COMPANIES | PAGE 4 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 Pilots, airlines spar as rest rule row brews Zoho’sVembu warns of uncheckedAgenticAI risks NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2025 Trump says US will stop ‘third-world’ immigration FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L1 NO. 232, 32 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & 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 , 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: 85,706.67 ▼ 13.71 NIFTY: 26,202.95 ▼ 12.60 NIKKEI 225: 50,253.91 ▲ 86.81 HANG SENG: 25,858.89 ▼ 87.04 `/$: 89.46 ▼ 0.15 `/€: 103.49 ▼ 0.10 BRENT: $63.16 ▼ $0.18 GOLD: `1,26,033 ▲ `562 ECONOMY PAGE 2 FISCAL DEFICIT AT 52.6% OF ANNUALTARGET The Centre’s fiscal deficit widened to 52.6% of the annual target in the first seven months of 2025-26, compared with 46.5% of the respective target in the year-ago period, owing to higher capex growth while net tax revenues continued to contract. fe Bureau » INSIDE « OYO PARENTTO SEEK NOD FOR `6,650-CR IPO PAGE 7 INDICESNOTCHTHIRD STRAIGHTWEEKLYRISEPAGE 7 OPINION PAGE 8 ETHICS IN INDIGENISATION IS IMPORTANT, BUT UNFAIR TO BLAME ONLY MANUFACTURERS Rupee declines to fresh low; RBI stems fall THE RUPEE FELLto a fresh low on Friday amid pressure from importers.The currency closed at 89.45 against the dollar, after hitting intra-day low at 89.49. However, the intervention from the RBI through its dollar sales prevented the further fall, said forex traders, reports ChristinaTitus. ■ PAGE 7 Liquor firms challenge Maha tax policy DIAGEO AND PERNOD Ricard's lobbying group has sued the Maharashtra government over a sharp tax hike on their affordable brands and for excluding the firms from a new lower tax category, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 6 ● MANUFACTURING EXPANDSAT ● REALAND NOMINAL GROWTH FASTEST PACE IN OVERAYEAR RATESVARYJUST 0.5% POINT KULDEEP SINGH New Delhi, November 28 INDIA'S GROSS DOMESTIC product (GDP) expanded at a six-quarter high rate of 8.2% in the July-September period (Q2FY26), beating all official and independent forecasts by a large margin. The growth was fuelled by the robustness across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Most analysts had estimated Q2 GDPgrowthwithin a range of 7-7.7%; the Reserve Bank of India's latest forecast was at the lower end of that band. A notable jump in value creation in the manufacturing sector, resilient private consumption,a strong financial sector, a farm economy that maintained steady growth on a strong base were among the key drivers. Even the additional external headwinds caused by the 50% US tariff on most Indian goods could not slow the tempo much. But the headline number was also aided in an unusual measure by an unduly low deflator-based inflation rate, and a favourable base (5.6%). The nominal GDP growth rate came the closest to the headline number, after the Q3FY20, at 8.7%. In Q1FY26 also, the difference between the real and nominal rates was narrow at just 1% point. In Q1, real GDP growth of 7.8% was again significantly higher than the median of forecasts. GDP metrics All boats lifted Al Nominal GDP inal % change, y-o-y ge, Q1 Q2 Q3 FY25 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q2 FY26 6 Stellar performance GDP 9.1 Financial, real estate & professional services Public administration, defence 2.9 6.3 7.6 7 9.3 6.1 8 Holding steady (Q2FY26) Manufacturing FY26 2.8 Secondary Sec Te Tertiary April to Sept FY25 Primary Pr sec sector 8.2 8.7 7.8 8.8 10.8 Real GDP 9.7 (Q2FY26) Construction 7.2 Trade, hotels, etc 10.2 7.4 4.4 Electricity, gas, water ‘Result of pro-growth ‘Lowinflationdoesn’t policies,reforms’ signalweakdemand’ PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI termed the GDP growth as “very encouraging”.“It reflects the impact of our pro-growth policies and reforms. It also reflects the hard work and enterprise of ourpeople.Our government will continue to advance reforms and strengtheneaseoflivingfor every citizen,”he said in a post on X. CEA ANANTHA NAGESWARAN attributed the strong economic growth to the cumulative impact of a decade-long push in physical and digital infrastructure, exporters’ ability to withstand tariff shocks, and a series of policy measures implemented since June 2024, reports fe Bureau. He also said low inflation does not indicate weak aggregate demand. ■ PAGE 2 »INSIDE« ECONOMISTS RAISE FY26 GROWTH OUTLOOK TO WELL OVER 7% PAGE 2 Continued on Page 10 STRONG SHOW DURING TROUBLED TIMES, WRITES NR BHANUMURTHY PAGE 2 EDIT: A RATE CUT WOULD SUPPORT THE ECONOMY PAGE 8 ● SANJEEV KUMAR, CO-FOUNDER & CTO, MEESHO ‘In e-comm, affordability beats speed’ SoftBank-backed Meesho is aiming to raise `5,421 crore via its IPO,which opens forsubscription on December3.It has fixed a price band of `105-111 pershare, valuing it at `50,096 crore at the upperend. Co-founder&CTO SanjeevKumarspeaks with AyantiBeraabout Meesho’s experiments in asset-light logistics,the future ofAI in e-commerce,and the scale ofopportunity in smaller cities.Excerpts: How does your low-cost local logistics,which comes under yourHorizon2initiative,work in practice? Horizon 2 iswherewe experi- mentwith newmodels and ideas,andoncewe buildconfidence in theirlong-term sustainability,theymove