OPINION, P10 WELL BEING Gaming disorder, or the compulsive use of games, if left untreated, can lead to long-term health issues Page 7 Constitutionalauthorities vsConstitution FE LINES The world’s biggest running festivals are back this year Page 6 Hitting the road WHEN GAMING BECOMES AN ADDICTION ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM Vol XXII No. 13 NO MAN’S LAND FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2023, 30 Pages, `10 (Patna `10, Raipur `10) 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 , ■ There are plans to spin off, or demerge, the metals, mining, data centre, airports, roads and logistics businesses REUTERS Mumbai, January 21 THE ADANI GROUP, controlled ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 by billionaire Gautam Adani, plans to spin off more businesses by 2028 and dismisses any debt concerns, the group’s chief financial officer told Reuters. The corporate house plans to spin off,ordemerge,its metals,mining,datacentre,airports, roads and logistics businesses,said JugeshinderSingh. “The criterion is for these businesses to achieve a basic investment profile and experienced management by 202528, which is when we plan to demerge them,” he said. The companyisbettingbigonitsairport business and is aiming for ittobecomethelargestservices base in the country in the coming years, outside of government services,Singh said. The Adani Group has spun off its power,coal,transmission andgreenenergybusinessinthe last five-seven years.Adani,the world’s third-richest man according to Forbes, has been Plant peril Much like the Covid-19 pandemic, an outbreak of diseases among plants is also real. While the problem has plagued society forever, it has become a cause for concern now more than ever ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 Quills & brushes Art and artificial intelligence join books to broaden the cultural landscape at the 16th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival CHRIS HIPKINS, who played a big role in New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after emerging on Saturday as the only candidate to lead the ruling Labour Party, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 24 ■ The group has typically incubated businesses within its flagship company, to demerge and list them later K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , Gautam Adani diversifying his empire from ports to energyand nowowns a media company. His flagship firm Adani Enterprises is set to raise up to $2.5 billion in a follow-on share sale, Reuters previously reported. “We don’t go to market ifwe are not sure of raising the full amount ($2.5 billion),” Singh said, adding that the company wants to increase the participation of retail investors and, therefore,is going fora primary issue instead of a rights issue. The company plans to use the money to fund green hydrogenprojects,airportfacilities and greenfield expressways,besides paring its debt,it earlier said.The group has typically incubated businesses within its flagship company,to demerge and list them later.Its listed arms today operate in sectors including ports, power transmission,greenenergyand food production. Analystshaveraisedconcerns over its debt accumulation, whichweredismissedbySingh. Continued on Page 2 “Undermining sovereignty and integrity of India” and has “potential to adversely impact” country’s “friendly relations with foreign states” and “public order within the country” YouTube and Twitter to take down links sharing the BBC documentary India: The Modi Question. Officials said the documentary has been found to be“undermining the sovereignty and integrity of India” and has “the potential to adversely impact” the country’s “friendly relations with foreign states” and “public orderwithin the country”. The BBC documentary focuses on Modi’s and his then 35 1 NIM (%) 3.96 4.65 Q3FY23 SHASHANK DIDMISHE Mumbai, January 21 YES BANK ON Saturday said it will move the Supreme Court againsttheorderoftheBombay HighCourtsettingasidea2020 order of the administrator to write off the additional tier-I bonds of up to `8,300 crore. “Thejudgmentitselfisnotquestioning the regulatory guidelinesintermsofwritingdown.I think there are questions in terms of the process.There are legal opinions which interpret the whole issue in a different way and make a strong ground formakinganappealbeforethe Supreme Court,” Prashant Ku- % chg, y-o-y Provisions PAT 31 69 4.13 3.07 `36 crore duringthe quarter. Net interest income (NII) improved 35% y-o-y to `16,465 crore,while net interest margin (NIM) expanded by 69 bps to 4.65% as of December 31. The bank’s total advances increasedby19.7%to`9.7trillion while deposits grew by 10.3% to `11 trillion as of December31. Theretailloanportfoliogrew by 23.4% to `5.3 trillion, consistingof54.3%ofthetotalloan 8,312 6,194 12 Gross NPA (%) bps 2,257 2,007 Q3FY22 Preprovision profit 4,987 Other income 4,899 16,465 Bank on Saturdayannounced a 34% year-on-year increase in its net profit for the three months ended December31 