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APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL XLVIII NO. 49, 30 PAGES, `10.00 (PATNA & RAIPUR `10.00) 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: 56,819.39 ▼ 537.22 NIFTY: 17038.40 ▼ 162.40 NIKKEI 225: 26386.63 ▼ 313.48 HANG SENG: 19,946.36 ▲ 11.65 `/$: 76.53 ▲ 0.05 `/€: 81.23 ▲ 0.60 BRENT: $103.73 ▼ $1.26 GOLD: `51,463.00 ▼ `210.00 Govt hikes nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy THE GOVERNMENT has said the nutrient-based subsidy rates for phosphatic and potassic fertilisers for the kharif season will be `60,939 crore, against `57,150 crore for the whole of last year, reports Sandip Das in New Delhi. Intellectual property: US puts India on watch list THE US on Wednesday placed India, China, Russia and four other countries on its annual ‘priority watch list' for intellectual property protection and enforcement, reports PTI. Special Features Tech the vehicle for reaching ESG milestones The No Planet B study has revealed the vital role tech is likely to play in corporate sustainability ■ eFE, P7 Benq GV30: Easy to set up,ideal for small rooms This portable projector has stereo speakers, a woofer and a mid-range tweeter on both sides ■ Gadgets, P7 INDIA’S LARGEST INSURER Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will list on the exchanges on May 17 and is expectedtoraise`20,558crore, bydiluting3.5%stakethrough its maiden public offering.The issuewill open forsubscription on May 4 and will close on May 9.The anchor book of the issue will open on May 2,the insurer announced onWednesday. The government is offloading 221.3 million shares through the offer — valuing the insurance behemoth at nearly `6 trillion, considering the upper price band of the offer. Some market experts said during an analyst call that such alimiteddilutionwill cre- LIC chairperson MR Kumar (left) and DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey during a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday PTI ate a demand supply mismatch post listing,leading to a sharp spike in the stock’s price. Alimitedfreefloatwillhelpthe insurer get a higher valuation during its subsequent followon offer. Representatives from the government said during the analyst call that the anchor book is strong as the bankers have been working on it for a while. The issue size was reduced LIC IPO issue size from nearly`60,000 crore earlier to nearly `21,000 crore at thetimeoffilingthefinaldocuments, considering the volatility in the equity markets and subdued demand from foreign investors. The government however expects a significant demandfromretailinvestorsin the country’s largest IPO. Tuhin Kanta Pandey,secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management(DIPAM),saiddespite FMCG MAJOR HINTS AT MORE PRICE HIKES HUL net increases 9%, beats analysts’ estimates SHUBHRATANDON Mumbai, April 27 HINDUSTAN UNILEVER (HUL) onWednesdayreported a flat volume growth for the three months to March, because of high inflation hurting household budgets and weakeningconsumerdemand. TheFMCGmajorrustled up a net profit of `2,327 crore,up 9%year-on-yearonthebackof a 10% y-o-y increase in revenues to `13,190 crore,ahead of analysts’ estimates. The company’s operating profit margins,however,declined 20 basis points y-o-y to 24.6% during the quarter. Volumegrowth is,however, ahead of the market going by Nielsen estimates, which put value growth for the FMCG sector at 1% and volume contraction at 8% for the January–March period. HUL had reported a 16% y-o-y volume growth in the fourth quarterof Report card Q4FY21 (` crore) Revenue from operations 10 Q4FY22 Ebitda % change 24.6 10 FY21, on a favourable base as volumes had contracted 7%yo-y in the previous corresponding period. The HUL management has indicated consumers should expect more price hikes on the back of the 10% increase taken by the company during the March quarter, as it combats inflation in prices of 20 bps 9 key inputs.Given the elevated inflation, a contraction in margins was to be expected for the current year given the decline in discretionary spends by consumers across rural and urban markets. Continued on Page 2 Bajaj Auto net up 10%: P4 Indonesia export ban fear: Palm oil up 10% PALM OIL JUMPED 10% while rival soybean oil hit a fresh record high, as traders prepare for the start of Indonesia’s export halt. Malaysia, the world’s second-biggestproducer,issetto see a surge in demand for its products after top grower Indonesia said it will ban exports of RBD palmolein from April 28 to protect domestic supply. The move will remain in place until domestic cooking oil prices ease. Close (BSE) 18,300 592.00 15,475 187.45 11,700 14.42 11,373 119.50 10,355 826.90 ~`21,000 cr the reduction in size, the LIC IPO will still be India’s biggest public offer.