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L1 NO. 136, 44 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: 80,623.25 ▲ 79.26 NIFTY: 24,596.15 ▲ 21.95 NIKKEI 225: 41,059.15 ▲ 264.29 HANG SENG: 25,081.63 ▲ 171 `/$: 87.71 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 102.37 ▼ 0.72 BRENT: $67.05 ▲ $0.16 GOLD: `1,00,132 ▲ `155 ADAYAFTERTRUMP’S 50% SHOCKER,DEFIANTINDIADRAWING UPSTRATEGYTO PROTECTITS INTERESTS INDIAPICKINGUPTHEPIECES PM readyto paya heavyprice to protect farmers Govt chalks out 4-pronged plan to blunt impact HARIKISHAN SHARMA New Delhi, August 7 IN FIRST PUBLIC remarks after US President Donald Trump doubled the tariffs on India to 50% ahead of more negotiations for a trade deal that has run into Indian red lines in sensitive areas such as agriculture and dairy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the country “will nevercompromise on the interests of its farmers, livestock rearers and fisherfolk”. He said he knewhe“personally will have to pay a very heavy price”,but he was“readyfor it”. In his address at the M S Swaminathan Centenary International Conference in New Delhi, Modi said,“For us, the interests of ourfarmers are the highest priority... Today, India is prepared — for the farmers of my country, for the fisherfolk of my country and for the livestock rearers of my country. “Our government recognises farmer strength as the foundation of the nation’s progress,”he added. Intheongoingtalkswiththe US for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA), India has made it clearthat agriculture and dairy remain non-negotiable. New Delhi is unlikely to concede to Washington’s push for market access to genetically modified (GM) crops such as corn and soya. “Some things are nonnegotiable on principle. We can’timportGM,”asourcesaid, indicating India’s firm stance. Agriculture continues to be one of the most contentious areas between the two countries,with the US Trade Representative (USTR) repeatedly raising concerns over India’s restrictions on GM imports, calling them discriminatory. Continued on Page 11 NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER India will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, livestock rearers,and fishermen »INSIDE« EDIT: OPPORTUNITY IN CRISIS PAGE 8 WHY INDIA & THE US ARE AT ODDS, WRITES ANITA INDER SINGH PAGE 8 Tariffs may shave off GDP growth by up to 100 bps THE PROPOSED DOUBLING of additional US tariffs on Indiangoodsto50%mayshave off India’s economic growth by anywhere between 40 and 100 basis points on an annualised basis, according to analysts, reports Prasanta Sahu. Goldman Sachs estimated a hit of around 0.3 percentage point in additiontoitsJulyprojectionof a similarimpact,afterUSPresidentDonaldTrumpannounced 25%tariffs.ABloombergreport stated the tariffs will shrink India’sGDPbyasmuchasapercentage point. Morgan Stanley said if such high tariffs persist, “growth could see downside risks of 40-80bps.” ■ PAGE 6 Markets shun early jitters, recoup intraday losses BENCHMARK INDICES REBOUNDED in the last hour of Thursday’ssessionafteralmost a percentage point drop in the early stages, hoping that US President Donald Trump will soften his tariff blow on India, report Kishor Kadam & Ananya Grover. With Trump expectedtomeetthePresidents ofRussiaandUkraineforpeace talks,marketparticipantshope for a turnaround. The Sensex dropped 0.91% to hit an intraday low of 79,811.29 in early trade.However,itrecoveredsharply and ended the day at 80,623.26, up 79.27 points (0.10%), snapping a two-day losingstreak.TheNiftytoo recouped its intraday losses and closed up 0.09%. ■ PAGE 4 Hadagoodconversation with(Brazil’s)President Lula...Wearecommittedto deepeningourstrategic partnership...Astrong, people-centricpartnership betweenGlobalSouth nationsbenefitseveryone RELIANCE FLAGS TARIFF THREAT TO OILTRADE PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE PAGES 6-7 Trump-Putin meeting plan holds out hope RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Thursday, as the US president seeks a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war after voicing mounting frustration with his Russian counterpartand threatening him with new sanctions. The announcement came a day after Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held three hours of talks with Putin in Moscow, reported Reuters. The planned meeting has raised hopes in some quarters that a resolution to the UkraineRussia conflictmayleadtoasoftening of the US’ tariff blow on India. Trump has accused India of profiting from Russian oil and funding the Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, while imposing steep tariffs on the country. Russian Prez to visit India later this year India on Thursday reconfirmed the visit of RussianPresidentVladimirPutin to the countrylaterthisyear. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is in Moscow on an official visit, said the dates for Putin’s visit to India were being worked out. ● Industry seeks direct subsidies RISHI RAJ New Delhi, August 7 WITH US PRESIDENT Donald TrumpdoublingtariffsonIndia to 50%, the government has begun reaching out to industry with a four-pronged strategyto limit the damage to manufacturing,exportsandjobs.Thereal problemthatIndiawillfacepost thesetariffsiscompetitiveness, because all other Asian countries and competing manufacturingnationsfacetariffsinthe range of 19-30% for products that form a large chunk of India’s exports to the US. While officials are exploring long-term policy measures to improveIndia’sexportcompetitiveness, industry executives maintain that immediate support, especially in the form of subsidies, is crucial to protect sectors already under pressure. Industry leaders are,therefore, urging the government to go beyond policy brainstorming and engage directly with the firms mostaffected bytariffs. According to sources, the governmentiscurrentlyweighing four broad ideas: diversifying export markets, modifying the export basket, focusing on boostingdomesticdemand,and accelerating ease of doing business reforms.While appreciat- VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO, URVI MALVANIA, SWARAJ BAGGONKAR, GEETA NAIR & RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, August 7 BHARAT FORGE CHAIRMAN & MD Baba Kalyani minced no words on Thursday when he said that a 50% import tariff by the US was something that no industry in India could absorb. “It is simply undoable. You might as well not have a business at all,” he said unequivocally, adding that a longterm political solution to the trade issue with the US was important. Thursday saw the first import duty levy of 25%, announced last week by the US, kick in, implying that Indian goods were costlier than peers in the US. The additional levy of 25% announced on Wednesday will kick in after 21 days.Both BABA KALYANI, RC BHARGAVA, PARTH JINDAL, NADIR GODREJ, CMD, BHARAT FORGE CHAIRMAN, MARUTI SUZUKI MD, JSW CEMENT CHAIRMAN, GODREJ INDUSTRIES It is simply undoable. You might as well not have a business at all The tariffs are unreasonable, unjustified and uncalled for. Govt is going to do what is good for country There will be no direct impact on steel, cement or power sector... but sentiments could suffer With protectionism growing, we have to rely on ourselves for our needs gems and jewellery, and apparel exporters,who count the US among their largest markets,have said thatAmerican buyers have begun cancelling orders, leading to potential job loss and disruption of business. America accounted for 33% of India’s total garment exports in 2024.The US market is India’s largest for pol- ished diamonds and studded jewelleryworth $10 billion as of FY25. “We will reroute our products through other countries after studying the tariff structure of those countries with the US. We will set up manufacturing units there quickly,” Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) chairman Kirit Bhansali said. “Dubai is the nearest destination for us.We will also look at rerouting studded jewellery through Mexico,” Bhansali added. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) faces only a 10% tariff, while Mexico is subject to a 25% duty, lower than India’s new rate of 50%. India’s largest organised retailerTitan is also said to be considering relocating some of its manufacturing to West Asia to maintain access to the US market at lower tariffs. Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs have no direct impact on the country’s automobile manufacturers since they do not export to the United States. Continued on Page 10 DIVERSIFY EXPORT MARKETS Govt wants exporters to cut reliance on the US, and focus on Europe, West Asia, & Africa MODIFY EXPORT BASKET A change in export basket — largely unchanged for a decade — will be helpful BOOST DOMESTIC DEMAND Strengthening of domestic market will absorb some of the hit from lost exports EASE OF DOING BIZ REFORMS Govt plans to double down on reforms to improve efficiency of Indian firms ing the broad policy direction, industry executives said that these do not address the shortterm competitiveness gap created bythe newtariffregime. Continued on Page 10 SECTORAL IMPACT TEXTILES & APPAREL AUTO COMPONENTS ■ The steep tariff puts at BUSINESS UNSUSTAINABLE,SAYSOME INDUSTRYCAPTAINSWHILE OTHERS GETVOCALFORLOCAL Shell-shocked India Inc weighs costs THE WAYS OUT risk nearly half of India’s $7-billion ■ The additional 50% tariff might cause a $5-billion hit to India’s textiles & apparel exports to the US ■ The US move has eroded auto