OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES ACROSS THE AISLE , P CHIDAMBARAM Even though exam stress is experienced by everyone, psychologists are seeing a rise in mental health issues among students preparing for ultra-competitive exams such as IIT-JEE, NEET, etc Page 6 The debate for republicanism has rekindled across Commonwealth realms Page 8 Azadi,autonomy and MrAzad A colonial baggage? ANXIETY OF SUCCESS VOL. XXI NO. 47 SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM THE MYTH OF SUSTAINABLE FASHION NEW DELHI SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2022, 22 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 , WHAT'S INSIDE C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , FE BUREAU New Delhi, September 17 Moving away from celebrities and influencers, several brands are using real-life stories to convey their message A policy isn’t an end in itself. It’s a beginning. I hope goods will move with the speed of a cheetah” —NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA The Tata leadership programme The story of Tata Administrative Service provides valuable insights into the changing business environment in India IN THE NEWS ‘Concerns on Ukraine reflect global worries’ INDIAN AND CHINESE leaders expressing their concerns to the Russian President over the Ukraine war is reflective of the global worries about the effects of Moscow's aggression against the interests of people across the planet, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. PM Modi during a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Uzbekistan pressed him to end the conflict in Ukraine soon.■ PAGE 16 Ambuja seeks shareholders' nod for Adani on board Ambuja Cements has called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) with shareholders on October 8, reports PTI. In the EGM, Ambuja Cements will seek shareholders' approval for the appointment of Gautam Adani and others on the board.■ PAGE 3 K O C H I , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , Modi on Saturday unveiled the national logistics policy and set a goal to trim the country’s logistics costs from as much as 13-14% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to a single digit overthe next fewyears. The policy aims to ensure seamless movement of goods and services across the country and cut elevated logistics costs, often considered the biggest structural bottleneck for both external and internal trade in India. Touted as the first holistic framework forthe country’s $150-billion logistics sector, the policy is expected to help boost manufacturing, create infrastructure and spur employment. “If we want to be globally competitive, it (achieving the SALIENT FEATURES OF THE POLICY Integration of Digital System: To integrate 30 different systems of various ministries, to lead to faster cargo movement Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP): To make visible all available transport modes ELOG: For flagging issues by both private and public sectors so that govt can find solutions SIG: To monitor all logistics projects regularly through an inter-ministerial panel target) is a low-hanging fruit,” thePrimeMinistersaid,casting the policy as one of the crucial steps in India’s journeytowards being a manufacturing powerhouse and a developed nation. Modi, however, was emphaticinstatingtheneedfor coordinatedfollow-upactionby both public and private sectors to ensure that the policy serves the intended purpose. “A policy isn’t an end in itself. It’s a beginning. Policy plus performance is equal to progress. Once the policy is in place, the responsibility of the governmentandindustrygoes up,” Modi said. “I hope goods will move with the speed of a cheetah (due to the efficient implementation of the logis- M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E ● WILD CAT ENTRY tics policy).” Incidentally, the PM, earlier in the day, released eight cheetahs procured from AfricainKunoNationalPark in Madhya Pradesh, to re-introduce the animal which had got extinct in India. Thenewlogisticspolicycaps eightyears ofthegovernment’s efforts to create a conducive ecosysteminthelogisticssector, he said,adding that it will complement the PM Gati Shakti national masterplan initiative. Gati Shakti is essentially a GISbased platform with close to 1,500 layers,capturing all utilitiesandnetworklinkagesinvarious economic clusters. Under this,differentdepartmentsjoin hands for a coordinated development of projects. The newlogistics policyhas four critical features: Integration of Digital System (IDS); Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP); Ease