ECONOMY | PAGE 2 Capex revisions not due to fiscal constraints: FM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 18 NO. 101, 36 PAGES, `12 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 *Prv close SENSEX: 76,024.51 ▼ 1,390.41 NIFTY: 23,165.70 ▼ 353.65 NIKKEI 225: 35,624.48 ▲ 6.92 HANG SENG: 23,206.84 ▲ 87.26 `/$: 85.46* ▲ 0.33 `/€: 92.09* ▲ 0.33 BRENT: $75.11 ▲ $0.34 GOLD: `90,797 ▲ `2,106 ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli feature Do tech-assisted creative products undermine artistic legacy? ■ EXPLAINER, P9 -3.46 76,882.58 -3.35 (Open) -2.81 1,390.41 -2.73 points 1.80% HCL Tech Baj Bajaj Fin Finserv HDF HDFC Baj Bajaj Fin Finance Infosys In 76,024.51 (cl (close) ) indices, the broader market remained relatively resilient. The BSE Midcap index declined 1.04%. The BSE Smallcap index edged up by 0.07%. The overall market breadth was positive, with Jun–2024 12.5 Dec–2024 6.8 Mar–2025 12.9 3.28 Total 15.2 Mar–2024 2.6 -12.2 -71.5 Sep–2024 8.5 Dec–2024 8.3 82.3 18.7 Private sector projects Value (` lakh cr) chg (%, y-o-y) FY21 FY22 FY23 -0.9 FY24 23.3 FY25 7.4 15.9 32.3 29.4 26.8 EVEN AS IT geared up to announce reciprocal tariffs, the Donald Trump administration has fired fresh salvos at India’s import curbs, denting hopes of anyreprieveforNewDelhifrom the much-touted additional trade barriers. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt madesharplycriticalcomments aboutIndia,Japan,andtheEuropean Union for their “unfair tradepractices.”Thesecountries are among America’s major trading partners, but were not listedamongChina,Canadaand Mexico, countries which faced additional US tariffs after Trump assumed office. Separately, in a report, the UnitedStatesTradeRepresenta- You have 100% tariff from India on American agricultural products... This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into (India) tive (USTR) made adverse comments on India’s assorted economic policies like Make-inIndia and defence offset requirements. “...You have a 100% tariff fromIndiaonAmericanagricultural products,” Leavitt told reporters. Clubbing India with the European Union and Japan, she said, “These countries have been ripping off our nation for fartoolong,andthey’vemade,I think, their disdain for the Americanworkersquiteclear.” Continued on Page 17 China willing to buy more from India CHINAIS READY toimport more Indian products and strengthen trade ties, ChineseambassadortoIndiaXu Feihong told the Global Times. “We also welcome more Indian enterprises to...seek opportunities...in China,”hesaid.—REUTERS RBI’s aggressive fund infusion and rise in govt spending yield results Bankingliquiditypositiveafter3months FE BUREAU Mumbai, April 1 THE RESERVE BANK of India’s aggressive fund infusion in the pastfewmonthsisbeginningto showresults,asthebankingsystem’s liquidity position turned surplus at the end of March — the first time in three months. Thebankingsystem’sliquiditystoodatasurplusof`89,399 crore on March 30. On March 29,theliquiditywasat`71,672 crore.The last time,there was a liquiditysurpluswasonDecember15,whenitstoodat`33,533 crore.At the start of December, the surplus stood at `1 lakh crore. In the past few months, the banking system was cashstrapped, as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) exited the market in droves.In the second half of FY25,FIIs sold shares of EASING PRESSURE ■ The last RBI net liquidity injection/absorption (in ` crore) 3,50,000 2,50,000 -51,123 Dec 1, ‘24 1,50,000 50,000 0 -50,000 -1,50,000 $25billion,whichledtosignificant pressure on the rupee. In response, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold dollars aggressivelytodefendtherupee that put pressure on the liquidity. In addition, there were tax outflowsduetoadvancetaxand goods and services tax (GST) -89,399 Mar 30, ‘25 payments. In January, the RBI announced a comprehensive `1.5-lakh-crore package, including purchases of government securities, variable rate repo auctions,and dollar-rupee swaps.Overall the central bank hasinfusedover`5lakhcrorein the past three months.The sur- banking liquidity surplus was on Dec 15, when it stood at `33,533 cr -18.4 114.6 103.3 -9.0 -8.8 Source: