BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 At 80thAGM, L&Ttargets clean energy edge INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Rural consumption moving towards choice and care MUMBAI, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2025 Oracle’s $116-billion surge leaves little room forAI error FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXV NO. 143, 26 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 81,583.31 ▼ 212.84 NIFTY: 24,853.40 ▼ 93.10 NIKKEI 225: 38,536.74 ▲ 225.41 HANG SENG: 23,980.30 ▼ 80.69 `/$: 86.24 ▼ 0.18 `/€: 99.67 ▲ 0.03 BRENT: $75.06 ▲ $1.83 GOLD: `98,768 ▼ `90 DIRECTTAX RECEIPTS FALL1.5% ONYEAR IN THE NEWS States’ capex spends likely grew 21% in April STATES’ CAPITAL EXPENDITURE likely rose 21% onyear in April compared with a decline of 14% in the year-ago month, despite a moderation in tax collections, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 Rupee down 18 p, at two-month low on West Asia crisis THE RUPEE DEPRECIATED 18 paise to settle at 86.24 to a dollar on Tuesday as the West Asia conflict escalated further during the day, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 7 Railways to add 50 Namo Bharat trains, 100 MEMUs THE CENTRE PLANS to upgrade the passenger train services by adding 100 mainline electric multiple units (MEMUs) with a configuration of 16-20 coaches per train, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 2 Mahindra arm, Aernnova ink $300-mn pact AERNNOVA AEROSPACE AND Mahindra Aerostructures have signed a multi-year, $300 million contract for the manufacture of metal subassemblies and components for a range ofAirbus and Embraer aircraft, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ PAGE 4 NHAI show cause notice to Megha Engineering & Infra THE NATIONAL HIGHWAYS Authority of India (NHAI) has issued a show cause notice to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, asking why they should not be debarred from participating in future bids for one year, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 4 FE S P EC I A L India’s declining fertility rate A lower TFR will not immediately translate to zero population growth ■ EXPLAINER, P9 VEERING OFF COURSE Growth (%, y-o-y) Advance tax collections (` lakh cr) Growth (%, y-o-y) 14 27 1.49 PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, June 17 THE CENTRE’S ADVANCE direct tax collections for the first quarter of 2025-26 from companies, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and individuals rose by a modest 3.6% on year compared with a robust 27% growth seen in the year-ago quarter, as personal income tax (PIT) relief announced in the Budget and high corporate tax refunds weighed in. Advance tax receipts stood at `1.54 lakh crore as of June 16 of FY26 compared with `1.48 lakh crore in the Direct tax receipts, Q1FY26^ (` lakh cr) Overall 4.56 1.5 Corporation tax 1.72 5.1 Personal income Tax* 2.84 3.6 1.54 trailsestimateamid reliefinincometax, refundstoIndiaInc Making every decimal earn its rightful place 1 URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, June 17 ATUL DAGA LIKES fast cars and waits eagerly to get his hands on the latest gadgets because he simply cannot resist cutting-edge technology. When it comes to balance sheets, however, he’s a lot more grounded, a purist – disciplined, meticulous. For the chief financial officer of UltraTech Cement,“cash is reality”. That’s a mantra that has guided his decades-long career in finance all the way to his current role. His taste for cars and gadgets may appear at odds with conservative financial philosophies but for Daga, they are united by the very traits he value the most— responsiveness, control, and precision. He has converted his workspace into a paperless zone. And his latest possession is a set of Google’s AI- ^After refunds; as of June 16; *includes STT ■ In FY26 Budget, the tax exemption limit was raised to `12 lakh FY24 FY25 FY26 Q1 year-ago period, according to sources. In the FY26 Budget, the Centre sharply raised the income-tax exemption limit to `12 lakh from `7 lakh in the new tax regime and lowered tax incidence under various income slabs. The gov- ernment said the restructuring would leave around `1 lakh crore in the hands of taxpayers to boost consumption and investments. Advance tax paid by personal income taxpayers fell 4% on year to `32,971 crore in Q1FY26 while corporate ■ Overall direct tax refunds grew by a sharp 61% year-over-year advance tax rose 6% to `1.21 lakh crore. This is in contrast to PIT advance tax growth of a whopping 46% and the corporate advance tax