“The IPO of LIC is of right size given the capital market environment, and we expectsignificantretailparticipation.The IPOwill not crowd out capital and monetary supply,given the current environmental constraints,” Pandey said at a press conference here on Wednesday. Continued on Page 2 The policy has roiled the global $50 billion palm oil market as Indonesia initially said it would ban all exports of cooking oil,before clarifying days later that only certain products will be halted. — BLOOMBERG PM flags high tax on fuel in Opposition-ruled states KAUNAIN SHERIFF M New Delhi, April 27 RAISINGTHEISSUEofhighfuel prices in Opposition-ruled states,which“for some reason” hadnotheededtheCentre’scall to reduce value added tax (VAT) onpetrolanddiesel,PrimeMinisterNarendraModiurgedthese statesWednesdaytocutVATand work“inthespiritofcooperative federalism” in this “time of global crisis”.By not passing on benefits to the people, these states,he said,were doing them an“injustice”and also harming neighbouringstates. ThePrimeMinistersaidthat last November a request was made to reduce VAT but states like Maharashtra,West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Jharkhanddidnotdoso“forsomereason”.Theremarksontheissueof fuel price, made during his meetingwithchiefministers to review the Covid-19 situation, had the Opposition reacting angrily and accusing him of “playing politics”. TMCleaderandWestBengal chiefministerMamataBanerjee toldreportersinKolkatathatthe interaction with the PM was “completelyone-sidedandmisleading”.She said,“Facts shared by him were wrong. We have been providing a subsidy of `1 oneverylitreofpetrolanddiesel CONVENTIONAL WISDOM SAYSthelegalsectoristhemost hideboundamongprofessional services.Thatnotionhastakena bigknock,withLegalTechmoving quickly from the fringes of the sector to becoming an importantpointofconversation in the mainstream legal industry.The pandemic played a catalytic role,forcing legal services to adopt technology at a rapid pace. The resultant efficiency gains and greater accuracy levels have prompted all stake- holders — from lawyers, law firmsandcorporateIndiatothe regulatorsandthejudiciary—to not only endorse LegalTech but campaignforitsfasteradoption. “We now use AI-enabled technologies for document automation,proofreading,due diligence, legal research and ediscovery,” says Komal Gupta, chief innovation officer at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM). A full-service law firm, CAM launchedIndia’sfirstLegalTech incubator Prarambh in 2018. GuptasaysCAMhascompleted two successful cohorts till now and has worked with various LegalTech founders to help RELIANCE INDUSTRIES AND US buyout firm Apollo Global Management are planning a jointbidforUKhighstreetpharmacychain Boots,the Financial Times reported, citing people familiarwith the matter. The joint bid for Walgreens BootsAlliance’s UK-based business, if successful, would see Boots expand its presence into India, Southeast Asia and the MiddleEast,the report said. Walgreenskickedoffthesale ofBootsearlierthisyear.Itdrew interest from several other private equity firms such as TDR Capital, Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners, who joined forcesandwereconsideredearly favourites before abandoning theirpursuit. Bootsrunsachainofroughly 2,200storesintheUKincluding brands such as No7 Beauty Company. It also has smaller operations in Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands and Thailand, andseveralprivate-labelbeauty and personal-care brands. Like many other retailers, Boots has had a turbulent pandemic, announcing 4,000 job cutsin2020asaconsequenceof a restructuring of its Nottinghamheadofficeandstoremanagement teams. SETHU PRADEEP Thalassery, April 27 ■ Tesla's Model 3 carwas IT’S $1,000, BUT still, they have just taken my money…” This is the sentiment among scores of Indianswho booked a TeslaModel3whenthecarwas announced in 2016 and CEO Elon Musk announced that pre-bookings would be available for customers from many countriesoutsideNorthAmerica,includingIndia.Customers had to put up a refundable deposit of $1,000 at the time. And while Tesla has delivered over 300,000 Model 3 cars globally,its Indian fans who paid the early deposit are a disappointed lot. Some are still waiting for refunds. A Kolkata-based private investor, who requested not to be named, says he has hardlyreceived any correspondencefromthecompany.He has not even received a refund on his credit card, despite making multiple From left: Raian N Karanjawala, managing partner, Karanjawala & Company; Komal Gupta, CIO, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Anupam Shukla, partner, Pioneer Legal THE LEGALTECH WAVE PA RT- I This is the first of a two-part series on how India’s legal firms have embraced high-tech them develop “practical solutions to real problems”. The greatest advantage that LegalTech offers is that it for the last three years.We have spent `1,500 crore on this.” Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray issuedastatementdetailingthe Centre and the state’s share of taxes on fuel.