BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Indian law firms take baby steps for consolidation INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 6 Air India pushes upgrade ofjets towoo back flyers Jay North, child star of Dennis the Menace, dies LUCKNOW, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2025 VOL 18 NO. 106, 20 PAGES, `12 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: 73,137.90 ▼ 2,226.79 NIFTY: 22,161.60 ▼ 742.85 NIKKEI 225: 31,136.58 ▼ 2,644 HANG SENG: 19,828.30 ▼ 3,021.51 `/$: 85.84 ▼ 0.61 `/€: 94.10 ▼ 0.46 BRENT: $64.22 ▼ $1.36 GOLD: `88,314 ▼ `1,448 Govt hikes excise duty on petrol, diesel by `2/litre THE GOVERNMENT ON Monday hiked the excise duties on petrol and diesel by `2 each, seeking to use the window provided by subdued crude prices to mobilise additional revenues from the auto fuels, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 2 India likely to get normal monsoon, say global agencies INDIA IS LIKELY to get a ‘normal’ south-west monsoon (June-Sept) this year in the absence of El Nino conditions, a wellknown weather scientist said, citing global forecasts, reports Sandip Das. If the prediction by the foreign agencies holds true, it will be the second consecutive year of normal monsoon rains for the country in 2025. ■ PAGE 3 ● SENSEX, NIFTY POST STEEPEST ● SHARP EROSION IN INVESTOR SINGLE-DAY FALL IN 10 MONTHS WEALTH, `14L CR WIPED OUT CNG cars zoom ahead of diesel in FY25 sales IN WHAT CAN be seen as a major shift in consumer preference, CNG vehicles have outsold diesel cars for the first time in FY25, reports Nitin Kumar. According to Vahan data, a total of 787,724 CNG passenger vehicles were sold in FY25, overtaking diesel car sales at 736,508 units. ■ PAGE 4 Mudra loan target likely at more than `5 lakh cr for FY26 THE CENTRE MAY set a target `5-6 lakh crore in 2025-26 for loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) compared with `5 lakh crore in 2024-25, reports fe Bureau. The PMMYwas launched in 2015 to provide collateral-free institutional credit of up to `20 lakh via member lending institutions. ■ PAGE 2 FE S P E C I A L S Ecom deal to boost Delhivery profits Acquisition to help in cost optimisation, bring pricing discipline ■ INVESTOR, P9 What BIMSTEC seeks to achieve Regional cooperation is of much importance in times of uncertainties in global trade ■ EXPLAINER, P9 OVER 65% TO HIT 22.79 BEARSTAKE CHARGE KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, April 7 FEARS OF A full-blown globaltradewarandapotential US recession sent the benchmarkindicesplunging on Monday,with both the Sensex and the Niftyposting a 3% drop — their biggest (Previous close) decline in 10 months. Following a sharp selloff in other Asian markets, the Sensex opened over 3,900 points (5.2%) lower on the first trading dayof theweek. It managed to recover over 40% of the losses due to valuebuyingandshortcovering,eventually 75,364.7 closing at 73,137.90, down 2,226.79 points or 2.95%. The Nifty also began the day with a gap-down of over 1,100 points,slipping below the 22,000-mark before recovering to settle at 22,161.60, down 742.85 points or3.24%. Market volatility also surged,with the NSE’s India VIX index jumping a record 65.63% to close at 22.79— itshighestlevelsinceJune 4,2024,whenithadendedat 26.75.Thismarksthelargest single-daypercentagerisein VIXsinceAugust 24,2015. Across Asia, major markets slumped — Hong Kong, Taiwan,Japan,Singaporeand China were the top losers, falling between 7.3% and 13.2%.TheMSCIAsiaPacific Index recorded its steepest decline since 2008, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 entered a bear market. European indices also traded lower, declining up to 4%. US stock indexes,which have also taken a beating afterTrump'smove,fellin earlytrade on Monday. Top Sensex falls (% fall) Points -5.9 -4,390 -13.0 -3,935 -2,919 -8.3 -2,713 -4.8 -7.6 -2,702 -2,227 -3.2 -7.3 -3.4 -12.3 -3.5 -15.3 -14.1 (Open) »INSIDE« EDIT: AWASH IN RED PAGE 8 Mukesh Ambani 2.95% 6.22 5.69 Tata Steel 4.68 BROKERAGES ADVISE CAUTION PAGE 7 L&T 7.73 5.78 $10-TRN LOST IN GLOBAL MKTS PAGE 7 $33.8 bn $2.8 bn 4.56% $2.3 bn 6.24% THE RUPEE TUMBLED 61 paise,or 0.71%,against the dollar on Monday,posting its steepest single-day decline