OPINION, P15 NATION ‘Sovereign,Secular, Democratic’ INTERNATIONAL BASIC FACILITIES FOR ALL SOON Diplomatic nod Our approach is one of empowerment through saturation of existing schemes rather than that of entitlement, says FM Page 2 Sri Lanka allows entry for controversial Chinese ship 'Yuan Wang 5' Page 17 ACROSS THE AISLE , P CHIDAMBARAM RINGSIDE VIEW Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL. XXI NO. 42 A SPORTING NATION NEW DELHI SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2022, 44 Pages, `10 (Patna `10, Raipur `10) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY B E N G A L U R U , India@7 5 HISTORY INSPIRES THE PRESENT, and the future. As we look back, and forward, to mark 75 years of independent India, we take note how imperialism transitioned into democracy, nationalism and progress, be it monuments that today stand as symbols of development, or how our literature and popular culture evolved to portray our idea of a nation. In our special Independence Day edition, read on to know what were the landmark incidents that shaped the India we live in today, and what future do we see for ourselves in a country poised to take the next leap forward. PAGES 4-10 C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , Variety in CWG medal menu a good sign for Indian sport Page 15 READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , 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 DEAL COULD BE AT 5% TO EXISTING SHARE PRICE KKR plans to exit Max Healthcare ● Will sell entire 27.54% stake for about `9,000 cr FE BUREAU Mumbai, August 13 GLOBAL INVESTMENT FIRM KKR,the largest shareholderin Max Healthcare Institute, plans to exit the New Delhibased hospital chain byselling its entire 27.54% stake for about `9,000 crore. The private equity giant, which holds the stake through an affiliate firm Kayak Investment,intendstosellitstotal267 million shares through the deal ‘soon’.The deal,which would be at a discount of up to 5% to the current share price,is intended to be executed probably within the next fortnight,said sources close to thedevelopment. On Saturday, certain media reports also stated that Kayak Investment was looking to sell its entire stake in the company. Rushdie on ventilator, likely to lose an eye As of June 2021, Kayak Investments held 456.3 m shares, totalling 47.24% stake in the firm and has been diluting its stake over the past one year STAKE SALE ■ KKR holds the stake through an affiliate firm Kayak Investment PE firm hopes for good interest, like previously when it offloaded the stake ■ In March this year, Kayak Investment sold 10% of Max Healthcare for nearly `3,300 cr “KKR’s plan is to sell the entire stake held in the company. However, this would also ■ Later in September, it sold 84.4 m shares for `2,956 cr through open market transactions depend on the market interest. The PE firm hopes there would be a good interest,like previous times when it offloaded the stake,” anothersource said. When contacted, KKR declined to comment on the development. On Friday, Max Healthcare’ssharescloseddown 2.74%at `361.55 on the BSE. Since 2014, KKR has executed several transactions as part of the firm’s healthcare growth equitystrategy. As of June 2022, the company’s promoters hold a 50.64% stake, mutual funds hold 19.21% and that of foreign institutional investors was at 23.34%. Continued on Page 2 ● COLOURS OF FREEDOM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New York, August 13 TOMORROW We will chronicle some of the iconic moments of India’s economic and corporate history and bring you perspectives from 10 of India’s famous citizens — from India Inc as well as policymakers — who have all led from the front in laying the roadmap for the India of tomorrow. IN THE NEWS SpiceJet agrees to settle CUB dues CITY UNION BANK said SpiceJet has agreed to settle its dues with the bank in a phased manner that will see re-payments happening till June 2023. SpiceJet has been servicing the interest dues regularly. ■ PAGE 2 Deutsche Bank ex-co-CEO Anshu Jain passes away REUTERS Frankfurt, August 13 ANSHU JAIN, THE former Deu- tsche Bank AG co-chief executive officer,died early on Saturdayat the age of 59 aftera long, illness,the bank said. “AnshuJainplayedakeyrole in expanding Deutsche Bank's position in our global business with companies and institutionalinvestors,”saidAlexander Wynaendts, chairman of the bank’s supervisory board.