THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 4 NEWS POINT | PAGE 22 For SkyeAir Mobility, logistics takes flight In Prabhjeet Singh, OpenAI finds a seasoned operator NEW DELHI, MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2026 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 11 Debt,AI boom, fragilities raise global risks, says BIS FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 103, 22 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 Tamilnad Mercantile Bank DEPOSIT SCHEME Tenor: 567 Days *T&C Apply MORE RETURNS. MORE REASONS TO SMILE. WITH TMB'S 567 DAYS DEPOSIT SCHEME 7.75%* www.tmb.bank.in | Toll-free: 180 0425 0426 tmb bank in IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 2 COMMERCE MIN MEET ON SEZS TOMORROW THE COMMERCE MINISTRY has called a meeting of the stakeholders for special economic zones on Tuesday to discuss harmonisation of export promotion schemes and suggest reforms, reports fe Bureau. Google restricts Meta’s use of its Gemini AI models GOOGLE HAS PUT limits on Meta's use of its Gemini AI models after the social media company sought more computing capacity than the rival tech group could provide, Reuters reports, citing the Financial Times. ■ PAGE 22 Apple's price hike may soon extend to iPhones APPLE'S DECISION TO raise prices of several hardware products last week could be the first step towards a broader repricing of its device portfolio, with analysts expecting iPhones to become costlier in the coming months, reports Ashutosh Mishra. ■ PAGE 4 GUJARAT(-80%)MOSTRAINDEFICIENTSTATEINTHEMONTHSOFAR Driest June since 2009 as monsoon deficit hits 43% SANDIP DAS New Delhi, June 28 WITH A MONSOON rainfall deficit of over 43% as on Sunday, June 2026 is on course to be third driest of corresponding months since the agency started collecting data in 1901 and the driest since 2009, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. During June 1–28, 85.2 millimeter (mm) rainfall was received across the country against the benchmark long period average (LPA) of 149.8 mm, the met department stated. Last month, IMD forecast a‘belownormal'rainfall at less than 92% of LPAin June. According to the latest projection, overall rainfall in June is likely to be around 95 mm, making it driest since 2009, RAIN DEFICIT IN JUNE Rainfall (mm) 87.4 97.4 % deviation from benchmark* 87.5 92.1 95* ■ The country usually gets around 16% of monsoon season (Apr-Jun) rainfall in June ■ All regions are showing -44 -41 -47 1905 1926 2009 -44 -43 2014 2026 deficiency: Northwest (-29%), east/north-east (-43%), central (-56%) & south peninsular (-31%) ■ July andAugust rains are crucial for kharif and horticultural crops sowing as around 60% of rains occur during these months Source: IMD, based on data since 1901, millimeter (mm) *likely against 85.2 mm till Sunday, benchmark (long period average) theyearwhenmonthlyprecipitation was only 85.7 mm, 47% below the benchmark. During June 2014 (92.1 mm) and June 1905 (87.4 mm), the monthlyprecipitation deficits were 44%. The country usually gets around 16% of monsoon season(April-June)rainfallinJune. The progress of the southwest monsoon remained sluggish with cumulative rainfall being just over 43% of the benchmark.This is deep in the ‘deficient’ range. In terms of regional distribution, all regions show a serious rainfall deficiency: northwest (-29%), east/north-east(-43%),central India(-56%),andsouthpeninsular (-31%). Continued on Page 7 FCNR (B) loan rates edge up MANJUAB Mumbai, June 28 DOLLAR RUSH THE RUSHTO capitaliseonthe Reserve Bank of India's FCNR(B) deposit scheme is already pushing up borrowing costs,withleveragedloanrates rising 20-25 basis points as banks compete intensely for a window that bankers estimate couldgeneratesubstantialforeign currency inflows. Theratepressureisemerging fasterthanmanyexpected.Floating rate loans against FCNR(B) depositsarecurrentlyavailableat 4.90-5.25%,butonceconverted into fixed-rate instruments for ■ Once converted into fixed-rate instruments for three or five years, the cost climbs to ■ The FCNR(B) deposit scheme is already pushing up borrowing costs ■ Floating rate loans against FCNR(B) deposits are currently available at 4.90-5.25% ■ The deposits between June 8 and September 30 will be considered threeorfiveyears,thecostclimbs to 5.25-5.50% afteraccounting forthetermpremium. "Loans are now available at 5.25-5.50% after accounting for the term premium floatingratesof4.90-5.25%for depositors.Once these are converted into fixed-rate loans for three orfiveyears,the cost rises to5.25-5.50%afteradding the term premium," said a senior public sector bank executive who has received preliminary quotes from foreign banks. Bankers are clear, however, thatratescannotrisemuchfurther without undermining the scheme's fundamental logic. The