BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 MARKETS | PAGE 7 Tryingtoresolveissues inNSEIPO:Sebichief BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 Outdooradvertising getsadigitalmakeover TrumpthreatensHarvard withforeignstudentban NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2025 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L1 NO. 40, 20 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) 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: 78,553.19 ▲ 1508.90 NIFTY: 23,851.65 ▲ 414.45 NIKKEI 225: 34,377.60 ▲ 457.20 HANG SENG: 21,395.14 ▲ 338.16 `/$: 85.38 ▲ 0.26 `/€: 97.11 ▲ 0.22 BRENT: $66.62 ▲ $0.77 GOLD: `94,629 ▲ `325 1,508.91 points To Top Sensex gainers (Weekly) 1.96% 15.34 76,968.02 11.34 (Open) Continued on Page 6 8.24 2.21% MARKETS CLOSED TODAY ON ACCOUNT OF GOOD FRIDAY 4.60 2.76 Apr 16 Apr 17 Bank Nifty 7.51 7.23 ICICI Bank 77,044.29 (Previous close) Apr 15 *between April 11 and 17 Trumphintsat firingPowellafter tariffcomments US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said on Thursday that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's termination ‘cannot come fast enough’, while calling for the US central bank to cut interest rates, reports Reuters. Trump, in a post, reiterated his stance on rate cuts, saying that Powell ‘should have lowered interest rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now’. ■ PAGE 6 NEARLY A DECADE after its exit from the country and India revamped its mining policy to lure global investors, British-Australian giant Rio Tinto is set to enter the country,with significant investment plans in aluminium sector, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 5 Indian delegation to visit US next week for BTA push Indian economy to surpass Germany, Japan in 3 yrs: Niti THE INDIAN ECONOMY will be bigger than Germany and Japan in the next three years, and also it could become the second-largest economy by 2047, Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam said on Thursday, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 2 TCS faces US probe for firing Americans, retaining H-1B staff THE US EQUAL Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating dozens ofAmerican workers’ allegations that Tata Consultancy Services targeted them for layoffs but spared Indian colleagues, some of whom were working on H-1B visas, reports Bloomberg. ■ PAGE 4 THE RUPEE STRENGTHENED for the fourth consecutive session and closed 26 paise higher at 85.38 against the US dollar on Thursday, hitting the April 3 closing level, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 7 AROUND THE WORLD ● BSE: 150AND GOING STRONG Rio Tinto to make India comeback with AM Green tie-up ATEAM OF officials from the ministry of commerce is likely to visit the US next week to "iron out certain issues" before both the countries launch formal negotiations on the BTA, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 Rerises26paise tocloseat85.38 Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MD & CEO of BSE Sundararaman Ramamurthy ring the bell during the 150th anniversary of the BSE in Mumbai on Thursday. Sebi chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey was also present on the occasion Xi urges ‘Asian family’ unity to counterTrump PTI FM:Indiacannavigateglobal turmoilwithpolicystability ANANYA GROVER Mumbai, April 17 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman said on Thursday that despite global trade recalibration effortsbeingworrisomeanddifficult, she is confident that India will navigate these with policy stability and long-termvision. “The intensification of tariffwars and the rise of protectionist policies have the potential to disrupt global supply chains, increase production costandcreateuncertaintyininvestment decisions across borders.This hashadtherippleeffectonthefinancial markets across the globe includingourown,”shesaidinherspeechat aneventofBSEcompleting150years. She added that India's financial markets have shown remarkable resilience despite recent global THUMBS UP TO DIIs ■ Sebi chairperson Tuhin ■ Sitharaman said India's financial markets have shown remarkable resilience despite recent global uncertainties ■ FM said the transition of DIIs to a dominant role underlines the growing maturity of India's capital market ■ She also appreciated the domestic retail investors for placing their faith in the markets uncertainties,atestamentofwhichis the fact that in the second half of March foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) made substantial investments inIndia'sfinancialsector,channelling over`17,500crore.Atthesametime, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have played an increasingly playing a central role. Kanta Pandey, who was also present on the occasion, said rapid changes may create regulatory uncertainties With the DII inflows far outpacing the net outflows of FPIs in the lastfinancialyear,shesaidthistransition