MARKETS, P6 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P3 TAKING FULL CHARGE FOR A BIGGER BITE FACTORY-BUILDING PUSH New BharatPe CEO to focus on profitability, scaling businesses Zomato launches electric fleet for large party orders China’s economy grows more than expected in Q1 MUMBAI, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2024 VOL LXIV NO. 91, 14 PAGES, `12.00 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD 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 SENSEX: 72,943.69 ▼ 456.09 NIFTY: 22,147.90 ▼ 124.60 NIKKEI 225: 38,471.20 ▼ 761.60 HANG SENG: 16,248.97 ▼ 351.49 `/$: 83.54 ▼ 0.09 `/€: 88.81 ▲ 0.10 BRENT: $89.86 ▼ $0.24 GOLD: `73,012 ▲ `746 IN THE NEWS 29 NAXALS KILLED IN BASTAR AHEAD OF ELECTIONS TWENTY-NINE NAXALS were killed and three security personnel injured in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on Tuesday. This comes days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls — while Kanker will vote on April 26, the Naxal hotbed of Bastar votes on April 19. ■ PAGE 7 NEWAPP: ADITYA BIRLA CAPITAL EYES 30 MN CUSTOMERS NBFC MAJOR ADITYA Birla Capital is targeting to onboard 30 million fresh customers with its new ‘ABCD’ mobile application in the next three years, chief executive officer Vishakha Mulye said, reports Piyush Shukla. ■ PAGE 6 MISLEADING ADS: RAMDEVTO ISSUE PUBLIC APOLOGY THE SUPREME COURT on Tuesday warned yoga guru Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna against any attempt to "degrade allopathy" and permitted them to tender a "public apology and show contrition" within a week in contempt proceedings in the misleading ads case against Patanjali Ayurved. ■ PAGE 5 FE S P E C I A L S Cashing in on clout: Rolling in the big bucks SIAC, OTHER PROCEEDINGS TO CONTINUE Zee withdraws Sony merger plea from NCLT VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, April 16 A DEAL UNDONE ZEE ENTERTAINMENTON Tuesdaysaiditwill withdrawitsmergerimplementationapplicationfromtheNationalCompanyLawTribunal (NCLT)inMumbai,bringingtoanendthelegal challenge it had launched against Sony on January 24, following the collapse of their $10-billion proposed mergerthat month. The decision to withdraw the plea was based on advice received by the board after a detailed consultation with legal experts, Zee said in a statement.This decision would also enable the company to pursue growth and evaluate strategic opportunities to generate highervalue forall shareholders,it added. At the same time,the companywould also aggressively pursue all claims against Sony in theongoingarbitrationproceedingsattheSingaporeInternationalArbitrationCentre(SIAC) andinotherforums,thecompanyadded.Sony had moved the SIAC after terminating the merger on January 22, seeking $90 million (around `750 crore) as break-up fees for violating the terms of the mergerpact. Zee’s decision to withdraw its merger implementationapplicationcomesadayafter theNationalCompanyLawAppellateTribunal (NCLAT)clarifiedthatitwouldcontinuetohear cases related to the now-junked Zee-Sony merger.IDBI Bank andAxis Finance had challengedthemergerintheNCLAT,requestingthe appellatetribunaltoadjournthecaseuntilthe NCLT decided on Zee’s plea to enforce the merger.With Zee withdrawing its application intheNCLT,itisunclearwhatwillbethefateof the NCLAT hearing, legal experts said. The NCLAT would hear challenges to the merger Govt defers nod to Paytm's investment in payments arm ■ Decision to withdraw the plea was based on advice received by the board after a detailed consultation with legal experts, said Zee ■ Zee had last ■ To also enable the company to pursue growth and evaluate strategic opportunities week said it is laying off around 15% of its workforce as MD & CEO Punit Goenka proposed implementation of a leaner management structure from May17,it said on Monday. “The immediate priority for the company is to focus on performance and achieve its targeted goals for the future.We have reviewed the key steps taken by the management over thelastfewmonths,”RGopalan,chairman,Zee, said onTuesday. Last week, Zee had said it would lay off an estimated15%ofitsworkforceasMDandCEO Punit Goenka proposed implementation of a leaner and more streamlined management structure,aimedatcuttingcostsandachieving the targeted objectives of 8-10% revenue growth and 18-20% Ebitda margins byFY26. Continued on Page 10 THE GOVERNMENT HAS deferred approval of Paytm's $6-million investment in its