BRANDWAGON, P9 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P17 NEW ADVERTISING PLAYGROUND TARIFF FOR OVERSEAS FIRMS RAISING DEBT CEILING Brands are using native ads, interactive media to bolster in-game strategy Amazon, Google & Meta face higher SMS bills in India as telcos hike rates A US debt deal may only provide markets short-term relief NEW DELHI, MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE READ TO LEAD VOL XLIX NO. 76, 18 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 THE SIZE OF the Production Linked Incentive Scheme has touched `2.05 trillion, against the initial commitment of `1.97 trillion. It could rise further, as many more sectors are demanding the benefits and the administrative ministers are supporting them, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 UPI Lite needs more push from banks THESE ARE EARLY days for UPI Lite, the platform for ‘real-time, low-value' transactions up to `200, reports Ajay Ramanathan. While 40-50% of overall UPI transactions are below `200, UPI Lite comprises a mere 2-3% of total UPI transactions. ■ PAGE 10 Production loss in Q1 too: Maruti Suzuki MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA expects production loss to continue in the first quarter with some relief anticipated in JulySeptember as it continues to grapple with the chip shortage. The auto major has seen its pending order book stretch to over 400,000 units. ■ PAGE 5 EXPLAINER Why bond yields have come down ■ PAGE 18 TCS, VEDANTA, HZL TOP PAYERS India Inc dividend payout soars 26% KISHOR KADAM & RAJESH KURUP Mumbai, May 28 RIDINGONTHEoptimismofagrowingeconomy, increase in earnings and buoyant markets,India Inchasrecommendedadividendpayoutof`3.26 trillion for FY23.This is a whopping 26% higher than the nearly `2.6 trillion that corporates shelledout to investors in theyear-ago period. The `3.26-trillion dividend payout is by 317 companies of the BSE 500 that have declareddividends.Thepayoutratioof these firms has also risen to 41.46% in FY23 from 34.66% in FY22. IT major Tata Consultancy Services topped the charts with a total payout of `42,090crore,a167.4%risefromthatin thepreviousfiscal.MiningmajorVedanta, a subsidiary of London-headquartered Vedanta Resources,followedwith a total dividendrecommendationof`37,758crore,a126% rise from FY22, while Hindustan Zinc came in thirdwith a 319% jump to `31,899 crore. Coal India with a payout of `20,491 crore (95.6% rise), ITC with `15,846 crore (11.8%), ONGC with `14,153 crore and Infosys with `14,069croreweretheothersamongthetop10, according to stock exchange data. “During the Covid period, corporates had reduced their dividend, and now the increase is duetothebounce-backinrevenuesandearnings. Thisgrowthisexpectedtocontinue,astheconditions in India are conducive for growth,” Berger Paints India MD & CEOAbhijit Roysaid. The dividend per share recommended by the topthreecompanieswasmorethandoubleoflast year’s,with TCS again topping the charts.The IT firm recommended a dividend of `115 pershare for FY23,against `43 per share in FY22.Vedanta recommended `101.50 per share (against `45), and HZL`75.50 pershare (up from `18). TOPPING THE CHARTS Dividend FY22 TCS Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Coal India ITC ONGC Infosys HCL Technologies HDFC Bank Power Grid Corpn Total of 317 co's FY23 (` cr) ▲ % change ▲ 15,738 42,090 167 16,740 ▲ 37,758 126 7,605 ▲ 31,899 319 10,477 ▲ 20,491 96 14,172 ▲ ▲ 15,846 12 73 13,209 ▲ 14,153 7 13,008 ▲ 14,069 8 11,403 ▲ 13,032 14 8,596 ▲ 10,601 23 Total 10,289 of top 10 10,289 258,841 ▲ 26 326,050 According to Geojit Financial Services executive director Satish Menon, the increase in dividend is in line with India’s corporate earnings growthof12-14%estimatedforFY23.“Again,the sustenance of future dividendwill depend on the earnings growth of FY24,which is anticipated to bemixed.Thisisbecauseoftherecessionarytrend in the globalmarket,” he said. Continued on Page 2 ● PM INAUGURATES ‘TEMPLE OF DEMOCRACY’ 121,236 210,228 IN THE NEWS PLI outlay crosses initial commitment, likely to rise further WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering after the inauguration of the new Parliament, in New Delhi on Sunday. The PM termed the new complex as “more than just a building”, and a symbol of the aspirations and dreams of 1.4 billion people. ■ REPORTS ON PAGE 18 ANI Threat to competition up, Food service firms score but CCI has a staff problem big as IPL drives demand THE RECENTAMENDMENTS to the CompetitionAct havestrengthenedIndia’santi-trustlaw.However,the Competition Commission of India (CCI) seems unequal to its task, owing to a slow pace of capacity building, if not also a lack of political will to give it a free hand, reportsSurabhi.TherecentappointmentofchairpersonRavneet Kauris not enough to fast-track regulatoryfunctions. Anumber ofinvestigationsbytheDGofficeoftheCCIareunderwayinsectors like steel and Big Tech, involving the likes of Amazon, Flipkart,Zomato,Swiggy,Apple,Meta,and Google. ■ Page 2 THE TWO-MONTH-LONG Indian Premier League (IPL) brought much-needed cheer to food services majors after a slow January-March period, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. After witnessing flat, low or decliningsalesgrowth duringtheMarchquarter,quick-service restaurants saw online food orders increase during the AprilMayperiod byat least 15-20% on keymatch daysversus regulardays,industryinsiderssaid. Downloadsoffoodappssuchas Domino’s,SwiggyandZomatoincreasedbyabout2-4millionin April-May,compared with February-March. ■ Page 4 New Delhi