OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES ON A GLUTEN-FREE DIET? CHEW ON THIS Malice towards Muslims No privacy, Alexa! Conversations with voice assistants being used to train AI models; privacy going for a toss Page 6 Is gluten a food component to be avoided at all costs? Or is it simply another trend with unforeseen health effects? Page 9 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM WORDS WORTH Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXIV NO. 23 THE NAKBA THAT IS GAZA FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2025 16 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 , WHAT'S INSIDE B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , YOURTICKET TO THE STARS Even though it’s still early days for India, space tourism, a once-unimaginable concept, is slowly and steadily spreading wings ■ LEISURE, P7 BUSINESS OFANGER Rage rooms, or controlled spaces where individuals can smash objects to vent out, are gaining prominence in India, redefining the concept of stress relief and anger management IN THE NEWS India, Sri Lanka ink major defence deal INDIAAND SRI Lanka inked an ambitious defence pact with PM Narendra Modi outlining a broader roadmap for deeper bilateral cooperation. The pact is among seven key deals signed by the two sides. ■ PAGE 3 Trump links tariff deal with TikTok AFTER EXPRESSING anger over China's tariff retaliation, US President Donald Trump offered an olive branch linking the sale of TikTok to relief on high levies on Chinese exports. ■ PAGE 16 READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , KUNAL DOLEY New Delhi, April 5 AS THE INDIAN Premier League (IPL) gets underway, with 10 franchise teams competing against each other across 13 cities,another cricketing season is hotting up in a parallel universe—fantasy sports. Building on the momentum in the past few editions of the highly popular D E L H I , P U N E THEY CAME, THEY saw, they conquered.Inaninspiringcelebration of women breaking barriers, Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs 2025 (Express AWE 2025), held on Saturday at the President in Mumbai,shone a spotlight on what jury member and cofounder and managing partnerofAZB,ZiaMody,rightfully described as ‘one half of the sky’. “You can’t hold them back,” she said in a panel discussion on entrepreneurship in theworld of tariffs andAI. She was joined by fellow jurors Kiran MazumdarShaw, founder and executive chairperson, Biocon; Meher Pudumjee,chairperson,Thermax, and jury chair Deepak Parekh, finance veteran and former chairman of HDFC. PreethaReddy,executivevicechairperson,Apollo Hospitals, and Sachin Bansal, founder, Navi Technologies, were also part of the jury. The event brought together 13 trailblazing women from diverse fields, each with their own story of courage, determination, and ambition. The sectors included social impact,media and entertainment, sustainability, finance and venture capital, education and skill development, among others. Someofthekeywinnersofthe evening included Mallika Srinivasan (LifetimeAchievement), Isha Ambani (Newsmaker of the Year) and Kiran Nadar (Icon of the Year). Cheeringthewinnerswere thewho’swho from corporate India.TheseincludedReliance Industries’chairman Mukesh Tata Capital pre-files for $2-bn IPO TATA GROUP FINANCIAL services firm Tata Capital has filed draftpaperswithmarketsregulator Sebi for a $2-billion IPO through a confidential pre-filing route.At this size,the company is expected to be valued around $11 billion, as per sources.In a stock exchange filing,TataCapitalsaid,“ThecompanyhasfiledthePre-filedDraft Red Herring Prospectus dated April 4, 2025, under the Sebi (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018,withSebi,BSE,andNSEin connectionwithitsInitialPublic Offeringofequitysharesofface value of `10 each.” Continued on Page 2 EXPRESS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARDS GIVEN Survival of the kindest is the new idiom: Ambani FE BUREAU, Mumbai, April 5 From left: Mallika Srinivasan receives the Lifetime Achievement Award; Isha Ambani is Newsmaker of the Year; Roshni Nadar receives the Icon of the Year award on behalf of her mother, Kiran Nadar; Shobana Kamineni is a Legacy Entrepreneur; and Kiran Rao gets the Sustainability Award, at the Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurship, in Mumbai on Saturday EXPRESS PHOTOS BY DEEPAK JOSHI, NARENDRAVASKAR, SANKHADEEP BANERJEE, AMIT CHAKRAVARTY Ambani, chairman-emeritus of TVS Motor Company Venu Srinivasan, chairperson of HCL Technologies Roshni Nadar, vice-chairperson of Piramal Enterprises Swati Piramal and her son Anand Piramal, who is the executive director of the Piramal group. Continued on Page 2 Mukesh Ambani, Anand Piramal, Swati Piramal & Shloka Ambani rooting for Isha ALINA ALAM VANI KOLA MASABA GUPTA I believe if you don’t take any action, you have taken a side—that of an oppressor Biggest challenge for women entrepreneurs is capital & mentorship. For most, if you just keep doing it, you will get there I’ve always believed it’s a great time to be a woman; today I feel it even more. Women can have it all if they don’t feel guilty about it SOCIAL IMPACT FINANCE & VENTURE CAPITAL FASHION & LIFESTYLE US starts collecting new India a winner in tariff war: Official unilateral 10% tariff REUTERS Washington, April 5 JLR to pause exports to US US CUSTOMS AGENTS began collecting President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higherlevies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week. The initial 10% ‘baseline’ tariff took effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT). TATA MOTORS-OWNED Jaguar Land Rover has paused vehicle shipments from the UK to the US to work out newtrading terms inthewakeofchangesinthe tariffstructure.