OPINION, P10 WELL BEING While drinking liquor has long been associated with health concerns like liver diseases & cardiovascular issues, mounting research also points to it being a carcinogen Page 7 Mr Modi stoops, will he conquer? FE LINES Will Meta's community notes work? Page 6 ALCOHOL AS A CARCINOGEN ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM Fact-checking or ‘community’ work? LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXIV NO. 22 VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2025 22 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, 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 , READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , ● Natural flavours shaking up soft drinks market ■ SPOTLIGHT, P8-9 Living landmarks Some festivals and events have become synonymous with the places they are held in, capturing the cultures & traditions of the local people and becoming their windows to the world VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, March 29 EVEN AS THE cola wars rage on, with Reliance brand Campa Cola currently giving others a run for their money,a‘healthy’drink wave is equally strong. Even the cola companies are reporting higher sales for no-sugar variants. ‘HEALTHY' DRINK WAVE ■ A wide range of innovative drinks ■ Several available, like flavoured tonic water, low sugar/no sugar juices, sodas homegrown brands, such as Habhit Wellness, Paper Boat, Dadu Fresh, Yu Foods, offering 'healthy' drinks ■ Prebiotic soda all the rage; PepsiCo looking to buy prebiotic soda brand Poppi; Coca-Cola to launch prebiotic soda Simply Pop With health and wellness top priority for consumers, brands are following suit with a wide range of innovative drinks like flavoured tonic water,low sugar and no sugar juices and sodas. The founderof homegrown natural fruit flavoured sparklingwater Tariff talks working out very well:Trump ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 ● Initial parleys on trade done; sectoral engagements next A call to action A reminder that true guardianship of the earth is not fleeting activism but a lifelong pledge MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, March 29 DESCRIBING PM NARENDRAModi as a“very smart man”and his"great friend”,USPresidentDonaldTrump emphasised that tariff talks between the US and India would “work out very well”. This boosted hopes of a special arrangement or a carve-out forIndia,shortlyahead of theworld’slargesteconomy'sscheduled implementation of“reciprocal tariffs” on its trading partners, including India,effectiveApril 2. Trump’s statement comes as a visiting US team concluded four days of preliminary talks with Indian officials on Saturday. Cash market turnover hits record high in FY25 NSE'S DAILYAVERAGE cash Continued on Page 2 BLOOMBERG March 29 52.9 38.2 14.8 34.3 9.4 29 7,767 6,622 4,132 5,396 4,197 2,676 3,127 4,402 Growth (%, y-o-y) 4,025 2,996 BSE ELON MUSK SAID his xAI artificial intelligence startup has acquired the X platform, which he also controls, at a valuation of $33 billion, marking a surprise twist for the social network. “The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion,” the billionaire wrote Friday in a post on X. The value of X is $45 billion when including $12 billion ofdebt,hesaid,describing the purchase as an all-stock transaction. Thedealgivesthenew combined entity, called XAI Holdings,avalueof 1,12,963 53,434 20 81,721 66,799 61,839 36,432 32,052 29,410 20,387 17,154 8 13.7 69.7 DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT India is one of the highest tariffing nations in the world... it’s brutal, it’s brutal. They’re very smart. He (Modi) is a very smart man and a great friend... ‘Trump for tariff escalation pre-April 2’ US PRESIDENT Donald Trump isurgingsenioradviserstotakea moreaggressivestanceontariffs as the administration prepares for a major escalation in its global tradewar,the Washington Post reported.Despite calls from Musk’s xAI swallows up X in surprise deal turnover also reached a record `7,767 crore in fiscal 2025, reflecting a 17.3% increase over fiscal 2024. — Compiled by Kishor Kadam Cash market - average daily turnover (in ` crore) Growth (%, y-o-y) NSE 9 M U M B A I , ■ Pepsi reports INDIA, US FOCUS ON MUTUAL MARKET ACCESS 3.7 18.8 44.3 L U C K N O W , 14.4 56.9 28.6 23.4 60.3 17.3 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 Source: NSE & BSE over $100 billion,not including the debt, according to a person familiar withthearrangement,whoaskednot to be identified because the terms weren’t public. Morgan Stanley was the sole banker on the deal, representingbothsides,otherpeoplesaid. For Musk, the deal streamlines his businesses and solidifies the relationship between the former Twitter and xAI, which has used information from the social network to hone its chatbot. The deal also offers a resolution to X’s other backers following months of uncertainty over the state of their investment as Musk’s changes led to an exodus of users and advertisers. Continued on Page 2 allies on Wall Street and Capitol Hill to adopt a more measured approach, Trump has been pushing for sweeping trade actions,the report said. Continued on Page 2 over 50% sales in no-sugar / low-sugar segment; Coca-Cola Zero Sugar sees case volumes rise 13% in Q424 brand Polka Pop,launched in 2021, GauravKhemka is bullish this summer.