ECONOMY | PAGE 2 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 PSBs’ digital loan footprint may touch `1Lcr in FY26 MARKETS | PAGE 7 Maruti market share falls below 40% for first time AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2025 Smallfinancebanksto scaleupgoldloanbiz FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XX 121, 1 0 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 IN THE NEWS Progress expected inAsean trade pact review this month SOME HEADWAY IS expected in the review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) before the next meeting of the joint commission, an official said. The deadline for the completion of the review has been set at 2025-end, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 Firms can file FY25 returns under new format till Dec 31 THE MINISTRY OF corporate affairs has waived the payment of additional fees and extended the deadline for companies to file their annual returns and financial statements under the Companies Act for FY25 to till December 31, 2025, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 2 Digital shift ofTata Communications gains AI edge TATA COMMUNICATIONS IS sharpening its focus on automation, artificial intelligence and platformbased services to make its global network more reliable and efficient, MD Amur Lakshminarayanan said following the secondquarter results, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 4 IT hiring decouples from revenue momentum in Q2 INDIA’S TOP IT companies are showing early signs of decoupling headcount growth from revenue momentum — a shift long anticipated as automation, cloud delivery, and AI-based productivity gains begin to reshape traditional models, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 4 FE SPECIAL Worst over, but upside capped SAMVAT 2082 OUTLOOK JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, October 20 AFTER A TEPID Samvat 2081 that saw benchmark indices returning less than 6%, market pundits believe theworst is over,but only just. Shankar Sharma, founder, GQuant Investech, however, said“returnsareunlikelytobeat other markets and we are unlikely to see a bull run in 2082”.That’s a good reason to stay with the safer haven of large-caps. It’s been a bit of a rough ride for Indian equities. “But as was clear in September 2024,we were in an aging bull market.We might see a bit of a catch-uprallythisyear,” hesaid. Sankaran Naren, executive director and chief investment officer, ICICI Prudential AMC, SHANKAR SHARMA SANKARAN NAREN A BALASUBRAMANIAN FOUNDER, GQUANT INVESTECH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CIO, ICICI PRUDENTIAL AMC CEO, BIRLA SUNLIFE MF Wemightseea catch-uprally thisyear, but returnsare unlikelyto beatother markets pointed out that from a valuation perspective, large-cap stocks are better placed than mid- and small-caps at this stage.Large-caps,headded,not onlyofferbettervaluationcomfort but also stronger earnings visibility.“In contrast, smaller companiescanseesharpercorrections when market sentiment changes,”he said. The Sensex’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is marginally up from last year’s Samvat at 23.22x (23.13x in 2080 November 1),the BSE Midcap’s P/E is down from 40.43x to 33.41x and the BSE Smallcap’s P/Eisupfrom33.62xto33.98x. Naren explained that a year ago,Indianequitieswereamong the most expensive globally. However, persistent outflows from foreign institutional investors and global traderelated uncertainties weighed Realtors clock 10-15% jump in Diwali sales RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, October 20 PROPERTY DEVELOPERS HAVE clocked a 10-15% jump in sales of residential properties this Diwali which along with Navratri accounted for 35% of their annual sales. Thisissimilartothegrowth seen during last year’s festive season though a few developers may beat the Street. As per Anarock Research, 102,000unitsweresoldacross the top 7 cities in the festive quarter of 2024. Many developers are offering promotional schemes to woo customers. For instance, Brigade Enterprises is offering customersfinancialbenefitsof up to an equivalent of `8 lakh in gold,whichwould be subject to the value of the purchase. Kalpataruhasintroducedflexipayment plans, subvention plans and stamp dutywaiver. Irfan Razack,chairman and managing director of Prestige Estates, is also upbeat about Diwali sales. “The NavratriDussehra period has been very good for residential sales. In markets such as Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai, our sales and new launches have beenreceivedwell,”Razacksaid. Viswa Prathap Desu, COO(residential), Brigade Enterprises, observed that business has been better this Diwali with a growth of around 30% over last year. KalpataruManagingDirector Parag Munot said Diwali sales have been encouraging, though some launches have beenpostponed.