“TheUSisan important market for JLR’s luxurybrands.Asweworkto addressthenewtrading terms with our business partners,we are enacting our shorttermactions,includ- Continued on Page 2 »INSIDE« ing a shipment pause in April,aswedevelopourmidto longer-term plans,”a JLR spokesperson said. Continued on Page 2 JPMORGAN SAYS TRUMP’S TARIFFS TO SEND US INTO RECESSION P16 MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, April 5 The reciprocal tariffs and retaliation by China have created even more space forprodINDIAHAS EMERGEDasawin- ucts like electronics,engineernerin the escalating global tar- ing goods and textiles where iff war unleashed India and China India has by the US, with compete directly early-mover lower duties than in the US market, its competitors, a the official added. advantage too, senior official said While the US with ongoing BTA Saturday. India has imposed that can bring also has an earlyadditional 26% mover advantage down duties further duties on Indian as it has already imports under initiated discusthe reciprocal tarsions on the Bilateral Trade iff plan, the tariffs on China Agreement (BTA) that will give are 34%, Vietnam 46%, a chance to bring down duties Bangladesh 37%, Sri Lanka on Indian exports to the US 40% and Thailand 36%. down from the current levels, the official added. Continued on Page 2 and successful cricket league, thefantasygamingindustryin India is expecting its revenue to surge by25-30% compared to 2024, reaching $500-$525 million during IPL 2025. “The fantasy sports industry in India continues to see impressive growth, driven by the country’s deep passion for cricket,increased smartphone penetration, and affordable internet.While specific figures forIPL2025 are stillemerging, projections indicate a revenue boost of 25-30%, with earnings estimated between $500 millionand$525million,”said Roland Landers, CEO of All India Gaming Federation A CRICKETING EXTRAVAGANZA `2.1 lakh cr `12,900 cr Size of global fantasy sports industry in FY24 `9,100 cr Size of Indian fantasy sports industry in FY24 (AIGF), an apex industry body for online gaming in India. “The IPL has become more thanjustacricketingevent—it’s a massive driver of growth for the fantasy sports industry. Projected valuation of Indian fantasy sports industry in FY29 which Indian fantasy sports 30% CAGR atgrew between FY22 and FY24 industry Every season, we see recordbreaking engagement, and IPL 2025 is set to push those numbersevenhigher,withplatforms continuingtoattractmillionsof newusers,” he added. My11Circle, a leading fantasy gaming platform and a part of homegrown online gamingcompanyGames24x7, is also optimistic about the continued growth this IPLsea- son.“Lastyear,we sawremarkable growth, with over 50% more teams created in the first two weeks and a 50% increase in mega prize winners. This IPL, we anticipate building on that momentum, further strengthening My11Circle’s position in the fantasy sports arena,” said Saroj Panigrahi, chief operating officer of Games24x7. My11Circle recently announced its partnership with JioStaras a co-presenting partner for the official digital streaming of Tata IPL 2025. My11Circle is also the official associate partner of Tata IPL, which is in its second year of a INDIA’S RICHEST AND most powerful industrialist says he “has a boss in office”. Though the commentwas made in jest bya lovingfather,it shows how Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani is looking at women empowerment. Speaking impromptu at the Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurship after his daughter Isha Ambani got the Newsmaker of the Year,Ambani said “from being newsmakers, women will becomehistorymakersfor their industries, countries and civilisations”. Congratulating the Express group for putting women entrepreneurship on the forefront,he said he was a late bloomer in appreciatingwomenentrepreneurs, “but Isha and wife Nita have opened his mind in the last decade”. Continued on Page 2 »INSIDE« FULL LIST OF WINNERS PAGE 2 Delhivery to buy Ecom Express for `1,400 cr RAGHAVAGGARWAL New Delhi, April 5 five-year association with the marquee tournament. “My11Circle’s five-year partnership as the associate partneroftheTataIPLallowsus to build further on the immense enthusiasm for cricket in India, connecting with millions of passionate fans.Our comprehensive 360degree marketing strategy – encompassing strategic partnerships both on and off field, including TV, digital, and beyond—isdesignedtoamplify our brand and enhance user engagement throughout the IPLseason,”added Panigrahi. LOGISTICS MAJOR DELHIVERY on Saturday announced it would acquire rival Ecom Express in an allcash deal worth `1,407 crore. This is a sharp fall from the company’s last available valuation of around `7,000 crore, and is just over half the company’s FY24 revenue of `2,607.3 crore. “Thisshowsitwasadistress sale,” an analyst said, asking not to be named, saying Ecom was not able to contain its expenses. K Satyanarayana, founder of Ecom Express,commented, “With this acquisition and its inherent synergies,businesses across India as well as the logistics industry itself will benefit immensely through the combination of two like-minded players.” Just a fewweeks back,Ecom Express had paused its plans to go public. The company had filed the draft red herring prospectus with Sebi for a `2,600-crore listing last year. However, it came under sharp criticism from Delhivery for alleged misrepresentation of the volumes,EBITDA,and cost pershipmentinthedocument. Delhivery said the company inflated shipment volumes by double-counting return-to-origin (RTO) parcels —orders that get returned. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 Fantasy sports betting big on IPL to increase run rate ● Revenue set to surge 30% y-o-y, reach $525 mn N E W Celebrating the boss women FE BUREAU Mumbai, April 5 ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 C H E N N A I , Between history & analysis of resolutions remains hopelessness Page 4 New Delhi
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