“We are expecting a good spike in sales this year. More people are ● Had lost position to Tata’s Punch in calendar year 2024 SALES OVERDRIVE VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, March 29 20,000 MARUTI SUZUKI’S WAGON R is set toreclaimitspositionasthecountry’s largest-selling car in FY25, overtaking Tata’s Punch,which had toppled it inthe 2024 calendaryear. According to model-wise wholesales data from the Societyof Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), WagonRsold181,276unitsbetween April 2024 and February 2025, surpassing Tata Punch’s 178,858 units by 2,418 units.With just one month 15,000 Maruti Suzuki Wagon R Tata Punch 19,158 58 10,000 19,879 Total al 181,276 178,858 17,850 Apr 2024 D E L H I , P U N E 14,559 Feb 2025 2025 leftinthefinancialyear,theleadpositionsWagon Ras the likelywinner. A closer look at the sales trends shows that Punch’s monthly sales have been declining, from 19,158 unitsinApril2024to14,559unitsin February2025.Meanwhile,WagonR hasseenanupwardtrajectory,selling an impressive 43,957 units in just Januaryand February2025 alone. Despitethis,industryexpertscaution that Tata Motors might make a final push to increase Punch’s numbers in March 2025, aiming for the distinction of being the bestselling moving away from sugar, and a harsher summer will have higher demand for drinks sans sugar. We have grown 4x since launch, and expect 5x growth by the end of 2025,” said Khemka. The brand is available on all quick commerce platforms, and produces 150,000 bottles a month. Mumbai-based Habhit Wellness has various coconut water, basil seed drinks and juices under brands Alpha 8, Coco Nirvana, Mojo Mojo and Mojoco (tender coconut water). Continued on Page 2 Ownershipofclearing corporations delaying NSE listing: Pandey FE BUREAU Mumbai, March 29 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE Board of India (Sebi) chairperson TuhinKantaPandeyonSaturdaysaid thestakeofstockexchangesinclearing corporations is one of the main reasons for the delay in listing of NationalStock Exchange (NSE). “Beforeitgoespublic,it(NSE)will need to be cleared from different angles…therearependingissueslike litigation,whichisonepart;theother part could involve governance and technologyissuesthatmayarise;and additionally,thereistheclearingcorporation issue,” Pandey said at the Mint India Investment Summit and Awards 2025. He added that NSE has responded to some of the letters and the market regulator is currently examining them. NSE’s IPO, which sought for Sebi approval in 2016, has been stalled for around nineyears now.In 2019,the regulator returned the DRHP, directing the exchange to refile after resolving the co-location issue. TUHIN KANTA PANDEY, CHAIRPERSON, SEBI Can’t have sledgehammer approach; need a surgeon’s knife to deal with F&O market Further, he also explained that the futures and options marketwas complex and just putting a threshold for retail investors won’t help. “F&O itself is a complex market.We cannot have a sledgehammer or a bluntapproach;weneedasurgeon’s knife.We need to knowexactlyhow, otherwise innovations will be lost,” Pandey said, adding that innovations should not get impacted. Continued on Page 2 ● INDIA RUSHES AID TO QUAKE-HIT MYANMAR PTI NDRF personnel prepare to leave with relief material for earthquake-hit Myanmar, at the Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad, on Saturday. Besides other relief, India under 'Operation Brahma' is sending two naval ships and airlifting a field hospital to Myanmar as well. The toll from Friday's earthquake overshot 1,600 on Saturday, with total casualties expected to touch 10,000 ■ REPORTS ON P16 Wagon R back in top gear to reclaim No. 1 spot in FY25 25,000 N E W Indians cut sugarin beating the heat this summer WHAT'S INSIDE market turnover hit a record `1.13 lakh crore in fiscal 2025, marking a growth of 38.2% over the previous fiscal. The exchange recorded a total cash market turnover of `281.3 lakh crore during the current fiscal across 249 trading sessions. Meanwhile, BSE's daily average cash market The filmmaker talks about the future of Hindi cinema, political films & more Page 5 car in both a calendar and financial year. “Tata Motors will likely push morePunchmodelstodealershipsin thefinalstretch,buta2,418-unitgap issubstantial,”saidananalyst.“Moreover, Maruti Suzuki is expected to ramp up Wagon R’s sales as well, ensuring it holds onto its top spot.” WagonRhasmaintaineditsdominanceasthecountry’sbestsellingcar for the past three financial years, recording sales of 189,000 units in FY22, 212,340 units in FY23, and 200,177 units in FY24. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s Creta is holding the third position in FY25 with 176,812 units sold.The recent launch of Creta Electric has further boosted its market traction. Following Creta, Maruti Suzuki’s models dominatethenextfivespots—Ertiga (174,168 units), Brezza (172,617 units),Swift (161,895 units),Baleno (154,804units),andFronx(152,547 units).At ninth place is Mahindra’s Scorpio/N with 150,929 units, followed by Maruti Suzuki’s Dzire at tenth (149,561 units). Dzire,which saw renewed demand after its November 2024 update, has displaced Tata Nexon from the top 10 list, with the latter now trailing at 146,722 units. DespiteWagonR’scontinuedsuccess as a hatchback, SUVs dominate the market,with five out of the top ten bestselling cars in FY25 belonging to the SUV segment—Punch, Creta, Brezza, Fronx, and Scorpio/N. The list also includes three hatchbacks (Wagon R, Swift and Baleno), one MPV (Ertiga), and one sedan (Dzire), further underlining India’s growing preference forSUVs. New Delhi IN THE NEWS Blinkit starts 10-min AC delivery in NCR QUICK COMMERCE platform Blinkit has started delivery of air conditioners in DelhiNCR, its CEO Albinder Dhindsa announced on Saturday. In a post on X, Dhindsa said the company has partnered with Lloyd India for the service. ■ PAGE 3 Reforms panel in non-fin sector soon FINANCE SECRETARY and economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said a high-level committee for regulatory reforms in non-financial sector should be starting its work soon to foster ease of doing business. ■ PAGE 3
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