COMPANIES | PAGE 4 NEWS POINT | PAGE 18 Will MABaby succeed in arresting CPM's decline? Zepto nears $4 bn in order value, halves burn rate AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2025 VOL NO. XIX 262, 22 PAGES, `12 BACK PAGE | PAGE 18 Google to help developers make their ownAI agents FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 73,847.15 ▼ 379.93 NIFTY: 22,399.15 ▼ 136.70 NIKKEI 225: 31,714.03 ▼ 1,298.55 HANG SENG: 20,264.49 ▲ 136.81 `/$: 95.75 ▼ 1.56 `/€: 69.7572 ▼ 0.2738 BRENT: $60.54 ▼ $2.28 GOLD: `89,297 ▲`1,250 DEPARTMENT OF INVESTMENT and public asset management secretary Arunish Chawla on Wednesday urged the private sector companies to also pay a ‘fair’ dividend to reward minority shareholders to create a vibrant market, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 Tata Steel to cut around 20% of Dutch workforce TATASTEELON Wednesday said it will cut around 1,600 jobs in the Netherlands, in a drive to increase profitability amidst fierce competition from China and rising US import tariffs, reports Reuters.The move will cut Tata's Dutch workforce by roughly 20%, mainly at the large steel plant at IJmuiden, on the coast west ofAmsterdam. ■ PAGE 4 Airbus plans to buy parts worth $2 bn from India every year AIRBUS PLANS TO bolster its sourcing from India to $2 billion a year by 2030 — a jump of almost 43% from the current levels — as it eyes growing sales in the nation’s booming aviation market, reports Bloomberg. ■ PAGE 5 Cabinet clears deal to procure 26 Rafale-M planes for Navy THE CABINET COMMITTEE on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cleared a proposal to procure 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets from France at a cost of around `64,000 crore for deployment on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 3 FE S P EC I A L S Cisco makes a big push in AI skilling Tie-ups with state govts and academia to bolster efforts ■ EFE, P9 Why India needs non-tariff barriers in agri trade Food security imperatives, needs of marginal farmers & dietary preferences shape these ■ EXPLAINER, P9 ● Growth forecast POLICY MOVE for FY26 cut to 6.5% from 6.7%,inflation to 4% from 4.2% Continued on Page 7 »INSIDE« 6.5 6.5 6.6 Q1 FY26 4.5 3.6 FY26 Q1 FY26 Q2 SANJAY MALHOTRA RBI GOVERNOR Q3 Q4 FY26 Q2 4.0 3.9 Q3 3.8 3.8 Q4 FY26 4.2 4.4 Goingforward,absentanyshocks, theMPCisconsideringonlytwo options:statusquoorratecut Stricter gold loan norms likely HITESH VYAS & GEORGE MATHEW Mumbai, April 9 IN A BID to temper the explosive growth in gold loans overthe last 12months,theReserveBank ofIndia(RBI)onWednesday proposeddraftnormsthat barredlendersfromgranting advance against primary gold/silver or financial assets backed by primary gold/silver like units ofexchange-tradedfunds(ETFs)or unitsof mutual funds. The draft comprehensive guidelines also said eligible gold collateral should not be used concurrently for BANK DEPOSIT RATES SETTO FALL ON SHIFT IN STANCE PAGE 6 extendingloansforincomegeneratingpurposesandconsumptionloans. Lenders should not extend loans where ownership of the collateral is doubtful, and they should keep a record of the verification of ownership of the collateral. Banks and NBFCs posted asharp77%surge in gold loan outstanding to `1.78 lakh crore as of January 2025.With gold prices shooting up, gold loan business has grown rapidly.BanksandNBFCsfoundit an attractive business since theycan auctiongoldiftheborrowerdefaults. Borrowers are nowrequired to repay the full principal and interest on the LOWER CRUDE PRICES TO MAKE MONETARY POLICY MORE ACCOMMODATIVE: CEA PAGE 3 RISHI RAJ New Delhi, April 9 ASHWINI VAISHNAW ELECTRONICS & IT MINISTER When the Aadhaar Act was framed, there were gaps... So, I’ll request UIDAI to look into the gaps and harmonise it with DPDPAct The user should be the focus of the new, modern law which makes life convenient for citizens life convenient for citizens, so that repeated consent, authentication of Aadhaar is not required. This should be the objective of the new, modern law and I request the UIDAI to bring about the required harmonisation,”he added. Though he did not highlight specific areas of conflict between the Aadhaar Act and the DPDP Act, analysts have often talked about theseareas,whichespeciallypertain to issues like consent,purpose lim- loaniftheywanttorepledgethegold and ask foran extension of the loan. “In case the original receipts of purchase of gold collateral are not available,a suitable document/ declaration obtained from the borrower shallbepreparedexplaininghowthe ownership of the collateral has been determined.Pledgeofgoldcollateral shallbesubjecttosuspicioustransaction reporting policy of the lender underrelevantregulatorydirections,” the RBI said,adding that the lenders should not extend loans against repledged gold collateral. Continued on Page 7 ■ Norms to level the field for NBFCs: Industry, Page 7 MPC HAS SHOWN PRUDENTWISDOM, WRITES SOUMYA KANTI GHOSH PAGE 8 Govt to amendAadhaarlaw