to `8,312 crore, despite an increase in the provisions. The bank’s provisions increased 12% y-o-y to `2,257 crore even as the asset quality improvedbothsequentiallyand on y-o-y basis. The bank has madeitsnon-performingassets (NPA) provisioning policy more conservative, a statement said. Provisioning coverage ratio on non-performing assets was 82.0% on December31. The lender also saw a 31% increase in its pre-provisioning operating profit (PPOP) to `13,271 crore.The bank’s noninterestincome,excludingtreasuryincome,increasedby1.8% y-o-y to `4,987 crore led by fee income. Fees from retail, rural, businessbankingandSMEcustomerscontributedabout78% of total fees in Q3FY23. The bank also sawa treasurygain of Net interest income 12,236 PRIVATESECTORLENDER ICICI (` cr) 10,148 REPORT CARD 34 Net NPA (%) 106 bps 30 0.85 0.55 bps portfolio, while corporate advances grew by 18% to `2.3 trillion in Q3FY23.The bank’s term deposits increased by 14.2% `6.1 trillion while its CASA ratio was dipped marginallyto44.6%asofDecember31 from 44.9%ayearago. On the asset quality front, the bank’s gross NPA ratio fell 106 bps y-o-y to 3.07% as of December 31 while its net NPA ratio fell 30 bps to 0.55%. Continued on Page 2 How Meghalaya is giving an economic boost to creativity ● Sixty artistes supported every month; 500 assisted so far KUNAL DOLEY New Delhi, January 21 AKIN TO THE startup ecosys- tem, the Meghalaya government is working towards developing a similar environment for the performing sectorof the state,which includes music,feature films,vlogs,etc. In an exclusive interviewwith Sunday FE,chief ministerConrad K Sangma said his government is also developing a dedicated OTT platform to promote and support local content producers likeYouTu- ■ Last year, the state government launched the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project to support emerging artistes CONRAD K SANGMA, CM, MEGHALAYA A corpus fund will also be introduced for supporting ■ Through a touring production of fund, `50 lakh has high-quality been transferred to independent artistes, films, music bands and videos, vlogs technicians till now bers, filmmakers, music artistes and various other creative individuals of the state. “A corpus fund will also be introduced for supporting production of high-quality films,musicvideos andvlogs,” said Sangma. Meghalaya is one of the few states in India to offer a ‘grassroots’ platform to support independent singers, songwriters, composers and bands.Lastyear,the state government launched the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP), so that emerging artistes could hone P U N E OPPNSPEAK “Censorship; will continue to fight the good fight” Derek O'Brien, TMC BBC VIEW “Was rigorously researched according to highest editorial standards” state government’s response to the 2002 Gujarat riots. Continued on Page 2 AT-1 bonds: Yes Bank to move SC ICICI Bank Q3 profit up 34% FE BUREAU Mumbai, January 21 D E L H I , OFFICIALSPEAK ● Platforms act on I&B ministry order THE CENTRE HAS ordered aiming for its airport business to become the largest services base in India in the coming years, outside of govt services N E W Govt orders YouTube,Twitter to block BBC film on Modi DIVYA A New Delhi, January 21 ■ The company is M U M B A I , DOCUMENTARY ON 2002 GUJARAT RIOTS « Chris Hipkins set to be Kiwi PM K O C H I , THE GAME PLAN ● CFO dismisses debt concerns SHIPPING AGENTS have warned the cash-strapped Pakistan government that all exports could come to a halt as foreign shipping lines are considering stopping services for the country, after banks stopped remitting freight charges due to a lack of dollar availability, as per a media report on Saturday, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 24 H Y D E R A B A D , Adani Group set to spin off more units WHAT'S INSIDE IN THE NEWS Shipping lines may stop services for Pakistan: Report C H E N N A I , READ TO LEAD ROADMAP TO 2028 13,271 P U B L I S H E D The digital world gives us power but also takes over control.Are we all digital captives? Page 9 their skills and gain a platform to perform and entertain audiences. “This initiative aims to establish Meghalaya as an ecosystem that supports and promotes independent music,while providing a platform for emerging artistes,” said Sangma. In less than a year since its inception, the project has assisted over 500 artistes and musicians to pursue music professionally. More than 60 local artistes are supported every month through cafe gigs and busking events. Through the touring fund, `50 lakh has been transferred to independent artistes, bands and technicians till now. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi mar,MD&CEOofYesBank,said in a post-earnings media call. In addition,Kumaralso said that in the case of perpetual bonds,the bank has the discretion on interest payments.“At this stage, we do not want to commentonwhethertheinterest needs to be paid on these bonds. We will wait for the Supreme Court hearing before commenting,” added Kumar. Continued on Page 2