COMPANIES | PAGE 6 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 Abbys 2025: Independent agencies in the spotlight INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Driving business impact viaAgenticAI:Wipro CTO NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2025 Musk logs out of DOGE as topTrump adviser FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L1 NO. 76, 48 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & 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 , 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: 81,633.00 ▲ 320.68 NIFTY: 24,833.60 ▲ 81.15 NIKKEI 225: 38,432.98 ▲ 710.58 HANG SENG: 23,573.38 ▲ 315.07 `/$: 85.53 ▼ 0.17 `/€: 96.46 ▲ 0.28 BRENT: $64.29 ▼ $0.61 GOLD: `94,954 ▼ `567 IN THE NEWS ICAI to review financial statements of IndusInd Bank THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED Accountants of India will review fraud-hit IndusInd Bank's financial statements for 2023-24 and 2024-25, reports PTI. The institute's Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB) will carry out the review. ■ PAGE 17 DoT seeks Trai views on pricing for 800, 900, 1800 MHz THE GOVERNMENT HAS approached telecom regulator TRAI for recommendations on reserve price and other modalities for the auction of at least nine mainstream spectrum bands, including 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, that are primarily used for transmitting mobile phone voice and data signals, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 5 FM seeks deeper support from ADB for rural prosperity TRUMPADMIN FILESAPPEALNOTICE,QUESTIONS COURT’SAUTHORITY US court blocksTrump tariffs SWEEPING ORDER DIETRICH KNAUTH & DANIELWIESSNER New York, May 29 0.454 points A US TRADE court blocked most of PresidentDonaldTrump’stariffsina sweepingrulingthatfoundthepresident overstepped his authority by imposingacross-the-boarddutieson imports from US »INSIDE« trading partners. TheCourtofIntUS ECONOMY FALLS 0.2% ernational Trade IN Q1 said the Constitution gives Congress PAGE 10 exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countriesthatisnotoverriddenbythe president’semergencypowerstosafeguard the economy.“The court doesn’t pass upon the wisdom or likely effectivenessofthePresident’suseof tariffs asleverage,” it said in the order to issue a permanent injunction on thetariffordersissuedsinceJanuary. Continued on Page 4 (0.45%) US DOLLAR INDEX 99.875 99.421 May 28 (close) ■ Court says US Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries ■ Trump admin told to issue new orders on permanent injunction within 10 days May 29 (8:21 IST) COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE The court does not pass upon the wisdom orlikelyeffectiveness of the President’s use of tariffs as leverage.Thatuseisimpermissible not because it is unwise or ineffective,but because [federal law] does not allowit Trade talkswith US to resume in Delhi nextweek MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, May 29 ATEAM OFtradenegotiatorsfrom the US will be in New Delhi next weektotakeforwarddiscussionson theinterimtradeagreementwhich could come as soon as before the last week of June.The negotiators willbeinIndiafromJune5orJune 6,a seniorofficial said. Through the interim trade agreement, India is looking to avoidadditional26%tariffsonits exports to the US, which were announced by President Donald Trump under the reciprocal tariff plan onApril 2. ● RAJNATH, DEFENCE CHIEFSATCII SUMMIT ■ PAGE 5 FE S P E C I A L A direct-to-audience strategy for Bollywood A YouTube film release can be a disruptive move ■ EXPLAINER, P9 ANANTHA NAGESWARAN, CHAIRMAN, BHARTI ENTERPRISES RAILWAYS AND IT MINISTER CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER Everything stops (during polls)...lot of restrictions come on economic activities. Our elections are repeatedly happening... The goal is to ensure AI tools and infra are not concentrated in the hands of a few but are accessible to all ...for the private sector people...do not expect the rupee will necessarily be weakening as it did in the last 30 years RELATED REPORTS ON PAGE 2 FLIPKART INTERNET, THE marketplace arm of Walmart-owned Flipkart, has secured another capital infusion of `2,225 crore (approximately$262million)fromitsSingapore-based parent entity.The latest funding comes just two months after a previous infusion of `3,200 crore, signalling continued confidenceinFlipkart’sgrowthprospects ahead of a planned public listing. According to filings with the Registrar of Companies, the board ofFlipkartInternethasallottednew equity shares to Flipkart Marketplace,theSingapore-registeredparent.The capital injection comes at a time when Flipkart is accelerating preparations for its much-anticipated initial public offering. The company is also in the process of shifting its legal domicile to India, in a move widely seen as a prelude to the domestic listing. Continued