OPINION, P10 WELL BEING Sexual dysfunction affects nearly half of women worldwide and is not gender specific Page 7 Might and plight on display FE LINES Can insect-based food help tackle issues of sustainability in the food chain? Page 6 LET’S TALK ABOUT FEMALE SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM Gourmet bugs LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL 16 NO.17 DILLIWITHA MICHELIN STARTWIST FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY 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 , Saying ‘yes’ to Rajasthan Besides being a centre of attraction for tourists, Rajasthan is perhaps the most sought-after wedding destination in the country. Find out what made the state a hub of one of the most lucrative businesses in India ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 The comeback of a classic A reiteration that in a world of instant gratification, the fundamental roots of business strategy are undeniably timeless Avalon Tech IPO to open on April 3 THE `865-CRORE IPO of electronic manufacturing services firm Avalon Technologies will open for public subscription on April 3, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 3 K O C H I , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , ● Asks them to attract more deposits given tax parity of FDs with debt funds FM Nirmala Sitharaman, flanked by SBI chairman Dinesh Khara and DFS secretary Vivek Joshi on the left and MoS for finance Bhagwat Karad on the right, in New Delhi on Saturday TWITTER domestic firms,will no longer have the benefit of long-term capital gains. The move is expectedtomakebankdeposits more attractive as both these instruments will now have the same tax treatment on maturity. Further, bank deposits would also have the additional advantage of fixed returns. Bank credit has remained robust despite the rise in interest rates and grew by 15.7% year-on-year to `18.36 trillion as on March 10 this year. Deposit growth has, however, lagged and risen by 10.3% to `16.8trillionintheperiod.Fol- Will keep fighting for democracy, says Rahul A COMBATIVE RAHUL Gandhi on Saturday said even if he is disqualified from Parliament for life or jailed,he would keep defending the democratic nature of the country, and claimedthata“panic-stricken” government has handed the Opposition a “weapon” with the move to disqualify him.At his first press conference after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha, Gandhi claimed that he has been disqualified because Prime Minister Narendra Modiwas“scared”of his next speech on the Adani issue and alleged that the “whole game” was to distract people from the panic that the government was feeling over the matter. Gandhi said the moot question remains who invested `20,000 crore in Adani shell firms and that he ❝ Even if they permanently disqualify me I will do my job” RAHUL GANDHI, CONGRESS LEADER will keep raising it. “I am here defending the democraticvoice of the Indian people, I will continue to do that. I am not scared of these threats, of these disqualifications, allegations, prison sentences. I am not scared of Financially robust FM emphasises focus on risk management, diversification of deposits, assets base Advises to frame detailed crisis management, communication strategies PSB CEOs assure all major financial parameters are stable; PSBs in robust financial health lowing the series of interest rate hikes by the RBI, deposit rates have risen as banks are becoming increasingly competitive among themselves to attract deposits in order to bridge the widening gap between credit and deposit growth and lower liquidity in the market. In the review meeting with headsofpublicsectorbankson Saturday, the finance minister emphasised on the preparedness in the wake of the global developments. Continued on Page 2 N E W D E L H I , P U N E Premium sedans come to grinding halt in India ● Rising SUV popularity, brand consciousness making segment redundant SKODA IS DISCONTINUING AMIDSTTHE COLLAPSE ofmid- sized banks in the US and Europe, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday askedpublicsectorbanks(PSBs) inthecountrytoremainwatchful of the global developments and take measures to protect themselves against any financial shocks. InameetingwithPSBchiefs in Delhi,she also asked them to work out strategies to attract more deposits, as the government has eliminated the ‘tax arbitrage’ that some debt instruments have enjoyed. Hercommentscomefollowing the amendments to the FinanceBill,2023,underwhich debt mutual funds, which invest up to 35% of their proceeds in equity shares of M U M B A I , VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, March 25 FE BUREAU New Delhi, March 25 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, March 25 MUKESH AMBANI-LED Reliance Industries (RIL) has appointed Srikanth Venkatachari as CFO with effect from June 1, succeeding Alok Agarwal, who moves into a new role of senior advisor to the chairman and MD, reports fe Bureau in Mumbai. ■ PAGE 3 H Y D E R A B A D , FM urges public sector banks to be more vigilant ■ SPOTLIGHT, P8-9 Srikanth