the humble espresso machine is slowly morphing into a recurring-revenue engine. “Technology is changing the category,” Sharad Bansal, collapsed earlier this year over valuation differences Gaurav Munjal (left) and Ronnie Screwvala Firmstapequipment,serviceandsubscriptionsascafecultureexpands S SHANTHI Bengaluru, March 15 ■ Talks had co-founder of Warmup Ventures, told FE. Modern coffee machines are less appliance and more connected gadget, with app-based controls, personalised brewing settings and even automated reorders for beans or filters. “What looks like a hardware sale becomes a recurring revenue model,”he said. That shift has allowed startups to pitch themselves less as kitchen-equipment vendors and more like tech companies running a SaaSstyle model — only this time the “software” happens to produce cappuccinos. Their customers range from specialty cafés and roasters to bakeries,restaurants,offices, retailers and even banks where caffeine keeps the spreadsheets moving. Continued on Page 11 New Delhi Munjal said Unacademy had spent the past year restructuring its business to improve financial discipline and operational efficiency. The firm consolidated its company-operated offline centres into franchise partnerships and completed a `50-crore Esop buyback, in which nearly 40% of former employees participated. Unacademycurrentlyholds more than $100 million in cash reserves, Munjal said, while Airlearn, its languagelearning product, has begun gaining traction in markets such as the US, UK, Germany and Canada. “Unacademy helped invent the modern edtech playbook. Along the way we lost some focus and market share,and the sector itself has not seen enough real product innovation in recent years,” Munjal said. “AI will fundamentally reshape education, and edtech may become one of its biggest beneficiaries.” The company has also undertaken significant cost rationalisation. According to Munjal, Unacademy has reduced testpreparation cash burn from over `1,000 crore annually threeyearsagotoaround`200 crore, while several verticals including UPSC, NEET PG and CAThave turned contributionmargin positive. Its subsidiaries PrepLadder and Graphy were cash-flow positive for the full year in 2025,he added. Continued on Page 13