BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 Gnani.ai aims to make a trustedAgenticAI suite BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 Noida’s ghost workers trainingAI machine BENGALURU, MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2026 Flipkart-Meta deal turns creator into a storefront FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXIX 50, 42 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 COMPANIES PAGE 5 TATA STARBUCKS TURNS UP THE HEAT POST RESET SIX MONTHS AFTER signalling a strategic reset, Tata Starbucks is preparing to accelerate growth once again, with the India business now seen as a long-term opportunity of up to 8,000 stores, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. Six PPP rail lines worth `20,000 cr to get nod soon THE GOVERNMENT IS likely to approve six railway lines connecting key mineralproducing regions to freight corridors and ports via PPP projects, involving an estimated private investment of `15,000–20,000 crore, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 Tighter lending norms likely to hit leverage RBI'S TIGHTER lending norms may curtail leverage among market intermediaries and make liquidity provision more capital intensive, report Christina Titus & Anjana Therese Antony. ■ PAGE 6 India's energy transition faces major risks ENERGYTRANSITION is facing challenges with global supply disruptions affecting availability and costs, reports Saurav Anand. ■ PAGE 2 IRANQUESTIONSUSPOSITIONAFTERBEIRUTSTRIKE ● A FRENCH IsraelspoilsTrump’s Sundaydealhopes ● US Prez insists agreement is ‘quite close’ PARISA HAFEZI & PHIL STEWART Dubai/Washington, June 14 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP criticised an Israeli strike on Lebanonthatcouldcomplicate attempts to finalise a framework deal between the United States and Iran on Sunday on ending their war, but said an agreement was nonetheless close. Iranian negotiator MohammadBaqerQalibafhad earlier said Israel's attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which Israel said targeted Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants, showed the US lacked the will or ability to fulfil its commitments. "This morning's attack on Beirut should not have happened,particularlyon a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region,including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down." The US-Israeli war on Iran, launched on February 28, has stoked conflict between Israel MAKINGS OF A DEAL STRAIT OF HORMUZ Iran immediately reopens the Strait of Hormuz while the US lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports within 30 days FINANCIAL The US agrees not to impose any new sanctions on Iran until a final deal is reached NUCLEAR The US agrees to release $25 billion of Iran's frozen assets Tehran agrees that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons Details according to an Iranian official cited by Reuters and Iran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israel has said it is not partyto the planned USIran deal. "If you lack the will and ability to fulfil your commitments,speaking of continuing the path is not possible," Qalibafwrote on X,in an apparent reference to peace moves. Mohammad Jafar Assadi, deputy commander of Iran's top joint military command, was quoted by state media as saying Israeli "crimes" in Beirut's southern suburbs would not go unanswered. Trump and mediator PakistanhadsaidonSaturdaythey expected the deal would be signed on Sunday, but Tehran cast doubt over the timing Google’spower CEAdefends moveforAIpush GDPestimate GOOGLE’S DECISION TO secure a private power distribution licence for its proposed 1-GW data centre campus in Andhra Pradesh may emerge as a template for AI-driven data centres chasing roundthe-clock green power, reports Saurav Anand. ■ PAGE 2 CONNECTION Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron at the inauguration of the 'Bharat Innovates' in Nice on Sunday. Laying out New Delhi's vision for developing human-centric innovation and technologies, Modi said India is no longer just a consumer of global solutions but a major contributor to them. Macron described India as a country of innovation and added New Delhi and Paris have a "true partnership" in critical sectors like AI and climate change CEA V ANANTHA Nageswaran defended the credibility of India's GDP statistics, saying the country does not use revisions in methodology or base years to artificially boost economic output figures, reports ANI. ■ PAGE 3 even before the strike on Beirut. AseniorIranianofficialtold Reuters that, under the terms of the draft deal,the US would agree to release $25 billion of frozen Iranian assets, while Tehranwould agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons. Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning as part of an effort to finalise the agreement, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The Israeli military said on Sunday that Hezbollah had launched three projectiles towards communities in northern Israel in violation of a ceasefire in Lebanon. ■ REPORT ON PAGE 2 Govtsettorevamp Foreign investors IndiaAIMission rush to buyG-Secs RISHI RAJ New Delhi, June 14 capabilities and access to advanced technologies. Officials said detailedconsultationsareunderway with industry leaders, researchersandstartupstoredefinethemission'sobjectives. While the current IndiaAI Mission has largely focused on buildingcomputeinfrastructure andsupportingthedevelopment ofindigenousAImodels,thereisa growing feeling that the rapid proliferation of open-source modelshasalteredthelandscape. »INSIDE« EDIT: ACCESS DENIED P8 THE GOVERNMENT IS overhauling the IndiaAI Mission,reassessing priorities amid growing concerns over access to frontier artificial intelligence technologies and the strategic implications of relying on overseasproviders,sourcessaid. Thereviewcomesagainstthe backdrop of the recent decision byUSauthoritiestosuspendforeign access toAnthropic's latest AImodels,Fable5andMythos5, a move that has intensified debategloballyoversovereignAI Continued on Page 16 CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, June 14 FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS (FPIs)havestepped up purchases of Indian governmentsecuritiesafterthegovernment and the Reserve Bank of India(RBI)unveiledmeasuresto attract foreign capital. FPIs bought government securities worth `11,087 crore through thefullyaccessibleroute(FAR)in the week following the June 5 announcements. SofarinJune,FPIshavemade net purchases of `15,895 crore in government bonds,the high- Noticetoeight morefoodfirms THE FOOD SAFETY and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Sunday issued notices to eight food business operators for allegedly using misleading brand names, trade names and product claims, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 4 FMslamsCong’s fear-mongering overeconomy FE BUREAU New Delhi, June 14 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman on Sunday slammed the opposition Congress party for“fearmongering,”saying India remains the world's fastest-growing major economy as the Narendra Modi government continues to focus on the economy and people's welfare despite global headwinds. Addressing an event in Bengaluru, Sitharaman accused the Opposition of allegedly attempting to undermine India's economic achievements and create doubts among citizens about the country's growth trajectory. “Every time the Congress’ Leader of Opposition speaks in the Lok Sabha, it is with a sense of decrying everything and undermining the achievements of the people of India,” she said. “(He is) constantly saying everything is going to crumble and that a big disaster is awaiting India.” Continued on Page 5 BANKING’S GOLD STANDARD TWO SPECIAL PAGES ON PAGE 20 & 21 BENGALURU estmonthlyinflowin15months. This follows net inflows of `5,693croreinMayand`5,081 crore inApril.In contrast,March sawarecordoutflowof`17,688 crore amid heightened global uncertainty following the outbreakoftheWestAsiaconflict. FPI holdings in government securities stood at `3.39 lakh croreasofJune12. “The policy measures improvedmarketsentimentand strengthened the rupee,leading to increased foreign demand for governmentbonds. Continued on Page 5