BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Ban on real money gaming makes way for new ad firms INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Birla Opus rewriting rules of the game in paints: KM Birla CHENNAI/KOCHI, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2025 TrumpmovestofireFed’s Cook,settinguplegalfight FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 96, 28 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: 80,786.54 ▼ 849.37 NIFTY: 24,712.05 ▼ 255.70 NIKKEI 225: 42,394.40 ▼ 413.42 HANG SENG: 25,524.92 ▼ 304.99 `/$: 87.68 ▼ 0.10 `/€: 102.09 ▲ 0.33 BRENT: $68.08 ▼ $0.72 GOLD: `1,00,351 ▲ `315 INDIA’S EXPORTSTOTHE US MAYPLUNGE 43%TO $50 BN IN FY26 50%Trump tariff kicks in ● Products in transit allowed three-week windowto enterUS MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, August 26 IN THE NEWS TCS sets up AI unit, names Amit Kapur chief TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES on Tuesday announced the creation of a new unit dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) and services transformation, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 4 Apple to open fourth India store in Pune on Sept 4 DAYS AFTER IT announced plans to launch a new retail store in Bengaluru, Apple on Tuesday said it will open another one in Pune, reports Urvi Malvania. The Apple Koregaon Park in Pune will be opened on September 4. ■ PAGE 5 Hospitals' body under fire over cashless care halt THE GENERAL INSURANCE Council on Tuesday hit back at the Association of Healthcare Providers (India) (AHPI) over its decision to suspend cashless treatment facilities for certain general insurers. The council said AHPI’s unilateral action was “arbitrary, lacking clarity or actionable details”, reports Narayanan V. ■ PAGE 6 PFRDA urged to include gold ETF in NPS investments THE PENSION FUND Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is considering the demand of pension fund managers to expand the investment universe for the retirement corpus by including gold ETFs and more companies than the top 200 for equity exposure, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 ONGC Videsh eyeing upstream, LNG assets in US ONGC VIDESH, THE overseas operations arm of ONGC, is looking to invest in the LNG and upstream assets in the US, the company’s managing director Rajarshi Gupta said on Tuesday, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 2 FE S P EC I A L Regulated pre-IPO trading platform It can lead to better price discovery for IPO-bound companies ■ EXPLAINER, P9 THE UNITED STATES onTuesday issued a “notice of implementation”to NewDelhi of an extra 25% tariff on Indian goods forits purchase of Russian oil, a move that dashed hopesofalast-minutebilateral reconciliation on the matter. With this, the total additional tariff above the most favoured nation (MFN) rates on shipments to the US,including a25%“reciprocal”levyimposed onAugust7,willbeaprohibitive 50%.Theactualdutyincidence, includingtheMFNtariffs,could beashighas63%,asinthecase of textiles and apparel. Though the department of homeland of the US said the 25% penal dutywill take effect from Wednesday, it provided a three-week window for productsintransittoentertheAmerican territory,at lowerduties. TRADE TURMOIL ■ The total tariffs comprise 25% reciprocal tariff, effective from August 7, and 25% penal levy for buying Russian crude and military equipment, effective from August 27 ■ Around 55% of India’s merchandise exports to the US, or shipments worth about $48 billion, will be hit by extra duties, according to govt estimates ■ In April-July, merchandise exports to the US grew 21% year-on-year to $33.53 billion ■ Among the worst-hit sectors are textiles, apparel, seafood, leather & footwear, and jems & jewellery OPINION DEALING WITH US TARIFFS, WRITES PRABIR DE PAGE 8 Speaking at Ahmedabad on Tuesday,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi reiterated that an era of “economic selfishness” has dawned, but insisted India DON’T RISE TO ANY BAIT FROM TRUMP, WRITES NIRVIKAR SINGH PAGE 8 would withstand the pressure. “No matter how high the pressure,Indiawillcontinuetobuild its strength to withstand it,”he said, asserting the stance that Benchmarks log biggest one-dayfall in 3 months ● Investorwealthof `5.57Lcrwipedout MAHESH NAYAK & KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, August 26 BENCHMARK INDICES SLUMPED over 1% on Tuesday, recording their biggest single-day fall in three months,as investorsentiment weakened ahead of the additional 25% US tariffs on goods imported from India.The continuous depreciation of the rupee against the dollar also weighed on markets. “Disappointment over the 50% tariff imposition has dampened the market, which was expecting a last-minute deal on lower tariff rates. Concernsaboutfiscalslippagesfollowing the GST rate cut and fears of delayed economic revival after Q1 earnings have weighed heavilyon the market MELTDOWN SENSEX (Intra-day, Aug 26) 81,635.91 (Previous close) 81,377.39 (Open) 849.37 points 1.04% and investor sentiment,” said