COMPANIES | PAGE 4 BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 GRAP-3 curbs in Delhi-NCR; air quality closer to 'severe' COMPANIES | PAGE 6 Offthe trapeze:The rise and fall ofVenugopal Dhoot CHENNAI/KOCHI, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2026 Airlinesseekgovtclarityon Mumbaiairportslotcuts FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVII 156, 32 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: 81,028.02 ▲ 1,718.01 NIFTY: 25,030.35 ▲ 493.75 NIKKEI 225: 57,434.77 ▼ 3,643.13 HANG SENG: 24,481.86 ▼ 315.12 `/$: 93.92 ▲ 0.56 `/€: 104.92 ▲ 1.18 BRENT: $98.57 ▲ $0.28 GOLD: `1,41,032 ▼ `2,152 DLF to invest `3,750 cr in JVwith Everstone for IREO DLFWILLINVEST `3,750 crore in a proposed joint venture with Singapore-based Everstone to acquire a 40% stake in Gurugram-based realtor IREO and its group companies.The stake will be acquired from IREO, reports Raghavendra Kamath. ■ PAGE 4 Banks hike deposit rates faster amid tightened liquidity TIGHTENED LIQUIDITY CONDITIONS have prompted banks to raise deposit rates faster than initially expected with several lenders, including HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank, hiking fixed deposit rates, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 7 Continued on Page 10 SANKARAN NAREN, SHANKAR SHARMA, Equity returns could be frontloaded if crude oil prices reverse course Changes in how FPIs are taxed could give sentiment and capital flows another boost Overall, we are more positive than we have been over the last two Samvats A counter-cyclical rally was always on the cards...We are getting one right now MD & CEO, ADITYA BIRLA SUN LIFE AMC CIO, ICICI PRUDENTIAL MF Stocks jump 9%, best ...but the Samvat that just ended posts 4% loss weekly run in 6 years... 100,000 Samvat Sensex (LHS) Return in % (RHS) 81,028 60 68,000 Oct 28, 2026 Nov 06, 2026 ■ SensexandNiftyloggedtheirbiggest weeklygaininsixyears,gaining8.82% and8.58%,respectively—bothclosing atmorethaneight-monthhighs ■ OnFriday,Sensexgained2.17%and Nifty2.01%,extendingthewinningrunto sevenstraightsessions—thelongest in 26months&14months,respectively ■ FPIspumpedin$4.6bnthisweek and$5.5bn over sevensessions 33.6 32.0 Titan Adani Company Ports 26.7 12.8 12.3 SBI Sun Tech Mahindra Pharma Inds Top Sensex losers in Samvat 2082 (% loss) ITC »INSIDE« INDIAN EQUITY BENCHMARKS DEFY GLOBAL ROUT PAGE 7 Top Sensex gainers in Samvat 2082 (% gain) RUPEE RISES TO SIX-MONTH HIGH ON OIL RELIEF PAGE 7 Maruti Hind HDFC Suzuki Unilever Bank Infosys -31.5 -22.5 -21.8 -21.6 -19.2 -20 2082 2081 Sensex -4.0 2079 73,246 0 -17.4 20,000 0 20 2080 40,000 76,000 72,000 17,254 2078 10.62% 60,000 2077 80,000 81,028 40 2076 80,000 84,000 -40 Top wealth creators in Samvat 2082 (Mcap gain in ` crore) ICICI Bank Adani Ports Titan Company SBI Divi's Lab. 1,32,937 1,29,152 1,11,559 1,02,613 98,275 Top wealth laggards in Samvat 2082 (Mcap loss in ` crore) -3,26,909 -2,01,219 -1,86,766 -1,62,684 -1,40,494 HDFC Bank Reliance Inds TCS ITC HUL GlitteringDhanterasforjewellers,cardealers ● Gold and silver sales grow 10% NITIN KUMAR & VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, November 6 Govt approves 12 projects under ECMS THE MINISTRY OF Electronics and IT on Friday cleared 12 additional projects under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, with proposed investments worth `7,503 crore, reports Ojasvi Gupta. ■ PAGE 3 FOUNDER, GQUANT INVESTECH 2075 STATE BANK OF India purchased retail loans worth over `17,000 crore through the securitisation route for domestic and overseas business in the first half of financial year 2026-27, reports Abhijit Lele. A BALASUBRAMANIAN, MD, KOTAK MUTUAL FUND 2074 SBI ACQUIRES `17K-CR RETAIL LOANS IN H1 MARKET VETERANS SAY the worst may be over for Indian equitiesaftertheSensex’sworst Samvat in 15 years, but they also caution investors against expecting a runawayrally. “Overall,we are more positive than we have been over the last two Samvats,” said Sankaran Naren,chief investment officer at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. He pointed to the market’s improved risk-reward equation. Others are more circumspect. “The worst could be over,” said Shankar Sharma, founder of GQuant Investech. He added that whether “the best is here” still needs confirmation. The Sensex fell 4% in Samvat 2082. That was its weakest showing since Samvat 2067 (2011), when it plunged 17.4%. History offers some