EFE | PAGE 11 COMPANIES | PAGE 6 Can Indian ITmove from projects to products? INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 9 Startups rideAI-built vibe codingwave KOLKATA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2025 Nadella'spaypackagerises torecord$96.5mninFY25 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD CBC 15502/13/0039/2526 VOL 34 NO. 296, 16 PAGES, `12 (NORTH EAST STATES `12 & ANDAMAN `20) 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 Indiawilling to pay more for resilient local supply chains INDIA IS WILLING to pay a higher price for products made domestically to build resilient supply chains at home as frequent disruptions from overseas suppliers add to vulnerabilities, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 Thyssenkrupp, Jindal to deepen due diligence GERMANY'S THYSSENKRUPP WILL start giving Jindal Steel International more access to financial details of its Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe business from next week, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 6 New norms on the anvil for medical device software THE CENTRAL DRUGS Standard Control Organisation has issued a draft guidance document on medical device software to bring more clarity on the regulatory aspects of their usage, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 2 Belgian court: No risk of ill-treatment to Choksi in India A BELGIAN COURT has ruled that fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi faces "no risk" of being denied a fair trial or subjected to ill-treatment if he is extradited to India, reports PTI. Choksi is the main accused in a `13,000crore scam in Punjab National Bank (PNB). ■ PAGE 16 EXPLAINER HOWAI IS LEARNING THE WRONG LESSONS PAGE 11 MANDATORYLABELLING, USERDECLARATIONSPROPOSED Regulationsoonto rein in deepfakes OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, October 22 THE MINISTRY OF electronics and information technology (MeitY) onWednesdaylaid out a clear framework to identify, label, and regulate deepfakes and other synthetically generated information. It proposed a fresh set of amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, giving a legal definition to synthetically generated information for the first time. The move signals a major shift in how digital content will be treated when created or modified by artificial intelligence. The government’s reasoning is straightforward. Deepfake audio clips, videos, and images, created using generative AI,have rapidly evolved as powerful tools of deception. “The draft seeks to help users distinguish between synthetic and authentic content while holding social media platformsaccountable,” Electronics and IT Minister AshwiniVaishnawsaid.“People ASHWINI VAISHNAW, ELECTRONICS & IT MINISTER The draft seeks to help users distinguish between synthetic and authentic content while holding social media platforms accountable Now,onlyseniorofficerscan ordercontenttakedowns THE MINISTRY OF electronics and information technology(Meity) has amended the Information Technology Rules,2021,to bring in more accountability and structure to the process of ordering removal of online content, reports FE BUREAU. From using prominent persons’ faces and creating deepfakes is a growing menace. The step that we have taken ensures that the user gets to know whether something is syn- November 15, only senior officers at the level of joint secretary or above, or in the case of law enforcement agencies, a deputy inspector general of police or higher, will be empowered to issue takedown notices to social media platforms. ■ PAGE 2 thetic or authentic. That distinction will be made through mandatory labelling and metadata,”he added. Continued on Page 9 Infosys promoters to skip `18,000-crsharebuyback URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, October 22 THE PROMOTERS OF IT major Infosys will not be participating in the buyback exercise announced last month,the company has said. InalettertoAmericanmarkets regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),a copy of which was filed with the Indian exchanges on Wednesday, the company has detailed the buyback process, though the record date for the exerciseisyettobeannounced. The buyback regulations under the tender offer route, which applies to this round, allow the promoter and the promoter group the option to participate in the exercise. In September, the Infosys board approved the share KEY SHAREHOLDERS Narayana Murthy Rohan Murty 0.36 1.46 Nandan Nilekani Akshata Murty 0.98 0.94 Sudha Murty Sudha Gopalakrishnan 0.83 Stake (%) 2.30 