CMIE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, April 1 69.1 4.65 KAROLINE LEAVITT, press secy,USTR report slam‘unfair trade practices’ 82.0 67.5 Reciprocal tariffwaiver gets two hard knocks ● White House 68.1 82.5 -82.0 5.8 Mar–2025 47.7 -12.6 1.2 Sep–2024 Jun–2024 Sep–2024 117.3 Jun–2024 5.8 Private Mar–2024 77.7 -20.3 Mar–2024 124.8 « -3.87 Dec–2024 Top Sensex losers -39.3 2.7 Dec–2024 1.5 Mar–2025 75.4 TE TECK 74.2 -1.73 1.4 Jun–2023 Financial Fin services ser Sep–2024 -10.0 Sep–2024 -1.78 Jun–2024 2.7 « « Continued on Page 17 -2.24 ` lakh cr chg (%, y-o-y) Mar–2024 « Continued on Page 17 Co Consumer dur durables IT -2.51 (Intra-day, April 1) Govt « « 2,708 gainers against 1,344 losers. THE WAIT FOR a robust capex cycle only appears to get longer. The value of new projects announced bythe private sectorwasupjust3.3%onyear in the March quarter, causing itsshareinallprojectsunveiled todeclineto69%fromaround 82% in both the previous and the year-ago quarters. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) also showed that in the whole of 2024-25, privatesector capex fell nearly 9% on year to `26.8 lakh crore, the lowest in three years. It is for the second straight year that private capex dropped on a year-on-year basis, implying that the post-Covid pick-up was short-lived. Alsoworryingisasignificant andsustaineddropintherateof completion of projects. « « FE SPECIAL (Pr (Previous close) Re Realty -3.05 Sensex New projects announced Share of private sector (in %) « THE ESTIMATED ECONOMIC growth of India at 6.5% in FY26 will remain the highest of the advanced and emerging G20 countries, supported by tax measures and continued monetary easing, Moody’s Ratings said, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 77,414.92 Top sectoral losers « India to lead G20 nations in growth, says Moody’s IT WAS A cruel joke on the stock markets on April Fool’s day, which was also the beginning of a new financial year. Stock indices fell over 1.5% on Tuesday — their biggest single-day drop in more than a month. Fears of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs kicking in April 2 kept investors on the edge, and many took money off the table due to the uncertain outlook. The Sensex declined 1,390.41 points,or 1.80%,to close at 76,024.51, while the Nifty dropped 353.65 points, or 1.50%, ending at 23,165.70. The Indian equity markets remained closed on Monday on account of Eid. However, despite the sharp fall in benchmark FEAR GAUGE SURGES INVESTMENT SLUGGISH « « « PASSENGER VEHICLE SALES — dispatches from factories to dealers — rose 4% year-onyear in March to 388,249 units, with leading makers reporting varied performances, reports Nitin Kumar. For the full FY25, total sales were up 2% at 4.3 million units. ■ PAGE 4 KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, April 1 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO, KISHOR KADAM & SAIKAT NEOGI Mumbai/New Delhi, April 1 « Automobile sales up 4% in March, 2% in FY25 Markets bleed in fear ofTrump fire « THE SECURITIES & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has extended to May 1 the deadline for implementing rules related to retail investors’ participation in algorithmic trading, reports fe Bureau. The actual effect of the circular, which Sebi brought out in February, will be from August 1. ■ PAGE 7 Tariff turbulence « « Sebi extends deadline for retail algo trading rules Private capex intent at three-year low in FY25 « IN THE NEWS Apr–2025 LUCKNOW, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2025 OpenAI raises $40 bn at a valuation of $300 bn Dec–2024 India is amazing from space: SunitaWilliams INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 « « BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 ■ In January, the RBI announced a `1.5L-cr package to boost liquidity in the system ■ Positive liquidity could give comfort to banks to lower lending rates plusintheliquiditypositionhas also happened because of a rise inspendingbythegovernment. FIIshavealsoturnednetbuyers intheIndianstockmarketinthe last couple of weeks.Also,there areexpectationsoftheliquidity conditionseasing furtherinthe April-June period. Lucknow