of DIIs from a supportive to a dominantroleunderlinesthegrowing maturity and depth of India's capital market. Continued on Page 6 CHINESE PRESIDENT XI Jinping promoted the idea of an ‘Asian family’ and called for regional unity during a tour of Southeast Asia, in an apparent effort to counter US pressure on nations to limit trade ties with Beijing, reports Bloomberg. Xi landed in Phnom Penh on Thursday, kicking off the final leg of his threenation tour as US prepares to seek trade partners’ cooperation in encircling Beijing. ■ PAGE 6 ECBcutsinterest ratesforseventh timeinayear THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL Bank cut interest rates for the seventh time in a year on Thursday, looking to prop up an already struggling euro zone economy that will take a knock from US tariffs, reports Reuters. Policymakers were unanimous in approving the 25 bps cut to 2.25% on Thursday, as even some of the more hawkish rate setters agreed that a global trade war has significantly altered the outlook, a source said. ■ PAGE 6 to `40,925 cr;ADR falls 5% in earlytrade HEADWINDS AHEAD PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Bengaluru, April 17 THE COUNTRY'S SECOND largest IT services firm, Infosys, on Thursday forecast a slower pace of revenue growth for FY26 as corporations globally pulled back on large-scale technologyinvestments amid mounting geopolitical and economic uncertainties. The Bengaluru-based firm said it expects its revenue to either remain flat or grow up to 3% in constant cur»INSIDE« rency terms in IT GIANTTO FY26, a sharp HIRE 20,000 decelerationfrom IN FY26 the 4.5-5% PAGE 4 growth it had guided for FY25 and well below analysts’ average expectations of a 6.3% rise. “There’s uncertaintyin the environment,” chief executive officer Salil Parekh said.“The fact that we gaveathree-pointguidancereflects that.At the bottom end of the guidance,wehavefactoredinsomedeterioration in the environment and heightened uncertainty,”he said. The $280-billion IT industry, alreadygrapplingwith inflationary pressures and sluggish macroeconomic trends, is also navigating client hesitancy driven by elevated Infosys consolidated financials (` crore) Q3FY25 Q4FY25 % chg, q-o-q 2 Revenue 2.4 Ebitda Ebitda margin (%) 7,033 10.57 ● Revenue down 2% 6,806 Market cap gain/loss in ` lakh crore THE BENCHMARK 10-YEAR bond yield ended at 6.37% on Thursday, its fifth consecutive weekly drop, as the central bank continued to pump liquidity to aid policy transmission, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 7 9,874 (Close) 10,115 78,553.20 Bondyieldssee sixthweeklyfall 40,925 (Intra-day, Apr 17) 41,764 Sensex Bharti Airtel TWO MORE GENSOL Engineering independent directors - Harsh Singh and Kuljit Singh Popli -- have tendered their resignations, according to a regulatory filing onThursday., reports PTI. OnWednesday, independent directorArun Menon quit the company. ■ PAGE 4 BENCHMARK INDICES CONTINUED their winning streak for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday. In the holiday-shortened week, they gained 4.5%, the highest in four years. The Sensex jumped 1,508.91 points or 1.96% to close at 78,553.20, marking its best closing level since January 3,while the Nifty rose 414.45 points or 1.77% to close above the 23,800-mark at 23,851.65.Banking shares were in strong demand on Thursday, with the BSE Bankex hitting a new alltime closing high of 62,293.27, rising by 1,557.21 points or 2.56%. RISING BULL Infosys misses Q4 revenue estimates, guidesweak FY26 « Two more Gensol independent directors resign KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, April 17 Adani Ports THE GST COUNCIL will likely meet in June or early July to consider reducing the tax rate on health and life insurance to 5% with input tax credit from 18%, among other rationalisations, reports Prasanta Sahu. Among other matters, the Council may examine the GoM report on rate rationalisation to give further relief to people through rate reductions and rejig of the number of slabs. ■ PAGE 2 Markets on fast-forward Axis Bank Tax on insurance likely to be cut to 5% at GST Council meet BESTWEEK FOR INDICES IN 4 YEARSAS INVESTORS GAIN NEARLY `18L CR IndusInd Bank IN THE NEWS 3.3 Net profit 24.2 24.1 interest rates and geopolitical shifts. While Indian tech firms like Infosys are leaning on emerging technologies such as generative AI to spark client interest, customers remainwaryof committing to large transformation deals. Continued on Page 11 Warburg Pincus,ADIA to pick up IDFC First stakeworth `7,500 cr SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, April 17 IDFC FIRST BANK'S board has approvedraisingupto`7,500crore throughtheissuanceofpreferential shares to affiliate firms of private equity group Warburg Pincus and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) sovereign wealth fund. Currant Sea Investments BV, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, will