OPINION, P6 ECONOMY, P2 SOMIT DASGUPTA & DIYA DASGUPTA India missed the bus on solar, now must focus on green hydrogen MARKETS, P10 EDITORIAL STAKE SALE START-UP BOOST Govt must open up vaccination for the youth, step up testing, tracing, genomic analysis urgently BPCL disinvestment process to conclude by Sept end: Dipam secy Sebi eases listing norms; discretionary allotment to eligible investors AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOLUME XV-250, 18 PAGES, `6.00 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: 48,440.12 ▼ 740.19 NIFTY: 14,324.90 ▼ 224.50 NIKKEI 225: 28,729.88 ▲ 324.36 HANG SENG: 27,899.61 ▼ 18.53 `/$: 72.63 ▼ 0.06 `/€: 85.78 ▲ 0.07 BRENT: $62.63 ▼ $1.78 GOLD: `44,653 ▼ `26 IN THE NEWS Commercial coal mine auction: 67 blocks on offer THE GOVERNMENT ON Thursday offered 67 coal mines for sale, launching the second tranche of commercial coal mining auction and termed it a step towards 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', reports PTI. This is the highest number of mines on offer in a particular tranche after commencement of the auction regime in 2014. Amazon, Flipkart, others urge for FDI policy stability A SECTION OF e-commerce companies has urged the government to maintain stability in policy, reports fe Bureau in New Delhi. They emphasised that their businesses have been structured in line with the current regulations, a source aware of the discussions has said. PMLA case: HC grants bail to Deepak Kochhar THE BOMBAY HIGH Court on Thursday granted bail to Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, in the ICICI Bank-Videocon moneylaundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate, reports PTI. DAS-SPEAK PSB privatisation talks on with govt RBI governor foresees four categories of banks functioning in India FE BUREAU Mumbai, March 25 RESERVE BANK OF India (RBI) governorShaktikantaDasonThursdaysaidhe foresees four categories of banks functioning in India in the current decade. Governor Das said that the central bank is in discussionwith the government on the privatisation of two banks. He was speaking at the Times Network India Economic Conclave 2021. Among the four categories, the first set of banks will be dominated by a few large Indian banks with domestic and international presence. Next, there will be several mid-sized banks with an economy-wide presence. FIRSTset SECOND will be ofbanks several mid-sized dominated by a bankswith an economyfew large Indian wide presence bankswith THIRD would domestic and encompass smaller international private sector banks, SFBs, presence RRBs and co-operative banks for small borrowers FOURTH segment to consist ofdigital playerswho offer services directly to customers or through banks VIRUS WOES ● 5-YEAR PLAN Markets crash for second day To raise `1 lakh cr PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Mumbai, March 25 EQUITYBENCHMARKS CRASHED forthe second straight session on Thursday as a spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country and fears of localised lockdowns triggered an across-theboard selloff. Bearish global cues and expiry of monthly derivative contracts added to the volatility,traders said.The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 740.19 points or 1.51% to close at 48,440.12. The broader NSE Nifty tanked 224.50 points or 1.54% to 14,324.90. Maruti was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.98%, followed by HUL, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and UltraTechCement.Onlyfourindex components managed to close in the green — Dr Reddy’s, ICICI Bank,HDFC and L&T,rising up to 0.74%. “Increasedrateofinfectionacrossthecountry Sensex 10-year bond yield Intra-day, March 25 49,300 49,201.98 (%) Intra-day, March 25 6.18 Previous close: 48,440.12 49,000 6.17 6.152 6.16 via TOT: Gadkari FE BUREAU New Delhi, March 25 andworldiscreatingmorepessimism...Afterthe stellar rally, the market was on a consolidation stageduringthelastonemonth,whichamplified post the sudden rise in infection impacting future economic growth. THE GOVERNMENTWAS planning to raise `1 lakhcroreinthenextfiveyearsviamonetisation of state-funded highway stretches through the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) route, minister of roadtransportandhighwaysNitinGadkarisaid on Thursday. Under TOT, the NHAI transfers operational highwayprojects to private entities under long-term lease (15-30 years) against upfront payments. During the concession period,theTOToperatorcollects userfee on the stretchesinlinewiththeratessetbytheNHAIto recoup investments. The entity, of course, is required to operate and maintain the stretches. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 48,700 6.15 6.154 48,400 48,100 47,800 6.14 Previous close: 49,180.31 Open Close 6.13 6.13 6.12 Open Close The third set would encompass smaller private sector banks, small finance banks (SFBs), regional rural banks and co-operative banks, which may specifically cater to the credit requirements of small borrowers. Continued on Page 2 Byju's in talks for fresh $700-million fund-raise EDTECH START-UP BYJU’S is in advanced talks to raise $600-700 million in a fresh round of funding, backed by a clutch of investors. Once the deal goes through,it is estimated to give the online education firm a post-moneyvaluation of around $15 billion, sources aware of the discussions said, reports Asmita Dey in New Delhi.Byju’s did not respond to FE’s queries regarding the fund raise. The fresh capital will come in handy for the Bengaluru-based company that is understood to be in the midst of inking a spate of acquisition deals.FEhadlastmonthreportedthat Byju’sisindiscussionstoacquirerival Toppr in a transaction worth over $100 million. The firm is also reportedly closing in on a deal worth nearly $1 billion to buyAakash Educational Services,a companythat runs a chain of brick and mortar test preparation coaching centres. ■ Page 4 Ahmedabad