to alignwith data privacyAct THE GOVERNMENT PLANS to amendtheAadhaarAct,2016,toharmonise it with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. Electronics and IT ministerAshwini VaishnawhasurgedtheUniqueIdentificationAuthorityof India (UIDAI), which manages Aadhaar to plug the loopholes in the law once the DPDP rules are finalised and notified. The minister said that when the Aadhaar Act was formulated in 2016, there was no horizontal law fordataprivacyinthe country.Now, that the data privacy law is there, the Aadhaar law should be harmonised vis-a-vis the DPDPAct. “When the Aadhaar Act was framed,therewere gaps in the legal structure which had got filled with the DPDP Act. So, I will request the UIDAI to look into the gaps and harmonise it with the DPDP Act,” Vaishnaw said. “The user should be the focus of the new, modern law which makes 4.2 4.0 FY26 itation,and data usage. For instance, as per the Aadhaar Act, consent is required for enrollment and authentication, but in practice,Aadhaar is often mandatorily demanded for services like bank accounts,school admissions,or SIM cards,even when it’s supposed to be optional. Under the DPDP Act, consentmustbefree,specific,informed, and unambiguous. Continued on Page 7 Raises duties on China to 125% ● CPI inflation (%) forecast Feb 7, 2025 ,2 Apr 9,2025 6.3 RESERVE BANK OF India (RBI) governorSanjayMalhotra summed up the predicament of central bankers in the face of a global trade war-like scenario quite well at a post-monetary policy media briefing onWednesday.“I am Sanjaybut not Sanjay of Mahabharata who can predict future rate actions and at what level rate moderation will stop”,he said. However, Malhotra gave significant clarity to the market on the central bank’s position on other parameters. He delivered the RBI’s second rate cut in this easing cycle—a 25 basis point slash in a unanimous decision by the monetarypolicycommittee (MPC).More importantly, the committee flipped its stance from ‘neutral’ to full-throttle ‘accommodative’, making one thing clear: Growth now has a wingman. The change in the policy stance means the MPC is considering only twooptions,eitherstatusquoorarate cut,and the stance does not directly link to liquidityconditions,hesaid. There is good news on the inflation front, as the RBI revised its FY26 inflation forecast down to 4% from 4.2%,even as it trimmed growth to 6.5% from 6.7%, citing global headwinds. 7.0 6.7 JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, April 9 6.7 GDP growth (%) forecast Feb 7, 2025 Apr 9,2025 Trumphits90-day pauseontariffs, excludesChina Ex-CVC Sinha to chair Sebi’s conflict of interest panel FE BUREAU Mumbai, April 9 FORMER CHIEF VIGILANCE commissioner (CVC) Pratyush Sinha will head the six-membercommitteeconstituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India(Sebi)thatwill review the provisions related to conflict of interest, Pratyush Sinha, disclosures per- former CVC taining to property, investmentsandliabilities,andother related matters in respect of members and officialsof the board. TheothermembersincludeInjeti Srinivas(vice-chairman),formersecretary in the corporate affairs ministry,and UdayKotak,non-executive directorof Kotak Mahindra Bank. Continued on Page 7 ■ Regulator relaxes FPIs' disclosure norms, Page 7 AGENCIES April 9 FACING A GLOBAL market meltdown, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for90days,butraisedhistaxrateon Chinese imports to 125%. In a post on X, White House announced the 90-day pause and lowered 10% reciprocal tariff for other countries. It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the US and most of the world to one betweentheUSandChina.Thesteep duties earlier announced by Trump had hammered global markets and raised the likelihood of recession. Earlier in the day, China announced a tariff hike on US imports to 84% from 34%, shortly after Trump’s punitive 104% tariffs on Chinese imports kicked in on Wednesday. The EU also said it would impose 25%tariffsonarangeofUSimports in a first round of countermeasures. TRADE TANTRUMS ■ Trump's 'reci- ■ China has ■ US President had doubled the duties on Chinese imports after its first set of counter-steps ■ The EU also procal' tariffs on multiple nations took effect on Wednesday; he later announced a pause announced a tariff hike on US imports to 84% from 34% said it would impose 25% tariffs on a range of US imports Japan & Canada have said they would cooperate to stabilise the global financial system The 27-member bloc was facing US tariffs of 20% on most products and higherduties on auto and steel. Targeted US duties on dozens ofothernations,fromJapantoMadagascar,had alsoearliertaken effect. Continued on Page 10 Benchmarksinthered amidfreshtarifffears KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, April 9 AFTERADAY of recovery,the benchmark indices resumed their downwardtrendonWednesdayasrenewed tariffconcernsovertheUSimposinga 104%taxonChineseimportsdampenedinvestorsentiment. Tracking