OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM In a nation where the LGBTQIA+ community often faces bias, mistreatment and a struggle to access quality healthcare, recent initiatives offer opportunities for change Page 9 Landfall spyware is a reminder for shields on personal devices Page 6 Voting is not the end of responsibilities Get serious about antivirus for phones WHEN CARE MEETS QUEER SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXV NO. 3 FITNESS GETS A FUN FIX FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2025 52 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 , ● Deliveries in minutes & hours new normal now SUGANDHA MUKHERJEE New Delhi, November 14 INADOMINOeffectofquickecommerce, the race for faster deliveryhas become the defining metric of India’s logistics industry as well. From sameday courier pickups to twohour deliveries of festival gifts and groceries, the country’s delivery networks are being ■ LEISURE, P7 Connections & conversations ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 A nation on the edge BLOOMBERG & ANI November 15 PSU bank shares rally, outshine private peers 1.79% return posted by the Nifty Private Bank Index. Compiled by Kishor Kadam Relative performance 110 110.58 58 106 102 98 101.79 Oct 14, 2025 Nov 14, 2025 Base: October 14, 2025=100 PSU banks - top gainers (1-month return %) 17.88 Bank of India 16.65 13.06 Canara Bank Indian Bank Union Bank SBI K O C H I , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , RAPID RACE ■ Delhivery M U M B A I , enters segment with Delhivery Direct, promises pickups within 15 min ■ Emiza partnering with last-mile carriers like Delhivery for wider reach, faster turnaround ■ Launched earlier this year, DTDC offers 2-4 hour rapid delivery, sameday delivery ■ Uber's Courier and Courier XL see 50% y-o-y rise in deliveries ■ Borzo expects strong growth in interval-based same-day deliveries, pickup hubs rebuilt for immediacy, reshapingthewayconsumersbuy,and how businesses operate. Courierplatformsandlogis- ● India may gain NOT MUCH slight edge in agri FOR INDIA goods’ exemption ■ India's exports A retrospective of how India’s growth has been precocious in many ways, managing enduring contradictions N Nifty PSU Bank N Nifty Private Bank H Y D E R A B A D , tics companies are rushing to keep pace with demand for instant and same-day services, investinginnewfleets,technol- Trump cuts tariffs on over 200 food items How community-led wellness circles are reshaping India’s healing story, one session at a time 114 READ TO LEAD N E W D E L H I , P U N E After e-comm,logistics takes the quick route WHAT'S INSIDE SHARES OF PUBLIC sector banks have rallied up to 17.88% over the past month, outperforming their private-sector counterparts amid consolidation buzz. The Nifty PSU Bank Index delivered a 10.58% return in the past month, compared with a C H E N N A I , Unconventional workout regimes mix exercise with enjoyment Page 5 11.50 10.37 US PRESIDENT DONALD TrumpissuedanorderonFriday reducing tariffs on beef, tomatoes,coffeeandbananas,amove aimed at lowering costs on groceries as the administration facespressurefromvoterstocut prices on everydaygoods. The exemptions would reduce trade levies on the commodities, which the White House said can’t be produced in the US in sufficient quantity. Hundreds of food products, includingcoconuts,nuts,avocadosandpineapples,wereamong theproductslistedbytheUSfor exemptionfromtariffs.Thetariff breaks are backdated to take effect at midnight New York time on November13. ■ For the tariff-exempt products, India today supplies only $548 mn of America's $50.6-bn import basket ■ India has almost no to the US are concentrated in a handful of high-value spices & modest quantities of coconut, cocoa beans, cinnamon, cloves, and fruit products presence in several of the largest exempted lines—tomatoes, citrus fruits, melons, bananas, most fresh fruits ■ Broader gains will accrue mainly to major Latin American, African, and ASEAN farm exporters India is expected to gain a small edge as the US has exemptedagriculturalproducts fromthereciprocaltariffsithad imposed on several countries, said trade think tank GTRI on Saturday.For the tariff-exempt productsidentifiedintheorder, India today supplies only $548 million of America's $50.6-billion import basket, reflecting a narrow export footprint dominated by a few winners. US’ IndiGo,Akasaflightsfrom NaviMumbaistartDec25 NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, November 15 INDIGO AND AKASA Air will launch operations from the newly-inaugurated Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) starting December 25. This makes them among the first airlines to begin services at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s second airport,whichwasinaugurated on October 8. Both airlines have announced their initial operational schedules, with IndiGo planning connectivity to 10 domestic destinations and Akasa Air rolling out a multiphase launch covering four cities. Akasa Air has already opened reservations,becoming one of the first carriers to offer services from the newfacility. IndiGo said it will commenceservicesonDecember25 and link NMIA to Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad,Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur,Nagpur,Kochi, and Mangalore. The airline noted that NMIA is designed tocomplementChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj InternationalAirportandcatertorising air-traveldemandintheregion, adding that it plans to progressively expand its operations by introducingmoredirectroutes. Continued on Page 2 demandfortheseitemsisheavilyconcentrated in categories. India’s exports to the US are concentrated in a handful of products:pepperandcapsicum preparations ($181 million), ginger-turmeric-curry spices ($84 million), anise and cumin seed categories ($85 million), cardamom and nutmeg ($15 million),and tea ($68 million). Continued on Page 2 Relieffor SEZs to aid production soon THE government is examining proposals to roll out certain relief measures to boost production in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday. ■ PAGE 2 ogy, and fulfillment centres to match the shift.The country’s largest logistics player, Delhivery, has entered the short- ■ Porter, which helps small enterprises deliver within hours, sees 57% jump in revenue haul segment with Delhivery Direct,an on-demand intracity delivery service now live in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.The servicepromisespickupswithin 15 minutes,marking the company’s move into the same-day marketoncedominatedbyappbased deliverystartups. The scale is staggering. In October 2025 alone,Delhivery processed more than 107 million e-commerce and freight shipments,dispatching7.2millionparcelsinasingleday,which is a companyrecord.More than 29millionpackagesweredelivered within 48 hours and 13.6 millionwithin24.InBengaluru, one delivery was completed in just two minutes. Continued on Page 2 Google to take investment in Andhra beyond $15 bn ● Data centre is just the starting point, says Naidu BLOOMBERG November 15 ALPHABET'S GOOGLE IS expectedtoboostitsinvestment in Andhra Pradesh beyond $15 billionafterfiveyears,saidstate Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday. Speaking in an interviewin Visakhapatnam, Naidu said the US-based company’s plans to build a data centre in the state is “to start with”.Asked if Google would look to double its investment after the initial five-year period, he said: “It is always an opportunity under their compulsions.” “It is a win-win situation to start with $15 billion within five years,” Naidu said of Google’s plans. He added that Andhra Pradesh has commitments to build 5.5 GW of data centres from companies including RelianceIndustries.Thatwillgo along with plans to ramp up green energy production, he N CHANDRABABU NAIDU, ANDHRA PRADESH CM Everybody is coming to Andhra Pradesh.It is going to become a global hub for data centres said. “This data flow is costeffective compared to consumptionofpower,”Naidusaid. “That is the game changer.Now everybody is coming to Andhra Pradesh.It is going to become a global hub fordata centres.” Google last month announced the data centre in Visakhapatnam linked to new energy sources and a fiberoptic network. Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said his company AdaniConneX would partnerwith Google on the project, along with Bharti Airtel, India’s number 2 wireless carrier. Google has said the project is its biggest investment in India to date, and will anchor the regional government’s plan to accelerate the AI industry locally. Representatives for Google didn’t immediately respond to Naidu’scommentsonSaturday. Google has joined fellow US tech leaders in investing in India,one of the biggest beneficiaries of a worldwide AI boom. Amazon plans to invest $12.7 billiontobuildcloudinfrastructure in India by 2030, while ChatGPT-creator OpenAI is seeking to set up a 1-gigawatt datacentreintheregion.Investments in India’s data centre marketareexpectedtotop$100 billion by 2027, according to CBRE Group. Goldman Sachs Research estimates the world will have around 122 GW of data centre capacity online by the end of 2030. Continued on Page 2 ■ Reports on 30th CII Partnership Summit, Page 12 ● ATRIBUTE TO NOWGAM MARTYRS Embraer eyes huge potential in India BRAZILIAN major Embraer is looking to tap the "huge opportunities" in the Indian aviation market as its aircraft can provide competitive seat cost for the operators, a senior executive said. ■ PAGE 22 Jammu & Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha pays homage to those who lost their lives in an accidental explosion at Nowgam police station in Srinagar late on Friday night. At least nine people were killed and 32 suffered injuries in the blast that occurred during the handling of explosives recently seized from the terror module in Faridabad ■ REPORT ON PAGE 3 PTI Premium motorcycles gain pace as entry-level models skid 4.3 75-110 The 200-250 cc set registered an even sharper 28.7% rise, moving from 67,936 units to 87,453 units.The 250-350 cc segment soared 28.9% from 388,350unitsto500,419units, 5.5 110-125 33 125-150 reinforcing the thriving demandformid-weightmotorcycles. Growth continued furtherupthedisplacementladder. The 350-500 cc segment expanded 2% from 67,197 12.7 28.7 28.9 150-200 200-250 cc 250-350 units to 68,510 units,the 500800 cc category jumped 19% from 24,227 units to 28,823 units, and even the ultra-niche 800 cc and above category inched up by 0.3% from 1,267 2 350-500 19 500-800 1,271 1,267 28,823 24,227 68,510 (in units) H1FY25 H1FY26 % change 67,197 500,419 388,350 87,453 67,936 694,924 616,541 240,011 357,991 1,775,470 1,878,073 SALES METRICS 2,877,059 THETWO-WHEELERMARKET has entered a phase of sharp polarisation, with the halfyearlysales data released bythe Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) showing a widening gap between massmarket commutermotorcycles and high-performance premium bikes. While the oncedominantentry-levelsegments are witnessing sustained decline, the upper end of the marketisseeingstrongdoubledigit growth, riding on rising aspirations and deepening income divides. The biggest slump has appearedatthemostaffordable end of the market. Sales of motorcycles in the 75-110 cc bracket fell 4.3%, sliding from 3,006,303 units to 2,877,059 units.The 110-125 cc segment slippedevenfurther,registering a 5.5% drop from 1,878,073 units to 1,775,470 units. The 125-150 cc segment has taken the steepest hit,plunging 33% from 357,991 units to just 240,011 units.These declines cut across all major commuterbike categories, signalling persistent distress among pricesensitive rural and lowerincome urban buyers. The opposite is true at the other end of the spectrum.The 150-200 cc segment climbed 12.7%, increasing from 616,541unitsto694,924units. 3,006,303 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, November 15 0.3 800 cc & above units to 1,271 units. Industry analysts see these trends not as a temporary blip but as a structural shift driven by contrasting economic realities. According to an expert, financial pressure has battered the entry-level consumer.With BS-6 emission norms, mandatory ABS and rising insurance premiums increasing ownership costs, even the most basic motorcycles have become significantly more expensive. Combined with escalated fuel prices,manypotentialbuyersin this segment have been priced out of the market entirely. However, Madan Sabnavis, chiefeconomistatBankofBaroda, said that timing also played a role. He said that many potential buyers in the commutercategorypostponed purchases in H1FY26 because they were aware of a GST reduction from September 22 andconsequentlydelayedbuy- New Delhi ing decisions. He expects this deferreddemandtoliftsalesin Q3FY26.In contrast,premium motorcycle buyers, who are mostly from higher-income brackets, tend to be far less concerned about timing or incremental price increases, making demand for these categories relatively stable. Lifestyle-driven consumer preferences are adding fuel to the premium segment’s growth.The200-350ccrangeis proving especially popular among younger riders who see motorcycles as an extension of identity and access to global motorcycling culture rather than a basic mobilitysolution. Continued on Page 2