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APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 35 NO. 166, 30 PAGES, `12 (NORTH EAST STATES `12 & ANDAMAN `20) 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: 75,237.99 ▼ 160.73 NIFTY: 23,643.50 ▼ 46.10 NIKKEI 225: 61,409.29 ▼ 1,244.76 HANG SENG: 25,962.73 ▼ 426.31 `/$: 95.97 ▼ 0.20 `/€: 111.59 ▲ 0.53 BRENT: $108.54 ▲ $2.82 GOLD: `157,752 ▼ `2,749 ● Economistssay hikemaypushup retailinflationby 12-20basispoints IN THE NEWS ECONOMY COST SURGE Scenario Baseline scenario Before fuel price hike High crude scenario After `3/ litre fuel price hike SAURAVANAND New Delhi, May 15 PAGE 2 PM INKS ENERGY, DEFENCE PACTS WITH UAE INDIAAND THE United Arab Emirates on Friday elevated their ties by agreeing on a framework for a strategic defence partnership and signing a series of energy, infrastructure and technology deals, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his visit to Abu Dhabi to reinforce India’s engagement with a region unsettled by the ongoing Iran conflict, reports fe Bureau. The agreements reflected growing convergence between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi on energy security, defence cooperation and regional stability amid the continuing US-Israeli war on Iran and disruptions in the Gulf. ■ PAGE 2 Joblessness hits 6-month high of 5.2% in April THE RATE OF unemployment rate among persons of age 15 years and above hit a sixmonth high of 5.2% in April, showed the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released on Friday, reports PTI. The previous high rate was recorded at 5.2% in October 2025. Monsoon likely to hit Kerala coast on May 26: IMD THE SOUTHWEST MONSOON is likely to hit the Kerala coast on May 26, six days earlier than the usual onset of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday, reports Sandip Das. If realised, the arrival of monsoon would be the second earliest since 2020. Early onset and rapid progression across the country may boost early sowing of Kharif crops, officials said. ■ PAGE 3 PETROL AND DIESEL prices were increased by `3 per litre eachonFriday—thefirsthikein more than fouryears—as staterun oil marketing companies (OMCs) passed on part of the burden from elevated crude oil prices triggered by the prolonged West Asia conflict.Analysts, however, said the latest increaseremainsinsufficientto fullyoffset mounting losses. Thelatesthikepushedpetrol prices in Delhi to `97.77 per litre from `94.77 earlier,while diesel prices »INSIDE« rose to `90.67 EXPORT DUTY a litre from ON PETROL `87.67. CNG IMPOSED priceswerealso increasedby`2 PAGE 2 per kg in major cities, taking rates in Delhi to `79.09 perkg. Economists estimate the immediate direct impact of the fuel hike on retail inflation at 12-20 basis points (bps),with total effects—including secondary pass-through—likely ranging between 15-30 bps overthe coming months. Industry estimates suggest the three state-run oil marketingcompanies—IndianOilCorporation,BharatPetroleumCorporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation —were together incurring losses of nearly`1,000croredailybefore the latest revision.“Following the recent `3/litre fuel price hike, OMCs continue to face materialunder-recoveries,”said Sourav Mitra, partner, oil and gas,GrantThornton Bharat. Continued on Page 10 Crudeoilprice ($/bbl) Petrolmargin/ loss (`/litre) Nil 85 100-105 11 110-120 14 105-110 3.2 Dieselmargin/ loss (`/litre) 4 14 18 7.5 Source:AsperICRAestimates Cost pressures stoke fresh demandworries forIndia Inc VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO & AKBAR MERCHANT Mumbai, May 15 MOHIT MALHOTRA, SHAILESH CHANDRA, Fromademandperspective,thefocuswillbe onessentials. Discretionary spendingwill moderateas inflationary pressures grow Weareintensifyingcost reductionactionsacross theorganisation. Priceissomethingwewillbe activelyconsideringinthe coming months will moderate as inflationary pressures grow,”Mohit Malhotra, global CEO, Dabur, said. “While FMCG companies were taking calibrated price hikes in April-May, another round now looks unavoidable,” he said. Dabur had last week announced a 4% price increase acrosscategoriestooffsetinflationary pressures in the June quarter.Malhotraindicatedthat a second round of hikes could followintheSeptemberquarter. Consumer durable makers are also preparing for another increase in prices across cat- egories such as ACs, and refrigerators and washing machines. “Though the fuel price hike wasanticipated,athirdroundof priceincreaseshardlybodeswell for consumer demand. It will take a hit at a time when the summerseasonhasbeenmixed due to unseasonal rains in the north, south and east,” said KamalNandi,businessheadand executivevice-president,appliances business, Godrej Enterprises Group. GLOBAL CEO, DABUR CORPORATE INDIAIS preparing for another bout of inflationary pressure after the government’s latest increase in petrol and diesel prices,a move industry executives fear will sharply raise freight and logisticscostsatatimewhencompanies are alreadystrugglingwith elevated packaging expenses linked to the Iranwar. Executives across fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), automobiles, consumer durablesandpaintstoldFEthat thefuelpricerevisioncouldtrigger a fresh round of price hikes in June and July, even as urban demand remains