AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2025 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE VOL NO. XIX 273, 22 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 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD SENSEX: 79,595.59 ▲ 187.09 NIFTY: 24,167.25 ▲ 41.70 NIKKEI 225: 34,220.60 ▼ 59.32 HANG SENG: 21,562.32 ▲ 167.18 `/$: 85.20 ▼ 0.06 `/€: 97.89 ▲ 0.41 BRENT: $66.88 ▲ $0.62 GOLD: `98,228 ▲ `1,952 IN THE NEWS Modi pushes for stronger Saudi ties in energy & tech ON ATWO-DAY visit to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched for stronger ties between the two countries in areas such as energy and tech, reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 2 Bold reforms vital for rapid growth: Sitharaman in US SUSTAINING INDIA'S GROWTH momentum calls for a fresh approach grounded in bold reforms and stronger domestic capacities, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at an event in the US. ■ PAGE 3 Gold future prices breach `1-lakh mark for first time PRODUCTIONSHIFTSFROMCHINAAMIDUSTARIFFS 1in4iPhonestobe madeinIndiaby‘26 RISHI RAJ New Delhi, April 22 BUMPER APPLE HARVEST APPLE IS LOOKING to shift more than 25% of the global iPhone production from China to India by the end of 2026, as the US’ tariffs and trade tensions with Beijing provide a clear advantage to India. At the end of FY25, India’s share in the global production of iPhones rose to 20%, from 14% in FY24. In a span of just four years, iPhone production in India rose from nil to 20%. In the ongoing tariff war triggeredbyUSPresidentDonaldTrump, Indiahasanadvantage over China, which produces the remaining 80% of iPhonesfortheChinesemarket and exports. If this advantage sustains,Apple could think of shiftingevenalargerquantum of its production to India. EvenaftertheUSsuspended reciprocal tariffs on electronics on April 12, Chinese exports of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and smartwatches to the US face a 20% tariff, stemming from earlier duties tied to the US-Chinatradewar.Incontrast, Apple’s iPhone production and exports under the smartphone PLI scheme ($ bn) Production 22 17.5 74 Exports ■ Made-in-China Export percentage 14 10.3 71 7 60 2 80 electronics exports to the US face 20% tariff at present ■ Apple began shifting iPhone production to India after govt launched PLI scheme in 2020 5 1.2 FY22 FY23 FY24 Year 1 PLI year Year 2 Year 3 FY25 Year 4 ■ Apple produced iPhones worth $22 billion in India during FY25 India enjoys zero tariffs on these products when exported to the US. This creates a 20% cost advantage for Indianmade electronics over Chinese ones, making India a more attractive supplier for companies like Apple, which dominates US smartphone imports. Forexample,aniPhonemade in China incurs a 20% tariff uponenteringtheUS,increasing its cost to distributors or consumers.An iPhone from India, facing no such tariff, is inherentlycheaper,allowingApple to either maintain competitive pricingorimprovemargins. Vancewarns of‘dark times’ without close India-US ties IMFcuts India GDPgrowth forecast to 6.2% for FY26 GOLD FUTURE PRICES sustained an upward trend for the fourth straight session to hit a record `1 lakh per 10 grams on the MCX. ■ PAGE 6 ● Wants NewDelhi to drop some of non-tariff barriers FE BUREAU New Delhi, April 22 JD VANCE, US VICE-PRESIDENT Too often in the past, (US) approached the Prime Minister with an attitude of preaching, or even of condescension I told PM Modi he has got approval ratings that would make me jealous INDIA SHOULD CONSIDER “dropping some of the nontariff barriers” to ensure American companies have better access to the Indian market, and buy more American energy and defence hardware, US vice president JD Vance said on Tuesday,asserting that ties between the two countries will shape the 21st century. Vance’s remarks, made at an event in Jaipur in Rajasthan, come at a time India and the US are working hard to finalise a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by the autumn of this year. Continued on Page 7 ● 26 KILLED INJ&KTERROR STRIKE ONTOURISTS Security personnel respond to a terror attack in the tourism hotspot of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. In the deadliest attack in Kashmir since the Pulwama strike in 2019, at least 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed and over 20 injured ■ REPORT, P22 PTI Continued on Page 7 PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, April 22 THE INTERNATIONALMONETARY Fund (IMF) has cut India’sgrowthprojectionby30 basis points (bps) to 6.2% for FY26, citing higher trade tensions and global uncertainty, evenasthemultilateralagency reducedtheworldGDPgrowth outlook by a sharper 50 bps to 2.8% for 2025. The IMF also cut India’s growth projection by 20 bps to 6.3% for FY27. The IMFsaid the“near-universal”US tariffs,which raised effective tariff rates to levels not seen in a century, on its own is a major negative shock to world growth. The US had announced hefty “reciprocal tariffs” on most countries. While these have since been put in abeyance for90 days,an additional base line tariff of 10% is in place for most countries, with China facing prohibitive impost of up to 145%. “For India,the growth outlook is relatively more stable at 6.2% in 2025 (FY26), supported by private consumption, particularly in rural areas, but this rate is 0.3 percentage point lower than that in the January 2025 WEO Update on account of higher levels of trade tensions and global uncertainty,” the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO). Continued on Page 7 Deal value pegged at `155 crore;Airtel likely to use airwaves for broadband Afterthreeyearsofnouse, Adani sellsentire5GspectrumtoAirtel URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, April 22 NEARLY THREE YEARS after it made a surprising winning bid for 5G spectrum, the Adani GrouphassoldittoBhartiAirtel. In a deal announced on Tuesday, Bharti Airtel and its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom have agreed to acquire the rights to use 400 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz band from the Adani Enterprisesowned Adani Data Networks. While neither company disclosed financial details of the transaction, industry sources estimate the deal value to be around `155 crore, minus interest. Under the department of telecommunications’ spectrum trading rules, the MISSED CALL ■ Under the department of ■ Adani Enterprises acquired 400 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz band -- 100 MHz each in Gujarat and Mumbai, and 50 MHz each in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu -- in July 2022 ■ The acquisition cost was ■ The Adani Group upfront payment of `18.9 crore and the balance to be paid over 20 years telecommunications’ spectrum trading rules, the new holder takes over government dues as well so far `212 crore — is estimated to have paid about `55 crore acquiring company takes over the remaining government dues linked to the spectrum. Adani had bought the spectrum in the July 2022 auctions for `212 crore — making an upfront payment of `18.9 crore and agreeing to pay the balance over 20 years. Since then, the com- pany is estimated to have paid about `55 crore, excluding penalties for not meeting rollout obligations. Adani had acquired the spectrum with the stated intent of building private captive networks for its enterprise operations across ports, airports, logistics, and energyverticals.It had explicitly denied any plans to enter the consumer cellular space. The firm secured 100 MHz each in Gujarat and Mumbai, and 50 MHz each in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Continued on Page 7 Ahmedabad