BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Apple’s new vision is an iPad-like foldable device INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Tatas face pressure in Starbucks joint venture AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2024 Trump transition team to roll back Biden EVpolicy FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XIX 167, 42 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: 81,748.56 ▼ 384.56 NIFTY: 24,668.25 ▼ 100.05 NIKKEI 225: 39,457.49 ▼ 12.95 HANG SENG: 19,795.49 ▼ 175.75 `/$: 84.87 ▼ 0.08 `/€: 89.15 ▼ 0.22 BRENT: $74.04 ▼ $0.45 GOLD: `76,588 ▼ `147 Advance tax Trade deficit receipts rise widens to 17% in Q3 record high PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, December 16 MIXED SIGNALS FOR ECONOMY AI eyes larger international traffic share AIR INDIAWILL tweak its network schedules, introduce new products to routes in Europe and Southeast Asia in a bid to grab a larger share of the international traffic, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 6 »EXPLAINER« WHY BANKS ARE WARY OF TRUSTTRANSFERS PAGE 9 Trade deficit ($ bn), LHS Exports Imports Overall Corporate income tax Personal income tax (%, y-o-y) Q3FY25 ...even as flash PMI rises to 4-month high in Dec... 62 61 61.5 Compo Composite PMI 60.7 60.7 10.7 30 15 0 37.8 Q2FY25 Q1FY25 27 (% chg, y-o-y, RHS) 45 18.9 NEW RBI GOVERNOR Sanjay Malhotra has urged staff to strive for perfection in their duties, emphasising the importance of continuous improvement as the institution enters a new era, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 7 ...but import bill balloons... 16.8 13.5 26.5 New RBI guv urges staff to strive for perfection Advance tax slows, still outpaces BE... 20.2 15.7 37.1 ADVANCEDIRECTTAXreceipts from companies,limited liabilitypartnerships(LLPs)andindividuals rose by 16.8% on year for the third quarter of the currentfiscal,reflectingsomemoderation in tax payments. However,the pace of collections still exceeded the Budget estimates of gross (pre-devolution) direct tax receipts,whichis 12.4%. AsofDecember15,thethird quarter advance tax payment stood at `3.15 lakh crore comparedwith`2.7lakhcroreayear ago,sources said.The growth in advance tax receipts have moderated from 27.4% in Q1 and 20.2% in Q2. Corporate advance tax receipts rose by 13.5% on year to `2.28 lakh crore in Q3FY25 against `2.01 lakh crore a year ago.Suchreceiptshadgrownby 15.7% in Q2 and 23.2% in Q1. Advance personal income tax receiptsrose26.5%to`86,624 croreinQ3FY25comparedwith `68,459 crore ayearago. Advance tax collections are a good indicator of corporate profitability and rise in individuals’earnings.Advancetaxpayershavetopay15%oftheir annual liability by June 15, 45% by September 15 and 75% by December 15. 27.4 23.2 43.7 IN THE NEWS 30 15 0 2 -4.9 Apr 2024 Nov 2024 -15 ...and WPI cools to 3-month low in Nov (in %) 4 60 Jun 3 59 3.36 2 58 57 58.3 1 Sep Dec ‘24 (flash PMI) Apr ‘24 The Centre’s direct tax collection mop-up (net of refunds) rose about 15.2% on year to `15.79lakhcroretillDecember 15,sources said.With the direct taxmop-uprequirementgrowth being 12.7% onyearto meet the FY25 target of `22.07 lakh crore,the trends indicate that it couldbe slightlyexceeded. Continued on Page 6 0 1.89 1.26 1.31 Apr ‘24 Aug Nov ‘24 MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, December 16 A BIG SURGE in imports to a record $70 billion, driven by inbound shipments of gold, pushedthe monthlymerchandise trade deficit to the highest-ever level of $37.84 billion inNovember,accordingtodata released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday. At $14.9 billion,November gold imports were more than double the level recorded in Octoberand up 331% onyear. Overallimportsinthepreviousmonthweremorethandouble the exports,which declined 4.9% on year to $32.11 billion. The decline in outbound shipments was largely due to a 49.7% fall in exports of petroleum products to $3.7 billion from$7.3billionayearago.Last monthalsosawservicesexports ($35.67billion)surpassingmerchandise shipments ($32.11 billion) forthe first time. The record November trade deficit could lead to a sharp wideningofthecurrentaccount deficit (CAD) to 2.6-2.8% of GDP in Q3FY25, analysts said. Earlierestimates of CAD forthe quarterwere around 2%. “More than a 30% year-onyear increase in gold prices is a large contributor to high gold imports numbers. The fall in prices of crude oil this year has resulted in lower imports of petroleum products in value terms though shipments have grown in volume terms,” commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters. Non-petroleum exports in November were up $28.4 billion on year. Continued on Page 6 Adani,Ambani drop out of elite $100-billion club ALEXANDER SAZONOV & ADVAIT PALEPU Dubai/Mumbai, December 16 INDIA’STWO RICHEST industrialists, Reliance Industries chairmanMukeshAmbaniand Adani Group founder Gautam Adani,have tumbled out of the elite centibillionaires club – people with fortunes above $100 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Ambani’s energy and retail businesseshavebeenunderperforming amid rising investor concern about debt, while Adani’s empire was rocked by a USdepartmentofjusticeprobe. And it’s still not clear if the WEALTH EROSION Gautam Adani Mukesh Ambani Now: Then: $122.3 billion in June Now: Then: $82.1 $120.8 billion ■ Adani rocked by a US probe that threatens to squeeze funding and make it harder to win contracts worst is overforeither. For Adani, the move by US prosecutors in November over alleged bribery was an unwel- ● THE RHYTHM LIVES ON World-renowned tabla maestro Zakir Hussain passed away at 73 in the US on Sunday ■ REPORT ON PAGE 24 retail units have been underperforming amid rising investor concern about debt come return to the international media spotlight. Continued on Page 6 Blackstone top bidder for 20% Haldiram’sstake A CONSORTIUM LED by Blackstone has emerged as the preferredbidderforaminoritystake in Haldiram Snacks, people familiarwiththemattersaid,following months of negotiations on a potential deal, reports Bloomberg.Blackstone,which isintalkstoteamupwithSingapore state investor GIC andAbu Dhabi Investment Authority, maypayaround$1.6billionfora 20%stakeinHaldiram,thepeople said,asking not to be identified.A transaction could value thesnacksmakeratabout$8billion,thepeoplesaid. ■ PAGE 6 Years 1984 - 2024 Legacy in Health Management Research JAIPUR Pioneering in Future-Ready Education Admission Open 2025 IIHMR University, Jaipur, is the destination for learning and demonstrating the impact of critical skills that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the most significant and fast-growing sectors – Health and Development – through an innovative learning ecosystem. 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