patchy and rural recovery fragile. Companiesworrythatasecondwaveof inflation, following earlier increasesincrude-linkedinputs such as chemicals, packaging materialsandderivatives,could further dampen discretionary consumption in FY27. “From a demand perspective,the focus will be on essentials. Discretionary spending MD & CEO, TMPVL Continued on Page 10 Rupeebreaches96forthefirsttime CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, May 15 THE INDIAN RUPEE breached the96markforthefirsttimeon Fridayamidrisingoilpricesand a strengthening dollar, market participants said.After hitting an intraday low of 96.14, the currency pared some losses to settle at 95.97 against the dollar,down20paisefromtheprevious close. Since the outbreak oftheWestAsiawaronFebruary 28, the rupee has come under sustained pressure,weakening byaround 5.5%. With US-Iran peace efforts continuing to falter, oil prices havesurged.Crudeoilrose3.7% to $109.64 a barrel on Friday, whilethedollarindexstrengthened to 99.21 from 97.90 a week earlier.In the current cal- BIG FALL Asian currencies performance % change on May 15 Rupee vs dollar 95 95.77 Previous close 0.21% Inverted scale 95.97 Close: May 15 -0.99 -0.64 -0.26 -0.23 -0.21 -0.16 -0.15 -0.13 -0.11 0.00 0.01 0.04 Thai Baht Malaysian Ringgit Offshore Chinese Renminbi Chinese Renminbi Indian Rupee Singapore Dollar South Korean Won Philippine Peso Taiwanese Dollar Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Hong Kong Dollar Source: Bloomberg »INSIDE« INDICES LOG 1STWEEKLY DIP IN 3-WEEK PAGE 7 endaryear,the currency depreciated 6.8%. “Over the past few days the rupee held the 96 level, but it broke below that today (Friday). Once that level was breached, market participants began coveringtheirshortpositions,which also contributed to the move,” said Dilip Parmer,research analystatHDFCSecurities. He added that the higherthan-expectedtradedeficitalso added to the pressure. India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to $28.38 billion in April due to supply disruptions andelevatedoilpricesamidthe WestAsia crisis. “As oil prices rose to $109, therupeeweakenedinanticipation of a further spike in oil price,” said Ritesh Bhansali, deputy CEO, Mecklai Financial Services. “Thatsaid,Idon’texpectthe rupee to reach 96.5, as there is talk that the government and RBI mayintroduce measures to attract capital,” he added. Continued on Page 19 ● Venu Srinivasan was one of the complainants petitioner withdraw plea after noting inconsistencies in communication ■ Order bars meeting until inspector’s inquiry report is filed URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, May 15 INYETANOTHERdramaticturn of events in the Tata saga, the CharityCommissionerofMaharashtra has directed the board of TataTruststodeferitsscheduled meeting on Saturday escalating thegovernancebattlesurrounding the group’s philanthropic holding structure and throwing key strategic discussions into uncertainty. “In exercise of the powers conferredupontheCharityCommissioneri.e.,theundersignedby Section 36A(1) and other provisions of the Maharashtra Public TrustsAct,adirectionisissuedto the Board of Trustees of TATA Truststodeferthemeetingofthe BoardofTrusteesscheduledtobe held on 16-05-2026”,the order issuedonFridaysaid. It has also been directed that the Trusts should not hold any such meeting till“submission of report of Inspector inquiry,” ■ Vacation bench lets LEGAL TUSSLE It’s probably the first time a sitting Trustee has alleged wrongdoing at the Tata Trusts ■ Katyayani Agrawal flags alleged violations of Maharashtra Public Trusts Act Venu Srinivasan, vice-chairman,TataTrusts ■ Charity Commissioner on May 13 referred complaint to assistant commissioner for inquiry AmoghSKalotiwroteinanorder issuedonFriday. HeaddedthatSection36A(1) oftheMaharashtraPublicTrusts Act mandates that trustees of everypublictrustmustadminister the affairs of the trust in accordance with lawful directionswhichtheCharityCommissionermayissue. Email queries sent to Tata Trustsdidnotelicitaresponsetill presstime. Exportsofgoods up13.7%inApril MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, May 15 FASTER DIVERSIFICATION OF export markets and a low base helped India’s merchandise exports grow at a five-month high of 13.7% inApril to $43.5 billion.Importsgrew10%yearon-year (y-o-y) in the month to $71.9billion,resultinginatrade deficit of $28.3 billion,the lowest in three months. BecauseoftheWestAsiawar, India’sexportstothatregionfell 28%to$4.16billioninAprilbut there has been sharp growth in shipments to Singapore (179%), Tanzania (157%), Sri Lanka (214%), Bangladesh (64%), Hong Kong (90%), Malaysia(59%),Australia(55%) andVietnam(42%),Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. Highervalueofpetroleumproduct exports due to elevated crudepricesandsustainedhigh growthofelectronicsshipments also boosted the export figures. Goods exports shrank 3.8% inApril lastyear. Singapore, a small citystate, pushed aside the United Arab Emirates ($2.19 billion) to become the second-biggest buyer of Indian goods with transactionsworth$3.2billion following the US ($8.48 billion).In addition,shipments to the US,China,Germany,Japan, Indonesia, and Korea have maintained momentum. The fall in exports to West Asia in April was lower than the 57.9% fall in March. Along with the exports, the imports from West