BRANDWAGON, P9 NATION, P19 INTERNATIONAL, P3 Innovation will help snacks brands sustain growth AMCs poised for big gains as money flows into stocks Bangladesh to seek Interpol help to repatriate Hasina NEW DELHI, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE VOL. L NO. 216, 20 PAGES, `12.00 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12.00) 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 BIGGEST EARNINGS DOWNGRADES SINCE ‘20: JEFFERIES WEAK NUMBERS FROM the India Inc for the July-September quarter have led to the biggest downgrades in earnings estimates since early 2020, according to Jefferies, reports Vivek Kumar M. The firm said it has downgraded estimates for 63% of the 121 companies under its coverage. ■ PAGE 6 COAL PRODUCTION FROM CAPTIVE MINES SURGES 33% COAL PRODUCTION FROM captive and commercial mines, that is output from firms other than core miners like Coal India and its arms, reached over 100 million tonne as of November 8, according to the data from coal ministry, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. The production was up 33% from the same period of 2023-24 ■ PAGE 2 MAHARASHTRA POLLS: BJPAND MVA UNVEIL MANIFESTOS FOCUSING ON WOMEN, farmers and jobs, the ruling BJP and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Sunday released their respective manifestos for the November 20 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, report Shubhangi Khapre and Alok Deshpande. The BJP also promised a stringent anti-conversion law in the state. ■ PAGE 16 FE S P E C I A L S GOVT PLANS COVER FOR BONA FIDE DECISIONS Bankers to get a shield against probe agencies Amendments to anti-corruption law in the offing PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, November 10 THE CENTRE IS planning to bring another set of amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 to assuage the concerns of bankers,who fear post-retirement harassment by investigating agencies for bona fide decisions gonewrong.Themoveisaimedatimproving the credit climate, seen as crucial for supporting high economic growth. According to official sources, a highlevel meeting has been convened by the governmentonNovember22todiscussthe reportofacommitteeformedbytheIndian Banks’Association(IBA)tolookintoaspects related to Section 17Aof the Prevention of CorruptionAct (as amended in 2018). The meeting will be attended by the financial services secretary, CBI director, WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR ■ Proposed changes in Prevention of Corruption Act aim to improve credit climate in the country ■ A statutory protection for top bankers will help in faster decisionmaking in loan processes Lack of trust between the developed and the developing nations have prevented a consensus EXPLAINER, P6 ‘AI will create more jobs by increasing productivity’ Interview with Christian Klein, CEO & Member of Executive Board, SAP SE ■ eFE, P10 ■ Gross non- performing assets of public sector banks shrank to 2.8% in March 2024 from 14.5% in March 2016 officialsfromthedepartmentofpersonnel and training and the home ministry, RBI deputy governor,SBI chairman,MD/CEOs ofotherpublicsectorbanks,IBAchiefexecutive and chief vigilance officers (CVOs) of public sectorbanks,the sources said. In2018,theNarendraModi1.0government had amended Section 17 of the Act, whittling down some of its intrusive provisions and encouraging bureaucrats to take rightdecisionsinnationalinterestwithout undue fear of prosecution or harassment. According to one of these amendments, a policeofficerneedstoobtainpriorapproval fromacompetentauthoritybeforeinvestigatingapublicservantforanallegedoffence under the anti-corruption law to prevent frivolous investigations. Continued on Page 14 Oct retail inflation Rural FMCG basket Titan uses AI, GenAI likely rose to 5.9% size grows by 60% to boost efficiency INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), likely rose to a 14monthhighof5.9%inOctober primarilyduetoasharpriseinthepricesof vegetables and edible oils, according to a median of 17 estimates by economists, reportsPriyanshVerma.CPIinflationwas 5.49% in September this year and 4.87% in October2023. ■ PAGE 2 ASRURALAREASshowarevival in demand for fast-moving consumer goods, the average FMCG basket size is growing, a new report by agencies Kantar and GroupM shows, reports Viveat Susan Pinto.Called the Rural Barometer Report, the study looks at consumption patterns and economic behaviour of rural Indians across 20 different states. ■ PAGE 4 TITAN COMPANY IS using artificialintelligence(AI)andgenerativeAI (GenAI) to improve efficiency across its operations, including the manufacturing of analogue watches,reportsPadminiDhruvaraj.Titan has developed anAI-powered solution that accuratelyidentifiesfaultywatches,itschief digital and information officer Krishnan Venkateswaran said. ■ PAGE 4 US contributions key to achieving Paris pact goals AMITABH SINHA Baku (Azerbaijan), November 10 IF COP29, BEGINNING Monday in the Azerbaijan capital, indeed delivers what it is supposed to — a strong finance agreement to enable enhanced flows of money for climate action — it could turn out to be the most important climate meeting since the one in Paris in 2015.Inadequate moneyis one of the biggest hurdles to enhanced climate action that is urgently required to contain runaway increases in global temperatures. COP29, the 29th edition of the annual climatemeet,issupposedtoagreeonatleastatenfoldincreaseinthemoneythatdevelopedcountries are mandated to make available.The pact was never expected to have come easily.Developed countries, led by the United States, have beenpushingtoexpandthe“donorbase”,meaning theywant more countries — rich countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Singapore, or even China— to contributeto the enhanced pool. But the election of Donald Trump as next US President has cast a much bigger shadow on the success of COP29 than the mere differences in position ofvarious countries overthe finance agreement. The last time Trump got elected, in 2016, he