THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 4 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 From arbitrage to access: Upstox’s digital rise Brandsbattleforattention beyondskippableads KOLKATA, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2026 MARKETS PAGE 6 GOLD DEMAND STEADYTHIS AKSHAYATRITIYA GOLD SALES ON Akshaya Tritiya are seen steady at 15–20 tonne despite a 60% price surge. Jewellers cut making charges and offered promotions, while a 10% correction helped revive demand for jewellery, reports Rajesh Bhayani. ECONOMY PAGE 2 REROUTED SHIPS KEEP WESTASIA TRADE FLOWING WITH SHIPPING ROUTES in West Asia disrupted and global carriers pulling back, India swiftly rerouted trade to keep essential exports flowing, even as overall shipments to the region plunged sharply, reports Mukesh Jagota. Govt likely to hike FDI limit in pension sector THE CENTRE may hike the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the pension sector to up to 100% and a Bill in this regard is expected in the next Parliament session, according to sources. This would align with the insurance sector where up to 100% FDI is permitted. Air India pushes agentic AI for digital growth AIR INDIA IS stepping up investments in agentic AI as it moves into the next phase of its digital transformation, with senior executives indicating that automation at scale is beginning to deliver operational and cost benefits, write Akbar Merchant & Urvi Malvania. The airline’s early AI deployments are already showing measurable outcomes. Nearly half of all customer interactions are now managed digitally. ■ PAGE 4 AI to drive India’s solar-EV shift: Schneider's Godemel FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE VOL 35 NO. 144, 16 PAGES, `12 (NORTH EAST STATES `12 & ANDAMAN `20) IN THE NEWS ECONOMY | PAGE 2 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM 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 SHIFTFROM EARLIERVERSION ALLEGATION:3OF6TRUSTEESLIFETIMEAPPOINTEES,BREACHINGLEGALCAP Chip design Sir RatanTataTrust faces legal scheme may challenge on lifetime trustees allow MNCs URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, April 19 ● DLI 2.0 recast A FRESH CONTROVERSY is brewing within the ongoing dispute at Tata Trusts, with a new representation to the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner alleging that the board composition of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) violates recently amended provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. SRTT is the second-largest shareholder in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group,with 23.56% stake. InanemaildatedApril18,SV & Co, a New Delhi-based law firm sought urgent regulatory intervention, claiming that three of the six current trustees ofSRTTareservingasperpetual orlifetime trustees—exceeding the statutory ceiling prescribed GOING GLOBAL likely after weak startup traction in first phase OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, April 19 Share of semiconductor design by revenue, value and BOM INAPOLICYresetpromptedby weak outcomes in the first phase,the government is set to expanditsdesign-linkedincentive (DLI) scheme under India SemiconductorMission 2.0. Indian companies will be allowed to partnerwith global firms while retaining majority ownership. Under the proposed structure, Indian firms can form consortiumswithforeignplayers but will be required to hold atleast51%whilethestakesof global partners will be capped at 49%,officials said. The move will also open the scheme to larger Indian companies, marking a shift from the earlier version that was restricted to startups and MSMEs. The recast comes after the initial DLI scheme saw limited traction. AsreportedbyFE,only24of around 60 applicants were approved, and just 5–6 firms were able to secure fabrication 33% Global sales revenue 50% THE THREE PERPETUAL TRUSTEES UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS ■ Fresh complaint filed with Maharashtra Charity Commissioner ■ Law caps perpetual trustees at one-fourth of total strength (max one in a six-member board) (From left) Noel Tata, Jimmy Tata and Jehangir Jehangir are the three perpetual trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust underSection30A(2)oftheAct. The complaint names Noel Tata, Jimmy Tata and Jehangir Jehangir as the trustees in question. Asimilarcommunicationby the firm to Tata Trusts ViceChairmen Venu Srinivasan and VijaySinghrequesteda“prompt correctiveaction”to“obviatethe ■ Legal notice seeks removal/ of excess trustees to restore compliance »INSIDE« BAI HIRABAITRUSTTO REMOVE TRUSTEE RESTRICTIONS PAGE4 need for external regulatory intervention, thereby safeguarding the reputation of this historic institution.” “Iamwritingasaconcerned NYT & AGENCIES Washington, April 19 15-40% THE UNITED STATESwill send a high-level delegation led by Vice President JD Vance to Islamabad for fresh talks with Iran,even as President Donald Trump escalated rhetoricwith threats of sweeping military action if a deal is not reached before a fragile ceasefire expires this week. Iranian media, however, BOM cost orders for their prototypes. Officials attributed the weak strike rate to structural issues in the startup ecosystem. Continued on Page 11 reported the country has yet to decide whether it will take part in the talkswith the IRNA state news agency saying "there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations". The renewed diplomatic push comes at a critical juncture, with the economically vital Strait of Hormuz effectively shut and tensions in the Gulf region running high.The two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran is set to lapse on Wednesday,raising fears of a return to open conflict. In a statement on Sunday,a White House official confirmed thatVancewill lead the US delegation, accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner. The trio had also participated in the previous round of talks held in Islamabad earlier this month,which endedwithout a breakthrough. Appleleadsfastestconsumer electronicsramp-up,topsPLI EXCEEDING ESTIMATES Production: THE CLOSE OF the five-year smartphone production linked incentive (PLI) scheme has been marked by what officials describe as the fastest scale-up of a consumer electronics product in India,with Apple and its vendors exceeding production, export and employment targets, according to final composite filings submitted at the end of FY26. The filings show cumulative production of about $70 billion (FOB) over FY21–26 against an initial commitment of roughly $38.8 billion, translating into output at about 1.8 times the target. The ramp-up has been driven by iPhone manufacturing $70 bn actual vs $38.8 bn target (1.8x) Exports: $51 bn actual vs $33 bn target (1.5x) Smartphone export share: 76% actual vs Direct jobs: 250,000+ vs 200,000 ~38% implied target (2x) target in early projections under the PLI programme. Exports have also surpassed projections. Vendors had committed to about $33 billion in exports over the scheme period, while actual shipments reached about $51 billion, or 1.5 times the target. iPhones now account for roughly 76% of India’s smartphone exports. Calendar year 2025 exports are estimated at $23 billion, up from $11.5 billion in 2024. Continued on Page 11 Limited scooter play, premium focus weigh on volumes and market share Bajajmisses2-wheelerrevivalride 2 8 8 Bajaj Hero Honda 13.06 million units. Bajaj’s absence from the mainstream scooter market limited its ability to capture this upswing, unlike rivals that have expanded offerings in the category. As a result, Bajaj Auto’s domestic market share declined to about 10.8% in FY26 from 11.8% a year earlier. Competitors reported stronger gains. TVS Motor Company led with a 21% rise 21 TVS 11 Overall 18 Bajaj 39 Hero in domestic volumes, while Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India each grew 8%, supported by recovery in entry-level and commuter segments. The company’s electric mobility push has yet to offset this gap. Bajaj Auto sold 289,393 electric scooters in FY26, trailing TVS Motor’s 341,740 units. The divergence widened from the previous year when 23 Honda 31 TVS 5,180,429 4,198,403 1,426,424 1,089,748 620,275 505,012 402,744 289,668 1,967,810 21,705,974 Exports 1,674,060 4,243,524 3,519,225 5,326,652 5,752,052 6,066,048 FY25 FY26 Growth (%) 19,607,332 Domestic sales 5,609,820 BAJAJ AUTO’S LIMITED presence in scooters, a tilt towards premium motorcycles and intermittent supply disruptions weighed on its performance in FY26, leaving it behindpeersinayearwhenthe two-wheelerindustryposted a broad-based recovery. Domestic two-wheeler sales rose 11% year-on-year to 21.7 million units in FY26, aided by GST reductions and improving rural demand, reversing expectations of subdued,single-digit growth. Bajaj Auto, however, reported a muted 2% increase in domestic volumes at 2.35 million units, making it the weakest performer among large listed manufacturers. The gap was most visible in scooters, the fastest-growing segment during the year. Scooter volumes expanded 18.5% to 8.12 million units, compared with a 6.6% rise in motorcycles to 2,349,040 MUTED PERFORMANCE 2,308,249 NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, April 19 Continued on Page 11 Haze overUS-Iran talks in Pakistan Value addition RISHI RAJ New Delhi, April 19 citizen to bring to your urgent notice the blatant and continuing violation of Section 30A(2) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950… by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust,” the email addressed to the charity commissionerstated. 23 Overall both companies had similar volumes, indicating faster scale-upbyTVSinthesegment. Operationalchallengesalso affected output. Bajaj was among manufacturers impacted by China’s export restrictions on rare-earth magnets, leading to supply constraints and temporary productiondisruptionsduring the year. Continued on Page 11 Kolkata DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, US Goingtoknockout everysingle powerplant inIran.NO MOREMR. NICEGUY! READ TO LEAD Govt eyes unlocking `8 lakh cr in MSME dues PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, April 19 THE CENTRE WILL soon issue orders to central public sector enterprises and other government agencies to mandatorily settle payments to micro, small, and medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) to quicken the pace of releasing their pending dues, setting the stage for nudging the private sector to do the same. While the CPSEs and government agencies owe around `1 lakh crore to MSMEs, the private companies owe around `7 lakh crore now. While not all of these are overdue, the dues can be releasedfaster,officialsreckon. From April 1, 2024, the Income Tax Act requires buyers to clear payments to registered MSEs within 45 days where a contract exists, or within 15 days in its absence. If payments are delayed beyond these timelines, the buyer cannot claim the expense as a tax deduction until the dues are actuallypaid.Theprovisionhas faced resistance from larger corporates,with many MSMEs reluctant to press for strict enforcement for fear of jeopardising business relationships. Now, the government is adopting a different approach to resolve the issue. Continued on Page 11