Asia have also come down. TRADE SWELLS Growth (%, LHS) Export Import ($ bn, RHS) Trade deficit 75 30 (LHS) 20 18.6 13.7 60 45 10 10 0 -10 -20 30 -1.4 Nov 2025 Apr 2026 15 0 In April,petroleum product exports grew 34.66% to $ 9.6 billion.Theturnaroundinpetroleumproductexportsstartedin March as the war led to higher crude prices. Prior to the war, petroleum exports were contracting inApril-February. Otherthanpetroleumproducts, electronics exports grew 40.3%to$5.1billion,engineering goods exports were up 8.76%to$10.3billion,pharma exports were up 7.1% to $2.6 billion,andchemicalsexpanded 7.3% to $2.4 billion. Continued on Page 6 US officials tout deal on farm goods, details scant; China offers no clear help on Iran war, airs frustration TrumpleavesBeijingwithfewwinsbutwarmwordsforXi TREVOR HUNNICUTT, ANTONI SLODKOWSKI & MEI MEI CHU Beijing, May 15 US PRESIDENT DONALD TrumpleftChinaonFridaywith no major breakthroughs on trade ortangible help from Beijing to end the Iranwar,despite two days spent heaping praise on his host,Xi Jinping.Trump’s visittoAmerica’smainstrategic andeconomicrival,thefirstbya USpresidentsincehislasttripin 2017, had aimed for tangible results to beef up his sagging approval ratings before midterm elections. The summitwas filledwith pageantry, from goose-stepping soldiers to tours of a secret garden, but behind closed doors Xi issued a stark warning to Trump that any mishandling of China’s top concern, Taiwan, could spiral into conflict. Trump declined to comment on the matter, staying unusually restrained throughout the visit. “It’s been an incredible visit. I think a lot of good has come of it,” Trump told Xi at their final meeting at the Zhongnanhai complex, a former imperial garden housing the offices of Chinese leaders, before their lunch of lobster balls and Kung Pao scallops. President Trump with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing, on Friday PTI While Trump searched for immediate business wins,such as a deal to sell Boeing jets that did not impress investors, Xi talked up a long-term reset and pact to maintain stable trade ties with Washington, underscoringtheirdifferingpriorities. Xi pushed the new term to describe the relationship as “constructive strategic stability”–a sharp departure from the framing of“strategic competition” used by Joe Biden which Beijing disliked. Analystssaidthenewframing was a success for China as for the first time it was Beijing that defined the ties on terms that meant that any major rift or“unconstructive”behaviour would violate the spirit of the relationship. “Untilnow,Chinahasn'tproposed an alternative-now they have-iftheUSsideagrees,thatis Kolkata The regulator’s intervention followscomplaintsreceivedfrom advocate Katyayani Agrawal (on April18)andVenuSrinivasan(on April 28) himself,both of whom raisedconcernsoverthecomposition of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust board and its compliance with amendments to the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act governing “perpetual”orlifetrustees. Continued on Page 19 Airtel,Jio clash over FASTTV regulation OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, May 15 28.3 Fuel prices raised after 4 years; OMC losses persist CharityCommissioner stallsTataTrusts meet 25.1 MORE HIKES LIKELYIFCRUDE STAYS HIGH progress,”said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua Universityin Beijing. No tangible help on Iran Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining its frustration with the US-Israeli war against Iran. “This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,”the ministrysaid,addingthatChina supported efforts to reach a peace deal in awarthat had disrupted energy supplies and the global economy. Continued on Page 10 A REGULATORY BATTLE is brewing between rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio over how the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) should govern free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platforms. Both sides have taken sharplydivergent positions on whether app-based television services should be regulated like traditional broadcasting networks or continue under the OTT framework. At the centre of the dispute is whether FAST services, which stream scheduled television channels over apps, websitesandconnectedtelevisions,should be treated as distribution platforms similar to cable and DTH operators or classified as Internet-based application layer services. In one of the most detailed submissions before Trai, JioStar has said that FAST and app-based linear television distribution (ALTD) services operateattheapplicationlayer of the Internet and cannot be equated with telecom infrastructure merely because they distribute content online. Continued on Page 6 QUICK PICKS Tata Steel Q4 profit more than doubles TATA STEEL’S NET profit attributable to promoters for Q4FY26 grew 124.9% to `2,926 crore compared to `1,301 crore in the same period a year before, led by lower inventory cost, reports Urvi Malvania. Revenue came in at `63,270 crore, up 12.5% year on year. ■ PAGE 4 Rapidovalued at$3bnafter raising$240mn RIDE-HAILING PLATFORM RAPIDO has raised $240 million in primary funding led by Prosus, with participation from WestBridge Capital and Accel, reports fe Bureau. The latest fundraising has valued the firm at $3 billion. ■ PAGE 4