ECONOMY | PAGE 2 98 million farmers receive `22,000 cr under PM Kisan COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Zoom looks to add more data centres in India HYDERABAD, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025 VOL. NO. XXI 254, 16 PAGES, `12 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Conservative leader Merz headed for Germany top job FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD 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: 74,454.41 ▼ 856.65 NIFTY: 22,553.35 ▼ 242.55 NIKKEI 225: 38,776.94 ▲ 98.90 HANG SENG: 23,341.61 ▼ 136.31 `/$: 86.71 ▲ 0.01 `/€: 90.80 ▼ 0.01 BRENT: $74.49 ▲ $0.06 GOLD: `86,086 ▲ `391 Sensexsinksbelow75Kmark Competition in fixed-rate non-housing loan segment to intensify ■ EXPLAINER, P9 40,100.25 Open 2.71% 39,446.6 Close (Previous close: 40,544.50) Mehta Equities. FPIs continued their selling spree, showing no signs of halting their India exit strategy, which is weighing heavily on the markets. Expensive valuations are also driving investors to curb their equity Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Global Investors Summit, in Bhopal on Monday jobs by 2030. Reliance Industries committed `60,000 crore towards setting up biofuel projects, reinforcing its focus on renewable energyand sustainable development. Meanwhile, NTPC chairman and MD Gurdeep Singh announced that the state-run power producer ■ Reliance Industries commits `60,000 cr towards setting up biofuel projects ● Bankers,legal advisers to be empanelled for 3 yrs ■ NTPC, arms to invest `1.2L cr for setting up 2 GW renewable power generation capacity THE DEPARTMENTOF investment and public asset management (Dipam) on Monday sought bids from merchant bankers and legal advisers for minority stake sales by the government in select public sector banks (PSBs) and financial institutions, including Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), in the next three years. The last date for bidding by interested bankers and legal advisers is March 27.The advisers would be empanelled for three years to assistthegovernmentintheminority stake sales of PSBs and financial institutions. The move assumes importance as the Centre will likely sell small stakes in LIC and five PSBs to help them meet the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The purpose of empanelment is to have the bankers and legal advisers for the financial sector just as Dipam has empanelment for the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs),sources said. In May 2024, Sebi gave three more years or till May 16, 2027, to NESTLE INDIA WILL consider raising prices of its products by a smallmargintocounterinflationin coffee, cocoa and edible oil while aiming to keep sales coming in, managing director Suresh Narayanan said on Monday,reports Reuters.“Wherever(priceincrease) is absolutely essential,we will have to take some pricing action,” Narayanan said. ■ PAGE 4 ZOMATO HAS INVESTED an additional `1,500 crore in Blinkit,regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show, reports Raghav Aggarwal. A month ago, Zomatohadinfused`500croreinits quick commerce arm. The latest infusion comes at a time when Blinkitisaimingtomaintainitsmarketleadershipbygoingaggressiveon opening dark stores. ■ PAGE 5 WHERE THEY STAND Current public shareholding (%)* and its subsidiarieswill invest `1.2 lakh crore in setting up 2 gigawatt renewable power generation capacity in the state. NTPC is also considering an additional `80,000-crore investment in two greenfield nuclear power plants. Continued on Page 10 AI: DBS to shrink workforce by 4,000 in 3 years GLOBAL BANKING MAJOR DBS Group expects a 10% reduction in its workforce over the next three years as artificial intelligence (AI) adoptiongoesdeeperintotheoperations,chiefexecutivePiyushGupta said on Monday,reports fe Bureau. “This year, my current projection is thatinthenext3years,wearegoing to shrink ourworkforce by4,000 or 10%,”Gupta said. ■ PAGE 4 Commodities Metal bets here,Tapse added. FPIs have sold shares worth `33,426 crore ($3.8 billion) in February alone, including Monday’s `6,287 crore ($725 million). Continued on Page 10 NITIN KUMAR & SANDIP DAS New Delhi, February 24 LIC to achieve a minimum public shareholding of 10%. The Sebi normmandatedlistedfirmstohave a minimum 10% public holding withintwoyearsoflisting. Thepublic float in LIC is just 3.5% after the government sold the stake in May 2022 to raise `20,516 crore. Even though LIC is a large-cap company with a market capitalisationofcloseto`5lakhcrore,itisnot part of the benchmark indexes — S&P BSE Sensex or Nifty 50. THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will meet key stakeholdersofNaviMumbaiInternational Airport (NMIAL) on Tuesday to assess the airport’s operational preparedness for obtaining an aerodrome licence. ADGCAaerodrome licence is an official certification confirming that an airport meets all necessary safety, operational and infrastructural requirements to conduct air transport operations. NMIAL,Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (Cidco),and representatives from the Airports Authority ofIndia(AAI),areexpectedtoattend the meeting.The Navi MumbaiAirport is managed by NMIAL, a joint venture between AAHL and Cidco. Sources said that this meeting was prompted by the rejection of NMIAL’s aerodrome licence application, submitted in December 2024, due to non-compliance with regulatory guidelines. Meanwhile, the DGCA has also received an application foran aerodrome licence from Noida International Airport. Yamuna International Airport (YIAPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, has applied forthe licence,which is currently under review. Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 10 PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, February 24 ■ Avaada inks MoU with MP govt pledging `50K cr across projects 2.29 DGCAto review readiness of Navi Mumbai airport today 17.6 ■ Adani Group to invest `1.1 lakh cr across pumped storage, cement, mining, others; in discussions for further investments worth `1 lakh cr 14.56 ADANI GROUP, RELIANCE Industries (RIL), state-owned NTPC, and several other companies on Monday committed total investments worth around `4 lakh crore across various sectors in Madhya Pradesh. At the state's investment summit, Adani Group announced an investment of `1.1 lakh crore across pumped storage, cement, mining,smart meters,and thermal energy. Additionally, chairman Gautam Adani said, the group is in advanced discussions with the state government for further investmentsworth `1 lakh crore in a greenfield smart city,a major airport,and a coal gasification project. “These are not just investments; they are milestones in a shared journey that will make Madhya Pradesh a national leader in industrial and economic growth,” Adani said. The group’s investments are projected to create over 120,000 Tech 3.32 3.32 2.93 2.81 Bharti Airtel Intra-day, February 24 2.16 1.53 2.60 2.56 2.26 Top Sensex losers (% loss ) Infosys Nifty IT Telecom (Previous close 22,795.9) TCS 22,609.35 Open Top sectoral losers (% loss ) Zomato 22,553.35 Close IT 1.06% FE BUREAU Mumbai, February 24 Nestle India may Blinkit bags go for price fresh `1,500 cr hikes, says MD from Zomato Concerns around national security, spectrum allocation have delayed its entry Intra-day, February 24 IndiaIncchalksout`4-lakh-cr investmentblueprintforMP Govt seeks advisers for minoritystake CAPITAL GAINS sales in banks,LIC ■ INVESTOR, P9 Will Starlink disrupt satcom market? Nifty GIC Re SME, business loan margins to be hit Close 6.92 FE S P E C I A L S Continued on Page 10 74,454.41 4.61 PAGE 16 UK secretary of state for business and trade Jonathan Reynolds. Both sides did not give a time frame forthe conclusion of negotiations on FTA, which have been in progresssinceJanuary2022.“Wewill havespeedbutnothaste,”Goyalsaid. points Open Uco Bank NAZARA: THE FIRST-MOVER ADVANTAGE IN FUN & GAMES PTI 74,893.45 1.14% Central Bank of India New India Assurance »THE BIG IDEA« UK secretary of state for business and trade Jonathan Reynolds (left) during a visit to the National Crafts Museum with commerce minister Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi on Monday 856.65 3.62 THE CENTRE HAS released loans of `1.15 lakh crore to states so far this financial year under the scheme for interestfree 50-year special assistance for capital expenditure, inching closer to the revised estimate of `1.25 lakh crore for the year, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, February 24 THE STOCK MARKETcontinued to bleed on Monday amid aggressive selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), with the benchmark indices falling over1% in line with its Asian peers. Dragged down by information technology (IT),telecom and metal shares,the Sensex ended below the 75,000-mark for the first time in eight months at 74,454.41,falling 856.65 points or1.14% — marking a drop forthe fifth consecutive session. The Nifty also slumped 242.55 points or 1.06% to close at 22,553.35. In the past five trading sessions, the Sensex recorded a fall of 2.03%, while the Nifty declined by 1.77%. Both the indices are now down nearly 14% from their peak levels in late September. On Friday, the US markets had declined up to 2.2% over concerns about weaker-than-expected economic data. “The market is more concerned about the US’ likely move to reciprocate higher tariff levies on exporting nations, which could impact developing countries, including India,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research) at Feb 21 (Close) 3.5 Centre’s capex loans to states surpass 90% of FY25 target has flexibility to cut tariffs for UK parent economies, or economies whichareknownforpredatorypricing or dumping of goods. And I think between the UKand India,we have much more flexibility and abilitytosignificantlyreducetariffs to make business more competitive between the two countries,” Goyal said at a joint press conferencewith 75,311.06 KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, February 24 ● Minister says India INDIAHASTHE flexibilityand abilityto reduce tariffs forthe UK,commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday as both the countries resumed negotiations for the longpendingfreetradeagreement(FTA). The target is to grow merchandise trade between India and the UK threefold in the next 10 years. The talks with UK’s new Labour Party-led government assume significance against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s moves to upend the world trade order with tariff threats. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is also visiting India later this week. “Many of the tariffs that India has are really to protect us from non-marketeconomies,non-trans- MONDAY MAYHEM Sensex Intra-day, Feb 24 LIC THE FOOD CORPORATION of India (FCI) is likely to avail short-term loans of up to `40,000 crore to finance its activities, even though it has received `1.26 lakh crore, or 95% of the total projected food subsidy of `1.34 lakh crore for FY25, from the finance ministry so far, sources told Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 2 selling spree; IT biggest sectoral loser Indian Overseas FCI likely to avail loans worth `40,000 crore ● FPIs continue their 1.75 RBI ON MONDAY said it will allow customers of New India Cooperative Bank to withdraw up to `25,000 from their deposit accounts with effect from February 27, reports fe Bureau. RBI, which superseded the small lender's board earlier this month, said the decision to allow withdrawals would help more than half of the account holders. ■ PAGE 6 Speed, not haste: Goyal on UK FTA Punjab and Sind Bank RBI allows New India Co-op Bank depositors to withdraw `25,000 HCL Tech TALKS BEGINWITH UK; EU IS NEXT IN THE NEWS *Sebi norms mandate 25% public holding after three years of listing Nasscom sees ITsector crossing $300-billion revenue mark in FY26 Tech industryset to add 125,000 jobs this fiscal PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Mumbai, February 24 THE TECH SECTOR is poised for a big leap,with the industryexpected to add 125,000 new jobs in FY25 — more than double the jobs it had added(60,000)inthepreviousyear, Nasscom said on Monday. In its annual strategic reviewfor 2025, Nasscom also projected the industry revenue to increase to $282.6 billion in FY25, growing at a steady 5.1%. By FY26, the industryis expected to surpass the $300billion revenue mark. The expansion comes as the IT industry rebounds after nearly 18 months of slowdown due to macroeconomic pressures in key markets such as the US and Europe. Despite earlier downward revisions in employment projections for FY24, Nasscom now estimates that the total workforce in the sector will reach 5.8 million employees by the end of FY25. According to Nasscom chairperson Sindhu Gangadharan, enhanced AI implementation, the rise of agentic AI, and the growing maturity of global capability centres (GCCs) as value hubs are reshaping industry dynamics. The sector is witnessing a transformation,led by engineering research & development (ER&D), GCCs, and business process management (BPM), which are driving demand for skilled talent. SECTOR WATCH Metric Projected total revenue (FY26, $ bn) Value ($ bn) 300 Chg (%) ▲ 6 ▲ Total revenue (FY25, $ bn) 282.6 5.1 IT services revenue (FY25, $ bn) 137.1 ▲ Domestic tech revenue growth (FY24) Several factors are contributing to the industry’s growth.The ITservices sector is projected to grow by 4.3% in FY25,reaching $137.1 bil- 7% lion in revenue.The ER&D segment is the fastest-growing, with a 7% increase expected,pushing its total revenue to $55.6 billion. Business 4.3 Jobs added (FY25) 126,000 net new employees Total workforce (FY25) 5.8 million employees process management revenues are anticipated to growby4.7%,reaching $54.6 billion. BFSI, healthcare, and retail are increasinglyadopting digital engineering, with nearly two-thirds of large deals focusing on this transformation. Domestic revenues are projected to grow at 7% to $58.2 billion, outpacing export growth, which stands at 4.6%, taking total exports to $224.4 billion. The industry now boasts of over 1,760 GCCs, with these entities employing approximately 1.9 millionprofessionals.Therevenuegenerated by Indian service providers and global multinational corporations (MNCs) through their GCCs is nownearlyevenlysplit,signifying a balanced contribution to the industry’s expansion. Artificial intelligence (AI),cloud computing,cybersecurity,and data analytics are at the forefront of technological investments. Nasscom’s tech industry CEO Survey 2025 indicates that 63% of tech CEOs expect AI investments to account formore than 10% of their overall tech spending in FY26. Moreover,over90%ofthetop20IT service companies are activelyintegratingAI,cloud,and data analytics into their operations. AI is becoming a critical force in reshapingbusinessoperations,with over55%ofAIactivityintheIndian tech industryfocused on long-term co-creationpartnerships.Thesecollaborations aim to build scalable, future-readyAI solutions. Continued on Page 10 HYDERABAD