OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES Do you often end up cozying up to feel good TV? Well, you are not alone—and it might even be good for you Page 7 All about space, sustainability and global tech rivalry Page 9 WHEN COMFORT SHOWS ACT AS A CALMING BALM Why no jobs for most youth? ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM VOL XXIV NO. 30 Supercomputing in space LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM GOLDEN GOODNESS FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, MAY 25, 2025 26 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, 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 , ● Witness liquor making, tasting at ‘experience centres’ HAVE YOU EVER wondered what pre-distilled barley smells or feels like?Orwhatarethekeyingredients that go into the making of your favourite spirits? If you’ve always been curious to know about the intricacies of the liquor industry, nowyou can do just that,in person, Plays & pause Theatre is well and alive, but is it narrowing its scope with performances from established productions only in big cities and at price points that sideline the masses? ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 New-age geopolitics AS OF NOW in 2025, only around 190 stocks, or 38%, of the BSE 500 Index have delivered positive yearto-date (YTD) returns, reflecting a subdued market environment. In comparison, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty have gained 4.58% and 5.11%, respectively, during this period. However, the broader indices have underperformed, with the BSE Midcap ■ The Flavour Lab, Bengaluru: A-Z of Indian craft spirits, learn how spirits are made & ingredients sourced, what goes into distilling ■ Indri Experience Centre, Haryana: Guided distillery tours, whisky appreciation sessions, firsthand understanding of Indian single malts ■ Sula Vineyards tour, ■ Paul John Visitor Centre, Goa: Guided tour of Bengaluru: Wine-making process 'from grape to glass', unique wine tasting room distillery, whisky-making process including mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation at some of the ‘experience centres’ opened by alcoholic beverage brands across the country. Earlier in April, Piccadily Agro Industries,theparentcompanyofthe award-winning Indian single malt whiskybrand,Indri,opened its Indri Experience Centre near its distillery in Indri, Haryana. “Designed to immerse visitors in the rich world of Indian single malts, it’s more than just a visitor centre—it’s a curated CALLING UPON STATES to capture the mood of‘Operation Sindoor’for synchronised action to make India a developednation,PMNarendraModi on Saturday said they have to leverage free trade agreements (FTAs) India is signing to boost exports by focusing on theirproduct strengths. Addressing the 10th Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog, Modi asked the top government think-tank to prepare an ‘investment-friendly charter’ for attractinginvestments,andurgedstatesto cut back unnecessary regulations for greater ease of doing business. FORTH DEMANDS P2 declining 3.41% and the BSE Smallcap falling 6.63% YTD. Compiled by Kishor Kadam IN THE NEWS ‘TaMo demerger will bring strategic clarity’ THE PROPOSED demerger of Tata Motors into two listed entities will bring strategic clarity, enabling longterm returns for shareholders, according to chairman N Chandrasekaran. ■ PAGE 3 New Covid variants detected, 2 dead ONE CASE of NB.1.8.1 Covid variant and four of LF.7 have been detected in India, as per INSACOG. WHO classifies the two variants under monitoring, not as variants of concern. Two people have died. ■ PAGE 2 35.4 Narayana Hrudayalaya 35.6 Bajaj Finance 36.0 Redington Cholamandalam Inv Maharashtra Scooters 37.1 N E W D E L H I , P U N E ● Dreams to study abroad still big, but choices reshaping Source: Bloomberg GARIMA SADHWANI New Delhi, May 24 EVEN AS A United States district judge has temporary blocked the Trump administration’s plan to strip Harvard University of its ability to enroll foreign students after the varsity sued the administration, the entire issue becomes hugely symbolic of the uncertainty students face in a volatile political climate, not just in the US, but elsewhere too. journeythrough the art,science,and passion that go into creating each bottle of Indri single malt whisky,” saidShaliniSharma,headofmarketing,PiccadilyAgro Industries. At the Indri Experience Centre, visitors can embark on guided distillery tours, deep-dive into exclusive whisky appreciation sessions, and partake in curated experiences with a firsthand understanding of the artistry behind Indri. Latelastyear,alco-bevgiantDiageo India, through its The Good Craft Co initiative, opened The Flavour Lab in Bengaluru. Continued on Page 2 Monsoon hits Kerala, earliest onset in 16 yrs SANDIP DAS New Delhi, May 24 THE SOUTHWEST MONSOON set over the Kerala coast on Saturday, eight days ahead of the normal date of June 1, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. This is the earliest date of monsoon onset since 2009 when it entered Kerala on May 23. The earliest onset date this centurywas May 18,2004. IMD in its earlier forecast had saidthesouthwestmonsoonislikely to hit Kerala coast on May 27. The forecastofearlyarrivalsofmonsoon by the met department had come with a model error of +/- four days. The met department has predicted “heavytoveryheavyrainfalllikelyto continue over west coast—Kerala, Karnataka,coastalMaharashtraand Goa—during the next seven days with possibility of extremely heavy rainfall over coastal Maharashtra, Goa and Madhya Maharashtra on Saturdayand coastal and Ghat areas of Karnataka during May24-27.” Continued on Page 2 PM Narendra Modi with Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin (middle) and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu (left) during the 10th meeting of the Governing Council of Niti Aayog in New Delhi on Saturday PTI Forinternational students,politics a test 56.4 Solar Industries Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Suntory Global Spirits' speciality store, Mumbai Airport: Whisky discovery; inviting layout design featuring easy-to-navigate branded wall bays, gondolas, merchandising pillars ■ Diageo India's Work like Team India for progress, PM urges states »INSIDE« STATE CMs PUT 39.8 Godfrey Phillips M U M B A I , Continued on Page 2 Top gainers from BSE 500 Index Bharat Dynamics L U C K N O W , FE BUREAU New Delhi, May 24 BSE 500 Index: Only 38% give positive YTD returns Garden Reach Shipbuilders K O L K A T A , ● Asks all chief ministers to leverage FTAs to boost exports The nation-state is very much alive, only challenged and reinforced by the digital age 57.2 K O C H I , VIKSIT RAJYA FOR VIKSIT BHARAT@2047 ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 60.3 H Y D E R A B A D , IMMERSIVE SPIRIT KUNAL DOLEY New Delhi, May 24 70.2 READ TO LEAD From liquorbrands now,a sip & the storybehind it WHAT'S INSIDE 72.0 Celebrating mangoes in fun and innovative ways this summer Page 6 NOUVEAU CAMPUSES Singapore alone has seen a 25% year-on-year growth ■ 38% rise in Indian students opting for universities in Singapore, Ireland, Dubai ■ Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, UAE gaining traction Shruti Rathi, an independent study abroad consultant,toldFE,“Forstudentsapplying to the US, colleges like Harvard aredreamdestinations.What’shappening right now is an unwelcome move, and it’s not an isolated decision. Visa issues have also been increasingly cropping up recently which discourage students from applying to their dream colleges.” Hours after the news of Trump’s order broke, Akshay Chaturvedi, founder and CEO, Leverage Edu, a study abroad and talent mobility technology firm, wrote on X,“(This is) going to have an impact on the PFinterest rate retained at 8.25% for FY25 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, May 24 US’s attractiveness as a talent magnet. Other selected European nations/MiddleEastAREGOINGTO LAP UP this access to international students aka high-qualitytalent.” Chaturvedi points to a trend that isalreadybeingseenamonginternational students.InApril thisyear,the US DHS’student and exchange visitorinformationsystemdatarevealed that the number of Indian students in the US had seen an almost “28% year-on-yeardeclineinMarch2025”. Overall, too, the number of F-1 visas (which allow international students to study at an accredited US college) issued for Indian students fell from 1,31,000 in 2023 to 86,110 in 2024. THE GOVERNMENT HAS ratified the rate of interest on employees’ provident fund at 8.25% for FY25, enablingretirementfundbodyEPFO to deposit the annual interest accumulation in the post-retirement funds of over7 crore subscribers. EPFO, on February 28, had decided to retain the interest rate of 8.25%onemployees’providentfund (EPF) deposits for the financial year 2024-25,equal to the rate provided in the preceding fiscal.The approved rate of interest for2024-25was sent for concurrence of the finance ministry.The interest amount as per the rate ratified forFY25will be credited intotheaccountsofover7croresubscribers of EPFO. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 Hero’s scooter sales hit a bump despite new launches ● Decline contrasts sharply with overall growth in segment MARKET METRICS Hero MotoCorp Bajaj Auto VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, May 24 THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST twowheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp,has seen its scooter sales fall in FY25 despite introducing several new models to the market. This decline contrasts sharply with the overall growth in the scooter segment, which expanded by 17.4% overthe previousyear. Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) Unit sales 4,00,453 3,91,419 1,15,627 2,77,183 Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India 12.4 TVS Motor 24.9 Suzuki Motorcycle India showsthatHero’sscootersalesfellby 2.3%,from4,00,453unitsinFY24to 3,91,419 in FY25. This comes at a timewhenothermajorplayersinthe FY24 FY25 y-o-y % -2.3 139.7 25,30,667 28,44,402 14,51,409 18,13,103 8,92,670 10,24,668 14.8 two-wheeler market reported double-digitgrowthintheirscootersales. BajajAuto’sscootersales,forinstance, surgedby139.7%to2,77,183units. Source: SIAM Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) also recorded a solid 12.4% increase, from 2.53 million to 2.84 million units.TVS Motor and Suzuki MotorcycleIndiaregisteredgrowths of 24.9% and 14.8%,respectively. In contrast, Hero MotoCorp introduced multiple new models over the past two years, including Xoom 110 in January 2023, Destini 125 Prime in August 2023, Pleasure Plus Xtec Sports in March 2024, and a trio of new scooters—Destini 125,Xoom 125, and Xoom 160—in January.Despite the aggressive rollout, the models have failedto make a lasting impact. Industry analysts point to a deeper issue behind Hero’s lagging scooter performance.According to experts,Hero’slongstandingfocuson New Delhi commuter motorcycles, such as the iconic Splendor and Passion, has solidifieditsidentityasamotorcycle brand, rather than a scooter brand. “Hero is extremely strong in the motorcycle segment with a commanding 42.6% market share,having sold over 5.2 million units out of 12.25 million motorcycles sold in FY25,” analystssaid.“Butinscooters, the company holds a weak position, with just 5.7% market share.” While Hero’s new scooters did leadtoatemporarybumpinmonthly sales earlier this year,the gains were not sustained. In January 2025, scootersalesroseby34.9%,followed by 12.1% growth in February and 22.5% in March. Continued on Page 2