of Logistics (ELOG); and System Improvement Group (SIG). UndertheIDS,30differentsystems of seven departments are integrated; these include data of the road transport,railways, customs, aviation and commerce departments. PM Narendra Modi looks on after releasing a cheetah into Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Eight of the animals, gone extinct in India, were procured from Namibia and re-introduced in the country on the occasion of Modi's 72nd birthday PTI Continued on Page 2 Foreign brands eyeing festive Inflation easing but stay cautious: Finmin report opening in Indian market ● E-tailers have onboarded many international brands for upcoming sales REYA MEHROTRA New Delhi, September 17 THE FESTIVE SEASON might be abouttradition,butshoppingin the coming dayswill have a distinct foreign flavouras marketplaces vie to offer international labels to Indiancustomers. Withoverallonlineshoppers in the festive week expected to grow 4X from 2018 and online shoppers likely to double from 18% in CY2018 to 30% in CY2022,brands,too,arekeenon the Indian online retail market, which is projected to reach $68 billion in CY2022 as per a SeptemberRedseerreport. Fashion e-tailer Myntra As telcos gear up for 5G launch,sector shows progress FE BUREAU New Delhi, September 17 H Y D E R A B A D , Logistics policy launched to boost India's trade edge ■ LEISURE, P7 ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 READ TO LEAD SEAMLESS MOVEMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES ● Aims to cut logistics costs to single digit from present 13-14% of country’s GDP When brands drop the act The sector needs much more to call itself a clean and green industry Page 5 have tripled in the past five yearsto761million,whiledata traffic has increased 18X. Jio AS THE COUNTRY’S top two and Bharti now make up 76% telecom operators, Reliance ofthemarket.However,Arpuis Jio and Bharti Airtel, prepare still lowerthan pre-September to launch 5G services in the 2016 — before the launch of latter part of the Jio — and, adjunext month, the Since data usage of sted for inflation, sector’s key 5G users would rise is 25% lower. parameters have Brokerage substantially, it started to look firm CLSA preup. Analysts are would translate into dicts 5G smarthigher Arpu for of the view that phones are estithe timing is mated to reach operators without right for the two 250 million by any tariff hike companies to FY25. Currently, shift gear to the there are 50 mil5G play. lion 5G handsets. As per Telecom Regulatory As perTrai data,average usage Authority of India (Trai) data, of 4G subscribers at 15GB the sector’s average revenue monthly is up 5x in five years. per user (Arpu) has risen 53% since FY19 and 4G subscribers Continued on Page 2 BRANDS ACROSS BORDERS ■ Myntra announces onboarding US store Macy’s ■ It has collaborations with Trendyol, Urbanic, Zalora, JC Collection ■ Flipkart announces inclusion of San Franciscobased fashion brand Bebe for India ■ Flipkart to offer Cristiano Ronaldo’s brand CR7, DeFacto, Anta, Trendyol, Saucony, Brooks, American Eagle ■ Amazon has ■ Key brand launches on Myntra: South Korean 8Seconds, H&M Home, UCB Home and festive collection from Birkenstock announced onboarding US store Macy’s ahead of the festive sales after seeing a significant surge in demand for popular global brands and trendy styles. curated beauty gift sets from Bath & Body Works, The Body Shop, Innisfree, Kimirica, Elizabeth Arden Said Jayanti Ganguly, business head - international brands, marketplace and omni -Myntra,“Wecontinuouslyaim to bring the best of international brands and labels to Myntra, along with enabling international brands to seamlessly reach the fashion-forward consumers in India.” Some other key brand launches this year on Myntra include popular South Korean brand 8Seconds, H&M Home, UCB Home and a festive collection from Birkenstock, among others.Ganguly added that the MyntraGlobalinitiative,acrossborderprogrammethatenables Indian consumers to purchase products from other countries through Myntra,has collaborationswith international brands likeTrendyol,Urbanic,Zalora,JC Collection,etc. “The company’s timeless global fashion, premium quality, and great value pricing makes for a strong association with Myntra and enables Macy’sprivatebrandstobewell positioned in the country,”said SharonPais,chiefbusinessofficer, Myntra, on Macy’s foray in the Indian market. Continued on Page 2 ● Says soaring consumer sentiment, rising employment to sustain growth FE BUREAU New Delhi, September 17 INFLATIONARY PRESSURE