“The Union governmentowes`26,500croreto the Maharashtra government. Maharashtra’s contribution in direct taxes collection at the national level is 38.3% and its share in the GST (collection) is 15%, but the Centre gives us step-motherly treatment,” Thackeraysaidinthestatement. In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala financeministerKN Balagopalsaidtheincreaseinpetrol and diesel rates was due to the cessandsurchargeleviedbythe reducestheturnaroundtimefor legal help significantly.And for acountrywherethelegalsystem is marked by sloth, inordinate Centre,reported PTI. Duringhismeetingwiththe CMs,the PM mentioned conditions imposed by global events — it appeared to be a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine andthefalloutofthewar—and said this “spirit of cooperative federalism” becomes all the more important. “TostrengthenIndia’seconomy,thereneedstobecoordination between the Central and stategovernmentsineconomic decisions.Thisismorenecessary thanever.Youallareawareofthe situation of war which has arisen and the way the supply chainhasbeenaffected,”hesaid. Continued on Page 13 Six years on, Indian Tesla customers still waiting India’s lawyers walk the e-talk INDU BHAN New Delhi, April 27 Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with chief ministers on Covid-19 and fuel prices. PTI Reliance, Apollo Global plan joint bid for Boots MODEL 3 PRE-BOOKINGS REUTERS London, April 27 Net profit Ebitda margin (%) 24.8 Size (` cr) Source: Bloomberg 2,327 THE GOVERNMENT is likely to soon reduce the gap between the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine and the precaution dose, from the current nine months to six months, official sources said on Wednesday, reports PTI. RUCHIT PUROHIT & YOOSEF KP Mumbai, April 27 2,143 Time gap before Covid precaution dose to be cut Announcement date October 26, 2021 One 97 Communications May 5, 2010 Coal India Ltd January 1, 2008 Reliance Power August 8, 2017 General Insurance Corp Febuary 20, 2020 SBI Cards & Payment 3,245 FOLLOWING CONCERNS raised by a group of IT sector employees over a clause in the employment contract of Infosys, the ministry of labour & employment has called representatives of the firm as well as the employees’ union to hold a joint discussion on the issue, reports Pranav Mukul in New Delhi. BIGGEST IPOs TILL DATE Market experts see sharp spike in stock price as dilution is only 3.5% 2,957 LabourMin calls Infosys, union for discussion LIC to list on May 17 13,190 AIR INDIA, now owned by the Tata Group, has proposed to acquire the entire stake in AirAsia India, following which it intends to consolidate its airline businesses under a single roof, reports fe Bureau in Mumbai. It has approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI), seeking approval to acquire the 16.33% stake held by AirAsia Group. NAMES SEVEN STATES THAT DID NOT CUTVAT INDIA’S LARGEST IPO KICKS OFF ON MAY 4 11,947 IN THE NEWS Air India plans to buy AirAsia India, seeks CCI nod delays and an obdurate resistance to change,this is indeed a big boon. Consider this: Just with an incipient 10% penetration level, the size of the domestic LegalTech market is $380 million now, according to an estimate by Omidyar Network India.Italsoforeseesthemarket to grow at an explosive rate of 35%annuallyoverthenextfew announced in 2016 ■ Customers had to put up a refundable deposit of $1,000 at the time ■ Tesla has delivered over 300,000 Model 3 cars globally requests.“I now feel cheated by a company like Tesla. They have taken my money. Okay, it’s $1,000, but still, they’ve just taken my money. And without anyrecourse,anyclarity or information. It’s like a years. According to a recent CLOCreport,54-57%ofIndian companies intend to automate theirlegal processes. In August 2020, a Forrester report had said 47% of Indian companieshadtheirrevenuesat risk due to a lack of digitisation. As per a recent report by Gartner, the spend on LegalTech by Indianfirmswillincreasethreefold by2025. The term LegalTech refers collectively to assorted technological solutions ranging from online case filings,virtual conferences, client meetings and court hearings to more highend tech tools like automated litigation management and research, document automation and even artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data analytics. Thesesolutionsaidandsupport various portfolios and interconnectsthethreeprimary New Delhi fraud.I’m sad to say this,but it feels like I’ve been scammed,” he said. Varun Krishnan, a Chennai-based entrepreneur who runs a tech news website, booked Tesla’s first ‘low-cost’ model because he was a Musk fan at the time.“And I was just trying myluckwith myIndian credit card. And it actually went through. I thought I might own a Tesla at some point in the future in India, but sadly, that never happened,”he said. But as months turned into years, and with no signs of the company actually beginning operations in the country,asking for a refund seemed the best course of action. However, it was easier said than done. Krishnan finally got his refund last year after a lot of back-and-forth with the companyandevenafterhereceived the refund, he still isn’t happy with how he has been treated. Continued on Page 2 legal constituents — corporate legal departments, law firms and the authorities — regulatory and statutory bodies, tribunals and the judiciary. Raian N Karanjawala, managing partner at Karanjawala & Company, says: “Video conferencing not only saves time and money, but also ensures that a lot more work gets done in the day.”Accordingtohim,theother great change post-Covid has been the manner in which research is being done.For this, the law firm has an app which uses AI technology. Karanajawala and Co has been digitalisingitsrecordsoverthelastfew months. Gupta notes that a principal factor that drives the legal sectortoautomationisithelpscuts down on“repetitive and sometimes monotonouswork”. Continued on Page 18