in nearly three months, reports Sachin Kumar. The drop came as global financial markets were rattled by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plans, which sent Asian currencies and equities sharply lower. The rupee closed at 85.8425 against the greenback — its worst single-day fall since January 13. The dollar index,which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies,was up 0.2 % to 103.2. ■ PAGE 7 Tata Motors 5.54 BRENTAT NEAR 4-YEAR LOW PAGE 7 US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP threatened to “impose additional tariffs on China of 50%” unless Beijing withdraws a 34% retaliatory duty on US goods. “If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,”Trump posted on social media. The 50% charge would come on top of the 34% duty the president imposed on all Chinese imports — set to begin Wednesday — as well as a 20% levy that he put in place earlier tied to fentanyl trafficking,according to a White House official. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump’s comments are the lat- open to phased cuts EU to start collecting duties, but open to negotiations ADITI SHAH & SHIVANGI ACHARYA New Delhi, April 7 THE EU said on Monday it would start collecting retaliatory duties on some imported US goods next week,as EU trade ministers agreed they preferred negotiations to removetariffsimposedbyUSPresident Donald Trump over retaliation, reports Reuters. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels that the EU stood ready to negotiate a “zero-for-zero” tariff pact for industrial goods. ■ PAGE 6 est sign he is digging in his heels over his sweeping plan to impose duties on virtually all US trading partners. The US president also said that if the Chinese government does not pull back from its plan to retaliate against his reciprocal tariffs, “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!” “Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately,” he added. The US president’s tariff plans have caused US stocks to swing wildly, after global markets fell sharply. —BLOOMBERG Shiv Nadar $31.5 bn $902 mn 2.78% Wealth drop Trump threatens additional EU seeks zero tariff 50% charge on China goods on car imports; govt JOSH WINGROVE April 7 Savitri Jindal & family Source : Forbes Rupee plummets 61 paise Top Sensex losers Commodities $57.6 bn Net worth (Close) Realty Gautam Adani $88.4 bn 73,137.9 Metal A look at what the top 4 billionaires lost $2.9 bn 3.15% -14.2 Sensex 71,379.9 Jun 4, 2024 Aug 5, 2024 Mar 23, 2020 Apr 7, 2025 -31.1 2,226.79 points Continued on Page 6 Top sectoral losers India's richest lose nearly $9 billion Date Jun 4, 2024 Mar 23, 2020 Mar 12, 2020 Mar 16, 2022 Feb 24, 2020 Apr 7,2025 Top market cap loss (in `lakh cr) HDFC Bank cuts MCLR by 10 bps across tenures HDFC BANK HAS lowered its marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points (bps) across multiple tenures, with effect from Monday, resulting in lower loan rates and equated monthly instalments (EMIs) for its customers, reports fe Bureau. The revised rates, effective from April 7, now range between 9.10% and 9.35%. ■ PAGE 7 ● VOLATILITY INDEX SURGES A BETTER OFFER 85.4000 85.7438 0.71 % 85.6000 85.8425 85.8000 Previous close: 85.2350 86.0000 Open Close Inter-ministerial group to keep a check on imports surge MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, April 7 could also be a win for Elon Musk’s Tesla which will begin sales of importedEVsinIndiathisyearprobably from its Berlin plant. “EU has comebackaskingforabetterdealand India wants to make a better offer,” said one of the industrysources. AN IMPORT MONITORING group has been set up by the government to track any possible spurt in inflows of goods into India as many countries,including China,aggressivelyseekalternativemarketsafter Trump tariffs reduce access to the US markets. A senior official said on Monday thatthegroupwillhaveofficialsfrom the departments of commerce, revenue and the one for promotion of industryandinternaltrade.Itwillalso be roping in ministries dealing with products where import surge is seen and industryassociations forinputs. The official said that any clear signals on import surge are likelyto manifest from June-July. First part ofthereciprocaltariffshavealready become operational and the second tranche will come into force from April 10. As there is still time for these tariffs to get fullyoperational, exporters from across the world have dashed shipments to the US to beat that deadline. Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 12 ■ Govt said to be THE EUROPEAN UNION wants India to eliminate tariffs on car imports under a long-pending trade deal and the Centre is willing to sweeten its current proposal to seal the talks,sources told Reuters. The government is open to the phased reduction of tariffs to 10% frommorethan100%,twoindustry sources and a government official said.That is despite industry lobbying for India to retain at least a 30% tariff even if it starts reducing the levy,and also not tinkerwith import duties on EVs for four more years to protect domestic players. The EU’s demands come weeks after US President Donald Trump’s administrationsoughtasimilarelimination of import duties on cars, including EVs, as part of bilateral tradetalkswithIndia,pilingpressure on domestic carmakers. Tariff cuts will be a victory for European carmakers such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, widening their access to India. It TAKING A PLUNGE « IN THE NEWS willing to reduce tariffs in a phased manner to 10% from over 100% ■ Local industry ■ Likely cuts to has urged govt be a boost for to retain at least European carmakers such as VW, MercedesBenz and BMW tariff and no change on import duties on EVs 30% US accounts for more than half of India's $190-billion software exports Amidtariffjitters,TCSnumberstosignalITsectoroutlook PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Bengaluru, April 7 ALLEYESARE onTata Consultancy Services (TCS) as it prepares to announce its earnings forthe January–March quarter on Thursday, kicking off the corporate earnings season. Analysts will closely watch not just the numbers but also the management commentaryforcues on what FY26 might hold for the domestic IT services sector. Expectations of a meaningful recovery this financial year, after two years of sluggish growth, have been shaken by a new wave of uncertainty stemming from US President Donald Trump’s recipro- cal tariffs announced on April 2. Although these tariffs don’t directlyhit the domestic ITservices firms,whichderive40-50%oftheir revenue from the US, they are expected to ripple through the American economy. The likely fallout: higher inflation, slower GDP growth,and tighter corporate budgets.All of these indirectly pressure technologyspending,especiallydiscretionary projects, precisely the kind that has been slow to return since the global slowdown in 2022. Asaresult,theITindustry,which forlong has been seen as a proxyfor global economic confidence, now finds itself navigating anotherlayer of complexity. Until recently, ana- WAIT & WATCH HCL TECH 1,421.80 Apr 4 Intra-day on BSE (`), April 8 INFOSYS 1,452.30 Apr 4 1,350.0 Open Close 3.75 % 3,299.45 Apr 4 3.27 Close 3,276.60 1,316.05 Open 3,060.25 lystswere hopeful that FY26would bring a broad-based recoveryacross sectors like financial services,retail, manufacturing, and communications. That optimism, however, is 246.25 Apr 4 Open 225.05 0.69 % Close Open 1,375.30 % TCS 1,397.80 WIPRO quickly giving way to caution. The US accounts for more than half of India’s $190-billion software exports, making the sector sensitive to shifts in spending con- 242.85 Close 1.38 % ■ Trump’s latest tariff moves expected to create a ripple effect on the US economy fidence among businesses in the world’s largest economy. The importance of TCS’ upcoming earnings lies not just in its own performance but in the broader sig- nalsitmaysend.Withitsglobalclient base and large deals pipeline, the company often acts as a bellwether fortheentireindustry.Investorsand analystswillbekeentohearwhatthe management says about deal momentum,clientbudgets,andvisibilityforthe coming quarters. “The good news is the uncertainty is behind us,” said a recent report from Motilal Oswal.“Discretionary spend is dead, and survival spend will now again become the clear priority. Budgets will be trimmed, and tech spends will be redirected toward extreme efficiency and resilience,”it said. Continued on Page 6 Lucknow