to Horizon 1 andreceive full investment.That’s exactlyhowValmo,our logistics arm,andcontent commerce evolved.In locallogistics,the focus is to build an entirely asset-light network.It’s not about fast deliveries; it’s about radical affordability.Ourobjective is to make low-price cate- & gories like groceriesviable online bydrasticallycutting the cost of shipments.To make online groceries cheaper than offline,you must eliminate heavycapex such aswarehousesand inventory. That’s the only wayto drive costsdown to the levels needed fortrue mass adoption. ❝ CREDITACCESS IS STILL LIMITED TO A SMALL FRACTION OF USERS IN INDIA RBIrollsoutsimplerrules, makescomplianceeasier ● 9,445 circulars give way to 244 master directions Financial services also find a mention in your plans. What’s the roadmap there? Globally,platformslikeShopee, TaobaoandMercadoLibrehave shownhowrichmarketplace datacanenablesmarterunderwriting.InIndia,creditaccessis stilllimitedtoasmallfraction ofusers,andmostconsumers andsellersdon’thaveacredit ratingatall.Sinceweserveboth sidesofthetransaction,weare uniquelypositionedtohelp ourcapitalpartners makebetterlending decisionsbasedon actualplatform behaviour. Continued on Page 10 THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) on Fridayissued 244 consolidated master directions as part of its initiative to enhance clarity,accessibilityandcomplianceefficiencyforthecountry’s diverse financial institutions. Over the past 5-6 months, the RBI undertook a comprehensive exercise to reorganise decades of regulatoryinstructions. A list of 9,445 circulars and guidelines—some dating back to the 1940s—have now been repealed, withdrawn and merged into a unified set of directions. The consolidation ensures that regulated entities no longer need to navigate overlapping or outdated instructions, significantly reducing the compliance burden. The new framework covers 11categoriesofregulatedentities, including commercial banks, small finance banks, payments banks, local area Adani to invest $5 bn in GoogleAI data centres FE BUREAU Mumbai, November 28 ADANI GROUP PLANS to invest $5 billion in Google’s artificialintelligence(AI)hubin Andhra Pradesh, Chief Financial Office Jugeshinder Singh said on Friday. “That (investment) will expand.It’s not only Google; many other parties are alsointerestedincollaborating with us, especially as data centre capacity reaches 1 gigawatt orbeyond,”Singhtoldreporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai. He, however, did not share further details or a timeline of the investment. In October, Adani Enterprises,through its joint venture company AdaniConneX, had announced a partnership with GoogletodevelopIndia’slargest AI data centre in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Google has already announced investments worth $15 billion over fiveyears forthe data centre. Singh further said the company plans to raise `90,000 crore in the next financial year though debt. Of the total fundraise,55% will come from domestic sources—banks and debt capital market—and the restwillcomefromglobalbanks and overseas markets. Continued on Page 10 Amazon,Flipkart set sights on small loans space AMAZON IS PREPARING to offer loans to small businesses inIndia,whileWalmart-owned Flipkart is looking at buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) products as the e-commercegiantstakeon the country's banks with a push into financial products. Amazon acquired Bengaluru-based non-banklender Axioearlierthisyear.Currently focused on BNPL and personal loans, Axio will re-embark on offering credit for small businesses and start offering cash management solutions. “We see tremendous headroom for expanding credit growth in India, particularly POCKET MONEY ■ Flipkart’s non-bank lending arm was registered in March ■ Amazon acquired Bengaluru-based non-bank lender Axio earlier this year ■ It is awaiting final RBI approval ■ Axio currently ■ Planned BNPL offers BNPL & personal loans ■ It will soon resume lending to small businesses and provide cash-management solutions among digitally engaged customers and small businesses outside of the top (cities),” MahendraNerurkar,vice-president for payments for emerging markets at Amazon, told Reuters. He added the company would be “designing tailored lending propositions”formerchants and small businesses to improve cash flow management efficiency and unlock capital. offerings include no-cost EMI loans for 3-24 months The details of Amazon's plans have not been previously reported. Flipkart, in which Walmart hasastakeofabout80%,registereditsnon-banklendingarm, Flipkart Finance, in March and ■ RBI conducted a 5-6 E-commerce giants working on BNPL, other credit products ASHWIN MANIKANDAN & JASPREET KALRA Mumbai, November 28 SHORT & PRECISE FE BUREAU Mumbai, November 28 HIGHEST IN SIX QUARTERS 7.4 In his first visit since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin will undertake a two-day visit to India on December 4-5 for annual summit talks with PM Narendra Modi. fe Bureau 8.3 6.4 10.3 VLADIMIR PUTIN TO VISIT INDIA ON DECEMBER 4-5 Q2 stunner: Economic growth surges to 8.2% 9.7 PAGE 3 5.6 ECONOMY 6.5 IN THE NEWS is awaiting the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) final approval for its business plans. Company filings