comfort: after that bruising year,the benchmark gained 8.2% in the next Samvat and 13.5% in the one after. It peaked with a 26.4% gain in the third year. Nilesh Shah, managing director, Kotak Mutual Fund, said equity returns could be front-loaded if crude oil prices reverse course. “Key triggers to watch out for will be a US tariff deal and a revival in private capex.The consumption theme — banking, automobiles, healthcare, tourism and home improvement — may be the strongest beneficiary of the implementation of the Eighth Pay Commission,” he said. NILESH SHAH, 2073 PAGE 7 JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, November 6 2072 MARKETS Hopeful, but not euphoric 2071 BHARTI AIRTELHAS restored its `299 prepaid plan with reduced data benefits, nearly three months after withdrawing it, as it looks to balance its premiumisation strategy with the need to stem subscriber churn, reports Ojasvi Gupta. 2070 AIRTEL RESTORES `299 PLAN WITH FEWER BENEFITS 2069 PAGE 4 2068 COMPANIES SAMVAT2083:EXPERTSSAYDON’TEXPECTARUNAWAYRALLY 2067 IN THE NEWS A woman shops for gold jewellery on Dhanteras at Karol Bagh, New Delhi, on Friday. Digital platforms also witnessed a surge in sales of gold and silver coins AMIT MEHRA DHANTERAS BROUGHT CHEER to retailers across automobiles and precious metals on Friday, with consumers turning out in healthy numbers to make auspicious purchases, despite high prices and a demanding comparison with last year’s festive season. Goldandsilversalesareestimated to have crossed `66,000 crore, up 10% from around `60,000 crore last year, while carmakers reported sustained demand, even as some were unlikely to match the exceptional delivery numbers recorded in 2025 following goods and services tax (GST) cuts. Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, expected around 30,000 deliveries on Dhanteras, against approximately 51,000 vehicles over the two-day festival last year.The comparison,however, is against an unusually high base,when GST rationalisation triggeredasurgeinvehiclepurchasesandDhanterasextended overtwodays.Thebroadertrend remains encouraging, with Maruti reporting retail sales of over 400,000 vehicles between Ganesh Chaturthi and November 6, compared with 346,000 inthecorrespondingperiodlast year. “What is particularly encouraging is that the strong momentum is not limited to oneday,”ParthoBanerjee,senior executiveofficer,marketingand sales,Maruti Suzuki India,said. Continued on Page 10 PRINTSEEN BREACHING RBITOLERANCE RANGEAFTER 2YEARS; RATE HIKES OF 50-75 BPs EXPECTED CPIinflationlikelyat24-monthhighof6.1%inOct GRIM PROJECTION 7 6 FE POLL SHUBHAM RANA New Delhi, November 6 INDIA’S CONSUMER PRICE index (CPI) inflation in October likelybreachedtheupperbound of the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance range of 2-6% forthe firsttimeintwoyears,according to an FE poll of 11 economists. Retail inflation, as per the poll,isseenrisingtoa24-month high of 6.1% in October from 5.54% in September, mainly because of a surge in food inflation. Core inflation is also seen Inflation (CPI, y-o-y, %) 6.1* 5 4 3 2 1 0.4 0 October 2025 *FE poll estimate inchinghigher.CPIinflationwas 0.04% in October2025. This would be the first time CPI inflation rises above 6% since October 2024. It would also mark the 12th consecutive month of increase in the print, and the fifth month in a row when inflation is higher than the RBI’s medium-term target October 2026 of4%.Estimatesinthepollranged between 5.8% and 6.2%. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will release CPI data for October on November 12.Food inflation,which rose to 7.74% in September, is seen rising above 8% in October. “Whilethebaseeffectissup- portive this month, positive price momentum will likely overwhelmit,pushingtheheadline print to a 24-month high,” saidGauravKapur,chiefeconomist at IndusInd Bank. “Price pressures are broadening too, with the share of items in the CPI basket registering over 4% inflationincreasing,”Kapursaid. Core inflation, which excludes fuel and food items,is estimated to have risen to a series high of 4.6% in October from 4.3% in September, accordingtotheFE poll.TheRBI projectscoreinflationtoaverage 4.4% in FY27, while it sees headline inflation during FY27 at5.2%withpriceincreaseshitting a peak of 6% in the October-Decemberquarter. “Sticky food inflation,passthrough of external price shocks,sustained public sector support, and