“Weareseeing a healthy Diwali sales growth this year,” he told FE, adding that the momentum should continuefortherestoftheyear. Dhaval Ajmera, director, corporate affairs at Ajmera Realty,expects 8-10% growth in sales during the Diwali season,much like in 2024. Fireworks during Diwali celebrations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Park, in Mumbai. Diwali, one of India's most popular festivals, symbolises the triumph of good over evil PTI Beautybrandsshinebrightas gifting trends get a glow-up S SHANTHI Bengaluru, October 20 Continued on Page 5 jump in Diwali sales The proposed Bill aims to bring in cost-reflective power pricing ■ Many developers ■ EXPLAINER P8 ■ Ajmera Realty expects are offering promotional schemes to woo customers ■ Kalpataru ■ Brigade Enterprises is offering customers financial benefits of up to `8 lakh in gold has introduced flexi-payment plans, subvention plans and stamp duty waiver YOUTH POWER BEAUTYAND PERSONAL care startups are finding a new sparkle this festive season, as youngconsumersincreasingly swap traditional Diwali gifts such as sweets and dry fruits for beauty hampers and selfcare kits. The shift is not just about discounts or festive packaging, it’s rather a reflection of how gifting habits are evolving, with weatherfriendly, multipurpose products, influencer tie-ups and limited-edition drops redefining the beauty basket. For brands riding this wave, Diwali has become more than just a sales season as it’s a moment to build con- 50% rise in sales Continued on Page 5 S SHANTHI Bengaluru, October 20 ASARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE reshapes the contours of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry, it’s not just the big names that are re-imagining theirfuture.Growth-stage and early-stage SaaS startups are nowrewriting theirplaybooks, embedding AI deep within theirproductsandprocessesto stay relevant and competitive. In doing so, they are unearthing new use cases that combine the efficiencyof SaaS with the intelligence of AI. Take SuperOps, a Series C SaaS startup that serves managed service providers (MSPs).The company is developing an agentic AI marketplace platform that allows MSPs to discover, customise, and deployAI agents built for IT operations. “Unlike feature-first approaches, we are focused on building for intelligence and impact, transforming how AI integrates into MSP workflows,” Arvind Parthiban, co-founder and CEO of SuperOps, told FE. Its AI-driven platform handles predictive maintenance to detect and fix issues before clients notice them. The result is a smarter system that lets technicians spend less time searching for answers and more time solving problems. GOING AI-NATIVE ■ Startups such as SuperOps, Wingify, SquadStack, Doqfy, and Zentis AI are embedding AI deep within their products and processes ■ The wealth of data accumulated over the years is proving to be a vital advantage for these startups Across the ecosystem, other startups are similarly adapting to an AI-led world. Wingify, the bootstrapped experimentation and conversion optimisation firm recently acquired by Everstone, has introduced VWO Copilot. The new AI layer allows users to generate test ideas, create web page variations, and analyse results, all powered by machine learning models. SquadStack, a Series Bfunded SaaS-enabled talent marketplace for sales, has gone all in on AI. Continued on Page 5 ICAIputsteethinto fraud check norms ■ Kalpataru expects 8-10% onsentiment,leadingtomuted returns.“Given this backdrop, we believe Indian equities are actuallybetterplaced nowthan theywere lastyear,” he said. Industry experts like A Balasubramanian,CEO,Birla SunLife Mutual Fund, are quite upbeat with the recent consumption push that the governmenthasgiventotheeconomy through the implementation of the Goods ● FESTIVE SPARKLE DIWALI BONANZA Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 We’re bullish on equity.It is time to invest and continuethe investment forthe medium-tolong term Fromavaluation perspective, large-cap stocksare better placedthan mid-and small-caps atthis stage and Services Tax 2.0.“Overall, the festive season has begun well, if one goes by the narrative coming from passenger vehicle sales. The GST cut aheadofthefestivalseasonhas also resulted in producers of goods dropping the price and focusingonimprovingthevolume,”he said. He said thatwhile the economy comes back to growth path gradually, “we will also benefit from any favourable outcome” that is expected from the tariff negotiations in the first week of November. Asfarasbrokeragesgo,most believethatthingsareexpected to get better due to GST cuts, incometaxbenefitsgiveninthe Union Budget and improvement in corporate earnings. AnalystsatMotilalOswalwrote: “We believe this marks the beginning of a turnaround in India’s domestic growth momentum, with significant pickup in consumption paving thewayforarobustrevivalinthe private capex cycle.” SaaS startups go all in onAI to stay ahead Cosmetics saw a 55% sales jump last month and expects to close October with nearly ■ MARS 70% growth ■ Swiss Beauty is witnessing a 30% spike in overall sales this Diwali ■ Juicy Chemistry expects a 25-30% lift in overall sales in Diwali week nections with a new generation of confident, expressive consumers who are unafraid to experiment with their looks. “The idea is to make high-quality, made-in-India beauty more accessible and blend self-care with festive ■ India’s beauty and personal care market is valued at $28 bn gifting,” Anmol, VP–marketing,MARS Cosmetics,told FE. The brand, which saw a 55% sales jump last month, expects to close October with nearly 70% growth. Continued on Page 5 MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, October 20 STRICTER SCRUTINY THE INSTITUTE OF Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will