Paytm Payment Services arm in part due to concerns about a Chinese shareholding in the parent company, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Paytm, however, said it did not receive any communication in this regard. ■ PAGE 6 Rupee plunges to all-time low West Asia tensions, US Treasury yields weigh FEELING THE JITTERS THE RUPEE PLUNGED to an all-time closing lowof 83.54 against the dollaronTuesday,weigheddownbythesimmeringgeopolitical tensions in West Asia and hardening of USTreasuryyields.The local currencyhit alifetimelowof83.56duringintradaytrade, but likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prevented any further fall.Itendedthedaywithadeclineof9paise or 0.10%, surpassing its previous closing lowof 83.45recorded on Monday. “RBI’s presence was felt in the market. Reduced volatility in the market suggested that RBI might have intervened in the market,” Kunal Sodhani,vice-president - treasury,Shinhan Bank,told FE.“Fading expectations of aggressive rate cuts by Fed had already pushed the dollar index above the 106 levels,” he added. The uncertainty surrounding the IranIsraelgeopoliticaltensionscreatedarisk-off sentiment,which can further push the dollartowards 107.20,Sodhani said. BenchmarkindicesSensexandNiftyalso SHARON CHO & SERENE CHEONG April 16 RELIANCE INDUSTRIES OFFERED US oil to other buyers in Asia last week, an unusual move forrefinerswho rarelyseek to resell crude within weeks of buying it. The country’s biggest private processor tried to sell West Texas Intermediate Midland crude for May loading, according to traderswith knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified. Reliance didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. India moved away from some of its more traditional suppliers after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, taking advantage of cheaper oil from Russia shunned by other buyers. Purchases cooled recently as US toughened sanctions on Moscow and cargoes of Sokol crude,a key grade,were among those left in limbo. 72,750 72,600 The SC is examining the issue of overlapping jurisdictions ■ EXPLAINER, P9 Rupee vs dollar Inverted scale New X users may have to pay to like & post However,whetherthenewnormswill be rolled out in select locations or worldwide is not clear. “Unfortunately,a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.Current AI(andtrollfarms)canpass‘areyoua bot’with ease,” Musk posted onX. New unverified users now receive a dialogue box stating “unlock the ability to post and engage by paying a small fee”. Continued on Page 10 Close 83.54 India has recently resumed purchases of Sokol, which may have encouraged large buyers like Reliance to sell on more expensive alternatives. US officials said earlierthis month that they had not expected India’s processors to stop buying Russian petroleum. WTI Midland, Sokol and the UAE’s Murban are all similar varieties, which yield more diesel than alternative crudes when refined. The traders did not specify whether the reselling of the US oil by Reliance was linked to the resumption of Sokol purchases. It is also still unclear if flows of Russian crude to India will return to last year’s record levels. Reliance also attempted to sell cargoes of Murban crude for April-May loading before offering the American oil, the traders said. —BLOOMBERG ONLY WAY TO CURB BOTS, SAYS MUSK was initially being tested to help reduce spam and improve the experience for users Open April 16, 2024 ended in the red for the third consecutive session on Tuesday.The Sensex fell 456.1 points or 0.6% to close the session at 72,943.68,whiletheNiftyalsoended124.6 points or0.6% lowerat 22,147.90. Despite touching an all-time low, the rupee was among the best-performing AP ■ The policy Previous close: 73,399.78 82.33 PERFORMERS TAKE PART in the official ceremony of the flame-lighting for the Paris Olympics, at the ancient Olympia site in Greece on Tuesday. The flame will be carried through Greece for 11 days before being handed over to organisers in Paris on April 26. The Games will begin on July 26 in the French capital, which will host the summer Olympics for a third time after 1900 and 1924. UNFORTUNATELY, A SMALL FEE FOR NEW USER WRITE ACCESS IS THE ONLY WAY TO CURB THE RELENTLESS ONSLAUGHT OF BOTS 72,892.14 April 3, 2023 FOR 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS Industrial alcohol fuels spirited Centre-state debate INABID torestricttheonrushofbots