ECONOMY | PAGE 2 COMPANIES | PAGE 5 Simplify GSTregistration, plug tax leakage, says FM INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 HALbeatsAdani-backedbid towinISRO'stechtransfer AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2025 SoftBankchiefpitches$1-trn AIhubtoTSMC,Trumpteam FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XX-18, 32 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 82,408.17▲ 1046.30 NIFTY: 25,112.40 ▲ 319.15 NIKKEI 225: 38,403.23 ▼ 85.11 HANG SENG: 23,530.48 ▲ 292.74 `/$: 86.59 ▲ 0.14 `/€: 99.81 ▼ 0.26 BRENT: $76.12 ▼ $2.73 GOLD: `98,305 ▼ `581 FE CFO AWARDS, 2025 Sankhadeep Banerjee ‘Wewill go hard on manipulation’ FE BUREAU Mumbai, June 20 FPI outflows from Sept & Oct onwards had many reasons…But we have to take more steps to provide a predictable and facilitative environment HDB Fin IPO pricing below grey market HDB FINANCIAL SERVICES has priced its IPO at a significant discount to prices at which it traded in grey market, reports Nesil Staney. Its 52-week high in the grey market was `1,550. ■ PAGE 6 ESOP rules to see more startups list SEBI’S LATEST RULES for ESOPs are ‘founder-friendly’ and are expected to bring more startups into the public market, reports Nesil Staney. ■ PAGE 6 MANISH KEJRIWAL, FOUNDER, KEDAARA CAPITAL NILESH SHAH, MD, KOTAK MAHINDRA ASSET MANAGEMENT DINESH KUMAR KHARA, FORMER CHAIRMAN, STATE BANK OF INDIA You have this highly optimistic equitymarket and highlyconservative credit market…Unlesswe make some structural changes,therewill be hurdles to private capex.” There’sno correlation betweenwhatyoustudyand whatyouendupdoing.The mostimportantskillsetyou wanttoinculcateinyour childrenisnotwealthcreationbutconfidence.” The new generation of startups are real entrepreneurs,the ones who have createdwealth overtheyears are nowthe investors.Let us build up with it.” Credit growth at about 12% is a reasonable thing,which is actually whichwe have seen in the past.But the recent numberwhich has come is a bit disheartening.” KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, June 20 BSE M-CAP RISES `5L CR BENCHMARK INDICES ROSE 1.3% on Friday, snapping a three-daylosing streak as crude oilpricesfellupto3.5%afterUS President Donald Trump signalled that a decision on potentialstrikesagainstIranwouldbe made within two weeks,easing fears of an imminent military escalation. Amid a mixed trend in other Asianmarkets,theSensexsurged 1,046.30 points or 1.29% to close at 82,408.17, while the Nifty jumped 319.15 points or 1.29%toendabovethe25,000mark at 25,112.40.Brent crude declinedbyupto3.5%to$76.10 perbarrelonFriday,afterhaving breached the $79 mark in the previous session amid heightenedIran-Israeltensions. The broader indices also advanced with the BSE Midcap rising1.20%andtheBSESmallcap gaining 0.55%. Investors’ wealth rose by `4.9 lakh crore, pushingtheBSEmarketcapitalisationto`447.7lakhcrore. ■ Market breadth was positive with 2,463 gainers against 1,486 losers backs promoter ■ Domestic institutional investors sold shares worth `3,049 crore ■ Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth `7,940 crore ● Says everything was settled 22 years ago legally NARAYANAN V Chennai, June 20 SENSEX (Intra-day, June 20) 82,408.17 82,4 ,408.17 (close) 1.29% 81,361.87 (Previous close) TOP SECTORAL GAINERS TOP SENS CONTRIBUTORS SENSEX 2.73 % gain 2.22 1.62 1.46 1.42 5 81,354.85 (Open) Continued on Page 7 Teck IN THE NEWS RASHESH SHAH, CHAIRMAN, EDELWEISS GROUP Power BACK PAGE, PAGE 32 HDFC Bank Points % contribution 201.90 19.30 Reliance 180.95 Bharti Airtel ICICI Bank 141.84 M&M 68.93 17.29 98.24 13.56 9.39 6.59 With funding & growth stalling, platforms look at diversifying destinations & student markets Visaclampdownhitsstudyabroadboom ANEES HUSSAIN & NESIL STANEY Bengaluru/Mumbai, June 20 STUDYABROAD PLATFORMS are facing a sharp slowdown as tighter immigration and student visa rules across key destinations squeeze their core business.With the US,the UK, Canada and Australia turning more restrictive, firms like AdmitKard, Leverage Edu, Leap Scholar and upGrad are scrambling to diversify both destination and source markets to stay afloat. Investor interest has also evaporated. Funding for the sectorplunged 99% in 2024 to $9.15 million from $536 million in 2023, according to ■ FULL LIST OF WINNERS, PAGE 4 ROUND TABLE Utilities The fifth and the last day at Cannes Lions 2025 was a muted one for India, with only a Silver metal. With this, India’s final tally stood at 32 metals — 1 Grand Prix, 9 Gold, 9 Silver, and 13 Bronze Lions. The winners of the FE CFO awards at the Taj President in Mumbai on Friday Indicesriseover1%toend3-day SunTVdismisses losingrun;weekendsinthegreen fraud allegations; Realty DIARY Continued on Page 7 Telecom CANNES SECURITIESAND EXCHANGE Board of India (Sebi) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Friday that the markets regulatorwill come downveryhard on market manipulation. Speaking at the FE CFO Awards on Friday, he said that while there are scams that are happening like in the case of Gensol, one should not correlate it with‘ease of doing business’. “Regulation-wise, there was everything in that company – a board, independent directors, chartered accountants, certified auditors and promoterswhowerewell read, and the press was celebrating their startup… but we cannot celebrate the