POLITICS | PAGE 3 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Meta'santitrusttrialmay forceittosellInstagram INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 BelgiumconfirmsChoksi arrest,extraditionrequest AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025 Yellen:Treasuries show US confidence loss FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XIX 266, 16 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 SENSEX: 75,157.26* ▲ 1,310.11 NIFTY: 22,828.55* ▲ 429.40 NIKKEI 225: 33,982.36 ▲ 396.78 HANG SENG: 21,417.40 ▲ 502.71 `/$: 86.05* ▲ 0.64 `/€: 97.97* ▼ 2.22 BRENT: $64.97 ▲ $0.21 GOLD: `93,127* ▲ `3,830 BANKS ARE LIKELY to witness a spike in bad loans in the fourth quarter, driven by rising delinquencies in the unsecured and microfinance segments, reports Sachin Kumar. Slowing credit growth, tight liquidity and elevated deposit rates are expected to squeeze net interest margins. ■ PAGE 6 FreshMenu targets to start 100 cloud kitchens by FY26 CLOUD KITCHEN STARTUP FreshMenu aims to scale to 100 cloud kitchens over the next 12 months. “With optimised operations, and a stronger supply chain, we aim to penetrate deeper into our existing markets,” said Rashmi Daga, founder and CEO of FreshMenu, reports S Shanthi. ■ PAGE 5 Niti Aayog pitches for incentive scheme for hand, power tools LEVERAGING GEOPOLITICAL OPPORTUNITIES, including US tariffs on China, a new NitiAayog report has recommended targeted support to overcome a 14-17% cost disadvantage gap with competitors, to capture a 10% global market share in power tools and a 25% share in hand tools, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 are‘justmovingtoa differenttariffbucket’ AGENCIES April 14 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP pledged he will still apply tariffs to phones,computersandpopularconsumer electronics, downplaying a weekend exemption as a procedural stepinhisoverallpushtoremakeUS trade. The late Friday reprieve — exempting a range of popular electronics from 125% tariffs on China anda10%flatratearoundtheglobe — is temporary and a part of the longstanding plan to apply a different,specificlevytothesector.Trump doubled down on the plan Sunday. “Nobodyisgetting‘offthehook’,” Trump said in a social media post Sunday, issued shortly after he finished his golf game.The exempted productsare‘justmovingtoadifferent tariff‘bucket’”and the administrationwill be‘taking a look at semiconductors and the whole electronics supplychain,”he added. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One his decisions will come soon,indicatingthatdetailsonatariffrateforsemiconductorswouldbe announced in the comingweek. Yet Trump also signalled an openness to talks with companies overthescopeofhissectoraltariffon semiconductors and products like iPhones and tablets that rely on them.“We’llbediscussingit,butwe’ll also talk to companies,”he said.“You have to show a certain flexibility. Nobodyshould be so rigid.” Continued on Page 5; Trump floats exceptions for auto parts tariffs, PAGE 7 of‘Lodha’byAbhishek andAbhinandan RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, April 14 ■ Trump's latest comments open a window for companies and lobbyists to push for different parameters and exclusions ■ The latest exemptions cover almost $390 bn SBI,twoother PSBscutloan ratesby25bps in US imports based on official US 2024 trade statistics SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, April 14 STATE BANK OFIndia,BankofIndia and Bank of Maharashtra have decided to cut lending rates by 25 basispoints(bps)fromMonday,making loans cheaper for both existing and new borrowers, following the ReserveBankofIndia’s(RBI)decision to lowerthe repo rate lastweek. With the latest round of reduction,theRepoLinkedLendingRateof SBI would come down to 8.25 %. It hasalsoreducedtheExternalBenchmark Based Lending Rate (EBLR) by same margin to 8.65 %. SBIhasalsobroughtbackitsspecial tenure scheme ‘Amrit Vrishti’, which was previously offered with slightly higher returns.The scheme nowoffers7.05%interestforgeneral customers,7.55%forseniorcitizens and 7.65% for super senior citizens. The tenure of the scheme remains thesameat444days.Anotherpublic sector bank (PSB),Bank of India, too announcedasimilarcutanditshome loan rate now stands at 7.9 % per annum basedon the CIBILscore. DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT We’ll be discussing it (sectoral tariffs),but we’ll also talk to companies Counter-tariffs put on hold till July 14: EU THE EUROPEAN Unionsaidon Mondaythat itwill put on hold the planned