robust consumer credit growth are likely to keep underlying price pressures firm,” said Tanay Dalal, economistatAxisBank.Withinflation projected to stay around the upperendoftheRBI’stolerance range in the nearfuture,economists expect the monetarypolicycommittee to continue rais- ing interest rates this financial year. The MPC raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5% in October, and economists anticipate another 50-75 basis pointsofratehikesinthiscycle. October also marks the first clean comparison with the full-month impact of the goods and services tax (GST) rate reductions implemented in late September 2025, which were fully reflected in the October 2025 data. “Refined core CPI contracted in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms that month. Consequently, part of the expected increase in inflation this October should be viewed as a GST-induced base effect rather than renewed sequential price pressure,”said Dhiraj Nim,senior economist,ANZ Bank. CHENNAI/KOCHI Overseas listing norms relaxed ● Unlisted GIFT City firms can tap foreign bourses MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, November 6 THE GOVERNMENT HAS substantially eased overseas listing norms, a move intended to make more foreign funds available to growth-hungry enterprises and those wanting to make a turnaround with the infusion of cheaper capital compatible with their business plans. It allowed companieswith negative net worth, and unlisted firms operating in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) like Gujarat’s GIFTCityto list their securitiesoverseas.Forcompanies that have completely eroded theirnetworth,foreign listing will be subject to the condition that a minimum of 75% of the shares or other securities offered are allotted to large institutional investors. According to a series of amendmentstooverseaslisting MOVE TO BOOST CAPITAL INFLOWS ■ Companies can list convertible debentures & preference shares on overseas stock exchanges, in addition to equity shares ■ Experts say the expansion from equity shares to equity instruments brings MCA framework in line with IFSCA Listing Regulations frameworknotifiedbytheMinistryofCorporateAffairs(MCA), companies can list convertible debentures and preference shares on overseas stock exchanges,inadditiontoequity shares, giving them more options to raise funds abroad. Continued on Page 10 PILagainstTata Sons’pvt status ● Bombay HC will hearcase on Dec 2 LEGAL TANGLE URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, November 6 THE BOMBAY HIGH Court has scheduled a hearing on December 2 in a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the status andgovernanceofTataSons.The petition argues that the companycannotbetreatedmerelyas a privately controlled entity when charitable trusts hold aroundtwo-thirdsofitsequity. The petition, filed by advocates Rohini Amin and L Ramanathan, seeks judicial intervention in the administration of Tata Sons and the charitable trusts that control it.Amin is the joint secretaryof Home forAll,a societyworking with slum dwellers, while Ramanathan is associated with Home for All and the National Lawyers’ Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms.Thepetitionersclaim to represent the interests of poorand underprivileged beneficiaries of the Tata Trusts. “Today, homelessness is an ■ Petition seeks judicial intervention in the administration of Tata Sons and Tata Trusts ■ Stronger governance and public listing of Tata Sons could unlock greater value for charitable activities, the petition contends issue which is remaining now. WeformedasocietycalledCampaign for Home for All and we have been helping the slum dwellersforthelast10-15years against demolishing their shanties without providing an alternative accommodation,” said Mathews Nedumpara, founder of Mumbai-based law firmNedumpara&Nedumpara. Continued on Page 10 CBIFIRagainstKishoreBiyani, othersin`904-crbankfraud THE CENTRAL BUREAU of Investigation (CBI) has registered a bank fraud case against Future Retail and its promoters Kishore Biyani and Rakesh Biyani over an alleged fraud of `904.32 crore involving the State Bank of India (SBI), officials said on Friday. The CBI has also named unknown public servants and otherindividuals in the case. The agencyconducted searches at multiple premises linked to the company’s promoters and directors in Mumbai and seized documents relevant to the probe. ■ PAGE 6