COMPANIES | PAGE 4 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 Need leaders with global mindset, Indian mind: PM INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Right time to build LLMs as costs are lower: Nilekani NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025 Nissan turning toTesla after Honda deal fails FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L NO. 305, 30 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) 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: 75,311.06 ▼ 424.90 NIFTY: 22,795.90 ▼ 117.25 NIKKEI 225: 38,776.94 ▲ 98.90 HANG SENG: 23,477.92 ▲ 900.94 `/$: 86.71 ▼ 0.05 `/€: 90.78 ▼ 0.33 BRENT: $75.87 ▼ $0.61 GOLD: `85,695 ▼ `548 Delhi residents mayhave to paythe price forpollution Waiting for action to check steel imports: Narendran THE INDUSTRY IS waiting for an action from the Centre to check steel imports, which are affecting the domestic players, Tata Steel CEO TV Narendran said on Friday, reports PTI. He warned future investments are getting impacted. ■ PAGE 6 India, China discuss LAC, Mansarovar Yatra, flights EXTERNALAFFAIRS MINISTER S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday discussed “peace and tranquillity in border areas”, resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, flight connectivity and trans border rivers, reports Shubhajit Roy. ■ PAGE 22 FE SPECIALS Roads around Lake Como are a biker’s delight Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally to the world’s most glamorous lake. ■ MOTOBAHN, P9 Do not keep all fixed deposits in one bank Prioritise safety in FDs over high interest rates ■ PF, P9 foreclosure of all floating rate loans other than business to individuals ■ This shall be applicable irrespective of the source of funds used for foreclosure/prepayment, whether partial or in full In case of dual rates, it will depend whether the loan is on fixed or floating rate at the time of foreclosure/ pre-payment ■ Prepayment or foreclosure without stipulating any minimum lock-in period ■ shall not levy any charges/ penalties in case of foreclosure/ prepayment of floating rate loans granted to individuals and MSE borrowers,with or without co-obligant(s), for business purpose,” an RBI’s draft circular said. Lendersfrequentlyuseprepayment penalties to discourage borrowers from shifting to another institution. Typically, Not levy any fee retrospectively at the time of foreclosure/ pre-payment of loans ■ these charges are intended to compensate the lender for the loss of interest income due to early repayment. In the case of MSE borrowers, these instructions shall be applicable up to the aggregate sanctioned limit of `7.50 crore per borrower,said the draft. Continued on Page 10 India-US trade pact to be motherof all deals: Goyal NARAYANAN V Kochi, February 21 INDIA WILL SOON start discussingatradepactwiththeUS that will potentially be the “motherofalldeals”,commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. “We will soon begin discussions with the Donald Trump administration on a strong and comprehensiveeconomicpartnership, and a bilateral trade deal,”hesaidattheInvestKerala GlobalSummit. Goyal added that the trade dealwill provide huge opportunities for both the nations to worktogetherandcomplement each other’s strengths in a very turbulentworld. Earlier this week,the minis- PIYUSH GOYAL, COMMERCE MINISTER Immense potential in food processing, RE, logistics, infra and tourism. I urge investors worldwide not to miss the bus terindicated that India and the US couldexploretariff reductions and other concessions under the proposed trade deal. However, he added that the scope of the agreement — whether it will cover goods, services and investments like a fullfledged free trade agreement (FTA) — would be determined during negotiations between the two sides. Goyal’s latest remarks come a day after Trump warned of imposing“reciprocaltariffs”on India.During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recentvisittoWashington, India and the US agreed to finalise the first phase of the multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) withinthenexteightto ninemonths. Continued on Page 6 Continued on Page 6 Turbulent Februaryfor markets ● Sensex plunges over 2,000 points; `22L cr eroded BROADER INDICES HIT THE MOST KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, February 21 THE STOCK MARKET remains inapanicmode,withtheSensex tanking nearly 2,200 points or 2.83% while Nifty losing 712 pointsor3.03%inFebruaryalone.Inamassiveselloff,investors’ wealthhaserodedby`21.8lakh crore so far this month as concernsoverreciprocaltariffscontinued to weigh on global and domestic equitymarkets. If the downward trend continuesfortheremainingtrading sessions of the month, Nifty is set to log its worst-ever fivemonth losing streak. From October2024toFebruary2025, the Nifty has fallen by 11.68%. The Sensex has also declined by 10.66%, though it saw a marginal gain in November2024. Continued on Page 6 Sensex ex (2.83%) 77,500.6 Jan 31 (close) 23,800 Nifty 23,400 40,374.0 41,500 40,500 39,500 Feb 21 6.32 % Jan 31 Feb 21 Top sectoral losers (% fall*) 10.2 9.5 BSE Smallcap 52,000 49,958.4 ,9 50,000 42,500 22,795.9 Jan 31 43,096.5 43,500 3.03 % 23,000 22,600 BSE Midcap 23,508.4 8.2 7.8 45,856.0 48,000 46,000 44,000 8.21 % Jan 31 Top Nifty losers (% fall*) 7.0 *between January 31 and February 21 13.4 13.3 12 13 12.7 11.2 11.2 11 11 Centre exploring ways to privatise indebted discoms ● Five state-run firms identified for listing ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ New Delhi, February 21 THE GOVERNMENT HAS identified five state-owned power generation and transmission companies for listing on the stock exchanges to enable them to meet the investment requirements for augmenting capacity. Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation and Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation are among the five companies that are in the process of appointing merchantbankers,powersecretary Pankaj Agarwal told FE. Additionally, the government is considering facilitating privatisation of the stateowned discoms which cannot easily increase tariffs but face POWER STRUGGLE ■ The ACS-ARR gap has reduced to `0.10 per kWh as of January 2025 `6.92 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 -2,000 -4,000 -6,000 DIIs 2,884.6 (` crore) -3,449.2 Feb 1 Feb 21 Feb business growth hits 6-month high FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 21 Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 6 Generation and Gujarat Energy Transmission among five appointing merchant bankers ■ AGoM to look into `7.53 issues surrounding the discoms’ financial viability ■ Discoms hit by a reduction in the gap between average cost of supply and the average revenue realised rising power-purchase costs, high transmission and distribution losses,and delays in payment from customers. In a recently-held regional meeting,states have urged the central government for support in privatisation of distribution utilities to enhance service deliveryto consumers and Net equity investments in improve efficiency. The secretary said the governmenthasformedagroupof ministers to look into the issues surrounding the discoms’ financial viability but denied any possibility of a financial bailout. ■ Andhra Pradesh Power accumulated losses of discoms as of FY24 total debt of discoms at FY24 end Feb 21 (close) INDIA’SPRIVATESECTORoutputroseatthefastestpaceinsix monthsinFebruary,fuelledbya quicker expansion in the services activity and a record job creation,according to a survey. At 60.6 in February, HSBC's flash India Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index — a seasonally-adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors — was the fastestgrowthintheprivatesectoractivitysinceAugust 2024. Service providers noted a quicker increase than manufacturers, and the strongest in just under a year. “Rapid restocking around theworld continues to lift new export orders,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. lakh crore lakh crore 75,311.1 FPIs Feb 21 M&M ■ Regulated entities will allow standalone health insurer. In 2024, the number of patients with respiratory ailments who needed to be hospitalised rose to 17-18% in the could also add new clauses specifically addressing pollution-related health concerns. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) and prominent insurers,including Aditya Birla HealthInsurance,TataAIG,New India Assurance and Go Digit, did not respond to requests seeking comment. For 2023-24, insurers collected $12.4 billion in health insurance premiums, an increase of about 20% over the previous year, according to the latest Irdai annual report. « IN A MAJOR move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued draft guidelines on loan pre-payment penalties, proposing to remove foreclosure charges on floating-rate loans for retail and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) borrowers. The loans granted for business purposes to individual borrowers will also be free of prepayment penalties. The changes will enhance the flexibility for retail and MSME borrowers to switch to another lender offering better terms and allow them to prepay their floating-rate loans without facing costly penalties. At present, retail borrowers face a penalty of 4-5% on the outstanding principal for prepaying personal loans. “Regulated entities (REs), other than Tier 1 and 2 Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks and Base Layer NBFCs, RELIEF FOR BORROWERS executing a particular charge for the areas which are impacted by it,” said Amitabh Jain,the operating chief of Star Health, the country's No.1 Hero MotoCorp SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, February 21 first time pollution figures in health policies Trent RBI proposes zero foreclosure fee ■ It would be the BEL NORMS COVER LOANS OFINDIVIDUALS,MSMEs approval from the insurance regulator « arenotauthorisedtospeakwith media.“We have to start thinking about pollution as a separate factor in the pricing in the sense that can we then start ■ To need Power Grid A COURT ON Friday extended the police remand of Hitesh Mehta, the main accused in the `122-crore New India Coop Bank case, till February 28, reports PTI. Real estate developer Dharmesh Paun held along with Mehta. Former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan has also been remanded in police custody. rise in respiratory claims from FY23-FY25 in Delhi collected in health premiums in FY24 Power New India Co-Op Bank: 3 accused in EOW custody jump in number of patients with respiratory ailments in the second half of 2024 versus 5-6% in first half secondhalfoftheyearversus56% in the first half,Jain said. Also,respiratoryclaims rose 8.3% from FY23FY25 in Delhi, which recorded the highest riseinhealthcarecosts in India during that period, according to a joint report from Boston Consulting Group and healthcare administratorMediAssist. Star Health and ICICI Lombard said pollution could soon becomeadirectfactorindetermining health insurance premiums if poor air quality persists. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said the industry ■ The plan is now in discussion amongst insurers « SEBI CHAIRPERSON MADHABI Puri Buch on Friday said there is no need to comment on small- and mid--cap companies, which have dropped over 20% from their peaks, reports Ananya Grover. ■ PAGE 7 INSURANCECOMPANIESARE considering making New Delhi residentspay10-15%morefor new health policies after an extraordinary spike in claims related to air pollution in 2024 in the capital,according to nine executives aware of the matter. The plan,now in discussion amongst insurers and which 17-18% 8.3% `1.06 lakh cr FMCG Buch says no need to comment on small, midcaps ASHWIN MANIKANDAN New Delhi, February 21 HEALTH SCARE Realty ICY rate is more appropriate at this time, given that inflation is expected to align with the Reserve Bank of India’s target, governor Sanjay Malhotra said in the minutes of the latest monetary policy committee meeting, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 7 would need approval from the insurance regulator, follows record-breakingairpollutionin NewDelhilastyear.Ifapproved, itwouldbethefirsttimeairpollutionwasusedasadirectfactor in figuring health insurance premiumsinIndia,andcouldbe used to justify price hikes in othercities aswell. Toxic air led to more Delhi residentsseekingtreatmentfor asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular conditions in 2024, higher than in any prior year,five of the executives said. All the executives spoke on conditionofanonymityasthey Capital goods RBI MPC minutes: ● Rate cut justified as Insurerseyeing inflation on target 10-15%morefor newhealthpolicies A LOWER POL- Industrials IN THE NEWS ● HARI MENON, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, BIGBASKET ‘80% of our orders now come from quick commerce’ As competition in the quick commerce space heats up,bigbasket is doubling down on its expansion strategy.The company is investing in largerdark stores,diversifying its category offerings,and leveraging partnerships withTata brands to strengthen its position. HariMenon,co-founderand CEO ofbigbasket,tells SShanthiabout the company’s rapid transformation,its edge in the market and what’s next.Excerpts: What is the percentage of orders from bigbasket now and scheduled deliveries? Currently,80% of our orders are from bigbasket now, with the remaining 20% from scheduled deliveries.Our blended (slotted and quick commerce) average order value is the highest in the industry,at around `850.From a run rate perspective,we handle around `1,200 crore in gross order value (GOV) monthly, translating to an annualised `14,400 crore. What prompted the shift towards larger dark stores, and how has this transition progressed? We made two keystrategic shifts.First,while we have become a predominantly quick commerce company,we continue to offer scheduled deliveries for larger,planned purchases.Second,we are moving towards larger dark stores to accommodate an expanded assortment. Earlier,our stores were 2,000-2,500 sq ft. Now,we are rolling out 4,000-5,000 sq ft stores,replacing smaller ones.Of the 500+ stores we operate today,300 are alreadylarger stores.ByApril 2025,wewill & ❝ replace the remaining 200, and byJuly,we aim to have 700 large dark stores by adding another 200 new ones. What category expansions are on the horizon for FY26? We are launching instant food deliveryon the same app next month.Bymid-FY26,we will introduce heavyappliances likewashing machines andACs,delivering themwithin an OUR BLENDED (SLOTTED AND Q-COMM) AVERAGE ORDER VALUE IS THE HIGHEST IN THE INDUSTRY, ATAROUND `850. ON A RUN RATE BASIS, WE HANDLE `1,200 CR IN GROSS ORDER VALUE MONTHLY hourfrom 200-300 stores, ensuringcitywide coverage. Scheduled deliverywill alsobe available forthese items.Additionally,wewill launch medicinedeliveryin May.Electronics,includingmobile phones, accessories and small appliances,will continue to be a focus.These expansionswill be enabled through partnershipswithTata brands: Croma forelectronics,Tata Cliq forluxuryand fashion,andTata 1mg forpharmaceuticals. More categoryexpansionswill followthrough Tata brand collaborations. bigbasket now is delivering in as little as 6 min- New Delhi utes in some locations.How was this achieved? While our average delivery time is under 10 minutes,certain locations are hitting 6minute deliveries.This has been possible through two primary strategies.Increasing the number of dark stores to be closer to customers.Optimising back-end processes, cutting picking and packing times by half.Delivery time isn’t just about the rider’s journey; it starts with order processing at the dark store. By fine-tuning technology and processes,we have been able to bring down delivery times significantly. Continued on Page 6