interest rate arbitrage — the gap between what depositors earn on dollar deposits abroad and what they can earn by parking funds in FCNR(B) accounts — must remain sufficiently attractive, or the deposits simplywill not come. Continued on Page 7 ● ‘OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITY’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Seychelles National Assembly Speaker Azarel Ernesta in Seychelles on Sunday.The two countries unveiled 19 outcomes following talks between Modi and Seychelles President Patrick Herminie. Modi said India’s vision is to make the Indian Ocean an ocean of opportunity during the talks » INSIDE « CHINA’S FAILED REBALANCING, WRITES STEPHEN ROACH P8 BRANDWAGON PAGE 9 THE CANNES LIONS CAMPAIGNS THATWON BIG WERE ROOTED IN HUMAN AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS IT'STIMETO CHANGE COURSE, WRITESALOKANANDA CHAKRABORTY P8 REPORT, PAGE 3 Fresh attacks byUS,Iran threaten interim deal ARSALAN SHAHLA & SARA GHARAIBEH June 28 VOLATILE SITUATION ■ The tit-for-tat THEUSANDIrantradedattacks targeting each other’s military infrastructure,signalling no let up in several days of escalation that are straining a ceasefire underpinning peace talks. InthelatestbarrageonSunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launchedmissilesanddronesat the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the 5th Fleet naval base in Salman Port,Bahrain. Kuwait said it intercepted two missiles and there was no material damage or injuries. Bahrain reported a residential building had been hit, but said therewere no fatalities. The tit-for-tat assaults began Thursday with the IslamicRepublicstrikingacontainer ship, prompting Washington to hit Iran the following day. The US struck again overnight Saturday, after Tehran attacked a vessel carryingQatarioil.Bothsidesblamed Q&A: STANCHART MD & CEO assaults began Thursday with the Islamic Republic striking a container ship, prompting Washington to hit Iran the following day ■ The US struck ■ In the latest barrage on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missiles and drones at an air base in Kuwait & naval base in Bahrain the other for breaching the ceasefire. The violence has ratcheted up tensions in the wake of this month’s interim US-Iran peace deal and risks slowing progress toward restoring traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuztopre-warlevels.Talksover the details of a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict were expected to again overnight Saturday, after Tehran attacked a vessel carrying Qatari oil resume thisweek. “Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,”the US military’sCentralCommandsaidin astatementpostedonXonSaturday.“Commercialvesseltransits through the Strait of Hormuzcontinue.USforcesremain vigilant,lethal,and ready.” Continued on Page 17 Brands race to crack the AI discovery code S SHANTHI Bengaluru, June 28 ‘Recast of retail book in 6-8 months’ STANDARD CHARTERED BANK'S MD & CEO P D Singh said the bank's ongoing shift awayfrom mass retail lending is driven by the need to build a stronger,more focused proposition — and that the transformation will be largely complete withinsixtoeightmonths. InaninterviewwithKshipra Petkar, Manju AB and Joydeep Ghosh, Singh said the bank is reorienting its retail business around affluent and wealthy customers, cross-border banking and deeper client relationships,movingawayfromsingleproduct customer acquisition that characterised its earlier approach. On the corporate side,Singh saidthebankseesstrongopportunities in SME banking,project finance and corporate lending, with its pipeline running 15% largerthanayearago. FULL INTERVIEW P6 EVERY TIME A shopper asks ChatGPT which running shoe to buy, Gemini to recommend afrozenmeal,orClaudetosuggest a skincare product, an invisible battle is playing out among brands. Unlike Google search,where dozens of results competeforattention,AIassistants typically recommend only a handful of products.For brands that fail to make that shortlist,it is the digital equivalent of disappearing from the shelf altogether. That shift in consumer discovery is quietly creating an entirelynewlayerofcommerce infrastructure. As conversational AI increasingly becomes thefirststopforshoppingdecisions, companies are scramblingtofigureouthowtomake their products surface inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI assistants. The challengeisspawninganewgeneration of startups that promise to do forAI what search engine optimisation (SEO) firms once did for Google: help brands becomevisible,trustedandrecommended by large language models. The urgency is not misplaced. According to industry TAILOR-MADE ■ ChatGPT ■ AI agents 20% $262 bn accounts for about ofWalmart's referral traffic, while it is 20% for Etsy's drove nearly