diversion and misuse of investment resources,”Pandeysaid,adding that Gensol didn’t happen due to any paucity of regulation but despite it. “Seeking one more report or seeking four more signatureswill not help,” he said. DIFFICULT CHAPTER ■ Funding for the sector plunged 99% in 2024 to $9.15 mn from $536 mn in 2023, according to Tracxn ■ The drop mirrors a 15% fall in Indian students going abroad in 2024 (759,064) compared to 892,989 in 2023,as per ICEF Monitor ■ Alternative destinations like New Zealand saw a 354% uptick, Germany 68%, Russia 59%, Ireland 49% ■ Canada has seen the steepest drop at 41%, followed by the UK at 28%, the US at 13%, and Australia at 12% Tracxn.Thedropmirrorsa15% fall in Indian students going abroadin2024(759,064)compared to 892,989 in 2023, as perICEFMonitor. The Big Four destinations have all recorded double-digit decline.Canada saw the steepest drop at 41%, followed by the UK at 28%,the US at 13%, and Australia at 12%. In contrast, alternative destinations are seeing strong upticks.New Zealand is up 354%,Germany 68%, Russia 59%, Ireland 49% and France 11%. For companies reliant on outbound Indian students,the contraction has hit hard. Loan provider GyanDhan’s applications were flat this year,which CEO Ankit Mehra called “not good, but better than Covid when it was zero”. The firm made `24 crore revenue and `1.4 crore profit in FY24 but is open to sacrificing profit in FY25 to tap new geographies. Germany is up nearly 100% andmarketslikeFrance,Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands are posting 50–100% growth for GyanDhan. Still, Mehra warned these smaller markets can’t yet replace US volumes. Continued on Page 7 SUN TV NETWORK on Friday issuedastrongrebuttalfollowing reportsofalegaldisputeinitiated by Dayanidhi Maran,Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister, against his elder brother and company promoter Kalanithi Maran.Thebroadcaster,inaregulatory filing said that the separation of business interests between the brothers took place over two decades ago and was carriedoutinaccordancewithall legalrequirements. The statement came in response to reports that Dayanidhihassentalegalnotice accusingKalanithiandothersof “fraudulentpractices”and“misgovernance”in the control and managementofSunTVafterthe death of their father, Murasoli Maran, in 2003. The younger Maran is reportedly seeking to reinstatethecompany’sownership structure as it stood before September2003. Sun TV,currently chaired by Kalanithi, with his daughter Kavya Kalanithi Maran also on the board, refuted the allegations, calling them misleading and defamatory.The company FAMILY FEUD Sun TV Network 613.5 Jun 19 (close) 1.04% 607.1 Jun 20 (close) ■ The Maran family holds a dominant stake in the media house, with Kalanithi (left) owning 75% in the firm ■ Brother Dayanidhi, a Lok Sabha MP, has accused Kalanithi of “fraudulent practices” stressed that all relevant agreements were examined and cleared byappropriate legal and financial intermediaries before SunTV’spubliclisting. “Theeventsbeingreferredto dateback22yearswhenSunTV wasacloselyheldprivatelimited company.The assertions being circulatedareinaccurate,speculative,andlacklegalfoundation,” thestatementsaid. Continued on Page 7 SFBs’target forlending topriority sectorcut FE BUREAU Mumbai, June 20 THE RESERVE BANK of India has cut the overall priority sector lending (PSL) target for small finance banks (SFBs) to 60% from 75% earlier, the central bank said in a release on Friday. “On a review, it has been decided that financial year 2025-26 onwards, the additional component (35%) of PSL shall be reduced to 20 %, thereby making the overall PSL target as 60% of ANBC or Credit Equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposures (CEOBE),whichever is higher,” the release said. The small finance banks will still have to allocate 40% of its adjusted net bank credit or CEOBE, whichever is higher, to different sub-sectors under priority sector lending, while the balance of 20% will be allocated to any one or more sub-sectors under the priority sector lending where the bank has a competitive advantage, the release said. Continued on Page 7 »INSIDE« RATE CUT FRONT-LOADING TO AID GROWTH: RBI MINUTES PAGE 6 Core sector Accenture ups Chandra leads growth falls to FY25 revenue tribute toAI 9-month low growth figure victims atAGM THE GROWTH in output of India’s core infrastructure industries fell to an eightmonth low of 0.7% in May as production of electricity and fertilisers contracted sharply duringthemonth.Theelectricity sector that has a highest weight of 19.85% in the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) saw the output fall by 5.8% in May. ■ PAGE 2 ACCENTURE HAS revised its lowerendoftheannualrevenue growth forecast forFY25 (SeptAug) to 6-7%,up from the previousprojectionof5-7%onthe back of increasing demand AIbased solutions, reports PadminiDhruvaraj.However,CEO Julie Sweet said that they continue to see an elevated level of uncertaintycomparedtocalendaryear2024. ■ PAGE 4 TATASONS chairman N Chandrasekaran on Friday led the management and shareholders of Tata Motors in paying homage to the victims of the Air India plane crash by observing a minute’s silence at the company’s 80th AGM, reportsSwarajBaggonkar.He said the auto sector is going through testing times in his address. ■ PAGE 4 Ahmedabad