weak global cues, the Sensex and the Nifty opened gapdown and remained range-bound throughout the session.The Reserve Bank of India’s 25-basis point repo rate cut and a shift in policy stance from“neutral”to“accommodative” failed to lift investor sentiment. It, however, did help limit a further downside in the equities. On the other hand, the lowering of GDP growth projections for the current fiscalto6.5%from6.7%weighedon market mood. The Sensex fell 379.93 points or 0.51% to close at 73,847.15,while the Nifty declined 136.70 points or 0.61%to end at 22,399.15. Continued on Page 7 MARKET WATCH Sensex, intraday April 9 74,103.8 Open 73,847.2 Clo Close « Govt to private firms: Pay fair dividends to minority shareholders Wingman for growth 6.5 INDIAIS EXPLORING the feasibility of allowing its companies to list on the London Stock Exchange, the finance ministers of India and Britain said in a joint statement after a meeting onWednesday. "Both sides acknowledge the opportunities that overseas equity listings offer to broaden access to global investors and enhance liquidity," the statement said. 6.7 Govt mulls steps to list firms on London Stock Exchange RBIcutsreporateby25bps,shiftsstancetoaccommodative 6.5 IN THE NEWS 0.51 % Previous close: 74,227.1 Asian currencies’ performance % change on April 9 Japanese yen 0.93 Thai baht Offshore chinese renminbi Singapore dollar 0.52 0.71 0.67 0.52 Indian rupee Source: Bloomberg »INSIDE« GLOBAL MARKETS IN TURMOIL PAGE 10 India removes trans-shipment facilityforBangladesh exports THE GOVERNMENT HAS withdrawn the trans-shipment facility to exports from Bangladesh to other countries through itsportsandairports,inresponse to the increasing friction in ties between the two countries, reports Mukesh Jagota. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) withdrew the facility through a circularthat scrapped the earlier communication of June 2020 that had extended this facility to Bangladesh. ■ PAGE 2 Startups with strong IP portfolios offer higher returns with lower risks Investors spend big bucks on patents-led innovation S SHANTHI Bengaluru, April 9 VENTURE CAPITALISTS (VCS) ARE increasinglyplacing theirbets on startupswith strong intellectual property (IP) portfolios, especially in foundational technologies. The push towards deeptech and verifiable innovation is steering funding flows away from startups built on incremental improvements, and more towards those with patentbacked technologies. According to data from Tracxn, Indian deep-tech startupswith significant IP raised $994 million across 284 rounds in 2024. So far thisyear,47 IP-led startups,including Infinite Uptime,75F,SpotDraft, Bellatrix Aerospace, EMO Energy LONG-TERM VALUE ■ Ather Energy, Agnikul, Log9 Materials, Lohum and Strand Lifesciences among those that have built robust IP portfolios ■ Domestic deep-tech startups with significant IP raised $994 mn across 284 rounds in 2024 47 ■ They have got the IP-led startups, including Infinite Uptime, 75F, SpotDraft and Bellatrix Aerospace, have bagged $220.5 mn so far this year and Attentive AI, have secured $220.5 million in funding across 47 deals, reflecting a sharp uptick in interest from VCs. ■ Investors now seek IP-backed solutions as proof of originality and substance “A strong IP portfolio creates barriers to entry, signals technical competence,and provides leverage in global markets,” said Manu Iyer, backing of investors like pi Ventures, Axilor Ventures, Mayfield India, Speciale Invest and Temasek, among others co-founder and general partner at Bluehill.vc,which has backed deeptech startups such as EtherealX, DetectTechnologies and Fabheads. “For deep-tech investors, IP translates to lower technological risk, enhanced long-term exit potential, and even salvage value in the event of a pivot.” With concerns mounting regarding the overuse and misrepresentation of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities among early-stage startups,VCs are becoming increasingly wary. Investors now seek IPbacked solutions as proof of originality and substance, rather than those riding AI buzzwords without true differentiation. Startups such as Ather Energy (EV and battery tech),Agnikul and Skyroot (space tech),Log9 Materials (advanced battery innovation), Lohum (battery recycling), Strand Lifesciences (computational biol- ogy), IdeaForge (drones), GreyOrange (warehouse robotics), SatSure (satellite remote sensing) and Niramai (healthtech) are among those that have built robust IP portfolios, attracting significant investor backing from the likes of pi Ventures,Axilor Ventures, Mayfield India, Speciale Invest, Temasek, GIC, Tiger Global and InnoVen Capital. “VCs prefer startups with IP because it increases long-term valuation,” said Dinesh Arjun, cofounderand CEO of Chennai-based Raptee.HV, an electric motorcycle startup that has built a full-stack ecosystem with in-house designed high-voltage systems. Continued on Page 10 Ahmedabad