make its review of financial statements of companies for detection of potential misdeeds or frauds more focussed, with a new set of parameters,according to official sources. The Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB), the monitoring arm of the institute that rechecks financial statements of listed and unlisted companies, will give precedence to firms that are highly leveraged, pay low audit fees and have negative reserves. Companies under insolvency resolution process will also be taken up for scrutiny on a priority basis. Even though there are no exact thresholds defined under these parameters, the ICAI will be using the norms to detect the instances of financial irregularities more efficiently. For example, if a company is found to be paying abnormally low audit fees to its statutory auditors in a partic- companies for review is broadly classified into two categories: suo motu and special cases ■ FRRB’s process of selecting ■ The newly added parameters would be applicable for suo motu cases ■ So far, FRRB has undertaken review of 1,307 cases, ofwhich 80% were picked up on a suo motu basis ular financial year in comparison to its size, the ICAI will suo motu take up the financial statements of such company for review. Similarly, companies that have high debt-to-equity or debt-to-assets ratios will come under the scanner. Continued on Page 5 Grid constraints delay new awards, signing of contracts; discoms await price corrections Renewable capacityaddition hits transmission gridlock ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ New Delhi, October 20 A SLOWDOWN IN tendering activity for renewable energy (RE) projects has cast doubts about India’s ability to meet the target of installing 500 gigawatts (GW) of green power capacity by 2030. What has slowed the pace of bidding of new projects and a dampening of short-term investor interest is primarily a delay in signing of power purchase agreements by the RE implementing agencies like the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).As of now, over 40 GW of awarded RE projects remain stranded. Atthecoreoftheproblemis transmission constraints, or issues around connecting RE, which is intermittent by nature,to the grid. Industryplayerssaythough the country’svision to lead the global energy transition is ambitious but achievable, its pace depends on how swiftly India aligns renewable generation with grid readiness. AsperIcra,thecountryauctioned a meagre 3.4 GW of green capacity in the first half of the current financial year. Theslowdowninbiddingactivity over the past few months is attributedtodelaysinthesigning of power sale agreements (PSAs) by the bidding agencies withstatedistributionutilities, which in turn put off PPAs. In FY25, the tendering pipeline in the RE sector IN THE SLOW LANE RE capacity auctioned (in GW) H1FY26 ■ In FY25, the tendering pipeline in the RE capacity added (in GW) 5M FY25 FY25 40.2 FY25 FY24 47 FY24 Present RE capacity (GW) 20.1 5M FY26 3.4 256 RE capacity target by 2030 (GW) renewable energy sector remained large with 40.2 GW capacity being auctioned ■ RE capacity addition improved to 20.1 GW in the first 5 months of FY26 from 9 GW in the year-ago period 9 28.7 18.5 ■ At present India’s power 500 generation capacity is evenly balanced between RE and fossil-fuel units Source: Icra, CEA remained large with 40.2-GW capacity being auctioned, following 47 GW in FY24. “Over 50 GW of awarded projectsremainstrandeddueto these very challenges, creating a ripple effect across the value chain,” said Simarpreet Singh, director&CEOatHartekGroup. RE capacity addition improved to 20.1 GW in the first five months of FY26 from 9 GW in the same period of FY25 driven by a large project pipeline and expiry of waiver on interstate transmission charges. However, with the implementation of awarded projects being slow, new tenders are being deferred. While Icra estimates the capacity addition to further scale up to over 35 GW this financial year, it also remains cautious about the delay in signing PPAs/PSAs. “At Hartek Group,we experience this first-hand. The solution lies in coordinated action in enforcing timebound PPAsignings,accelerating transmission clearances, andincentivisinghigh-voltage equipment manufacturing to reduce lead times,”Singh said. Grid constraints, particularly in renewable-heavy states likeRajasthanandGujarat,have led to large-scale curtailments of generation,in some cases up to 50% of solaroutput. Akshay Hiranandani, CEO at Serentica Renewables pointed out that the slow progress in commissioning keytransmissioncorridorsand the prioritisation challenges under general network access coupledwithavailabletransfer capacity congestion have further deepened the mismatch between generation growth and transmission readiness. In addition to these,execution challenges, exposure to fluctuating equipment prices, supply chain concerns on equipment availability and costofcapitalarethekeyheadwinds for developers in the near term. Also, development of cost competitive storage capacities remains important for RE integration,Icra said. The rationalisation of GST rates on green energy equipment and changes to the effective date for applicability for Approve List of Manufacturers and Models for solar cells have created expectations of lower tariffs for the discoms. Continued on Page 5 Ahmedabad