INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 Trumpsaystruceholds despiteUS-Iranflare-up INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 NovoNordiskpricecuts boostobesitydrugsales BENGALURU, SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2026 Starmervows to fight on after UK local poll defeat FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXIX 19, 20 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 SENSEX: 77,328.19 ▼ 516.33 NIFTY: 24,176.15 ▼ 150.50 NIKKEI 225: 62,713.65 ▼ 120.19 HANG SENG: 26,393.71 ▼ 232.57 `/$: 94.48 ▼ 0.23 `/€: 111.20 ▼ 0.28 BRENT: $99.76 ▼ $0.30 GOLD: `1,50,519 ▼ `161 PAGE 6 MARKETS RBI EASES RULES ON CORE CAPITAL CALCULATION THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) on Friday eased norms for banks to include current year profits in their capital adequacy calculations on a quarterly basis by removing an additional qualifying condition, report agencies. » INSIDE « KPITFOUNDER RAVI PANDIT PASSESAWAY PAGE 4 APRILE-WAYBILLS OFFMARCH PEAK BUTUP12% PAGE 2 Audit cost of domestic firms seen rising 30% AKEYAMENDMENT in the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 restricting auditors and audit firms from providing non-audit services after their term completes, could potentially increase the compliance cost for domestic companies by 20-30%, top auditors working with Big Four firms told FE, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 13 FE BUREAU New Delhi, May 8 TECH GIANT GOOGLE is exploring investment opportunities in India across artificial intelligence infrastructure aswellasthemanufacturingof servers and drones, Union IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday, signalling the government’s attempt to position the countryasabaseforAI-linkedinfrastructure and advanced electronics manufacturing. Vaishnaw,inapostonXafter meeting Google executives— Wilson L White,vice-president global affairs, and Kara Bailey, vice- president of android and playstrategy—saidtheInternet majorwas evaluating opportunities spanning “AI infrastructure and manufacturing of servers and drones”.The minister, however, did not disclose the size of the proposed investments,timelines,possiblemanufacturinglocationsorwhether KSHIPRA PETKAR Mumbai, May 8 DIGITAL BUILDOUT ■ India is pushing beyond smartphones into AI and advanced electronics manufacturing ■ No investment size, timeline or locations were disclosed ■ AI projects may include data centres, AI servers and cloud infrastructure $15 billion Visakhapatnam AI hub announced earlier this year Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaking to Google officials in New Delhi on Friday discussions had progressed beyond an exploratorystage. The development comes as the Centre steps up efforts to build domestic AI computing capacity and attract investments into higher-value segments of electronics manufacturing beyond smartphones. The government has increasingly framed AI infrastructure asastrategiccapabilityamidrising global demand forcomputing power required to train and deploygenerativeAI models. Theannouncementalsofollows the groundbreaking of a proposed$15billionAIhubpro- X ject in Visakhapatnam earlier this year. Industry executives said AI investments typically involvelarge-scaledatacentres, specialisedAI servers,networkingequipmentandcloudinfrastructure. Continued on Page 7 US court ruling maydelayIndia BTA FE BUREAU & AGENCIES New Delhi, May 8 WITH THE TRUMP Administration’s aggressive tariff policy suffering judicial setbacks for the second time since February, New Delhi may slow down on a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US. A US Court of International Tradeina2-1decisionThursday held that Trump's latest 10% temporary global tariffs over Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rates are unjustified under a 1970s trade law. It, however, blocked the levies only for two private importers and the State of Washington,offering practically no relief to any other TRADE UNCERTAINTY ■ Court strikes down Trump’s 10% tariff over MFN rates ■ Temporary 10% levy, introduced post-ruling, is set to expire in July ■ Policy uncertainty may slow India–US bilateral trade agreement talks importers orcountries. On February 20, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's reciprocal tariffs on nations,afterwhich his administrationimposedthe10%uniform additional levy. This is expected to expire in July. “The continuing uncertainty around US tariff policy, with major Trump-era tariffs repeatedly struck down by courts, makes any long-term trade commitments by India difficult to justify,” thinktank GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.HeaddedthatIndiashould wait until the United States develops a more stable and legally reliable trade system before concluding the BTA. “At present, the US is also notpreparedtoreduceitsstandardMFNtariffs,whileexpecting India to lower or eliminate itsMFNdutiesacrossmostsectors. Under such conditions, any trade deal risks becoming one-sided,with India offering permanentmarketaccessconcessionswithout receiving any meaningful tariff benefits in return,”Srivastava said. Continued on Page 7 ● STATE OFAFFAIRS: 2 CHIEFMINISTERS SETTOTAKE OATH (Left) Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Suvendu Adhikari after the BJP legislature party meeting in Kolkata on Friday; TVK chiefVijay meets Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar to stake claim to form government, at Raj Bhavan in Chennai. Both the leaders are scheduled to take oath as chief PTI ministers today Zepto among five companies to get Sebi's nod for IPO QUICK COMMERCE UNICORN Zepto is among six firms to have secured Sebi's approval to raise funds through public offers, reports fe bureau. The five other firms are Dhoot Transmission, Horizon Industrial Parks, Surgiwear, Crystal Crop Protection and Hotel Polo Towers, an update with Sebi showed on Friday. ■ PAGE 6 Related reports on PAGE 20 REPORT CARD STATE BANK OF India (SBI) on Friday reported a net profit of `19,684 crore for the March quarter, up 5.6% on year, a shadeaboveanalysts’estimates of `18,898 crore. However, operating profits at the country’s biggest lender declined by 11.4% on year to `27,704 crore.The net interest income grew by just 4.1% on year in Q4FY26 to `44,380 crore missing Street estimates of `46,707 crore while net interest margins contracted to 2.81% in the March quarter from 2.98% a quarter ago. Shares of SBI closed sharply 6.7% lower at `1,019.30 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Thelender’sfreshslippages for the reporting quarter went up by 24% sequentially to `5,521 crore.SBI Chairman CS Settysaid at a press conference that the slippageswere largely from the agriculture and the MSME segments.The lender’s gross non-performing asset (NPA)ratioimprovedto1.49% as on March 31,from 1.57% a quarter ago while the net NPA ratio was unchanged on quarter at 0.39% as on March 31. (` cr) Continued on Page 7 SBI standalone financials Q4FY25 Q4FY26 Net interest Operating profit income 4.1 Net profit 18,643 19,684 STATE-RUN OIL retailers are incurring underrecoveries of around `30,000 crore every month – or nearly `1,000 crore a day – as petrol, diesel and LPG prices remain frozen despite crude oil surging to around $120 per barrel amid the West Asia war and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, reports Saurav Anand. Google explores majorAI infra investments in India 31,286 27,704 WITH `1,000-CR DAILY LOSS, OMCS FEELTHE HEAT SBInetprofitup5.6%in Q4;NIIbelowestimates 44,380 PAGE 2 ECONOMY FIRM IS EVALUATING OPPORTUNITIES IN SERVERS,DRONES: VAISHNAW 42,618 IN THE NEWS 11.4 5.6 BANK OF BARODA on Friday reported a net profit for the March quarter of `5,616 crore, up 11% on year. The profits were driven by reasonably good growth of 8.7% onyearin the net interest income to `12,494 crore. PAGE 6 URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, May 8 TRUST DEFICIT ■ The meeting was rescheduled for a second time, after being moved up to May 8 from an initial May 12 date ■ The Tata Trusts ecosystem is under scrutiny amid an ongoing governance dispute within the trusts which caps the number of trustees appointed for life or in perpetuityat25%oftheboard’s strength. The Bombay High Court will remain closed for vacationfromMay11toJune7. The Tata Trusts ecosystem is currentlyunderintensescrutiny amid an ongoing governance conflictwithin the trusts. Continued on Page 7 Going-out economy: No longera one-man show FOR YEARS, BOOKING a movieorconcertticketonlinein Indiameantonething:opening BookMyShow.But the curtains are now rising on a far more crowded second act. The country’s fast-expanding “going-out economy”— movies,concerts,cricket,dining andliveexperiences—isturning into the latest battleground for consumer Internet giants.And BookMyShow, long the undisputed box-office king, is suddenlydiscoveringthateveryone wants a ticket to this show. The sharpest challenger has emerged from an unlikely corner: food delivery. District, backed by Zomato, has rapidly transformed itself from a side experiment into a serious rival. In May 2025, District had roughly 3 million weekly active users compared with BookMyShow’s12million,according to SensorTower data.By March 2026, District had climbed to nearly 12 million weekly users itself and reported revenue of morethan`970croreinitsfirst full financial year.According to Asolytics data, it has also led BookMyShow in monthly app downloads since May2025. And more competition is waiting in the wings.Walmartowned Flipkart is reportedly preparingtoenterthesegment, raising the prospect of ecommerce,food delivery and entertainmentplatformscollidingin one of India’s hottest discre- LIVE COMMERCE ■ After years of monopoly-like dominance, BookMyShow faces its first serious rivals Both District and BookMyShow are moving from software towards physical event assets ■ BookMyShow’s live events business reported revenue of ■ Zomato’s District has scaled from 3 mn to 12 mn weekly active users in under a year ■ `756 cr in FY25, nearing its `828 cr ticketing business Platforms are bundling movies, dining, sports and retail into a single consumer ecosystem ■ tionaryspending categories. Analystssaidtheriseofmultiple players could fundamentallyalterhowmultiplexchains, IPL franchises and concert organisers negotiate commer- cial terms. For years, BookMyShow operated from a position of overwhelming strength, shaping convenience fees, exclusivityclausesandrevenuesharingarrangements.Thatbal- anceofpowermaynowbeginto shift.Butthisisnolongermerely a ticketing war. Platforms increasingly see movies, concerts and sports bookings as gateways into broader urban spending habits. District, for instance,has integrated ticketing with dining through Zomato’s restaurant network, sports bookings through Play, and offline retail discovery through Stores.Its District Pass membership bundles these offerings together, creating a largerlifestyle ecosystem. “These platforms have huge amounts of data. They know exactly who watched the first part of a franchise and how to reachthemforthesecond,” said Ashish Pherwani, partner and media & entertainment sector leader at EY India.