OPINION, P10 FE LINES WELL BEING SUMMER DIET: WHAT TO EAT AND WHAT TO AVOID Why should a ‘strong’leader lie? The cool gadget Wearable fans or coolers can give much-needed respite from the rising heat Page 6 The best way to survive the soaring heat is to prioritise nutrition. A lowdown on how to remain healthy Page 8 ACROSS THE AISLE , P CHIDAMBARAM SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL.NO.XIII SL.NO.73 ONLINE DATING LOSING SHEEN? FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY KOCHI SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2024, 16 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 , WHAT'S INSIDE C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , Amid rising scams & data thefts, slump in revenues, what’s ailing dating apps? Page 5 READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , 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 CONTROVERSY OVER LINKEDIN POST Ola moves biz out of Microsoft to Krutrim BROKEN BONDS ● Loss could be ■ In FY23, over `100 cr for ■ In 2017, Ola Microsoft’s partnered with Microsoft in India Microsoft to revenue from They/them & everything in between FE BUREAU New Delhi, May 11 OLA CEO BHAVISH Aggarwal may have attracted mixed reactions for his opinion on gender pronouns, but amid the debate of ‘pronoun illness’,‘political ideology’,‘corporate culture’and the usage of‘they/them’for people who don’t identify themselves exclusively as a male or a female, or by those who are unwilling to disclose their gender identity, besides trans people, lie the nuances of progressive initiatives, challenges of technology,rules of grammar,aswell as criticism, such as‘imitating’the West. On May 6, Aggarwal took to X to slam LinkedIn after the latter removed his post in which he criticised non-binary pronouns and termed them as an “illness”. Sharing a screenshot of his chat with LinkedIn’s AI bot, in which ‘they/their’ pronounswere used,hewrote onX:“Hoping that this‘pronoun illness’doesn’t reach India.” “Many ‘big city schools’ in India are now teaching it to kids. Also see many CVs with pronouns these days.Need to knowwhere to draw the line in following the west blindly,” he added. While many social media users accused Aggarwalof“homophobia”,callinghisremarks a bit of a stretch, and that respecting gender pronouns is a basic act of decency, not an ill- Hindujas get IRDAI approval If you vote for BJP,you’re voting for Shah, not Modi: Kejriwal for RCap deal DAY AFTER RELEASE ON INTERIM BAIL ●‘PM will arrest all Oppn leaders, sideline those in BJP’ RAJESH KURUP Mumbai, May 11 THE HINDUJA GROUP has received the insurance regulator’s approval to conclude the acquisition of Reliance Capital’s (RCap) three insurance companies, a move that will help it complete the resolution process of the debt-laden firm by the May 27 deadline. However, IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL), a group firm through which the Hinduja Group had placed bids for RCap,now requires regulatory approvals for a proposed change in holding structure. Sources said these approvals are expected“anytime now”. On Friday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authorityof India (IRDAI) permitted transferof RCap’s three insurance subsidiaries— Reliance General Insurance CompanyLtd(RGICL),Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Co Ltd. (RNLICL) and Reliance Health Insurance Ltd (RHIL)—to HindujaGroup,sourcesclosetothe development said. IRDAI has permitted transfer of RCap’s 26% stake in the insurance firms toAasia Enterprises, a private family firm with 90% stake held by Ashok P Hinduja (Hinduja Group MALLICA JOSHI New Delhi, May 11 SHARE TRANSFER Deal involves transfer of RCap's three insurance subsidiaries—RGICL, RNLICL & RHIL—to Hinduja Group ■ IRDAI permits transfer of RCap’s 26% stake in the insurance subsidiaries to Aasia Enterprises, a private family firm ■ Approval subject to regulatory, statutory and judicial clearances and compliances chairman),5% each by Harsha A Hinduja (Hinduja Foundation trustee) and Shom A Hinduja (president, alternative energy and sustainability at Hinduja Group). Continued on Page 2 OPENING A NEW front in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday ‘warned’ that with PM Narendra Modi turning 75 next September, those voting for the BJP would be voting for Amit Shah (as PM).Kejriwal also launched an all-out attack on Modi, accusing him of carrying out a“onenation,one-leader”mission at “two-levels” —by arresting Opposition leaders, and sideliningthosewithintheBJP. Addressing a gathering at the party headquarters in the capital, a day after his release on interim bail, the AAP national convenorsaid:“These people ask the INDIAbloc who will be your Prime Minister? I ask the BJP who will be your Prime Minister? ... Modi ji is turning 75 on September 17 next year. He made a rule in 2014 that people in the BJP must retire at 75 years… So, I want to ask the BJPwho isyour prime ministerial candidate?” Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal with AAP leaders Bhagwant Mann, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai and Atishi during a press conference at the party's office in New Delhi on Saturday “Maindeshkelogonkoaagah karnachahtahoon,Modijiapne liye vote nahi maang rahe hain, Modi ji Amit Shah ko pradhan mantri banane ke liye vote maangrahehain.Mainpoochna chahta hoon Modi ji se aurAmit Shah ji se,ye Modi ki guarantee poori kaun karega? Kya Amit Shah Modi ki guarantee poori karenge? Vaise toh mujhe nahi lagta inki sarkar ban rahi hai, lekinjojoBJPkovotedenejayen, woh yeh soch ke jaana ki aap Modi ji ke naam pe vote nahi de rahe,aapAmitShahkenaampe vote de rahe ho,” he said. Continued on Page 2 HOURS AFTER DELHI chief minister Arvind Kejriwal suggested that PM Modi would “retire” at 75 and Amit Shah would step into his role, Shah asserted that Modi would“finish his term”.Defence minister Rajnath Singh also hit out at Kejriwal on X over his statement,suggestingthattheparty leadership had decided to underline that Modi would be PTI the leader until at least 2029. Speaking at the Hyderabad BJP office, Shah said,“I want to say this to Arvind Kejriwal and companyandINDIalliancethat do not need to feel happyabout Narendra Modi turning 75. No such thing is mentioned in the BJP's constitution. Modi ji is goingtocompletethistermand Modi ji will continue to lead the countryintothefuture.Thereis no confusion within the BJP; theywant to create confusion.” Continued on Page 2 Not just Europe, solar storm brings aurora to Ladakh too PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, May 11 A CRIMSON GLOW lit up the dark sky in parts of Ladakh in a rare stable auroral red arc event attheHanleDarkSkyReservein the high Himalayas due to the strong solar magnetic storms launchedtowards Earth. The solar storms or coronal mass ejections are from the AR13664regionofthesunthat has produced several high energy solar flares, some of which are travelling towards Earth at a speed of 800 km per second,scientists at the Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences in India (CESSI),Kolkata,said. Spectacular auroras or northern lights lit up the skies Stable Auroral Arc, a rare red-coloured aurora, observed at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in Ladakh on Saturday PTI in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere as skywatchers from Austria, Ger- many, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark and Poland shared picturesandshortvideosofthe dancing lights on social media. In Ladakh, astronomers at theHanleDarkSkyReservesaw a red glow on the northwest horizonintheskyfromabout1 amonSaturdaythatcontinued till early dawn.“We were fortunate to witness aurora activities on our all-sky camera during regular telescope observations,”StanzinNorla,an engineeratthe Hanle DarkSky Reserve,said. He said a faint red glowwas visible to the naked eye along the horizon and the event was captured in much detail by a DSLR camera installed at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve. “It streaked through the sky from about 1 am till 3.30 am,” Stanzin said, adding that the skiesturnedredalongthehorizon and to a pinkish hue later. DorjeAngchuk,anengineer at the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, described the event as a stable auroralredarc,whichwasarare occurrence over the skies at Ladakh.“Auroras seen near the north or south poles are dynamic events. They keep changing. But the one witnessedatLadakhwasmorestable.Itiscalledthestableauroral red arc. The steady glow remainedintheskyforacouple of hours,”Angchuk said. Such events are rare at Hanle because it is located far south, Dibyendu Nandi, Head, CESSI at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata,said. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 'MANAGEABLE' IMPACT FROM RBI PROJECT FINANCE DRAFT: UBI MD SOUTHEASTASIA FAST EMERGING AS HOTSPOT FOR TECH INDUSTRY PUBLIC SECTOR lender Union Bank of India (UBI) expects to see a “manageable” impact from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) project finance draft guidelines on overall business, MD and CEO A Manimekhalai told reporters on Saturday. ■ PAGE 2 SOUTHEASTASIA is fast emerging as a centre of gravity for the tech industry. The CEOs ofApple, Microsoft and Nvidia are among the industry chieftains who’ve swung through the region in past months, committing billions of dollars in investment. ■ PAGE 14 Retail investors' cash market turnover falls marginally in FY24 Shah, Rajnath hit back SREENIVAS JANYALA & VIKAS PATHAK Hyderabad/New Delhi, May 11 ness,severalothersalsoagreedwiththealleged “misgendering” of Aggarwal, saying that “inclusivity and diversity are good but they cannot be imported as it is from theWest”. RETAILINVESTORS' NET cash market turnover fell marginally by 4.1% in FY24 on the NSE, following a significant decline of70.2% in fiscal 2023. During the first three quarters ofFY24, individual investors remained cautious, resulting in net outflows ofslightly over `5,000 crore in the NSE’s cash equity segment. However, the trend reversed in the last quarter ofFY24,with individuals purchasing a total of `52,600 crore on a net basis, surpassing the net inflows for the entire ■ Retail investors' net cash market turnover on NSE (` crore) 68,400 FY21 164,900 FY22 previous year. In fact, the net inflows by individual investors reached a record `36,000 crore inJanuary 2024, marking the highestever monthly inflows. Meanwhile, on the NSE F&O market, retail investors' turnover surged by 54.8% to `92,905 crore in FY24. Compiled by Kishor Kadam ■ Retail investors' net F&O market turnover on NSE (` crore) FY21 43,500 48,000 FY22 FY23 49,206 FY23 FY24 47,180 FY24 ■ Retail investors' net turnover on NSE (` crore) Cash F&O 60,000 92,905 1,601 Continued on Page 2 A screenshot of Bhavish Aggarwal’s chat with LinkedIn’s AI bot that he shared on X 8,862 Krutrim is a made in India generative AI platform thatwaslaunchedbyAggarwal last year. Recently, Krutrim launched AI cloud services called Krutrim Cloud to help developers and enterprises accessadvancedGPUresources to accelerate their projects and improve productivity. 36,383 30,921 25,047 11,772 long as you don’t go back to Azure afterthat!” In 2017,Ola had partnered with Microsoft Azure to build a new connected vehicle platform for car manufacturers worldwide. Azure came on board as a cloud services provider for Ola. In FY23, Microsoft’s revenue from India operations rose 39% year-on-yearto `19,230 crore. -5,923 -10,184 -14,048 -2,691 Interview with Madhumita Murgia, author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI IT (SHIFTING OPERATIONS) IS A CHALLENGE AS ALL DEVELOPERS KNOW, BUT MY TEAM IS SO CHARGED UP ABOUT DOING THIS 15,500 14,400 20,200 7,500 13,100 14,116 10,900 ‘The hype around AI has led to FOMO’ BHAVISH AGGARWAL, founder & CEO, Ola 700 ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 services provider for Ola -300 A new generation of FTII graduates leads Indian cinema at the upcoming 77th Cannes Film Festival ■ Azure came on board as a cloud 4,900 Return of the film school ish Aggarwal on Saturday said his company has decided to moveitsentireworkloadoutof Microsoft Azure to its own cloudplatformKrutrimwithin the next week. The move is a reaction to Microsoft-owned LinkedInremovingAggarwal’s post on ‘pronoun illness’, in which he called out the platformforimposinga‘forcedideology’over gender pronouns. Reportedly, this move will lead to a loss of over`100 crore for Microsoft in India, as Ola is a big customer. “It (shifting operations from Azure to Krutrim) is a challenge as all developers know, but my team is so charged up about doing this,”Aggarwal posted on social mediaplatformX.Healsothrew an invitation to other developers, saying if they wanted to moveoutofAzure,“wewilloffer afullyearoffreecloudusage.As `19,230 cr -6,100 ■ LEISURE, P7 India operations rose 39% y-o-y to -3,500 -3,900 -11,500 OLAFOUNDERAND CEOBhav- build a new connected vehicle platform REWATI KARAN New Delhi, May 11 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023 2024 KOCHI