growth of 24% in Q1FY25. Continued on Page 10 NSE F&O expiry DGCA finds no onTuesday,BSE security lapses in getsThursday AI’s Boeing 787s ANANYA GROVER Mumbai, June 17 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has finally decided on the derivative expiry days of the two prominent stock exchanges, with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE getting Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The decision comes after the markets regulator issued guidelines last month restricting derivatives expiry days to these two days only. The new contracts will be launched from September onwards. In their respective circulars, both the exchanges clarified that with the interchange in the expiry days, they will continue with the present expiry day for derivative contracts that will expire on or before August 31. Industry players believe Sebi’s decision finally ends the long-drawn confusion among investors about the way the expiry day guidelines will be implemented and curb volatility. Some also believe EFFECTIVE SEPT F&O turnover market share (%) NSE Nov Dec BSE 24.2 29.2 75.8 70.8 Jan 64.3 35.7 Feb 64.1 35.9 Mar 63.5 36.5 Apr 62.4 37.6 May 63.5 36.5 »INSIDE« BROKERS URGE ACTION ON INVESTOR LOSSES IN F&O PAGE 7 that NSE, which had applied for Tuesday as its day, will have an extra advantage of two days of higher volumes. Continued on Page 11 ● Seeks training data of pilots, dispatcher of crashed plane make the right decisions,” his father advised him—a value that Daga holds close to his heart. After breezing through the CA entrance exam and doing a short stint at an accountancy firm, Daga realised he was more interested in evaluating numbers and finding intrinsic value or “true worth,” as he puts it. Thus began his journey in corporate India, and he soon found himself at Rajashree Cement (now UltraTech Cement) – then a remote unit within the Aditya Birla Group. “Nobody paid attention to me,” he recalls, talking about how he set about building the financial model for the plant—starting from mining costs down to the life-cycle of a dumper’s tyre. Being fairly junior, it was a challenge getting the senior executives to take him seriously. But he persevered, poring over data, crunching the numbers.The experience laid the foundation for his rigorous, ground-up approach to business. Continued on Pg 10 UNDER THE LENS NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, June 17 THE DIRECTORATE GENERALof CivilAviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safetyconcerns.The fatal Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad last week sparked safety concerns and the DGCA had ordered enhanced surveillance of Air India's 787 fleet. "The recent surveillance conducted on Air India's Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns. The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards," DGCA said in a statement.Air India's fleet has 33 Boeing 787-8/9 planes Earlier in the day, DGCA had convened a high-level enabled earbuds that can translate content real-time from a variety of languages. “Always exploring,” he chuckles, adding quickly that his passion for stateof-the-art technology never ever impinges on his core belief in frugality and value creation. Daga’s relationship with numbers began early. His father, an engineer at a steel factory, taught him to calculate weights and volumes manually, often using production registers long before the era of spreadsheets. “Compare, be frugal, but SHYAM KR PRASAD BACK PAGE, PAGE 20 ● Collectionpace 1.17 Day 2 at Cannes was a bit subdued for India, winning only three Lions – two silvers & one bronze – taking the tally to 12. The number of shortlists rose to 84 with addition of 16 more. FCB picked seven shortlists in three categories. 2024 DIARY Advance tax growth sluggish at 3.6% in Q1 2025 CANNES CFO OF THE YEAR: ATUL DAGA ■ Tuesday's meeting was chaired by the director general of civil aviation Fazi Ahmed Kidwai and was also attended by AI MD & CEO Campbell Wilson ■ These meetings are expected to continue in the coming days ■ After the crash, DGCA ordered enhanced surveillance of AI's 787 fleet Will emphasise priorities of Global South: PM at G7 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi is likely to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz,ItalianPrimeMinisterGiorgiaMeloni, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the host,Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in Kananaskis wherehewillalsoaddresstheG7 leaders’outreachsession,reports ShubhajitRoy. Earlier, news agencies reported that the group expressed