COMPANIES | PAGE 4 MARKETS | PAGE 7 Sebi mulls relaxingAIF debt investment norms INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Airtel may revamp home broadband strategy Meyers, 2nd-richest woman, to retire from L’Oréal board AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2025 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XIX 211, 36 PAGES, `12 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: 77,860.19 ▼ 197.97 NIFTY: 23,559.95 ▼ 43.40 NIKKEI 225: 38,787.02 ▼ 279.51 HANG SENG: 21,133.54 ▲ 241.92 `/$: 87.43 ▲ 0.15 `/€: 90.85 ▼ 0.13 BRENT: $74.88 ▲ $0.59 GOLD: `84,288 ▲ `36 ● FIRSTREPORATECUTIN5YEARS;FY26GDP GROWTHSEENAT6.7%,INFLATIONAT4.2% SC blowto Burman family’s bid to take overReligare ● NEUTRALSTANCERETAINED;GOVERNOR COMMITS‘SUFFICIENT’LIQUIDITY RBI cuts to the chase Continued on Page 7 »INSIDE« India’s installed solar capacity reaches 100 GW INDIA’S INSTALLED SOLAR capacity has reached 100 gigawatt (GW) as of January, Union minister for new and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi said on Friday, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. The development comes as the country targets achieving 500 GW by 2030. ■ PAGE 2 Manufacturing: 10% extra incentive for R&D in Karnataka THE KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT will offer an additional 10% incentive to companies that transition their research and development (R&D) operations into local manufacturing units, reports Anees Hussain. ■ PAGE 3 »INSIDE« MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA BEATS PROFIT ESTIMATES P4 FE S P E C I A L Early signs of EVs catching up with ICE motorcycles Petrol has over a century of R&D but this bike shows electrics are almost there. ■ MOTOBAHN, P9 7.3 ANANYA GROVER Mumbai, February 7 Inflation forecast Dec 6, 2024 Feb 7, 2025 (%) 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 5.7 4.5 6.7 6.5 6.5 Q3 Q4 FY25 Q1 Q2 Q3 FY25 FY26 Q4 FY26 FY25 4.6 4 4.4 4.5 4 4.2 4.8 3.8 4.8 FY26 Q3 Q4 Q1 FY25 Q2 Q3 FY26 Q4 4.2 LCR,ECLregulations deferred ANUPREKSHA JAIN & SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, February 7 THE RIGHT BALANCE IN A SIGNIFICANT relief to banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deferredtheimplementationofliquidity regulations at least by a year. RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said that the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), project finance and expected credit loss (ECL) norms will not be implemented until March next year. In addition, the ■ The norms, including project finance rules, to not be implemented till March 2026 ■ Will be implemented in phases, giving ample time to banks bankswill get sufficient time,as the apex bank will implement these guidelines in phases. “Iwant to clarifyabout LCRthat NOD TO FORWARD TRADING IN GOVT SECURITIES PAGE 6 wewill give sufficient time.I do not think March 31,2025,is giving sufficient time. So, certainly they will not be implemented at least, before March 31 2026.That is the kind of timeline needed at the minimum,” Malhotra said in the postpolicy press conference. The decision was in line with the government’s feedback to the apex bank. Continued on Page 7 BANKS BID AGGRESSIVELYAT 56-DAY VRR AUCTION PAGE 6 SHRUTI SRIVASTAVA & RUCHI BHATIA February 7 THE GOVERNMENTWILLcontinue to bring down tariffs and phase out additional levies on imports as domesticmanufacturingimproves, Sanjay Agarwal, chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs,toldBloombergNewsduring an interview. The comments come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’svisit to the US. “We will soon start stakeholder consultations with ministries on whether rates can be lowered further without impacting the industry,” Agarwal said.“As value chains get deeper,customs duties must be reduced, otherwise inefficiencies setin,”headded,withoutspecifying when the levies will be reduced. Significant cuts in import tariffs have been made in the Budget on a range of products, including motorcycles made by HarleyDavidson, to shake off the “tariff king” label it earned from US President Donald Trump. Continued on Page 7 Newincome taxBillgets Cabinetnod THE CABINET IS said to have approved on Friday the new income tax Bill, which is expected to be much simpler and more unambiguous than the current Income Tax Act, 1961. According to sources, the Bill will likely be tabled in Parliament next week — on Monday or Tuesday. In the Budget speech on February 1, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a new I-T Bill will be introduced. In an exclusive interview with FE earlier this week,Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Ravi Agarwal had said that the volume of the new I-T Act will likely get reduced by nearly 50%. “The obsolete provisions have been removed, and as a result the document (bill) has become leaner,” he said. Agarwal had said that the government has tried to remove redundancies in the Act, and has made the language simpler, to the extent feasible.