ManishGunwani,headofequities at Bandhan Mutual Fund. He said the market is also facing pressure due to a rise in TOP SECTORAL LOSERS Realty -2.24 -2.10 Metal -2.04 Telecom -1.68 Energy -1.65 Healthcare 80,786.54 (Close) supplyresulting from promoters and private equity firms selling off their stakes. Continued on Page 18 Re falls for five Exporters flag Bondsreverse sessions in row credit squeeze fallinlasthours THE RUPEE FELL for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday on account of US tariff worries. On Tuesday, it fell 10 paise, or 0.11%, to 87.68 against the dollar, reports Christina Titus. So far in the calendaryear,the currencyfell 2.4%. Rupee continued to be theworstperformerintheyear compared to its Asian peers. INDIA’S LABOUR-INTENSIVE TEXTILE, apparel and seafood exporters are grappling with a severe working capital crunch as banks scale back fresh lending and tighten underwriting norms in the sectors hit hard by the 50% US tariffs, reports Narayanan V. Seafood exporters are among theworst affected,traders said. ■ PAGE 2 GOVERNMENT BONDS REVERSED theirdecline in the final trading hours onTuesday ashopesofarecoverytriggered someshort coveringandoffset pressure from a weak state debtauction.The10-yearbond yieldendedat6.60%.Theyield hit 6.66% during the day, its highest intraday level since March 20, reports Reuters. the interests of vulnerable sections like farmers and cattle rearers would be protected at any cost. Recently, external affairs minister S Jaishankar outlined India’s “red lines” in trade talks with the US in the samevein,even as he indicated negotiationswerestillgoingon. The chances of revocation of the punitive levywould now depend on how and when Washington and the Kremlin reach an agreement on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. ThenewUStariff,according to the ministry of finance,will hit55%ofIndia’smerchandise exportstotheUS,butsomeprivate agencies and export bodies have estimated the impact to be even higher. Delhi-based trade policy think tank GTRI, for instance,said two-thirds of Indian goods exports to the world’s largest economy will now face tariffs of 50% or higher, resulting in a 70% impact on labour-intensive exports from sectors such as textilesandgarments,seafood, and gems & jewellery. Continued on Page 7 Russianoilbuy maygodown furtherinnext twomonths FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 26 INDIA’S STATE-CONTROLLED AND private refiners are expectedtofurtherreducetheir purchases of Russian oil for September and October.Initial tanker data suggest a slump in loadings of Russian crude to India for these two months, whichwillgiveaclearerpicture of the impact of the additional tariffs imposed bythe US. Industry sources said July andAugust have alreadyseen a decline in deliveries of Russian crude at Indian ports, but that had little to dowith the US tariffs as those cargoes would havebeenbookedweeksbefore US President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on Indian goods earlyAugust. Thetopstate-ownedrefiners and private refiners, including Reliance Industries and Rosneft-linked Nayara Energy, are projected to book between 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.6millionbpdofRussiancrude forOctoberloading,anonymous sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg.The volume of purchasesfromRussiaforOctoberwouldbeupto400,000bpd below the average Russian oil imports of 1.8 million bpd for the first quarter. The drop in Russian oil buying could be a slightconcessiontotheUStariff pressure,but it’s also a sign that Indian refiners don’t intend to halt the economics-driven trade to buycheap crude. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Suzuki Motor president Toshihiro Suzuki flag off the carmaker’s first electric vehicle — eVitara — from a manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad on Tuesday PTI Suzuki Motor to invest `70,000 crore in India ● ‘Made-in-India’ LET US BE VOCAL FOR LOCAL: PM eVitarawillbesold inover100nations Government is aware of difficulties faced by auto industry due to shortage of rare earth magnets. To enhance the country’s capabilities...we have launched National Critical Mineral Mission NITIN KUMAR Hansalpur (Ahmedabad), August 26 JAPANESE AUTOMAKER SUZUKI Motor Corporation (SMC) will invest `70,000 crore, or around $8 billion, in India over the next five to six years,chairman and president Toshihiro Suzuki said onTuesday as the production of the carmaker’s first battery-electric vehicle started at the Hansalpur facility. Commercial production of the mid-sized eVitara SUVwas flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Ministersaidtheplant,including the eVitara,was a“big leap” towards the government’s “Make in India”goal. Toshihiro Suzuki said the Gujarat facility, which serves customers across India and My definition of Swadeshi is very simple: it doesn’t matter whose money is invested, whether it is dollars, pounds... What matters is that in production, the sweat belongs to my countrymen REPORT ON PAGE 2 global markets, will