retaliatory tariffs on US until July 14 to allow more time for negotiations with Washington. Trump had imposeda20%tariffontheEU on April 2, but later put it on hold for 90 days.The EU's decision will come into effect on Tuesday. -- AGENCIES Continued on Page 5 ● DRONE MAN ■ INTERVIEW, PAGE 9 FE S P E C I A L S A pilot in a Hexa battery-powered aircraft during its demonstration at the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan on Monday Shares of leading gold loan financiers fell after RBI released its draft norms for gold loans ■ EXPLAINER, P9 nandan Lodha have no connection with each other."Both entities will communicate this widely,"the joint statement said. Abhinandan has no rights or claims in MDL or other businesses of Abhishek and similarlyAbhishek has no rights or claims in HoABLor other Continued on Page 5 Unsold luxuryhouses up 24% UNSOLD INVENTORY IN luxury housing segment, priced over `1.5 crore, rose 24% annually across top 7 cities from about 91,125 units in Q1 2024 to over 113,193 units in Q1 2025, Anarock Property said on Monday. However, there is good news in affordable housing, with unsold inventory falling 19% during the period. -- RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Unsold stock across top 7 cities Q1 2024-end 24 Q1 2025-end (units) 0.5 -10 City-wise dynamics % change Total Unsold luxury stock across top 7 cities (>`1.5 cr) Q1 2024-end Q1 2025-end (units) % change Kolkata 96 5,80,895 NCR 78 Bangalore 57 Hyderabad 6 MMR 6 5,59,808 -19 4 >`5 cr `80 lakh `40 lakh - <`40 - 1.5 cr `80 Lakh lakh Source: Anarock Research 1,675 3,282 Total 14,219 25,242 11,967 18,760 28,681 30,320 27,916 29,468 91,125 1,13,193 24 Startup fund 2.0 to aid investor exits; cutting edge tech in focus THE SECOND EDITION oftheFund of Funds Scheme (FFS 2.0) for startups, announced in the Budget for FY26,will also support private-sector funds which provide secondary capitaltoenableexitsbyearly-stage and first-round investors in these emerging companies. The main focus of FFS 2.0will be on assisting startups working on cuttingedgetechnologies,butitwill also seek to address exit challenges and liquidity gaps for these ventures,a senior official said. TheguidelinesforFFS2.0willbe finalised soon. In the Budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new FFS with a corpusof`10,000croreandanoutlay of `2,000 crore.This followed a similar scheme, which was launched in 2016. According to reports, many early-stage investors struggle with Cocoa 44.2 Sugar Ranked on 6 months % change has two parts to it – agri and crudelinked.Foodcompanieswillcontinue totakepricehikes,sincefoodinflation has been high,HPC firms are likelyto becircumspectinviewofweakurban -8.1 4.3 -1.1 Crude palm oil 16.7 6 months 16.7 YTD 2025 9.7 4.8 8.1 15.4 2.7 Tea Price changes in % 1 year -14.0 -10.2 5.3 Arabica coffee 30.2 22.7 THE POSSIBILITY OF more price hikesisnotoveryetwithinthedomestic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)spaceevenaspricesofkeyagri commoditiesremainfirm. Whilecrudeoilanditsderivatives such as titanium dioxide and linear alkyl benzene (LAB) are benign for now,andsoissodaash,whichisdown nearly 17% in six months, sector experts say that one half of the market,largelyinthefoodspace,willcontinue to raise prices.Home and personal care (HPC) companies, in contrast,arelikelytobecautiouswith price hikes,after increasing product pricesinthelasttwoquarters. "The FMCG commodity basket PASSING ON COST PRESSURES -22.5 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, April 15 3.7 Will RBI’s move rein in the gold loan rush? AP ■ HoABL sells residential plots in many places, including Goa, Ayodhya, and Konkan region in Maharashtra, among others develops residential and commercial properties mainly in Mumbai and Pune FINEPRINT SOON ■ In the Budget, finance minister ■ Under FFS, the scheme does not directly invest in startups. It provides capital to Sebi-registered AIFs `10,000 cr ■ AIFs, under the Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new Fund of Funds (FFS 2.0) Scheme with a corpus of and an outlay of `2,000 cr This followed a similar scheme, which was launched in 2016 ■ timely exits and this, in turn, impacts the ability of startups to secure continued funding. One main reason listed for difficulty in exits is the lack of adequate funding. Sometimes external economic factors, market slowdowns and global financial conditions also come in the way of exits by early investors at fairvaluations. scheme, have catalysed investments in 1,197 startups as on January 31, 2025 “Bysupporting