buyback of up to `18, 000 crore, its largest ever and the first in three years. Promoters of the company includeSudhaGopalakrishnan (2.3%), co-founder Nandan Nilekani (0.98%), and Sudha Murty (0.83%). Continued on Page 9 P-notes set for a quiet burial ● Sebi curbs put the final nail in its coffin more than 30yrs afterlaunch INTEREST WANES 44.4 17.7 NESIL STANEY Mumbai, October 22 IN OCTOBER 2007, when the benchmark indices were hitting new highs almost every otherweek,the market regulator was concerned. M Damodaran,then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi),took a big call — he proposed to ban fresh issuances of participatory notes (P-notes), ordered winding up of existing positions within 18 months,and capped theinvestmentlimitto40%of the foreign institutional investors’assets. After the proposal,the Sensexfell1,700pointsonasingle P-Notes (ODIs) as % of FPI assets 15.8 11.1 11.3 ■ ODIs allowed foreign investors to gain exposure to Indian equities without any direct registration ■ With rising compliance requirements, the edge that ODIs once enjoyed has been eroding 6.6 Source: Sebi 2.3 2 1.8 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 day,forcing then Finance MinisterPChidambaram to step in and say that P-notes, the most popular among the overseas derivative instruments (ODIs), won’t be banned completely. Eighteen years later, Damodaran’swishlistseemsto benearingfulfilment.Withthe Sebi deadlines for several restrictions on ODIs, which 1.8 2025 allowed foreign investors to gain exposure to Indian equitieswithoutanydirectregistration,expiringinNovemberand December,interestinP-notesis expectedtowanesignificantly. Sebi is also on a better wicket now. With the `75.61lakh-crore mutual fund industry attracting funds from domestic investors, especially Trump dials Modi, says ‘great deals’in the offing SHUBHAJIT ROY New Delhi, October 22 AMID NEGOTIATIONS FOR a trade deal that had stalled for weeks following the imposition of 50% tariffs on India by the US, President Donald Trump spoke to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onTuesday, theirthird phoneconversation in a little over a month. While Modi flagged the issue of combating terrorism, Trump said they discussed trade and India’s move to cut purchase of Russian oil. The US President said this in the presence of Vinay M Kwatra, India’s ambassador to the US, who was among those at the White House for the Diwali celebrations there. SourcessaidTrumpplansto travel to Kuala Lumpur for the summits of ASEAN and East Asia leaders on October26-27. Hewill leave forJapan on October 27 for a bilateral visit until October 29, and then be in South Korea on October 29-30 for the summit of Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperationleaders. Modi too is expected to leave for Kuala Lumpur late October 26 and be there until October 28.That opens a windowforameetingwithTrump, possibly on October 27, on the sidelinesoftheASEANsummit. BothDelhiandWashington through systematic investment plans (SIPs), at a time when foreign investors have been fleeing the market,it can affordtoignore“unknownand non-transparent hot money”. In September, SIP inflows were at an all-time high of `29,000 crore. Continued on Page 9 UPIvolumes at new high on GSTcut, festive push FE BUREAU Mumbai, October 22 US President Donald Trump participates in Diwali celebrations at the White House. India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra was among those present AP have not yet announced the travel plans of the two leaders, but Malaysia, the host nation, has said bothTrump and Modi will be attending the ASEAN and East Asia summits. Confirmingthe phoneconversation,Modi,in a post on X, said, “Thank you, President Trump,foryourphone call and warmDiwaligreetings.Onthis festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminatetheworldwithhope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms.” Continued on Page 9 UPI TRANSACTIONS HIT a new high this Diwali season, with festive spending and lower goods and services tax (GST) rates driving record volumes, data from the National PaymentsCorporationofIndia (NPCI) showed. On October 18, the unified payments interface (UPI) platform processed 754 million payments worth `1.02 lakh crore,marking the highestsingle-daytally.During the threedayperiod between Dhanteras and Diwali, the average UPI volumes stood at 736.9 million—higherthan647.46million in the corresponding period a month ago. The average transactions during the three days was `87,568.70 crore, higher than `75,389.4 crore in the month-ago period. In