on Page 4 ■ Walmart won't rush Flipkart to profitability, Page 6 OlaElectriclossesdouble,revenuetanks NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, May 29 OLA ELECTRIC’S LOSSES more than doubled in the January-March quarter to `870 crore, driven by a sharp decline in revenue,mounting operationalchallenges,andintensifying competition from legacy automakers.Thefigurefarexceeded Bloomberg estimates of a `407.80crore net loss. Revenue from operations dropped 56.4% year-on-year to `726 crore, well below the `915 REPORT CARD Ebitda Ola Electric Mobility consolidated financials Q4 FY24 Q4 FY25 (` crore) Revenue 1,671 728 Net loss y-o-y % change -56.4 crore expected by Bloomberg. The fall in topline performance was attributed to a slowdown in vehicle registrations, disruptions in scaling its direct-to-customersales and service network, and pressure from traditional OEMs that have accelerated their electric vehicle offerings.Regulatoryscrutinyover sales reporting furtherweighed on quarterly performance. Vehicle deliveries nearly halved during the quarter,down to 51,375 unitsfrom115,000unitsinQ4FY24. The company still claimed to have retained market leadership for FY25, with full-year deliveries rising to 359,000 units, up from 329,000 a year earlier. Continued on Page 10 ■ Bajaj Auto beats estimates, profit up 6%, Page 6 MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, May 29 THE RESERVE BANK of India’s (RBI) monetary policy stance will continue to support economic growth as inflation iswellwithin its target at 4%, the apex bank’s annual report for FY25 said. “The relatively benign inflation environment,combinedwith moderate but steady growth, justifies a monetary policy stance that is supportiveof economicexpansion,”the report released on Thursday noted. Italsoprojectedabrightfuturefor the Indian economy,with the countryexpected to maintain its position as the fastest-growing major economyin theworld in FY26. According to the report,the RBI projected India’s real GDP growth at 6.5%, while consumer price index (CPI) inflation forecast to moderate at 4% — well within the tolerance band. This suggests that the RBI may go for further interest rate cuts, even as earlyas the June policynext week,to further boost growth. Economist and bankers agree on the RBI stance. Suvodeep Rakshit, chief economist at Kotak Institutional Equities, said that now that the inflation is under control and growth is slowing, if not absolutely falling off,it’s an opportune time to prioritise growth without compromising on inflation. GROWTH PATH CPI inflation (%) Oct 31, 2024 6.21 7 6 5 4 5.69 3 3.16 2 1 0 Dec 31, 2023 ■ RBI’s annual report projects a bright future for the Indian economy Apr 30, 2025 ■ Report projects real GDP growth at 6.5% ■ India expec- ted to maintain position as fastest-growing major economy The RBI attributes India’s growth trajectory to strong macroeconomic fundamentals,a resilient financial sector, and the government’s continued focus on sustainable and inclusive development. Continued on Page 4 RBIincomegets ECBsrisefivefold $13-bnforexboost to$18.6bninFY25 THE RESERVE BANK of India's gains from foreign exchange transactions surged nearly 33% to`1.11lakhcrore($13billion)in the fiscal ended March, pushing up its income sharply, its annual report showed on Thursday. ■ PAGE 7 NET EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL borrowings (ECBs) surged more than 5 times to $18.7 billion in FY25 compared with $3.6 billion a year ago,according to the RBI annual report, reports Saikat Neogi. ■ PAGE 7 NewF&O playbook: Sebi tightens norms NESIL STANEY Mumbai, May 29 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday announced a fresh set of guidelines for the derivatives market. Positionedasthefuturesandoptions 2.0 guidelines, these measures are expected to further improve risk management, implement adequate surveillance as well as smoothen settlement of trades in the derivatives markets. “With increased retail participation, offering of short tenure index options contracts, and heightened trading volumes in index derivatives on expiryday,it is crucial to ensure integrity of securities market ecosystem,” the markets regulator said. Sebi will not monitor intraday index option positions — a major relieftomarketmakerswhosaidconstant monitoring would disturb liquidity. However, it will now track Open Interest (OI) using a new method called FutEq or delta-based OI.Ithasalsoincreasedthepositionlimitsforindexoptions. Inaddition,itwillallow broader limits based on a mixoffixedamountsand a percentage of market OpenInterest,depending onthetypeofinvestor(like FPIs ormutual funds). The ‘market wide position limits’ (MWPL) of stocks have been tweaked.MWPLshallbelowerof15% of free float and 65x Average Daily Delivery Value (ADDV) with a floor limitof10%offreefloat,Sebisaid. Continued on Page 10 Maharashtra, MP march ahead, but most others