COMPANIES | PAGE 4 COMPANIES | PAGE 6 Accenture ups revenue guidance for FY25 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Hindalco to invest `45,000 cr in aluminium, copper biz CHENNAI/KOCHI, FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2025 Apple losing over $1 bn a year on streaming service FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 270, 26 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 76,348.06 ▲ 899.01 NIFTY: 23,190.65 ▲ 283.05 NIKKEI 225: 37,751.88 ▼ 93.54 HANG SENG: 24,219.95 ▼ 551.19 `/$: 86.37 ▲ 0.07 `/€: 93.74 ▲ 0.48 BRENT: $70.62 ▼ $0.16 GOLD: `88,153 ▼ `135 IN THE NEWS Anup Saha named Bajaj Finance MD; Rajeev Jain is V-C BAJAJ FINANCE HAS promoted MD Rajeev Jain to the role of vice-chairman and executive director. Deputy MD Anup Kumar Saha has been appointed the new MD, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 8 NSO likely to start using GST data for GDP estimate THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL Office may use GST Network data to compute GDP starting with the new national income series to be unveiled next fiscal, reports Priyansh Verma. ■ PAGE 2 Musk’s X moves court against section in ITAct ELON MUSK’S X has filed a lawsuit against the Centre challenging the use of a section of ITAct, 2000, to issue blocking orders. `4,385-CRORE DEALTOTRIGGER OPEN OFFER Bainpicksup18% inManappuramFin NARAYANAN V Chennai, March 20 PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM Bain Capital on Thursday said it has entered into definitive agreementstoacquirejointcontrolin Manappuram Finance, the country’s second-largest gold loan firm, through an 18% stake for`4,385 crore. The stake will be acquired via a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants at `236 per share, implying a 30% premium over the sixmonth average price and a 9% premium over Thursday’s closing price. The deal triggers a mandatory open offer. Bain will make an open offer to buy an additional 26% in Manappuram. In a regulatory filing, ManappuramFinancesaidBainCapital, through its affiliates — BC Asia Investments XXV Limited and BC Asia Investments XIV Limited — will acquire 93 million shares each. Dependingontheresponse totheopenoffer,BainCapital’s GOLD RUSH Manappuram Finance 220 218 Manappuram Finance financials Year FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 AUM Net worth Net interest income Net profit 25,200 5,700 27,200 7,300 30,300 8,400 35,500 9,600 42,100 11,500 3,719 4,112 4,050 4,509 5,982 1,480 1,725 1,329 1,501 2,198 (in ` crore) Source: Company annual report »INSIDE« PRUDENTIAL, HCL FORM HEALTH INSURANCE JV P8 ADANI IN ADVANCED TALKS TO ACQUIRE EMAAR INDIA P4 ownership post-transaction will range between 18.0% and 41.7% on a fully diluted basis, ● BILLGATESATADDA, ON FUTURE OFTECH Co-presented by 1.66% 217.50 216 214 212 210 213.95 Mar 19 (close) Mar 20 (close) including the shares that would be issued upon exercise of the warrants. Promoters VP Nandakumar andSushamaNandakumarheld a combined 34.72% stake in Manappuram Finance as of December2024. Continued on Page 7 `54,000-cr defence purchases get nod India maycut tariffs,saysTrump ● Reciprocalduties comingonApr2, USprezreiterates PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New York, March 20 DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT We have a powerful group of partners in trade...we can’t let those partners treat us badly US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has said that he believesIndiawillloweritstariffsonAmericangoods,evenas he reiterated his threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on the country starting April 2. In an interview with Breitbart News, an American news, opinion, and commentary website, Trump discussed the US' relationship with India. Askedabouthismeeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, Trump said he has a “very good rela- The only problem I have with India is they’re one of the highest tariffing nations in the world tionship”with India. "But the only problem I have with India is they're one ofthehighesttariffingnations in the world,” the website quoted Trump as saying. “I believe they're...probably going to be lowering those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us.” Asked about the IndiaMiddle East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEC), a deal he signed the US on BENCHMARK INDICES Sensex and Nifty surged over 1% on Thursday, extending their winning streak for the fourth consecutive session amid firm global cues. The Sensex gained 900 points, or 1.19%, surpassing the 76,000-mark and ending the day at 76,348.06. The Nifty also rose 283.05 points, or 1.24%, closing just a few points below the 23,200mark at 23,190.65. ■ REPORT ON PAGE 8 ■ `4L-cr shares set to be unlocked by Jun-end PAGE 8 Sensex Intra-day, Mar 20 76,348.1 75,917.1 Open 75,449.1 Previous close 899.01 points 1.90% beapromoterormemberofthe promoter group.But under the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, the