COMPANIES | PAGE 4 BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 Omnicom-Interpublicdeal: NothreattoWPPinIndia INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 PVsales down 14% in Nov despite discounts CHENNAI/KOCHI, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2024 China unveils policy shift to spur growth FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 184, 20 PAGES, `12.00 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 SENSEX: 81,508.46 ▼ 200.66 NIFTY: 24,619 ▼ 58.80 NIKKEI 225: 39,160.50 ▲ 69.33 HANG SENG: 20,414.09 ▲ 548.24 `/$: 84.73 ▼ 0.03 `/€: 89.54 ▲ 0.05 BRENT: $71.99 ▲ $0.87 GOLD: `76,375 ▲ `465 IN THE NEWS Modi stresses on need to ensure 'insurance for all' BESIDES CREATING INCOME opportunities, LIC’s new scheme to engage 200,000 women across the country to expand its business will further strengthen the ‘insurance for all mission’, PM Narendra Modi said on Monday. ■ PAGE 2 ECL, LCR proposals may hike credit cost by 400-500 bps RBI’S THREE KEY proposals – expected credit loss framework, liquidity coverage ratio norms and project finance proposals – are expected to increase the provisioning, leading to rise in credit cost for borrowers by at least 400-500 basis points (bps), said analysts, reports Anupreksha Jain. ■ PAGE 7 LG India paid `323 cr to Korean parent in royalty in FY24 LG Electronics India paid 2.3-2.4% of sales in royalty to its parent in FY24, amounting to `323 crore, according to its DRHP, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. ■ PAGE 4 EXPLAINER Amendment’s impact on banks and depositors P9 REVENUE SECRETARYMOVESTO MINTROAD Malhotra to succeed Das as RBI governor PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, December 9 THE GOVERNMENT ON Monday appointed Union revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the 26th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a three-year term starting December 11. The announcement by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet came just a day before incumbent Shaktikanta Das’ extended sixyear term was to end. It also coincided with a global situation, where lingering core inflation is complicating the efforts of the central banks towards balanc»INSIDE« ing growth and inflation risks, EDITORIAL: and came close ANEW on the heels of BEGINNING China’s top PAGE 8 leaders signalling, for the first time since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008-09, an easing of monetary policy in 2025. Malhotra, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre,will assume charge in the backdrop of the RBI keeping the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for an eleventh time in a row, in last week’s monetary policy. The RBI had stuck to its ground despite calls for a rate cut from several quarters, including top government functionaries. IN THE HOT SEAT ■ Malhotra is a graduate in computer science from IIT, Kanpur & has a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton in US ■ He is a 1990batch IAS of the Rajasthan cadre and is currently revenue secretary in finance ministry ■ In his 33-yearlong career, he has worked in many sectors, including power, finance and taxation, IT& mines, among others Dasleaves,withanA+rating AS HIS six-year tenure comes to an end today, Shaktikanta Das has indeed walked the talk, reports Sachin Kumar.His journey from the bustling corridors of North Block to the hallowed halls of Mint Street has been a testament to his exceptional skills as an administrator and his deep understanding of the Indian economy. Continued on Page 10 ■ PAGE 7 AI places a follow-on order for 100 aircraft with Airbus SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, December 9 AIR INDIA HAS placed a follow-on order for 100 aircraft with Airbus on Monday, less than 20 months after a 470-plane deal with Airbus and Boeing. The former flag carrier,which is nowundertheTatagroup,hasplaced order for 10 A350 widebody and 90 single-aisle A320 family aircraft, »INSIDE« including the VALIDATION A321neo, taking FLIGHT the total order SUCCESSFUL with the French ATNOIDA airplanemakerto AIRPORT 350. The carrier PAGE 4 had ordered 40 N CHANDRASEKARAN CHAIRMAN, TATA SONS AND AIR INDIA ...we see a clear case for Air India to expand its future fleet beyond the firm orders of the 470 aircraft placed last year A350 and 210 A320 family aircraft fromAirbusin2023whileUS-based Boeing received an order of 220 aircraft.Theairlinehadsecuredoptions for a further 370 planes from both the plane manufacturers. AirIndiadidnotprovidefinancial details of the new deal but according tothelistedprices,theaggregatevalue oftheordercouldbe$12-13billion. CCIseeksSChearingin e-commantitrustcase IndiaInc’s`35L-cr betonRajasthan ADITYA KALRA New Delhi, December 9 THE COMPETITION COMMISSION of India (CCI) has asked the Supreme Court to hear legal challenges to an investigationofAmazonandFlipkart e-commerce platforms,saying those challenges,filedbySamsung,Vivoand others at multiple high courts,were aimingtoscuttletheprobe. In a filing on December 3, reviewedbyReutersandnotreleased publicly,CCI asked the court to hear 23challenges,filedbySamsung,Vivo, and several vendors on the Amazon and Flipkart platforms,to enable the casetobedecidedquickly. Amazon declined to comment, LEGAL BATTLE ■ CCI says filings at five high courts by Samsung, Vivo and others were aiming to scuttle the probe The commission's filing, asking for the 23 cases to be transferred to the Supreme Court, is likely to be heard this week ■ whileFlipkart,Samsung,Vivoandthe competition commission did not respondtorequestsforcomment. Continued on Page 6 Continued on Page 6 LEADING INDIAN CONGLOMERATES and other companies have pledged to make combined investments of over `35 lakh crore in Rajasthan over the next few years, withthelargestcommitmentof`7.5 lakh crore coming from the Adani Group. ■ PAGE 2 Viboard’snodto raise`1,980crore TELECOM OPERATOR VODAFONE Idea on Monday said its board has approved the issuance of up to 1755.3 million shares on a preferential basis to two Vodafone Group entities to raise up to `1,980 crore. ■ PAGE 4 Tired of fishing for the right stock? Building wealth with Mutual Funds is SIPlified. Advantages of SIP Freedom from timing the market Flexibility to choose investment amount SIP - Systematic Investment Plan. Contact your MFD/RIA to know more. An Investor Education and Awareness Initiative Visit https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how to know more about the process to complete a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to invest in Mutual Funds. 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