ECONOMY | PAGE 2 COMPANIES | PAGE 12 Constitution has lived up to our every need: Modi INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Black Friday: Brands may offer up to 70% discount CHENNAI/KOCHI, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024 Huawei takes aim atApple with latest smartphone FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 173, 26 PAGES, `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 SENSEX: 80,004.06 ▼ 105.79 NIFTY: 24,194.50 ▼ 27.40 NIKKEI 225: 38,442 ▼ 338.14 HANG SENG: 19,159.20 ▲ 8.21 `/$: 84.34 ▼ 0.05 `/€: 88.61 ▼ 0.21 BRENT: $73.66 ▲ $0.65 GOLD: `75,383 ▼ `1,104 IN THE NEWS Shashikant Ruia, iconic industrialist, passes away ANYONE WHO HAS met Essar Group co-founder Shashikant Ruia would never forget his humility and good-naturedness. The iconic industrialist who played a significant role in redefining India’s corporate landscape in his heydays passed away after a prolonged illness at age 81. ■ PAGE 4 Govt launches new probe into Byju's finances THE CENTRE HAS started a probe into financing and accounting practices at Byju’s, reports Bloomberg. The regional office of the Registrar of Companies in Hyderabad will look into Byju’s books to see if it misreported financial statements and whether funds were siphoned off. ■ PAGE 4 Credit focus to be bolstered, PSBs to launch new products ACKNOWLEDGING A CREDIT gap, financial services secretary M Nagaraju said on Tuesday that PSBs will unveil new products in the next 3-4 months, to improve credit growth, including for MSMEs, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 ADDITIONAL10%ONCHINAIMPORTS India spared initialTrump tariff threat ● 25% on Canada, Mexico shipments COSTAS PITAS November 26 PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP has pledged big tariffs on the US’ threelargesttradingpartners—Canada, Mexico and China — detailing how he will implement campaign promises that could trigger trade wars.India is absent from his initial tariff plans.Trump,who takes office on January 20, 2025, said he would imposea25%tariffonimportsfrom Canada and Mexico until they clampeddownondrugs,particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the border,inamovethatappearstoviolate a free-trade deal. Trump also separately outlined “an additional 10% tariff,above any additional tariffs” on imports from China.It was not entirely clear what thiswouldmeanashehaspreviously pledged to end China’s most-favoured-nationtradingstatusandslap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% — much higher than those imposed during his first term.The two posts on Truth show most specific comments on how he will imlement“putAmerica first”. Continued on Page 6 TRADE WAR BUGLE? ■ Trump had pledged to end China's mostfavourednation trading status, slap tariffs in excess of 60% ■ May also spell trouble for many Asian auto and electronics manufacturers ■ Many overseas firms use Mexico as a low-cost production gateway for the US market ■ New tariffs may violate the terms of the US-MexicoCanada pact No one will win trade war: China NEITHERTHE US norChinawouldwina tradewar,ChineseEmbassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said,reportsReuters.“TheChina -US economic and trade cooperationismutuallybeneficialinnature.No one will win a trade war ora tariffwar,” he said. ■ PAGE 7 Easier agri marketing on the cards ● New regime aims to tilt trade terms in farmers’favour FARM FACTOR panel aims to develop 'private markets' that can compete and co-exist with APMCs ■ Panel for easier SANDIP DAS New Delhi, November 26 THREE YEARS AFTER rolling back three controversial farm Bills, the government is set to make another bid to achieve theiressential objectives of barrier-free trade in farm produce under a uniform panIndia framework. According to official sources, a 12-member committee, under the ■ New set of proposals by agri ministry purchases by bulk buyers, private eNAMs ■ Warehouses, cold storages, including private ones, be deemed market yards ■ Panel noted in direct marketing via farm- gate purchases, supply chain is squeezed aegis of the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare, has recommended a clutch of steps, includingallowingdirectfarm-gate purchases of agriculture commodities by bulk buyers, including organised retailers,without having to go through the state-notified mandis or pay the various levies that the operators of these market yards charge. The set of measures are basically aimed at tilting the terms of trade in farmers'favour. Currently, farm-gate purchases of agricultural items take place in a few states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka, but these transactions are restrictedto selectcommodities for defined periods, and that too, afterpaying the taxes to the respective Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs). Continued on Page 6 AdanihitbyFitchand Infosys to give 85% Moody’sdowngrades bonus to employees FE BUREAU New Delhi, November 26 FITCH AND MOODY'S have changed their rating outlook on several Adani group firms to “negative”, citing the US indictment of chairman Gautam Adani and a few other group executives on the alleged bribery charges. The moves followed a similar announcement by peer S&P Global last week, and came despite the group saying on Monday that its cash balances exceeded long-term debt repayments for the next 28 months. The changes will likely weaken Adani Group's access to funding and increase its capital costs. Fitch said it might cut the rating of dollar bonds of the group’s ports unit to speculative grade. Continued on Page 6 NEGATIVE OUTLOOK ■ Rating outlook on several Adani group firms to 'negative' ■ May weaken Adani units' access to funding, raise capital costs ■ Fitch exploring 'junk' rating on Adani Ports dollar bonds »INSIDE« ADANI WILMAR MAY DEFER 12% STAKE SALE P5 ANDHRA LIKELYTO SUSPEND ADANI POWER DEAL P5 VEDANTA ACCEPTS BIDS OF $800 MN FOR DOLLAR BONDS P6 PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Bengaluru, November 26 INFOSYS, THE COUNTRY’S second-largest IT services firm, has declared an 85% average performance bonus forthe eligible employees for the September quarter, according to sources. The bonus will be disbursed to Band 6 and below employees, encompassing junior to mid-level staff across deliveryand sales units,who collectively form the majority of Infosys'workforce. Additionally, a couple of employees in Band 3 told FE that some of them received up to 100% variable pay depending on their performance Employees were notified of the variablepayoutthroughletterssent on November 25 and 26. Infosys said he bonus amount will vary based on individual performance, and eligible employees will receive the payment alongwith their November salary. Infosys did not respond toanemailseekingcomment at the time of going to press. The Q2FY25 bonus of 85% marks an improvement over the 80% average payout in the previous quarterand a significant increae from the 60% bonus in Q4FY24. In an email to employees, Infosys attributed the payout to its robust performance in quarter ended September, emphasising its focus on cloud and generative AI (GenAI) services. Continued on Page 6 Tired of fishing for the right stock? Building wealth with Mutual Funds is SIPlified. 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