COMPANIES | PAGE 4 ECONOMY | PAGE 3 Only7FDIproposalsneeded CCEAapprovalinadecade BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 US court drops criminal charges againstAdani LUCKNOW, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2026 KBCdrawseyeballsdespite explosionofdigitalcontent FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 19 NO. 211, 36 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 A TA , 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: 78,154.25 ▼ 388.19 NIFTY: 24,471.70 ▼ 112.10 NIKKEI 225: 66,970.22 ▲ 1,363.51 HANG SENG: 25,652.82 ▼ 284.67 `/$: 95.45 ▼ 0.15 `/€: 110.12 ▲ 0.03 BRENT: $86.93 ▼ $0.79 GOLD: `151,975 ▲ `1,797 Direct tax mop-up increases 23.1% DIRECTTAX COLLECTIONS after refunds grew at an impressive 23.1% year-on-year to `8.11 lakh crore during April 1-August 10, data released by the CBDT on Tuesday showed, reports, Shubham Rana. ■ PAGE 2 Brent nears $90 on US-Iran stalemate OIL PRICES GAINED on Tuesday with traders focused on as negotiations between the US and Iran over a peace deal, reports Reuters. During the day, Brent crude futures hit $87.22 a barrel. ■ PAGE 10 ● Julyfigure15% lowerthanJune; SIPssteady KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, August 11 NET EQUITY INFLOWS into mutual funds fell 15% monthon-month (m-o-m) to `24,697 crore in July with large-cap schemes seeing an outflow for the first time since December 2023.Moneymovedintosmallcap and mid-cap schemes with both categories attracting net inflows in excess of `5,000 crore for a second month in a row. Inflows into small-cap schemes, in particular, jumped 39% during the month while mid-cap schemes saw an CHASING MOMENTUM SIP inflows ` crore (LHS) Net equity inflows ` crore (LHS) 50,000 40,000 30,000 90 20,000 10,000 0 32, 32,000 60 31,000 30 -30 -14.76 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul 2026 increase of 2% m-o-m. AkhilChaturvedi,executive director, Motilal Oswal AMC, believes inflows into equity schemes remain range-bound possibly because investors are turning cautious after low 12 29,000 29, -60 28,000 28, returns in the past two years. Nonetheless,Chaturvedinoted that flows into systematic investment plans (SIP) have been steadyeven as moneyhas shifted to low risk, absolute return products like SIFs and Feb 8 0.57 4 30,000 30, 0 -14.35 % growth (m-o-m, RHS) 33,000 33, % growth (m-o-m, RHS) Large-cap funds inflows (` crore) Jan 2,005 0 -3.73 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul 2026 arbitrage funds. SuranjanaBorthankur,head of distribution, Mirae Asset Investment Managers,said the moderation in equity inflows suggeststhereislessurgencyto buy during dips following the -4 -8 2,112 2,998 Mar 2026 RATING AGENCY FITCH has affirmed India’s longterm issuer default rating at ‘BBB-’ with a stable outlook, citing the country’s strong economic growth, improving policy credibility and solid external finances, reports fe Bureau. Large-capsdragequityMFinflows 31,961 FITCH AFFIRMS INDIAAT 'BBB-'; OUTLOOK STABLE 31,002 PAGE 2 24,697 ECONOMY INVESTMENTINSMALL-CAPSCHEMESSPIKES39%,ABOVE`5KCRFORSECONDMONTH 24,029 IN THE NEWS 2,525 Apr May Jun 1,593 2,067 Jul -1,322 Source: AMFI recovery in the markets.“There seems to be a preference for higher beta segments as reflected in the outflows from large cap schemes,” she said. Continued on Page 10 VijaySingh steps down GCPLCEO Sitapatiquits fromSirRatanTataTrust daysafterreappointment URVI MALVANIA Mumbai,August 11 VIJAY SINGH HAS stepped down as a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) ahead of the expiry of his term on August 14, ending his long association with one of the key trusts in the Tata ecosystem.Singh has informed the Tata Trusts that he does not wish to be considered for reappointment. Following his departure, the SRTT board comprises three lifetime trustees—Noel Tata, Jimmy N Tata and Jehangir HC Jehangir—along with Venu Srinivasan and Darius Khambata. Last year, Mehli Mistry, a longtime confidant of the late Ratan Tata, stepped down from several trusts under the Tata Trusts umbrella after failing to secure the unanimous support required for his reappointment to the boards of SRTT and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT). Continued on Pg 10 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, August 11 GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS (GCPL) on Tuesday said its MD & CEO Sudhir Sitapati has resigned from the company with immediate effect. The FMCG firm has appointed CFO Aasif Malbari as Sitapati’s successor. The leadership transition has surprised analysts since Sitapati had received shareholder approval for his reappointment as MD and CEO for a second term of five years on Friday (August 7) at the company's 26th Annual General Meeting. The GCPL board had approved Sitapati's reappointment on May 6, with his second term set to commence from October 18. Continued on Pg 10 AI &AI alone can help limitAIfrauds:RBIguv FE BUREAU Mumbai, August 11 RESERVE BANK OFIndiaGovernorSanjayMalhotraonTuesday called for increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the bankingsystemtostayaheadof fraudsters.“It isAI andAI alone that can help limit AI frauds,” Malhotra said at the FIBAC 2026 conference in Mumbai. “Fraud today moves at a speed of an (application programming interface) API call. Rules-based fraud engines, however well-designed, are perpetually one step behind thefraudsters,whoadaptmore frequently.” Continued on Page 10 SANJAY MALHOTRA, GOVERNOR, RBI Rules-based fraud engines, however well-designed, are perpetually one step behind fraudsters »INSIDE« BRICS DISCUSSING LINKING OF PAYMENT SYSTEMS P6 Lucknow