invest`4,876crorefora9.8%stake, the bank said in an exchange filing. Platinum Invictus B 2025 RSC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADIA, will invest around `2,624 crore for a 5.1% stake. The fundraising will improve the capital adequacy ratio of the country’s ninth-largest private bank to 18.9% from 16.1% in December 2024. V Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC First Bank,said:“It is great to have Warburg Pincus back and to welcome a wholly owned subsidiaryofADIAas ourshareholder.” The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Over the last six years, the bank’s deposits have grown sixfold,loans and advances have doubled,and the CASAratio has significantly improved from 8.7% to BANKING ON IDFC ■ Platinum ■ Currant Sea Investments BV, an affiliate ofWarburg Pincus, will invest `4,876 crore for a 9.8% stake Invictus B 2025 RSC, an arm of ADIA, will invest around `2,624 crore for a 5.1% stake ■ The private lender will issue 1.25 bn preference shares to the investors V VAIDYANATHAN, MD AND CEO, IDFC FIRST BANK Wearebuilding foundationsto bepartofthe bigleague INTERVIEW, PAGE 7 47.7%. The profit aftertax (PAT) surged to `2,957 crore in FY24 from from a loss of `1,944 crore in FY19. Continued on Page 6 K2-18b orbits a star 120 light-years from us and has an abundance of dimethyl sulfide whose only source on Earth is living organisms Astronomersdetectapossiblesignatureoflifeonadistantplanet CARL ZIMMER April 17 THE SEARCH FOR lifebeyondEarth has led scientists to explore many suggestive mysteries, from plumes of methane on Mars to clouds of phosphinegasonVenus.Butasfaras we can tell, Earth’s inhabitants remain alone in the cosmos. Now a team of researchers is offering what it contends is the strongest indication yet of extraterrestrial life, not in our solar system but on a massive planet, known as K2-18b,that orbits a star 120 lightyearsfromEarth.Arepeatedanalysis of the exoplanet’s atmosphere suggests an abundance of a molecule that on Earth has only one known source: living organisms such as marine algae. “It is in no one’s interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,” said Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridgeandanauthorofthenew study,at a news conference onTuesday.Still,hesaid,thebestexplanation for his group’s observations is that K2-18b is covered with a warm ocean,brimmingwith life. “Thisisarevolutionarymoment,” Madhusudhan said. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignaturesonahabitableplanet.” The study was published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Other researchers called it an exciting, thought-provoking first step to making sense of what’s on K2-18b. But they were IN SEARCH OF LIFE ■ Canadian astronomers discovered K2- 18b in 2017, while looking through groundbased telescopes in Chile ■ These planets, known as subNeptunes, are much bigger than the rocky planets in our inner solar system ■ Researchers say K2-18b may in fact harbour a tremendous supply of dimethyl sulfide in its atmosphere reluctanttodrawgrandconclusions. “It’s not nothing,” said Stephen Schmidt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s a hint. But we cannot conclude it’s habitable yet.” »EXPLAINER« ■ Some researchers called it an exciting, thought-provoking first step to making sense of what’s on K2-18b CAN WE SAY HELLO TO ALIENS YET? PAGE 9 ■ The study was published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters If there is extraterrestrial life on K2-18b,oranywhereelse,itsdiscoverywill arrive at a frustratingly slow pace.“Unlesswe see ETwaving at us, it’s not going to be a smoking gun,” said Christopher Glein, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in SanAntonio. Canadian astronomers discovered K2-18b in 2017,while looking throughground-basedtelescopesin Chile. It was a type of planet com- monly found outside our solar system,butonewithoutanyanalognear Earth that scientists could study closelyforclues. These planets, known as subNeptunes,are much bigger than the rocky planets in our inner solar system, but smaller than Neptune and other gas-dominated planets of the outersolarsystem. In 2021, Madhusudhan and his colleagues proposed that sub-Neptunes were covered with warm oceans of water and wrapped in New Delhi atmospheres containing hydrogen, methane and other carbon compounds. To describe these strange planets, they coined a new term, ‘Hycean’, from a combination of the words‘hydrogen’and‘ocean’. The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in December 2021 allowed astronomers a closerlook at sub-Neptunes and other distant planets. Asanexoplanetpassesinfrontits hoststar,itsatmosphere,ifithasone, is illuminated. Its gases change the colour of the starlight that reaches the Webb telescope. By analyzing these changing wavelengths, scientists can infer the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Continued on Page 11