component exports annually to the US — the country’s largest export destination for the sector ■ Sona BLW Precision Forgings and Bharat Forge, for instance, derive 43% and 38% of their revenues, respectively, from the US India’s competitiveness against Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka, which face only 20% tariff iPHONES ■ Apple’s manufacturing of iPhones in India remains firmly on track despite US Trump’s latest push for a 100% tariff on semiconductor chips ■ In fact, India's electronics exports surged over 47% year-on-year to $12.4 billion in the April-June quarter ■ Mobile phones were the standout performer, with exports rising 55% from $4.9 bn in Q1 FY25 to about $7.6 bn in Q1 FY26 RESULTS CORNER LIC net up 5% to `10,987 cr GCPLQ1 net misses Street Titan profit jumps 52.5% LIFEINSURANCECORPORATIONof India(LIC)onThursdayreporteda5% year-on-year rise in standalone net profitto`10,986.51croreforthefirst quarter of FY26, even as growth in first-year and single premiums remained muted, reports Narayanan V. First-year premium was largely flat at `7,525.26 crore, while single premium collections increased 4% to `51,922.99 crore.RDoraiswamy,CEO & MD,said the growth in operating profit from the life insurance business remained healthy, but weaker market conditions impacted capitalgains. ■ PAGE 4 GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS (GCPL) on Thursday reported a flat profit growth for the first quarter of FY26,amidhigherrawmaterialcosts, particularly palm oil, and challenges in the Indonesian business,reportsViveatSusan Pinto. Revenue growth was robust driven by rural and urban markets in the Indiabusiness.GCPLderivesroughly 65-70% of its business from India. The company posted consolidated net profit of `452 crore in the June quarter, missing Street estimates of `500 crore.Revenue was up 9.9% to `3,662 crore in the quarter. ■ PAGE 2 JEWELLER AND WATCHMAKER Titan reported a 52.5% year-on-year rise in profit in the first quarter of FY26, helped by higher gold prices, even as budget-conscious consumers traded down to low-carat, lightweight designs, reports Viveat Susan Pinto.Titanpostedaprofit of `1,091 crore for the quarter, compared with a profit of `715 crore a year earlier.Overall,the company’s revenue rose 21% to `14,814crore.“Consumerconfidence ingoldasbothadornmentandstoreof value remains intact,” MD CK Venkataramansaid. ■ PAGE 2 New Delhi AU SFB first in a decade to get universal bank licence FE BUREAU Mumbai, August 7 AU SMALL FINANCE Bank has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)totransitionintoauniversalbank—thefirstoneinovera decade. Bandhan Bank and IDFC First Bank got theirbankinglicencesin2015,ayearafter securing the RBI’s in-principle nod.AU SFB also becomes the first small finance bank to become a universal bank. SanjayAgarwal,founder,MD & CEO of AU Small Finance Bank,said,“We have made history by receiving in-principle approvalfromtheReserveBank of India to transitioninto a universal bank.This milestone is a reaffirmation of our purpose, perseverance, and passion.” In 2024,when the guidelines for voluntary upgrade of small finance banks into universal banks were released, only AU SFB, out of 11 small finance banks,mettheeligibilitycriteria to apply for the licence. After receiving a board clearance in July, the bank filed its application in September. The bank checked all the boxes to become a universal bank.It had a satisfactory track recordforaminimumof5years, itwas a listed entity,it even had anetworthofover`1,000crore. Forthe June quarter,it reported a net profit of `581 crore, up 16% on year, with gross NPA ratioandnetNPAratioat2.47% and 0.88%, respectively.As on June 30,the bank had a deposit base of `1.27 lakh crore, total loan book of `1.17 lakh crore andabalancesheetsizeofmore than`1.60lakhcrore.Theshare oftheSFBclosed1.2%higherat `744.10 onThursday. Airtel parent group lines up `9,310-cr share sale P R SANJAI August 7 INDIAN CONTINENTINVESTMENT, part of the founder group of Bharti Airtel, is looking to trim its stake in the country’s second-largestwireless operator for the second time thisyear.The firm is seeking to sell as many as 50 million shares of the Sunil Mittalbacked telecom company. The deal — expected to raise `9,310 crore ($1.1 billion) — is being done at a floor price of `1,862 per share, a 3.2% discount to the stock’s close on Thursday, according to terms seen by Bloomberg News. The expected settlement date is August11andthereisa90-day lockup on the seller. BSE website data shows Airtel founders,who held 51.25% at the end of June, have pared stake by nearly two percentage pointsthisyear,partofabroader trendwhere owners and strategic investors have been cashing in on the boom in the country’s stock market.—BLOOMBERG