and fake accounts, new users on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) may now be required to pay a small annual fee to be abletolike,post,bookmark,andreply. Users can still follow accounts and browseXforfree,the companysaid. After an upgrade on Monday,the website said new accounts are required to pay a small annual fee beforetheyareabletopost,like,bookmark, and reply. “This is to reduce spam and to create a better experience foreveryone,” it said. The new users, however, will be able to use all usual features for free after three months, Elon Musk, the owner of American technology companyXCorp,which ownsX,said. 0.62% 72,943.68 emergingmarketcurrenciesonTuesday.The IndonesianRupiahfell2.04%,SouthKorean won by 0.76%, Taiwanese dollar 0.34%, Japanese Yen 0.28%,Thai baht 0.21% and Chineseyuandepreciated0.18%. Continued on Page 10 Reliance tries to sell US oil as more flows in from Russia ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 NEW UPDATE Intra-day, Apr 16 points 72,900 ● FLAME LIT ELON MUSK 456.10 73,050 SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, April 16 Influencer earnings have doubled in the last couple of years PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, April 16 SENSEX 73,200 ■ The new users, however, will be able to use all usual features for free after three months ■ Policy was only active in New Zealand, where the social media giant charged an annual fee of $1 INSIDE Musk expected to meet with space startups during India visit PAGE 4 Announcement on Tesla’s India entry likely on Monday ELON MUSK IS likely to announce Tesla’s entry into India on April 22 (Monday) after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The manufacturing site location and other details may be announced later, Moneycontrol reported, quoting an unnamed government official. To announce a specific site, Tesla typically needsboardapproval.Fornow, MuskmaywelcometheEVpolicy and say that he looks forward to being in the Indian market soon,the report said. CRUDE CONTROL ■ Earlier, Reliance attempted to sell cargoes of Murban crude for April-May loading before offering the American oil ■ Reliance tried to sell West Texas Intermediate Midland crude for May loading ■ India recently resumed Sokol purchases, which may have led large buyers to sell more expensive alternatives IMF ups India growth forecast citing strong domestic demand FY24 growth now seen at 7.8%, FY25 rate at 6.8% PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, April 16 THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY Fund (IMF) has raised its forecast for India’sGDPgrowthinFY24byasteep 110basispoints(bps)to7.8%.Thisis even higher than the expansion rate of 7.6% projected by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in its second advance estimate. The IMF also revised upwards the FY25 GDP growth projection forthe countryby 30bpsto6.8%andretainedtheforecast forFY26 at 6.5%. To justify the upward revisions, theIMFcited“therobustnessreflecting continuing strength in domestic demand and a rising working-age population”. The IMF forecast for FY25 is, however, still 20 bps lower thantheReserveBankofIndia’s(RBI) projection of 7% fortheyear. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month said GDP may have grown above 8% in FY24 due to the impact of “improved inflation management” and“macroeconomic stability”. In the current financial year (FY25),theFundexpectsCPIinflation in India to average 4.6%, slightly higher than the 4.5% projection of RBI, and current account deficit (CAD) to average 1.4% of the GDP against 1.2% in FY24. The IMF expects the world economy to grow 3.2% in both 2024 and 2025.For 2024,the Fund has raised itsprojectionby10bps,andfor2025, ithaskeptitunchanged.In2024,the GROWTH PROJECTIONS (in %) FY24 FY25 7.8 6.8 IMF Fitch S&P Global Moody's 7.8 7 6.8 (2024) 6.8 NSO RBI World Bank 7.6 7 7.5 multilateralagencyseestheUSeconomygrowingby2.7%—60bpsmore than its previous forecast — and China’s economy by 4.6%, unchangedfromitsearlierprojection. IMF's chief economist PierreOlivier Gourinchas said growth this year and the next will hold steady at 3.2%,withmedianheadlineinflation declining from 2.8% at the end of 2024 to 2.4% at the end of 2025. “Mostindicatorscontinuetopointto a soft landing. We also project less economic scarring from the crises of the past four years, although estimatesvaryacrosscountries,” he said. Continued on Page 10