same provision is not applicable for startup companies up to 10 years from the date of its incorporation orregistration. Calling the proposed move forward-looking and a good change, Kaushik Mukherjee, partnerat Induslawexplained that this move will bridge the gap between the two set of regulations. THE DEFENCE ACQUISITION Council (DAC) on Thursday approved eight equipment purchase proposals with a combined worth of `54,000 crore and announced guidelines for reducing the timelines at various stages of the capital acquisition process. The council, which met under the chairmanship of defence minister Rajnath Singh,accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs) to eight capital acquisition proposals, a statement said here. AoNs are the official approval granted by DAC for specific capital acquisition proposal, signifying the government’s recognition of the need for the equipment or system. For the Indian Army, AoN for procurement of 1350 HP Engine was accorded to upgrade the current 1000 HP Engine for the T-90 tanks. This will enhance the battlefield mobility of these tanks, especially in high-altitude areas by increasing the power to weight ratio. Continued on Page 23 Continued on Page 23 Microsoft co-founder-turned-global health philanthropist Bill Gates in conversation with Anant Goenka, executive director of The Indian Express Group, on the future of technology, artificial intelligence and its global impact, at the Express Adda in Mumbai on Thursday SANKHADEEP BANERJEE SebimullschangestoEsopnorms ANANYA GROVER Mumbai, March 20 THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE Board of India (Sebi) has proposed allowing founders to exercise employee stock options (Esops) or stock appreciation rights (SAR), even after they are classified as promoterswhenthecompaniesare about to list. In a consultation paper released on Thursday, Sebi, however, said the Esops should have been issued to the person one year before the initial public offer(IPO). Under the existing provisions of the Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat EquityRegulations,‘promoters’ and ‘members of promoter group’arenotentitledtoreceive Esops and an employee cannot Mounjaro to be available here at `3,500 per vial Eli Lillybrings its global bestseller anti-obesity,diabetes drug to India FE BUREAU New Delhi, March 20 US PHARMA MAJOR Eli Lilly on Thursday launched its global bestseller anti-obesity and diabetes drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) in India. Priced at `14,000 for a 2.5 mg monthly dose (`3,500 per vial),and `17,500 (`4,375 per vial) for a 5 mg monthly dose, the drug — to be taken weekly — will be available here at a fraction of the cost it is currently sold in the US ($1,000 per monthly dose). Eli Lilly (India) had earlier toldFEthat itwill price its drug competitively for the Indian market, saying that “the pricingstrategyinIndiawillreflect themedicine’sefficacyandthe significant value it brings in WEIGHT LOSS WAR ■ To be taken ■ Eli Lilly's Mounjaro is priced at weekly, the drug costs for a 2.5 mg monthly dose per monthly dose in the US `14,000 ■ A 5 mg monthly dose will cost `17,500 reducingtheoverallhealthand economicburdenoftype2diabetes and obesity. We anticipate a positive response from the Indian market”. Anti-obesitydrugsWegovy and Ozempic (manufactured by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk) and Eli Lilly's Moun- $1,000 ■ Doctors have started receiving multiple prescription requests for the drug jaro have made waves across the world since their launch in recent years. Novo Nordisk had initially announced launch of its injectible Wegovy in India in 2026, but sources say the launch could happen sooner. The companylaunched an oral Continued on Page 23 ■ EU delays first tariffs against US to mid-Apr, P7 Markets rally for fourth day on Fed boost FE BUREAU New Delhi, March 20 Associate Partners toduringModi'svisittotheUS, Trump did not mention China in particular but said it was a “group of wonderful nations” banding together “countering other countries that look to hurt us on trade”.“We have a powerful group of partners in trade,”Trump said. “Again, we can't let those partners treat us badly, however.We do betterin many ways frankly with our foes than we do with our friends," Trumpwasquotedassayingby the website. "The ones that wouldn't be as friendly to us in some cases treat us better than the ones that are supposed to be friendly, like the European Union,which treats us terribly on trade,"Trump said. ■ Novo Nordisk may launch its injectible Wegovy in India earlier than 2026 formulation identical to Wegovy— Rybelsus — in India in 2022, which is a market leadersince,but the oral offering only depicts a 50% efficacy compared with its injectible counterpart. Continued on Page 9 CHENNAI/KOCHI Close Top sectoral gainers Telecom 1.94 TECK 1.89 1.56 Oil and gas Energy 1.42 1.39 Auto Top Sensex gainers 4.17 Bharti Airtel 3.82 Titan Company 1.88 TCS 1.86 HUL 1.74 Infosys