OPINION, P10 WELL BEING Prepare to deal with dealmaker FE LINES GOLDEN TRUTH ABOUT GHEE AI chatbots & bias The traditional Indian household staple is once again catching the internet’s eye. Amid the social media debate — whether it’s a fat-burner or fattening — experts weigh in on its consumption Page 9 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM VOL XX, NO. 98 A new study finds AI bots are overly empathetic, show bias towards women Page 6 WORDS WORTH Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM KAL PENN INTERVIEW HYDERABAD 14 Pages, `12 FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2025 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 , Rolling back DEI initiatives in US is a mistake,says Indian-American actor Page 4 READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, March 15 ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 IF SIXTY IS the new forty,the travel industry is making the most of it, offering curated packages for the sexagenarians, septuagenarians and even octogenarians. From cruises to skiing, Europe to Japan, there is something for everyone, even a trip to Antarctica. Booking.com’s Travel Predictions 2025 suggest baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are redefining adventure travel,with 30% interested in highoctane activities (up from 11% in Business, text by text How messaging is revolutionising the way companies, big and small, connect with customers TRIP OF A LIFETIME Most sought-after activities (%) 30% baby boomers are interested in highoctane activities (up from 11% in 2024), according to Booking.com’s Travel Predictions 2025 Skydiving 34 Cave diving 36 Visiting Antarctica 2024) like sand surfing (42%),skydiving (34%), cave diving (36%), visiting Antarctica (22%) or even volcano boarding (22%). One of 20%yearly growth in travel bookings 22 Volcano boarding How art is shaping spaces & structures Artist Teja Gavankar is turning the familiar into sites of introspection, while Sagarika Sundaram is describing freedom in a new way ● Regulator asserts financial position of the bank stable 22 by seniors four boomers seek to push their comfort zones and reconnect with their adventurous spirit. Travel portal EaseMyTrip offers Seventy-eight companies have raised a record `1.22 lakh crore through Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs) in the current fiscal year so far (until February), according to data sourced from Primedatabase.com. The amount raised is 77% higher than the `69,306 crore collected by 64 firms in fiscal 2024. The previous record for QIP issuance was `78,045 crore in fiscal 2021. QIPis one ofthe fastestways for listed firms and investment trusts to raise funds from institutional investors. Kishor Kadam Issue size (` crore) ■ There is no need for depositors to react to speculative reports at this juncture IN AN ATTEMPT to allay fears of IndusInd Bank customers over the lender’s viability,the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday said the private lender remains financially stable and well-capitalised. This clarification follows the bank’sdisclosureonMondaythatan internal review of its derivatives portfoliorevealeddiscrepanciesthat could hit its net worth by approximately2.35%asofDecember2024. “There has been some speculation relating to IndusInd Bank in certain quarters, perhaps arising from recent events related to the bank.The Reserve Bank would like to state that the bank is well ■ The Board and the management have been directed to have remedial action fully completed during the current quarter FY25* 122,364 FY24 FY23 FY22 FY18 FY17 FY16 FY21 20 FY20 78 FY19 14,358 ■ IndusInd Bank reported a capital adequacy ratio of 16.46% and a provision coverage ratio of 70.20% for Dec quarter ■ The bank maintained LCR of 113% as of March 9, exceeding requirement of 100% capitalised and the financial position of the bank remains satisfactory,” RBI said in a statement. There is no need for depositors to react to speculative reports at this juncture, added the banking sector regulator. IndusInd Bank reported a capital adequacy ratio of 16.46% and a provision coverage ratio of 70.20% for the quarter that ended on December 31, 2024. Continued on Page 2 ● ONE FOR THE UNION Issue size (` crore) 25 0 No of issues 8,122 7 700 IN THE NEWS CEC Kumar to discuss Aadhaar seeding with top govt officials CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER Gyanesh Kumar has convened a meeting on Tuesday with top government officials to discuss linking voter identity cards withAadhaar. ■PAGE2 Kohli: Not mulling retirement at the moment CHAMPION BATTER VIRAT Kohli on Saturday emphatically said he is not mulling retirement at the moment as he has been enjoying the game, and the "competitive streak" inside him is very much intact. PAGE 14 Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr 2024 STANDARD CHARTERED HAS raised €1 billion (about `9,400 crore) through issuance of the first social bond which will support sustainable development projects across the bank's emerging market footprint,including India. The 8-year bond will primarily facilitate lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), ensuring access to finance,helping create jobs and empowering and 5 0 2025 Source : primedatabase.com THE DONALDTRUMP administration is considering targeting the citizens of as many as 43 countries as part of a new ban on travel to the United States that would be broader than the restrictions imposed during PresidentTrump’s first term, according to officials familiar with the matter. A draft list of recommendations developed by diplomatic and securityofficialssuggestsa“red”listof11 countries whose citizens would be flatlybarred from entering the US. They are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba,Iran,Libya,NorthKorea,Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen,the officials said. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations, cautioned that the list had been PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, March 15 10 *till February special discounts for those aged 60 and above.“Popular cities for this age group are Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, and London. There has been around 20%yearlygrowth in bookings by seniors,and outbound trips have almost tripled since 2021,” saidRikantPittie,CEO&co-founder of EaseMyTrip. Domestically, destinations like Varanasi, Ayodhya, Haridwar and Rishikesh are popular for spiritual travel, while Kerala’s backwaters and Goa’s beaches are relaxing vacations. Sikkim is preferred for natural beauty while there is enthusiasm even to see the northern lights at the North Pole or adventures to the Antarctic. Continued on Page 2 NATIONS WITH TRAVEL BANNED ■ Afghanistan ■ Somalia ■ Bhutan ■ Sudan ■ Cuba ■ Syria ■ Iran ■ Libya ■ Venezuela ■ North Korea ■ Yemen developed by the State Department severalweeks ago,and that changes werelikelybythetimeitreachedthe White House. Officials at embassies and in regionalbureausattheStateDepartment,andsecurityspecialistsatother departments and intelligence agencies,havebeenreviewingthedraft. Continued on Page 2 StanChart raises €1 bn via first social bond 50 1 0 P U N E CHARLIE SAVAGE & KEN BENSINGER Washington, March 15 15 10,000 ■ Outbound trips have surged almost 3x since 2021 ● Pakistan, Russia on orange list, with restricted travel 75 30,000 20,000 RBISPEAK No of issues 1,20,000 Monthly trend D E L H I , BHUTAN AMONG 11 IN RED LIST SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, March 15 Record `1.22L cr raised via QIP in FY25 so far 0 N E W IndusInd Bank well US considering travel curbs on capitalised, says RBI over 40 countries ■ LEISURE, P7 40,000 Popular spiritual destinations: Varanasi, Ayodhya, Haridwar and Rishikesh Popular global cities: Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, and London 42 Sand surfing CALMING NOTE FOR CUSTOMERS 80,000 M U M B A I , Antarctica tovolcanoes,babyboomers on adventure high WHAT'S INSIDE QIP fundraising L U C K N O W , People hold a dummy depicting US President Donald Trump during a pro-Europe demonstration at REUTERS Piazza del Popolo, in Rome, Italy, on Saturday nurturing women-owned SMEs, StanChart said in a statement on Friday. Of the total, about 50% would be allocated forIndia forsustainable projects. Proceedswill also finance access to essential services, including healthcare and education, and will facilitate investment into affordable basic infrastructure and food security,inlinewiththesocialactivities set out in the bank's sustainability bond framework,it said. Continued on Page 2 Toyota gets a push from Maruti Suzuki to beat Kia VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, March 15 MARKET LEADER MARUTI Suzuki not only holds pole position in passenger vehicles, but is helping Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) climb up the charts as well. Recent data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) shows that in FY25 till now, TKM has comprehensively beaten Kia India as the country’s fifth-largest carmaker, all thanks to a tie-up with Maruti Suzuki for selling rebadged cars. Data reveals Toyota sold 280,902 cars — a massive lead of 51,220 cars over Kia (229,682 units). And, rebadged cars accounted for 53.2% of Toyota’s sales. With just a month to go in FY25, it’s extremely unlikely for Kia to catch up. Prior to this — and thanks to successful SUVs such as the Seltos (launched in 2019) and the Sonet (2020 launch) — Kia had become the country’s fifth-largest carmaker in FY21, a position it retained for three years till FY23. However, Toyota was catching up, and in FY24, Toyota and Kia were neck and neck — with Toyota beating Kia by a mere 42 units. In FY25,however,Toyota attained an unassailable lead over Kia. What worked for Toyota is a global agreement between Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor in Japan, underwhich Toyota started selling rebadged Maruti Suzuki cars in India. There are four such models — Glanza (rebadged Baleno), Taisor (rebadged Fronx), Hyryder KIA VS TOYOTA Kia 155,686 (5th position) 93,124 (6th position) FY21 186,787 (5th) 123,717 (6th) FY22 (rebadged Grand Vitara), and Rumion (rebadged Ertiga) — which have given Toyota additional sales of 149,435 units in FY25. 269,229 (5th) Toyota 173,245 (6th) FY23 245,676 245,634 280,902 229,682 FY24 FY25 (YTD) (5th) (6th) The Glanza has sold 45,338 units, the Taisor 28,910 units, the Rumion 20,085 units, and the Hyryder has done 55,102 units. Automotive analysts told FE (5th) (6th) that FY26 will be an interesting race between the two carmakers. “Kia’s new sub-4 metre SUV, the Syros, has garnered over 20,000 bookings since these opened on January 3, and Toyota will launch an electric SUV based on Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara later this year,” an auto expert said. “BecauseKia’sSUVismass-market, the Korean carmaker is expected to close the gap with Toyota, but the Japanese is expected to stayahead because of a strong lead.” In addition to rebranded Maruti Suzuki models, what has also worked for TKM is its solid leadership in bigger vehicle segments. For example,in the large utility vehicles segment (longer than 4,700 mm),SIAM data shows that TKM enjoys a whopping 98.7% share, with its Innova Crysta and Innova Hycross having sold 97,348 units in a segment of 98,590 units (FY25 YTD). Continued on Page 2 HYDERABAD