“The presentation in the Act has been made userfriendly. Even some tables have been made in the Bill to explain provisions, which were earlier written in sentences, and led to different interpretations,” he had said, adding that as a result of these changes, disputes would be minimised. SANJAY AGARWAL, CHAIRMAN, CENTRAL BOARD OF INDIRECT TAXES AND CUSTOMS We will soon start stakeholder consultations with ministries on whether rates can be lowered further without impacting the industry As value chains get deeper, customs duties must be cut, otherwise inefficiencies set in Modi to meetTrump next week; trade talks on agenda PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will meet US president Donald Trump next week, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday, reports MukeshJagota. Thetwonationswillholdtalks on trade tariffs and investment issues during the meet, which comesaftertherecentannouncements on rationalisation of IN A SETBACK to the Burman family’s bid to acquire Religare Enterprises,the Supreme Court on Friday orderedDigvijay(Danny)Gaekwadto deposit`600croreasearnestmoney forhiscompetingbidbyFebruary12. Consequently, the original offer made by Burman Family Holdings, whichreceivedtheDelhiHighCourt’s greensignalearlierthisweekandwas tocloseonFriday,hasbeenkeptopen till nextWednesday. A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar saidthatifGaekwaddoesnotdeposit thesaidamount,thisorderwillautomatically be set aside and warned that non-compliance could be viewed as creating obstacles in the regulatoryprocess. The apex court also made observationsontheBurmanfamily'sopen offer for Religare, stating that the offer could proceed at its own risk. The bench noted that if the caseisultimatelydecidedinfavourof the Gaekwad family, the Burmans could face significant financial consequences. The SC also came down hard on FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 7 Govt pledges more tariff cuts ahead of PM’s USvisit OLA ELECTRIC LOSS WIDENS TO `564 CRORE P4 LIC NET PROFIT RISES 16% AT `11,009 CRORE P3 (%) 7.0 Dec 6, 2024 Feb 7, 2025 Source: RBI BOOSTER DOSE FOR AUTO & REAL ESTATE SECTORS PAGE 6 IN THE NEWS Real GDP growth forecast 6.9 6.7 Growthinflation dynamics opens up policy space for the MPC to support growth asks Gaekwad to deposit `600 cr KEY NUMBERS 6.6 RBI GOVERNOR 7.2 IN HIS FIRST monetary policy statement, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra made his preference for a “less restrictive” approach loud and clear. The predictable 25-basispoints cut in the repo rate — a first in nearly five years — was just one part of it. Malhotra, a long-time bureaucratwho moved to the central bank in December,also used his first policy announcement to lay down the centralbank’spriorities,suggesting ashiftfrom the tightbankingregulations pursued under predecessor Shaktikanta Das. He also struck a measured tone inhispolicyspeech,reaffirmingthe central bank’s commitment to the inflation target while being mindful of growth risks. Growth inflation dynamics “opens up policy space for the MPC to support growth”,the governor said.RBI will “remain unambiguously focused on a durable alignment of inflation with the target while supporting growth”,he said. He also said the central bank remained committed to providing sufficient liquidity to the financial system, including through shortterm and longer-term measures. Sections of the markets were disappointed with the lack of immediate concrete measures on liquidity.The Sensex,whichhadfallenalmost600 points,closed down 197 points. SANJAY MALHOTRA 6.8 JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, February 7 ● Keeps offer open; import duties in the Budget. Reviving trade negotiations and investment issues will be the priority areas. Modi will be in the US for a two-day working visit on the invitation of Trump starting February 12, where energy and defence matters will also be on the table. ■ PAGE 2 Continued on Page 7 COURT RAP ■ Burman Family Holdings's open offer was to close on Friday, but is now open till next Wednesday ■ SC said if Gaekwad does not deposit the amount, the order will automatically be set aside Suspense atAGM over voting FE BUREAU Mumbai, February 7 theSecuritiesandExchangeBoardof India(Sebi)andsaidthatthemarkets regulator should have exercised greater caution, as shareholders are nowbeingaskedtoacceptpricesprevailing 18 months ago. The top court ordered Sebi to determine the correct date of the detailedpublicstatementoftheBurmanopenoffer—October3,2023,or January18,2025. THE ANNUAL GENERAL meeting (AGM) of Religare Enterprises on Friday took an interesting turn after chairperson Rashmi Saluja stopped the discussion on herreappointment (agenda 2), stating that she was not liabletoretirebyrotation,saidsources. “So, we can ignore resolution number 2,” she said.When an independentdirectorpresentatthemeeting contested her decision, she dismissed the intervention, saying his remarks should be taken onrecord. Thee-votingprocessfortheAGM has been going on for the last two days.It ended on Friday. AccordingtoShriramSubramanian, founder and MD of InGovern ResearchServices,alargepercentage ofshareholderswouldhavealreadyevoted in the past three days. “The scrutinisers are dutybound to place therecordsofthosewhohavealready voted in front of the board and stock exchanges,” he said. Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 ■ It said Burmans' offer could proceed at its own risk ■ The apex court also pulled up Sebi, saying it should have been more cautious Infosys fires 400 trainees for failing assessment tests URVI MALVANIA & PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Mumbai/Bengaluru, February 7 IT MAJOR INFOSYS has laid off more than 400 trainees at its Mysuru campus within six months of onboarding,citing theirinability to clear internal assessments, sources said. The affected employees, most of whom joined in September-October 2024 after a twoyear wait, have been terminated with immediate effect. When contacted, an Infosys spokesperson said: “At Infosys, we have a rigorous hiring process where all freshers,afterundergoing extensive foundational training at ourMysurucampus,areexpectedto clear internal assessments. All freshers get three attempts to pass the assessment, failing which they cannot continuewith the organisation, as is also mentioned in their contract”.The company added that this process has been in place for over two decades to ensure highquality talent for its clients.Infosys did not quantify the number of employees affected as a result of this process. However,employees have raised concerns about the fairness of the process. Some trainees claim the testswere excessivelydifficult,with last-minute changes to course materials. “Yes, my friends were amongthoselaidoff.Theyjoinedon October 7, 2024, and were let go PINK SLIPS ■ Most affected employees had joined Infosys in Sept-Oct 2024 after a two-year wait ■ Some of the sacked trainees claimed the tests were excessively difficult, with last-minute changes to course materials ■ The actual number of affected trainees could be as high as 700 ■ Firm inducted 1,000 freshers in Sept 2024 after nearly 2 years of delayed onboarding because theyfailed Infosys training examinations. Our batch also had tough tests, but for testing engineers,itwasevenharder,”anInfosys employee said on the condition of anonymity. According to Harpreet Saluja, president of the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), the actual number of affected trainees could be as high as 700.He claimed that Infosys forced employees to sign mutual separation agreements. Continued on Page 7 The new iPhone SE model loaded with features coming next week Apple’s‘affordable’iPhone set to get anAI upgrade MARK GURMAN February 7 APPLE PLANS TO unveil a longanticipatedoverhauloftheiPhoneSE in the coming days,a move that will modernise its lower-cost model in a bid to spur growth and entice consumers to switch from otherbrands. The company expects to announce the device as early as next week,aheadofitgoingonsalelaterin the month,according to peoplewith knowledge of the matter. Apple is unlikelytoholdalauncheventforthe device,opting to reveal it on its website instead, said the people, who askednottobeidentifiedbecausethe plans are private. The debutwill mark a majorshift for an oft-overlooked smartphone, COMING SOON ■ Current SE costs $429 ■ Apple first introduced iPhone SE in 2016 as an entry-level model ■ Existing version, released in 2022, is the only iPhone that still has a home button and lacks Face ID ■ New version to look more like the iPhone 14 and also include Apple Intelligence whichApplefirstintroducedin2016 as an entry-level model.The existing version — released in 2022 — has growndated:It’stheonlyiPhonethat stillhasahomebuttonandlacksFace ID.The new version will look more like the iPhone 14 and also include , much less than the $799 regular iPhone 16 Apple Intelligence,the company’sAI software. Therearealreadytelltalesignsthat the new phone is coming.Inventory ofthecurrentiPhoneSEhasdriedup atAppleretailstoresinmanypartsof the US, which typically happens ■ A low-end iPhone could boost Apple's sales in overseas markets like India, China and other parts ofAsia before a refresh.Apple retail employeesatseveralstoressaythatinventory has been dwindling for weeks and customerswhowanttobuythedevice in certain configurations sometimes needtobeturnedaway. The phone remains available for purchase onApple’s online store but someconfigurations,includingared version with 256 gigabytes of storage, aren’t shipping until March. Stockpiles of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus alsoare running low. AspokespersonforAppledeclined to comment. Apple already discontinued the current SE and iPhone 14 in the EU because the products don’t comply with local laws requiring USB-C, a charging standard adopted by other iPhones in 2023.The next iPhone SE will get that same port, letting it return to the EU. The current SE costs $429,which ishundredslessthanthe$799regulariPhone16.Giventhenewfeatures and design of the updated model, Applemayincreasethatprice.Butit’s likely to remain in the same general range as entry-level smartphones from Samsung Electronics and Alphabet’s Google. Apple’siPhonebusinesscoulduse a boost. Sales of the device declined 1% during the holiday quarter — a worseperformancethanexpected— andAppleisbankingonthenewlowend phoneto help restore growth. A new iPhone SE could be especially enticing in overseas markets like China, India and other parts of Asia.The combination of high-end features and a roughly $500 price point could make it an attractive alternative to local brands, even though it will likely remain more expensive.Apple’s sales fell 11% in China last quarter but grew in other emerging markets. —BLOOMBERG Ahmedabad