“Today, this is of strategic importance not just for Deutsche Bank,but forEurope as a financial centre,” he added.Jain was instrumental in building the company’s global capital marketsbusiness,thebanksaid.The Indian-born banker was appointed to Deutsche’s managementboardin2009andwasresponsible for the corporate and investmentbankdivision.From 2012 to 2015,hewas co-CEO. “Anyone who worked with Anshuexperiencedapassionate leaderofintellectualbrilliance,” said CEO Christian Sewing. Bloomberg News reported that Jain had been suffering from cancerforfiveyears. SALMAN RUSHDIE WAS on a ventilator with damaged liver and may lose an eye after the Mumbai-born controversial author was stabbed in the neck and abdomen by a man at an event in New York, sending shockwaves across the literary world, which condemned the incident as an attack on freedom of expression. “The news is not good,” the 75-year-old writer’s agent, AndrewWylie said. Continued on Page 2 INTOLERANCE VS FREE SPEECH Dichotomy of the internet age India can be 2nd-largest Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi lit in colours of the national flag on the eve of Independence Day, on Saturday PRAVEEN KHANNA BLACK LETTERS ● When futility of bans on books and muffling of writers go hand in hand ■ Rushdie himself questioned bans on books when they could be easily downloaded economy by 2031: Patra FE BUREAU Mumbai, August 13 'US says India hid Russian origin of fuel’ INDIACANFAST-trackitswayto IVINDER GILL New Delhi, August 13 ■ A host of WHEN ITWAS banned in 1988 in several countries, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie faced government censorship. Today, cancel culture is empowered in every hand that holds a cell phone. Also, today, the entire text of Satanic Verses is available on variouswebsites,openlyaccessible for anyone to read. Be it obscenity, religious blasphemy,offensive portrayals of personalities, businesses or organisations, or national security, finding a reason for banning of books has never been difficult. Even the Bible has been censored in various instances. Rushdiehimselfquestioned the relevance of bans on books in an age when they could be easily downloaded anywhere. Also, with a host of platforms platforms enable selfpublishing, besides blogs, websites or even social media ■ Books from mainstream publishers have permanence than a social media post, so face more scrutiny ■ Over 40 books are banned nationwide in India alone enablingself-publishing,beside blogs,personalwebsitesoreven social media for that matter, attempts to muffle any voice seem rather ironical. Despite this, a simple internet search reveals a list of over 40 books banned nationwide in India alone.Withdrawals and‘sanitisation’ofbooksisanothermatteraltogether. Continued on Page 2 becoming the second-largest economy in the world by 2031 by boosting gross domestic product (GDP) growth in terms of purchasing power parity to 11% in the next decade, beating the estimate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputygovernorMichael Patra said on Saturday. As per the OECD calculations,Indiaispoisedtoovertake the US economyby2048,makingIndiathelargesteconomyin the world after China. Indian economygrewby8.7%byFY22 and the RBI has projected GDP growth of 7.2% in FY23. “It is possible to imagine India striking out into the next decade with a growth rate of 11%. If this is achieved, India will become the second-largest economy in the world not by 2048 as shown earlier, but by 2031,”Patrasaid,speakingatan event organised by the RBI. “Even if it does not sustain this BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAK New Delhi, August 13 INDIAHASSHIPPED outasmuch exchange, cyber-physical systems, cloud computing and advancedrobotics.Additionally, India must develop a skilled labour force and increase its internationalcompetitiveness, Patra said. In case the 10% growth target for manufacturing is met, its share in the GDP will increase to 25%, Patra said, adding that the country needs to do a lot of catching up in this space. as1.3milliontonneofwheatsinceabanwasimposedonthegrain’sexportsinMay,aseniorgovernment official told FE. The exportsincludedespatchesagainst letters of credit (LCs) issued before the ban was slapped and supplies under government-togovernment(G2G)deals,hesaid. While prohibiting wheat exportsonMay13tocurbarise in domestic prices,the governmentmadeitclearthatitwould cater to the genuine need of neighbouring countries and food-deficit nations through G2G deals and honour supply commitments already made. Moreover, the shipments that were already backed by LCs issued before the ban would be allowed,it stated. About350,000tonnegrains havebeensuppliedthroughthe G2G channels to food-deficit nations that had sought India's help after the prohibition was imposed,the official said. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 THE US HAS expressed concerntoIndiathatitwasbeingusedtoexportfuelmadefromRussiancrude, through high-seas transferstohideitsorigin, toNewYorkinviolationof US sanctions,RBI deputy governor Michael Patra said on Saturday. RBI deputy governor Michael Patra ■ PAGE 2 pace and slows to 4-5% in 2040-50, it will become the largesteconomyoftheworldby 2060,”he added. To reach the milestone, Indiamustfocusonfourdrivers of growth,which, according to Patra, include demographic dividend, manufacturing, exports and internationalisation of the rupee.To meet the target of 10% growth in the manufacturing sector, India needs to be a part of the industrial revolution 4.0, which includes automation, data 1.3 mn tonne wheat export since May Laal Singh Chaddha, Raksha Bandhan increase Bollywood’s headache ALOKANANDA CHAKRABORTY New Delhi, August 13 A LOT WAS riding on the two Bollywood films that released coinciding with the festival of rakshabandhan — Raksha Bandhan and Laal Singh Chaddha. But early numbers show these two will likely join the train of recent Bollywood flops like Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Shamshera, Akshay Kumar’s SamratPrithvirajandKangana Ranaut’s Dhaakad. Raksha Bandhan, released this Thursday to draw in the rakhi holidaycrowd,fell flat on its second day of release after a lackadaisical opening day. The film, made with an approximate budget of over `70 crore, debuted with a disappointing `8.20 crore on its first day and raked in a measly `6.40 crore on Day Two, according to reports. That’s around `14.60 crore in total. As peranalysts,theatre owners cancelled as many as 1,000 shows of the film on Friday after its average occupancy remained in single digits. The film was a washout in south India, where Akshay Kumardoesn’tenjoymuchofa following.“While the film fell flat in metros and multiplexes, it seems to be faring a tad bet- LACKLUSTRE PERFORMANCES ■ It has fared somewhat better than Raksha Bandhan ■ Raksha Bandhan fell flat on its second day of release, after a lackadaisical opening day ■ Its Day One collections (Thursday, August 11) stood at `11.70 cr and Day Two `7.26 cr ■ The film was made at a budget of over `70 cr ■ It debuted with `8.20 cr on its first day and raked in a measly `6.40 cr on Day Two ■ Theatre owners cancelled 1,000 shows on Friday, after its average occupancy was in single digits terinthemassmarketsofUttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and ■ Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha was reportedly made on a budget of a whopping `180 cr Gujarat,” points out film critic andtradeanalystTaranAdarsh. This is now the third box ■ Laal Singh Chaddha had an overall 14.30% Hindi occupancy on Friday office dud in a row this year for the star — who had almost single-handedly ensured the success of the Khiladi franchise in the Nineties — after Bachchhan Paandey (box office revenue `50 crore) and Samrat Prithviraj (`68 crore). The 2021 Sooryavanshi was Kumar’s last superhit movie, raking in a total of `196 crore as per Bollywood Hungama. The Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha — reportedly made on a whopping budget of `180 crore — seems to be going the same way, though it has fared somewhat better than Raksha Bandhan. According to early estimates, its Day One collections (Thursday,August 11) stood at `11.70 crore and Day Two `7.26 crore.That’s a total of `18.96 crore. Laal Singh Chaddha had an New Delhi overall 14.30% Hindi occupancy on Friday, August 12, leading to show cancellations in some regions. Now compare these two with SS Rajamouli’s Telugulanguage epic action drama and one of India’s most expensive films, RRR (Hindi): Its Day One (March 24, 2022) collections stood at `19 crore and Day Two `24 crore. That’s a cool `43 crore in two days flat, more that double the collection of Laal Singh Chaddha in the same time frame and about three times that of Raksha Bandhan. Continued on Page 2