soon become one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hubs, with a planned capacity of one million units. The facility now has an annual capacityof750,000carsacross three production lines. “We chose this facility to manufacture the eVitara,our first BEV and make it a global production hub for this model. We will export this ‘Made-in-India BEV’ to over 100 countries, including Japan and Europe,” he said. The company’s second major milestone is the “start of production of India’s first lithium-ion battery and cell with electrode level localisation, which are used in our hybrid vehicles,” Suzuki added. Continued on Page 7 Papa John’s set for India comeback after 8 years ● First pizza outlet in Bengaluru in Oct SLICE OF LOCAL MARKET PIE VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, August 26 Market share# (in %) AMERICAN PIZZA CHAIN Papa John’s is set to re-enter the Indian market after a gap of eight years, opening the first store in Bengaluru in October and with plans to set up around 650 outlets over the next fewyears,a top executive said. The world’s third-largest pizza chain had exited the India market in 2017, citing underperformance. The relaunch will mean that the world’s top three Domino's Pizza Pizza Hut 56 25 estimate Source: Industry/analysts # pizza chains — Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s — will compete for a share of the domestic pizza market,which is valued at `15,000 crore Others 19 and is growing at 9.3% per annum,according to industry estimates. Continued on Page 18 US duties deal a lethal blow to India’s second-largest employment-generating sector; industry warns of large-scale job losses Textile units in Surat,Tiruppur,Noida halt production MUKESH JAGOTA & NARAYANAN V New Delhi/Chennai, August 26 EXPORT-ORIENTED TEXTILES AND apparel manufacturers in the industrial hubs of Tiruppur, Noida, and Surat have halted production, fearing a worsening of cost competitiveness in the US market owing to the 50% additional tariffs, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said on Tuesday. The traders’ body also said that among seafood export units, the tariff increase risks stockpilelosses,disruptedsupplychains,andfarmerdistress. The textile units are losing ground to lower-cost rivals from Vietnam and Bangladesh, FIEO president S C Ralhan said,while urging the government to unveil support measures to sustain the export momentum from the labourintensive industry. “About 55% of India’s USbound shipments worth $4748 billion are now exposed to pricing disadvantages of 3035%,rendering them uncompetitivein comparison to competitors from China,Vietnam, Cambodia,the Philippines and other Southeast and South Asian countries,”Ralhan said. “However, leveraging the negotiatingwindowforurgent diplomatic engagement with the US still remains the key.Yet anotherapproach could be the promotion of Brand India and innovation through enhanced IN KNOTS ■ Nearly a third of India’s textile and apparel exports of $37 billion go to the US 50% tariff places India at a major disadvantage against Bangladesh and Vietnam (20%), and Indonesia (19%) ■ Exporters say US-based buyers are asking for a 30% discount to level the prices with competing countries ■ Textiles and apparel is the country’s secondlargest employment-generating sector, which employs over 45 million people globalbranding,investmentin quality certifications, and embedding innovation in exportstrategytomakeIndian goods more attractive globally,”he added.Among various product categories, India’s competitorsincludeMyanmar that has 40% US tariff, Thailand (19%),Cambodia (19 %), Bangladesh (20%), Indonesia (19%), China and Sri Lanka (both 30%), Malaysia (19%), the Philippines (19%) and Vietnam (20%). On other labour-intensive sectors of exports like leather, ceramics, chemicals, handi- craftsandcarpets,theindustry faces a sharp erosion of competitiveness, particularly against European, Southeast Asian and Mexican producers. Delays, order cancellations, and negated cost advantages loom large on these sectors, Ralhan said. The FIEO chief said there is a need for immediate government support which includes push for interest subvention schemes and export credit support to sustain working capitalandliquidity.Tofurther support this, low cost of credit and easy availability of credit withemphasisonMSMEswith the support from banks and financialinstitutionswithspecial direction in this regard both from the government CHENNAI/KOCHI and the Reserve Bank of India is needed. Ralhan also called for a moratorium on payment of principal and interest for loansuptoaperiodofoneyear. Additionally, automatic enhancement of the existing limitby30%alongwithcollateral free lending. Exporters said trade agreements with the EU, Oman, Chile, Peru, Gulf Cooperation Council,andAfrican and other LatinAmerican countrieswith a provision for early-harvest for labour-intensive sectors shouldbeprioritised.However, leveraging the negotiating window for urgent diplomatic engagement with the US still remains the key,they feel. Continued on Page 18