October, the average dailyUPI transactions stood at `92,909.4crore—higherthan `83,200.3 crore in the corresponding period a month ago. During the month, the platform reported an average of 691.39 million daily transactions, up from 656.91 million the previous month,reflecting sustainedmomentum inretail and merchant payments. Musk:AI mayreplace all jobs, E-commerce giant’s robotics team has an ultimate goal to automate 75% of operations but humans to gain freedom OverhalfamillionjobsatAmazonmaygotorobots NYT & AGENCIES October 22 ELON MUSK HAS once again sparked a debate about the future of work, claiming that artificial intelligence (AI) and robotscouldeventuallyreplace all human jobs — but not necessarily in a negative way. Commenting on a report thatAmazon plans to cut more than 160,000 jobs by 2027 using AI and automation, Musk wrote on X: “AI and robots will replace all jobs.” While this may sound alarming, Musk sees opportunityratherthan doom.He suggestedthatasAItakesoverroutinework,humans could enjoy a future where working is optional. “Working will be optional,likegrowingyourown vegetables, instead of buying them from the store,”he said. Muskisactivelybuildingthis future.He is leading xAI to create an AI-only software company, Macrohard, while Tesla continues developing the Optimusrobot.Heenvisionsaworld of “universal high income,” where people can sustain their lifestyles even without traditionaljobs.AttheVivaTech2024 conference,Musknotedthereis an “80% chance” of a future with no shortages of goods or services. Personal robots could helpmakethisvisionareality.In August 2024, Musk suggested that every human might have “theirown personal R2-D2 and C-3PO,” referencing the iconic StarWars robots. Experts say Musk’s vision, while optimistic, raises questions about how societywould managesuchatransition. Continued on Page 9 ELON MUSK FOUNDER, XAI & SPACEX AIandrobotswill replacealljobs. Workingwillbe optional,likegrowing yourownvegetables, insteadofbuying themfromthestore KAREN WEISE Louisiana (US), October 22 OVERTHE PAST two decades, no company has done more to shape the American workplace than Amazon. In its ascent to become the nation’s second-largest employer, it has hired hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers, built an army of contract drivers and pioneered using technology to hire, monitor and manage employees. Now,interviewsandacache ofinternalstrategydocuments viewed by The New York Times reveal thatAmazon executives believe the company is on the cusp of its next big workplace shift: replacing more than half a million jobs with robots. Amazon’sUSworkforcehas more than tripled since 2018 toalmost1.2million.ButAma- FUTURE WORKFORCE ■ Amazon’s US workforce has more than tripled since 2018 to almost 1.2 mn ■ Its automation team expects firm can avoid hiring over 160,000 people in the US it would otherwise need by 2027 ■ Internal documents contemplate avoiding using terms like ‘automation’ and ‘AI’ when discussing robotics zon’sautomationteamexpects the company can avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in theUSitwouldotherwiseneed by2027.Thatwouldsaveabout 30 cents on each item that Amazonpicks,packsanddelivers to customers. Executives told Amazon’s board lastyearthat theyhoped ■ These pitch for use of terms like ‘advanced technology’ or replace the word ‘robot’ with ‘cobot’, which implies collaboration with humans robotic automation would allowthecompanytocontinue to avoid adding to its US workforce in the coming years,even thoughtheyexpecttoselltwice as many products by 2033. That would translate to more than 600,000 people whom Amazon didn’t need to hire. At facilities designed for superfastdeliveries,Amazonis trying to create warehouses that employfewhumans at all. And documents show that Amazon’s roboticsteamhasan ultimate goal to automate 75% of its operations. Amazon is so convinced this automated future is around the corner that it has started developing plans to mitigate the fallout in communities that may lose jobs. Documents show the company has considered building an image as a “good corporate citizen” through greater participation in community events such as parades and Toys forTots. The documents contemplate avoiding using terms like “automation” and “AI” when discussing robotics, and instead use terms like “advanced technology” or replace the word “robot” with “cobot,”which implies collaboration with humans. Amazonsaidinastatement that the documents viewed by The Times were incomplete anddidnot represent the company’s overall hiring strategy. Continued on Page 9 Kolkata