had taken the US out of the ParisAgreement itself.Fouryears later,Joe Biden undid this decision.This time,fears are being expressed that Trump would withdraw America not just from the Paris Agreement but from the UN Framework Convention itself,the overarching structure under which global climate negotiations take place. Trump has been much less shrill on climate change during campaigning this time compared to 2016,though pulling out of the Paris Agreement again isverymuch on his agenda.A climatesceptic,Trumpviewstheglobalclimate architecture heavily tilted against the US, and BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP THE REGISTRATION FOR the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme closed on Sunday with 127,046 offers being made by280 companies — more than the target of 125,000 set for the pilot phase. According to official data, more than 250,000 applications, nearly double the offers, have been approved among multiples of that received on the dedicated portal, for the skilling opportunities, intended to make the youth employable and get them access to remunerative jobs. Thefirmsthathavepostedoffersontheportal include Reliance Industries,Adani Group, TCS, ITC, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Jubilant FoodWorks,EicherMotors,and Muthoot Finance. While the scheme is designed to train 10 million youngsters over a five-year period, a target was set to provide 125,000 internship opportunities across 24 sectors such as oil & gas, energy, travel, automotive, and banking and financial services in the pilot phase. An official said the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) will soon start the selection process and the internships at the company level will begin on December 2.According to theplan,theinternswillbeworkingwithcom- ■ Over 127,000 offers made by 280 firms in pilot phase ■ A candidate will receive one-time grant of `6,000 and monthly stipend of `5,000, including `4,500 from govt ■ It envisages providing internship opportunities to 10 mn youth over five years ■ RIL, Adani Group, TCS, ITC, Maruti Suzuki India, M&M, L&T among firms offering internship opportunities panies for 12 months, when they will learn real-life business skills,and receive a monthly stipend of `5,000. Continued on Page 14 AI-VISTARA DEAL PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON BYGONE LABELS Another brand merges into oblivion VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO & SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, November 10 IN 1993,WHEN Ramesh Chauhan,entrepreneurand promoterof the Bisleri brand of bottledwater,sold his soft drinks business to Coca-Cola for $60 million, little did he know that his‘Thunder’in a bottle — Thums Up — would emerge as the largest cola brand in India with sales in excess of a billion dollars. WhileCoca-ColaaddedfizzintoThums Up,thatcannotbesaidofsomeoftheother brands it acquired from Chauhan back in the 1990s. Brands such as Gold Spot, an orange-flavoured soft drink, and Citra, a clear lemon soda, were quietly buried to make wayfor Coke’s Fanta and Sprite. Clearly, the story of Coca-Cola’s tryst with Chauhan’s brands in India is a case of astute brand leadership in the face of local market realities, where home-grown labels had greater resonance with consumers.But that may not be the case with many other trademarks acquired and/or merged into others over the years. Marketers quite often take calculated risks WHAT AIR INDIA-VISTARA UNIFICATION WILL ENTAIL ■ Singapore Airlines (SIA) will hold in the merged entity by putting in 25.1% 285 aircraft in total `2,058.5 cr ■ All flights to be operated by Air India November 12 onwards ■ Three airlines to be part of merged entity -- Air India, Air India Express and Vistara when sacrificing one brand for the other in a merger,say experts. TakeAirIndia andVistara,forinstance. Tuesday (November 12) will mark the day whenVistarawill cease to exist as an independent airline. No Vistara flight will be operational from that day. Instead, combined flights of Air India and Vistara will take to the skies as two disparate brands become one.It is a test case of howinflight operations, technology and service levels READ TO LEAD COP29 begins today under Trump shadow Brisk start to PM Internship Scheme MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, November 10 Why climate finance is top priority ■ Government wants to encourage bureaucrats to take right decisions in national interest without undue fear of prosecution or harassment WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM ■ SIA has said it will make an additional investment of `3,194.5 cr of two very different airlines will merge and come together,say experts.The question is: Will the going be smooth? “This is a peculiar case where the flagship brand (Air India) is perceived to be weaker than the younger brand (Vistara),” saysNChandramouli,chiefexecutiveofficer of brand advisory and insights firm TRA Research. Continued on Page 5 New Delhi A sculpture is displayed outside the COP29 UN Climate Summit venue in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday. A climate sceptic, Donald Trump views the global climate architecture heavily tilted against the US AP somethingthatgivesChinaanunfairadvantage in economy and employment. He has said he would do everything possible to correct this, including the development of oil and gas fields athome,somethingthatiscompletelycounterproductive to global climate objectives. TheParisAgreementgoalsofkeepingglobal temperature risewithin 2 degree Celsius,if not 1.5 degrees,from pre-industrial times,cannot be achieved without handsome contributions from the US, the second biggest emitter after China and the largest contributor to historical emissions.Sofar,ithasdeliveredlittle.Itsemissions cuts have been negligible, and financial contributions meagre.But there are hopes of it improvingitsperformance,aslongasitiswithin thesystem.IfTrumpdecidestowalkawayagain, the climate targets become meaningless. Continued on Page 14