show two types of planned pay-later offerings: no-cost monthly instalment loans for online shoppers over 3-24 months, and loans for consumer durables at 18%-26% interest rate per annum. Interest rates on loans for consumerdurablesfromtraditional lenders typically range between 12% and 22%. Flipkart expects to start offering these financial products next year, according to a source with direct knowledge of its plans. The source was not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. Flip- kart and the RBI did not respond to requests for comment. The country's consumer loan market has grown from nearly $80 billion in March 2020toaround$212billionas of March 2025, according to data from credit bureau CRIF High Mark, although there have been signs of a slowdown in recent quarters. Consumer loans include unsecured personal loans, credit cards and loans for consumer durables. Both Amazon and Flipkart operate apps that rank among the top 10 platforms used to makepaymentsviatheUnified Payments Interface (UPI). Continued on Page 11 month review of decades of regulatory instructions SHIRISH CHANDRA MURMU, DEPUTY GOVERNOR, RBI 9,445 Consolidationis partofabroader efforttoadopta moreconsultative andtransparent approachto regulationmaking circulars and guidelines, some dating back to 1944, repealed, merged or withdrawn ■ The unified set of master directions eliminates overlaps and outdated rules ■ Consolidated directions to apply to 11 categories of regulated entities banks, regional rural banks, urban cooperative banks,rural cooperative banks, all-India financial institutions, nonbanking financial companies (NBFCs), asset reconstruction companiesandcreditinformation companies. “Consolidation is part of a broader effort to adopt a more consultative and transparent approach to regulation-making. The issuance of the master directions is a milestone in this journey, reinforcing the regulator’s commitment to fostering ease of doing business.Ourprimaryobjectivewas to enhance the ease of compliance for all stakeholders,” RBI Deputy Governor Shirish ChandraMurmusaid.Theneed forconsolidation of regulatory instructions was always there andrequestskeptcomingfrom time to time,Murmu said. Continued on Page 10 ExtraUStariffmay gobyyear-end: Commercesecy MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, November 28 INDIAANDTHE US are negotiating on two tracks to resolve their trade stand-off, and the first one will likely address the 50% additional tariff on Indian exports by Decemberend, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday. The second line of negotiations is forconcluding the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement(BTA).Thesecretary indicated that this could only followthetradedealthatcould ease the tariff burden on India. Not just the punitive 25% impost attributed to Russian oil imports,but even the 25% additional reciprocal tariff is expected to be part of the trade deal. Analysts feel the deal, that mayprecede the signing of the initial part of the comprehensive BTA, may include a giveand-take. India has already reduced the fresh purchases of Russian oil.This is reflected in a marked reduction in Indiabound fresh loadings of Urals. India has also signed longterm LPG purchase contracts withtheUSrecently.OnFriday, the defence ministry announced a `7,900-crore deal with the US for MH-60R Navy Helicopter Support. It was the BTA that India andUShadagreedtoenterinto on February 13 till 25% reciprocal tariffs and then another 25% penal tariffs on India for buying Russian oil were announced. The initial deadline for the first tranche of the BTAwas fall of 2025. “There are two separate negotiationsgoingon.Onewill feedintotheother.Whatneeds RAJESH AGRAWAL, COMMERCE SECRETARY We need to find a pathway for complete elimination of reciprocal tariffs BTA will take time, especially with the changed dynamics to come first is a framework trade deal which is able to address the reciprocal tariffs,” Agrawal said at the Ficci AGM. “At the level of negotiators I think we are in a zone from wherewecansayitissomething we can achieve in a very short time.There is not much left to negotiate. There are very few issues on which political call needs to be taken,” he added. Agrawal is the chief negotiator in the trade negotiations. “We need to find a complete pathway for complete elimination of reciprocal tariffsinourprocessofdoingBTA. We will not hurry up. We are working on various aspects of BTA. Let the first one come first,” he added. The understanding is that the trade deal will be beneficial for Indian exporters only when there is redressal of both 25% tariffs, he noted. Continued on Page 10 QUICK PICKS GAILslides as tariffhike lags expectations Ola Electric sales skid to 36-month low THE PNGRB ON Thursday revisedtransmissiontariffsfor state-run GAIL to `65.69 per Million MMBtu, up 12% against the current tariff of `58.6 per MMBtu. Following the development, shares of GAIL fell over 6% in early trading on Friday, reports ArunimaBharadwaj. ■ PAGE 3 OLA ELECTRIC’S RETAIL sales have fallen to their weakest level in three years, marking a sharp reversal for the electric two-wheeler maker after months of slowing demand, reports Nitin Kumar. The company sold 7,383 units in November up to the 27th. ■ PAGE 6 New Delhi