support forIsrael in a statement issued late on MondayandlabelleditsrivalIranasa source of instability in the Middle East. The summit saw US PresidentDonaldTrumpleaving thesummitadayearlyduetothe situationinWestAsia,theWhite House said on Monday, which waslaterdeniedbyhim. TheUSPresidentalsohinted thatpharmaceuticaltariffswere coming very soon following which shares of Indian pharma firmsfacedsellingpressurewith BSE Healthcare index falling 1.82%to43,373.62. PTI »INSIDE« AI CANCELS 9 FLIGHTS IN 2 DAYS AFTER DGCA CHECKS PAGE 6 virtual meeting with Air India’s top brass, deepening its ongoing investigation into last week’s tragic crash. Continued on Page 11 MakeMyTrip to raise HZLlines up `12K-cr Lenskart prepares $2.6 bn for buyback investment for 3 yrs for $1-billion IPO US-LISTED INDIAN travel firm MakeMyTrip is raising over $2.6 billion via the concurrent sale of shares and convertible bonds, as it looks to buy back a part of the stake held by China's Trip.com Group, reports Raghav Aggarwal. ■ PAGE 4 HINDUSTAN ZINC (HZL), part of the Vedanta group, will invest `12,000 crore over the next three years, in the first phase of a plan to nearly double its integrated refined metal production capacity in five years, , reports Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 4 SOFTBANK GROUP-BACKED Lenskart Solutions is preparing to file preliminary documents in the coming weeks for an initial public offering (IPO) that may fetch about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, reports Bloomberg. ■ PAGE 7 PM Narendra Modi is welcomed upon his arrival at Calgary airport in Canada REPORTS, PAGE 3 Indian entrepreneurs believe proximity to theValley’s thriving tech ecosystem will accelerate their next phase of growth SaaSfoundersheadtoSiliconValleytotapintoAIinnovation S SHANTHI Bengaluru, June 17 AS TECH STARTUPS such as Meesho, Flipkart, Groww and Razorpayshift theirfocus back to India, a counter-trend is emerging among SaaS (software-as-a-service) founders.A growing number of them are moving base to Silicon Valley, citing the need to stay closer to the nerve centre of artificial intelligence innovation. These entrepreneurs are betting that proximity to the Valley’s thriving tech ecosystemwillbecrucialtoaccelerating their next phase of growth. Arvind Parthiban,CEO and cofounderofSuperOps,isamong them. “For us, it’s also about embedding ourselves deeper into the network that powers thefutureofSaaS.Beingonthe ground gives us a better pulse oninnovationandhelpsusstay ahead of the curve,”he told FE. The migration comes amid rising concerns that the explosive growth of generative AI (GenAI) could disrupt the trajectoryoftraditionalSaaSplayers. Industry voices, including Zoho’s chief scientist Sridhar Vembu,havewarnedthattheAI boom may erode the competitive edge of Indian SaaS star- PARADIGM SHIFT ■ Startups like Composio, Rocketlane and Trezix are also reportedly either moving to the US or extending their stays to capitalise on the Valley’s AI momentum ■ The migration comes amid rising concerns that the explosive growth of GenAI could disrupt the trajectory of traditional SaaS players tups. Investors, too, have shifted focus towards GenAI-driven ■ Investors, too, have shifted focus towards GenAI-driven products. In 2023 GenAI startups in the Valley alone raised over $21 ■ Despite the trend, not all SaaS leaders believe that innovation is bound by geography billion products.According to reports, in 2023, more than 40% of all global AI funding was concen- trated in the Bay Area, with GenAI startups in the Valley alone raising over $21 billion. For founders like Parthiban, this makes relocating a logical step.“It’s not just about innovation. It’s also about access to capital,partnerships,and staying aligned with evolving customer expectations,” he said. SuperOps is currently transitioningitsheadquarterstoSan Francisco and is looking to strengthen its presence with leadership and core teams on theground.Thecompanyviews the move as a strategic one aligned with its scaling ambitions and long-term vision. As part of its evolution, SuperOps is working to embed AI more deeply within its cus- tomer offerings.The company is automating internal workflows and offloading Level 1 supporttaskstofreeuphuman bandwidth for more strategic work. A recent Bain & Company report found that 84% of enterprise software buyers in 2024 prioritised tools with embedded AI capabilities.The reportalsonotedthatglobalAIfocused venture capital dry powder has surpassed $35 billion, a strong signal of investors’ preference for GenAI-native products. Continued on Page 10