Venkatachari named RIL CFO C H E N N A I , TAKING STOCK AMID BANK CRISES IN US & EUROPE WHAT'S INSIDE IN THE NEWS C H A N D I G A R H , READ TO LEAD salesoftheOctavia(anexecutive sedan priced `27.35 lakh onward) and the Superb (a premiumsedanpriced`34.19lakh onward), as per sources. With thesetwomodelsallbutgone— althoughthesearestilllistedon the carmaker’s website — India nowdoesn’thaveexecutive/premium sedans. This is unlike a decade ago when these segmentswere heavilypopulated. WhenIndiaopenedits market to foreign carmakers, most original equipment manufacturersbetonpremiumsedans— 4,700-5,000 mm long and engine size up to 3.0 litre — as their flagship models. Honda was the first when it launched the Accord (in 2001), followed byHyundaiSonata(2001),Ford Mondeo (2002),Toyota Camry (2002), Skoda Superb (2004), PREMIUM NO MORE ■ Skoda will stop production of Octavia and Superb, India's last premium sedans ■ Camry is soldiering on as a hybrid, but now classified as a ‘specialty’ vehicle ■ Executive sedans hit by rising sales of high-end variants of cheaper midsized sedans such as Honda City and Hyundai Verna, and also by midsize SUVs Nissan Teana (2007) and Volkswagen Passat (2007). “Seen as lower-priced alternatives to luxury cars such as Mercedes-BenzE-Class,BMW5 Series and Audi A6, these were targeted at rich families and CXOsoftheso-called‘IndiaShining’ageoftheearly21stcentury,” anautoindustryveterantoldFE. Continued on Page 2 “ Gao Miyan Malhar Since 1985 them,” he said. Gandhi said he will continue to ask what is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with businessman Gautam Adani. “I have been disqualified because the prime minister is scared of my next speech. I have seen it in his eyes. So he is terrified of the next speech that is going to come and does not want that speech to be in Parliament,” the former Congress chief alleged at the press conference, flanked by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and party general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal. Askedifhewashopefulthat his membership would be restored,Gandhisaid,“Iamnot interested in hope.(Whether) I get my membership back or not,I will do my job.” Bhimpalasi, Yaa Bhimpa Cough TOREX Co Syrup Hai H Alvida Toh Alvid Khansi Khans “ LUCKNOW SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023, 16 Pages, `10 Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia opens his second restaurant in India Page 5 Continued on Page 2 Small-town India becoming a big draw for major hospitality players ● Almost 50% of planned hotels concentrated in tier 2, 3 markets SHUBHANGI SHAH New Delhi, March 25 WITH SATURATION IN tier 1 metro cities, top hospitality playersinthecountryareincreasinglylookingatIndia’stier2and 3 cities. As per a 2022 report, ‘The Evolving Face of Human CapitalintheHospitalityIndustry’,whichisajointsurveybyJLL and The People Network, there has been a significant shift in hotelsupply,withabout43%of plannedpipelinefallingintier2 and 3 markets. “Going by the number of keysopenedlastyear,67%were intier2andtier3cities,”Jaideep BRANDS SNIFF BIG OPPORTUNITY Andrew Langdon, senior vice-president, development Asia, Accor, says for the past 5 years, about 40% of supply came from tier 2 cities, the rest from tier 1 and 3 ■ In terms of fresh projects signed in 2022, about 75% keys will come up in tier 2 and 3 towns, says JLL's MD, hotels & hospitality group, India, Jaideep Dang In 2022, 67% of new keys opened were in tier 2 and tier 3 cities Dang,managingdirector,hotels & hospitality group, India, JLL, told FE.“In terms of fresh projects signed in 2022, approximately 75% keys will come up intier2and3towns.Itisimportant to note that some part of thisinventorywouldbeconversions of unbranded hotels into branded managed and franchised hotels,” he added. Thepandemic,whichdealta major blow to hotels across the world,had a large part to playin this trend.“The healthiest part ofthepandemicwasthathotels in tier 2 and 3 areas sustained themselves.Theywere the ones thatdidn’tlowertheirrates.The tier 2 and 3 occupancies were the first to bounce back.Tier 1 hotels had good occupancy,but theydidtakeinbusinessatarate lower than normal,”said Ranju Alex, area vice-president — South Asia, Marriott International, at the recent 2023 HVS ANAROCK HOPE hospitality conclave,adding,“The markets there behave very differently, their clientele is different,their F&B does really well probably becausestandalonerestaurants are not as robust as in tier1.” Identifying India as its top growth country,European hospitality major Accor, too, is excitedabouttheopportunities across the country. In an interaction with FE, Andrew Langdon, senior vice-president, development Asia,Accor, said, “We are going to be more aggressiveinofferingfranchises for our economy and mid-scale brands—Novotel,Mercure,Ibis — particularly in tier 2 and 3 cities,” he said. Continued on Page 2 TOREX ® COUGH SYRUP HAI TO ALVIDA KHANSI Follow us on: /TorexSyrup /TorexSyrup /TorexSyrup For more information, please call or WhatsApp us: +91 977 921 4455 / care@torquepharma.com Lucknow