worth of global orders during the 2025 holiday season ■ Companies are scrambling to figure out how to make their products surface inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude etc estimates, ChatGPT already accountsforabout20%ofWalmart'sreferraltraffic,over20% ofEtsy's,nearly15%ofTarget's and around 10% of eBay's. AI agents drove nearly $262 billionworthofglobalordersduring the 2025 holiday season, while for many brands, ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Mode already contribute close to 10% of organic traffic. Continued on Page 7 After decades of failed promises, Reliance's entry has revived hope—but not erased scepticism Hope returns to Mumbai’s Juhu Galli,so does caution RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, June 28 ON A SATURDAY morning, Juhu Galli does not look like a place on the cusp of transformation.Thenarrowlanesofthis dense settlement in Andheri West — one of Mumbai's most unlikely addresses, tucked behindthecity'sglitziestsuburb —bustlewiththeunremarkable commerceofeverydaysurvival. Cloth yarn merchants, sugarcane juice stalls, grain shops, vegetable carts. Sewagetricklesalongbroken lanes. Garbage sits in corners thatnobodyowns.Some28,000 families (give or take a few as some families may have more thanone“house”)livesqueezed into 101 acres of land that, by any reasonable measure of Mumbai real estate,should not look anything like this. Itsoonwillnot.Lastmonth,a consortium led byReliance 4IR Realty,partofMukeshAmbani's RelianceIndustries,wonthebid toredevelopJuhuGalliaftersee- ingoffbidsfromtheJSWGroup runsa cloth-yarnshopin oneof and the Shapoorji Pallonji thecrowdedlanes."Hopewecan Group. It is among Mumbai's see better days ahead." Yadav largest slum redevelopment does not sound euphoric.Expeprojects and only the second riencehasmadehimcautious."I majorforaybya large corporate don't knowwhen theywill start group into the sector after the the project,how much theywill Adani Group's Dharavi project. give,"he says. For many residents, howThat uncertainty echoes ever, the across the settleannouncement For decades, Juhu ment. Redevelopmeans less than ment promises Galli has lived one simple quesoften sound simithrough tion: Will this lar in the beginredevelopment attempt finally ning.The difficult announcements succeed where so questions emerge many others later.Whoqualifies and abandoned failed? for rehabilitation? projects For decades, What happens to Juhu Galli has families with lived through incomplete docuredevelopment announce- mentation? Howlongwill tranments,changingdevelopersand sit accommodation last? Will abandoned projects. Residents small businesses survive years have learnt to greet every new away from their existing cuspromisewithequalmeasuresof tomers? hope and suspicion. Afewshopsaway,grainmer"We have been doing busi- chant Siddesh Doshi is more nesshereforfiftyyears.Wehave optimistic."Since they won the had many bad experiences in bid,why wouldn't they develop thepast,"saysRamlalYadav,who it? I hope we will get nice parks, roads,parking andso on." Buthequicklyreturnstothe question that dominates local conversations. Only residents withvaliddocumentswillbeeligibleforrehabilitationhousing. In a settlement where ownership records have evolved over decades, paperwork worries many almost as much as construction timelines. Even before the first brick has been laid, the announcement has changed behaviour inside the slum. Residents say enquiriesforbuyingandselling structures have risen in recent months as families reposition themselves before the formal redevelopment process begins. When big business moves in The bigger story may lie beyond Juhu Galli. For years, Mumbai'sslumredevelopment projects were largely the preserve of small and mid-sized developers. Many projects stalledmidwayasfundingdried up,litigationmountedordeveloperssimplywalkedaway,leaving thousands of families stranded in transit accommodation foryears. The entry of groups such as Adani and Reliance marks a structural shift. "The single biggest reason projects fail is thattheyremainhalf-finished," saysMahendraKalyankar,chief executive of Maharashtra's Slum RehabilitationAuthority. Adevelopercapableoffunding transit accommodation upfront, furnishing performanceguaranteesandcarrying a project through property cycleschangestheeconomicsof redevelopment,he says. Urban planners and developers say that deeper balance sheets could reduce one of the sector's biggest risks—projects running out of money before rehabilitationiscompleted.But they also caution that financial strengthalonedoesnotguarantee success. Continued on Page 17 Last month, a consortium led by Reliance 4IR Realty won the bid to redevelop Juhu Galli after seeing off bids from the JSW Group and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH New Delhi