IN India appears to be on a decline due to a raft of steps initiated by both the government and the central bank and easing of global commodity prices as well as supply-chain bottlenecks, but there is“no room for complacency”, the finance ministry said on Saturday. Downside risks to growth will persist insofar as India is integrated with the rest of the world,the department of economic affairs said in its report for August. ON A POSITIVE NOTE ■ Imports growing faster; financing them must be given high priority ■ Retail inflation dropped from 7.79% in April to 7% in Aug; it reversed a 3-month ■ Wholesale declining trend to price inch up inflation eased three 29 bps in percentage August from 6.71% points to in July 12.41% It also cautioned that in winter months, heightened international focus on energy security in advanced nations could elevate geopolitical tensions (in wake of the Ukraine war), testing India’s handling of its energy needs. Already, analysts have said Europe is going to be in a spot once winter sets in, given its traditional heavy reliance on Russian oil and gas. Moreover, the balance sheet of the US Federal Reserve has yet to begin contracting; it’s only expanding more slowly.But when it actually starts shrinking, it may herald a new phase of risk aversion in capital markets, impeding global capital flows. “In these uncertain times, it may not be possible to remain satisfied and sit back for long periods. Eternal macroeconomic vigilance is the price for stability and sustained growth,” it said. Given its bright growth prospects,India’s imports are growing faster and financing them comfortablywill have to be accorded high priority,the report said. Continued on Page 2 Affordable 5G phones to be festive hot picks ● An array of launches, max sales expected in `10-15K range as 5G services likely soon SHUBHANGI SHAH New Delhi, September 17 AS THE COUNTRY awaits the launchof5Gservices,expected next month, it is no surprise that there has been an uptick in demand for 5G-enabled smartphones. And, it is the affordable segment that is seeing the maximum launches as well as highest expected sales. In the previous quarter (April-June), the 5G smartphone shipment share reached 29% of overall ship- Xiaomi India launched ‘5G all-rounder’ Redmi 11 Prime 5G priced in `14,000`16,000 range SWEET PRICE SPOT ■ Jio collaborating with Google to launch ultra affordable 5G phone Vivo Vivo T1 5G was launched earlier this year at a starting price of `15,990 OnePlus Recently launched OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G (starting at `23,999), Nord 2T 5G (starting at `28,999) Realme Shenzhen-based Realme recently came up with Realme 9 5G with a starting price of `14,999 ments, which was the highest ever, as per a Counterpoint Research report. Samsung led the 5G smartphone segment with a 25% share. Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi, which continues to lead India’s smartphone market share, expects the coming festive season sales to be a cat- alyst in the growth of 5G in India.“With 5G services soon, the sentiment towards 5Genabled smartphones is evidently positive,” said Anuj Sharma, chief marketing officer of Xiaomi India, adding, “We launched our ‘5G allrounder’ Redmi 11 Prime 5G to officiallycommemorate the #DiwaliwithMi spirit earlier this month.”The 64GBvariant of the phone is priced at `13,999, while the 128GB variant is priced at `15,999. Sharma“believesthattheprice segment of `10-15Kis a sweet spot for the 5G smartphone market at this point and can significantlydrivethe5Grevo- lution in India.” Just like Xiaomi, Shenzhen-based Realme recently came up with Realme 9 5G with a starting price of `14,999. Similarly, the Vivo T1 5G, launched in India earlier thisyear,carried a starting price of `15,990. OnePlus stood strong in 5G New Delhi smartphone shipments in the previous quarter owing to its 100% 5G portfolio, according to Counterpoint Research.“We have been working towards gearing up for 5G since 2016 and invested nearly $30 million to scale up 5G R&D labs, showcasing our commitment to bringing 5G technology to more users worldwide,” a senior spokesperson at OnePlus said, adding,“As a result, OnePlus has been among the fastest in the industry to bring 5G devices to its community.” Speaking on the recent launches,the OnePlus executive said, “with an aim to make 5G more accessible, we recently launched OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G and Nord 2T 5G phones.” While its Nord CE 2 5G starts at `23,999, the Nord 2T 5G attracts a starting price of `28,999. Continued on Page 2