secondaryAlternate Investment Funds (AIF), FFS 2.0 aims to provide much-needed liquidityto investors,ensuring that funding cycles remain uninterrupted and startups continue to receive financial backing at critical growth stages,”the official added. Continued on Page 5 PricehikeslikelyascommoditiesweighonFMCGbasket 36.0 55.6 ■ INVESTOR, P6 Developers (Lodha Group) while Abhinandan Lodha is the owner of House ofAbhinandan Lodha (HoABL) businesses ofAbhinandan,according tothestatement.InJanuary,MDLfiled asuitintheBombayhighcourtagainst HoABLfor infringement on its trademarksandsoughtdamagesof`5,000 crore.The court sent the dispute for mediation and appointed retired Justice RVRaveendranasanarbitrator. HoABL denied the claims,asserting that any references to the Lodha brandweremadebythird-partybrokers and not the company itself. It alsomaintainedthatithadcomplied with the terms of the 2017 family settlement. Earlier this month, Macrotech alleged that the HoABL forged board resolutions of the former,containinganoobjectionforthe use of its trademarks, and filed the samewithgovernment authorities. Food items set to get costlier while home and personal firms circumspect on move 7.2 Healthy deal TCV, recovery in developed markets key positives rights in the Lodha Group or other businesses ofAbhishek while Abhishek will have no rights in HoABL or other businesses ofAbhinandan ■ Abhishek Lodha (left) runs Macrotech MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, April 14 Former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia says India needs to have a flexible approach for an early conclusion to the BTAwith the US, and FTAs with the EU and the UK TCS eyes better growth in FY26 ■ Abhinandan will have no ■ Macrotech AFTERMONTHSOFmediation,warring brothers, Abhishek and Abhinandan Lodha, have ‘amicably settled’their dispute over the use of the Lodha brand name. According to a joint statement, Abhishek’s Macrotech Developers (MDL),which sells properties under theLodhabrand,willcontinueitsuse while younger brother Abhinandan willoperateundertheHouseofAbhinandan Lodha (HoABL) brand. Lodha Group and House ofAbhi- NOT OVER YET CLOSED CHAPTER 1,39,905 1,12,744 Banks likely to see compression in NIMs on rising slippages ● Saysexempteditems ● Statusquoonusage 1,74,572 1,57,741 DEALACTIVITY IN the domestic consumer and retail markets rose to a three-year high in the first quarter of calendar year 2025, as investors backed brands that merged tradition with innovation, Grant Thornton Bharat's latest quarterly deal tracker report showed, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. The deals include mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and private equity (PE) transactions. ■ PAGE 4 No one is off the hook yet, saysTrump 1,75,293 1,76,130 M&A, PE deals hit three-year high in Jan-March quarter Lodhas settle brand name dispute TARIFFS ON SEMICONDUCTORS SOON 91,125 1,13,193 IN THE NEWS *Prv close Milk Wheat Source: Bloomberg demand," Sachin Bobade, director, equity research at brokerage Dolat Capital,said. CompaniessuchasNestleandBritannia have said that they will con- tinuetoincreasepricesbysmallmarginstocounterinflation.GodrejConsumer Products (GCPL),on the other hand,said that itwill not rush to take price hikes in soaps despite palm oil inflation. Both Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and GCPL,the country’s number one and two soap makers, have increasedsoappricesby10%eachin the last few months.In tea,HUL and Tata Consumer Products have raised prices by at least 5-10% in recent months. “The focus remains on reviving underlying volume growth and holding Ebitda (earnings beforeinteresttaxdepreciation and amortisation) margins despite cost pressures in palm oilanditsderivatives,”GCPLsaid last week in its Q4 business update.“Weremainlargelyontrackto achieve these stated objectives,”the companyadded. Besides soaps,palm oil goes into makingwashingpowders,cosmetics, personalcareproductssuchastoothpastes,creamsandlotionsandsnacks while cocoa goes into making chocolates,and copra in hair oils.Titanium dioxide,meanwhile,goes into paints andLAB&sodaashareusedindetergents. In the last six months,cocoa and Arabica coffee prices have seen a sharp uptick of 30-36%; copra and tea have risen by 15%,Robusta coffee is up 13.4% and crude palm oil has increased by 4.34%,Bloomberg datashow.Whilecrudepalmoil,Arabica and Robusta coffee prices have declined between 5-14% in the last one month, experts say the impact on FMCG companies will be seen with a lag. Continued on Page 5 Ahmedabad