“Eating-out and food delivery data could be utilised for selling event tickets because the user demographic matches. However, there could be some constraints in terms of BENGALURU 1.49 0.47 0.39 y-o-y % growth SWIGGY POSTED A net loss of `800 crore, narrower than the Bloomberg consensus estimate of `909 crore and down 26% from `1,081 crore a year earlier, driven by stronger operating leverage in food delivery. PAGE 4 Hyundaiprofitmissesestimates HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA (HMIL) on Friday reported a 22.2% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for the January-March quarter at `1,256 crore, hurt by margin pressure from rising com- District’s rapid rise and new entrants like Flipkart are turning online ticketing into the next big platform battle ANEES HUSSAIN Bengaluru, May 8 1.82 Net NPAs (%) BoBnetup11% Swiggy trims to`5,616crore losses in Q4 TataTrustsdefers meettoMay16at thelastminute THE CRUCIAL TATA Trusts meeting scheduled for May 8 has been postponed to May 16 at the eleventh hour.This is the second time the meeting has been rescheduled. It was initiallyplannedforMay12before being advanced to May8. Some trustees who had joined the meeting were informed at the last minute that it had been cancelled. While the reason for the postponement remains unclear, the move came as a surprise, especially after the Bombay High Court on Thursday declined to grant an urgent hearing to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a stay on key board meetings of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust—the two principal charitable institutions under the Tata Trusts umbrella. However, sources familiar with the developments said the petitioners are likely to approach the vacation bench seekingastayontheTataTrusts meeting over an alleged violation of Section 30(A)(2) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, Gross NPAs (%) dataprotectionnorms,” hesaid. The changing dynamics are visibleincricket.ThisIPLseason, Districtistheexclusiveticketing partner for five of the league’s 10 franchises and handles ticketing for around 35 league matches,compared with BookMyShow’s 25.Two seasons ago, suchcompetitionbarelyexisted. The next phase of the battle may depend less on app downloads and more on who builds thephysicalbackboneofIndia’s live-events industry. Unlike markets such as London or Dubai, India still lacks permanent large-scale concert infrastructure,forcing organisers to repeatedlyconstructtemporary venues and staging systems. Continued on Page 13 modity costs and a weaker product mix, even as the company outlined an aggressive investment and expansion plan for FY27. The profit was lower than Bloomberg estimates of `1,268 crore. PAGE 4 AirIndiato delayhikes amidrising costburden FE BUREAU New Delhi, May 8 AIR INDIA WILL defer annual salary increments by at least onequarterandtightenspendingcontrolsasmountingexternal pressures,including higher fuel costs, currency depreciation and airspace disruptions, weigh on the airline’s operations and revenue outlook, according to people aware of developments. Addressing employees at a townhallonFriday,AirIndiaCEO CampbellWilsonsaidtheairline needed a relentless focus on costs amid a difficult operating environmentmarkedbygeopolitical uncertainty and rising input costs. The townhall was attended by Chief Human Resources Officer Ravindra Kumar GP and Chief Financial OfficerSanjaySharma. Ravindra Kumar GP told employees that the airline would proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions,but annual increments would be postponed because of the uncertain economicenvironment.“Wedon’t anticipate layoffs,” he said, according to sources. Wilsonsaidtheaviationsectorcontinuedtofacesignificant external headwinds, including the prolonged closure of Pakistan airspace, disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia, sharp depreciation in the rupeeanda2.5-3timesincrease injetfuelprices.Thesedevelopments, he said, had adversely affected travel sentiment and consumerconfidence. Continued on Page 7 Britannia plans price hikes amid Iranwar BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES IS preparing to take selective price hikes and grammage reductions in the June quarter to offset rising fuel and packaging costs. At the same time, it is shifting export manufacturing from Oman to India after the Iran war disrupted shipments and pushed up logistics expenses, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. PAGE 4