slow in implementation Eightyears on,RERAlong on promise,short on delivery RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, May 29 EIGHTYEARSAFTERitsimplementation, the Real Estate (Regulation andDevelopment)Act,2016(RERA) has covered some distance but poor implementation — the familiar bugbear for many such wellintentioned programmes —continues to playspoilsport. Outof36statesandUnionTerritories, five still have interim RERA authoritieswhile two don’t. “After eight years, different states have taken different steps, but the best are Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. But even they have not met 50-60% of their targets,”said Gulam Zia,senior executive director, Knight Frank India, adding many of them have THE STORY SO FAR ■ Over 143,000 ■ Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have not set up a RERA authority, while Meghalaya only has an interim authority ■ Meghalaya and Manipur also do not have a RERA web portal yet projects registered with RERA authorities comprising 11.1 mn units between Jan 2017 and Jan 2025 achieved just 20-25% of targets. Struggling with data load Experts point out RERAauthorities are struggling with challenges ranging from humongous data and ■ Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir among states that have not yet set up an appellate tribunal Source: Knight Frank, PropEquity APPLE HAS LEASED 8,000 sq ft of retail space at Bengaluru’s Phoenix Mall of Asia for its third outlet in the country, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. It will pay an annual rent of about `2.09 crore with a revenue share of about 2% for the first three years of operation. ASHWINI VAISHNAW -870 Apple leases unit in Bengaluru for third store in India SUNIL MITTAL, -416 OLECTRA GREENTECH'S INABILITY to ensure timely delivery of electric buses — which prompted the Maharashtra govt to cancel a 5,150-vehicle order — stems from an impediment that ails the entire sector: sparse supply of components, particularly of chassis and battery, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ PAGE 6 Defence minister Rajnath Singh (centre) with chiefs of the armed forces, CII president Sanjiv Puri (fourth from left), and others during the CII annual general meeting & business summit, in New Delhi on Thursday PTI -286 Short supply of components hits e-bus production RAGHAVAGGARWAL New Delhi, May 29 -62 STATE-OWNED LIC is the sole buyer in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone’s record `5,000-crore bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter, reports Bloomberg. The company will issue a 15-year bond with a coupon of 7.75%. ■ PAGE 19 Continued on Page 4 Flipkart parent adds another `2,225 crore to itswallet FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman on Thursday sought enhanced support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for integrated rural prosperity initiatives, including job creation, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 4 LIC sole buyer in Adani Ports’ record rupee bond sale “We are well on track in our bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal saidattheannualgeneralmeeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII). Ratecutseasonmay get longer as RBI takesagrowthpivot lack of skilled manpower to too much reliance on state agencies. Besides,RERAauthoritiesdon’thave theteethtoenforcetheirordersand often have to depend on state authorities. The state bodies, how- ever, often ignore RERA, a consultant who did not want to be quoted told FE. Zia said that in Maharashtra alone, 8,000-10,000 projects are registered with MahaRera, the state’s RERAauthority. “There could be errors in data, but no state RERA authority can audit such humongous data,” Zia said,addingthatthecurrentsystem is based on complaints bybuyers. “Data uploading is voluntary. Only if buyers raise an issue, problems come to surface,”he added. Zia said that unless AI and machinelearningareimplemented, the problemswill remain. Though there has been criticism that there is no mechanism to check whether developers have deposited 70% of the collected funds in escrowaccounts as perthe RERA norm, experts say this rule has helped stop developers from transferring the money for other purposes. Anuranjan Mohnot, managing New Delhi director and CEO,Lumos Alternate Investment Advisors, said if developers do not meet the escrow norms, it is a violation of law and has to be strictly dealt with. However, if customers fail to check the escrowaccount,it is a fault on their part,he added. Silver lining Despitetheissues,developerssay that before and after RERA’s implementation, there has been a 100% improvement in the way the sector operated andregulated.“Now,there is no worry about titles, no worry about money being misused and a separate body to look into complaints,” Hiranandani Group chairman Niranjan Hiranandani said. Continued on Page 10