OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES GROWING CONCERNS OVER DECLINING FERTILITY RATES TO ‘SIR’,WITH DISTRUST IoT on cards for UPI Payments from smart devices and not just phones could soon become a reality Page 8 Are Indian couples choosing not to conceive or are medical reasons largely behind what is holding them back? Page 9 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXII, NO. 16 NOTJUST CHILD’S PLAY HYDERABAD 18 Pages, `12 FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2025 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 , ● Astrology app use up by 35% in the past year SREYA DEB New Delhi, August 16 AS ASTROLOGY APPS becomealltherage,risingphenomenally in recent years,the most common concerns presented by users are marriage and relationships, closely followed by questions on career ■ SPOTLIGHT, P6-7 Innovative parks and projects across the country are breathing new life into discarded industrial debris and urban waste to transform them into sustainable, artistic wonders ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 Trust for sale INDIA’S BENCHMARK equity indices delivered a dollar return of just 1.9% in the year-to-date 2025, while the total market cap of all listed stocks in the country rose by only 6%—the lowest among the top 10 nations by market value, according to Bloomberg data. Germany topped the list with a 27.9% rise in market cap, supported by a 37.3% jump in its benchmark equity index. Except for India and the US, all other nations in the list recorded doubledigit growth in market value. Compiled by Kishor Kadam Top 10 countries by market cap ($ trillion) L U C K N O W , THE PERFECT MATCH POPULARLY SOUGHT PREDICTIONS 10x $7 bn Estimated worth of India’s astrology market ■ Marriage/ relationship ■ Finances ■ Career Expected growth of digital segment of India's astro market by March 2030 4.9 5.2 2.9 3.4 2.5 2.9 3.1 3.8 3.1 3.7 19.6 17.9 17.1 16.3 15.7 8.9 Germany Canada China France US Hong Kong UK Japan Taiwan *as on August 13; Source: Bloomberg M U M B A I , and finance. Based on a report by Digittrix Infotech, an Indian app development company, from EVEN AS THE much-anticipatedsummitbetweenUSPresident Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday failed to make any progress on ending the RussiaUkraine war, for New Delhi the meeting offered some hope of tariff pressure easing. Heading for the talks in Alaska, Trump indicatedthattheUSmightnot impose secondary tariffs on countriescontinuingtoprocure Russian crude oil. “Well, he (Russian PresidentVladimirPutin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40% of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot… And if I did what’s called a secondary sanction,or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from theirstandpoint.If I have to do it,I’ll do it.Maybe I won’t have to do it,”Trump said in an interview with Fox News aboard Air Force One. For New Delhi, this little 6.0 India TOP ASTRO APPS* ■ Astrotalk (65% of queries per day are on marriage and relationships, mostly in 25-35 age group) ■ Astroyogi ■ Astrosage and Bhrigoo.ai * Based on revenue; Source: Redseer Strategy Consultants; Digittrix 2024 to 2025, astrology app usage has grown by 35% in India. The report also stated that 70% of users prefer astrology apps for quick daily horoscopes, as these apps provide fast and personalised insights, rather than vague generalisations. Launched in 2017, Astrotalk claims to connect 7 crore users with over 20,000 BRITISH MOTORCYCLE COMPANYTriumph has comprehensivelybeatenAmerican Harley-Davidson in India, since the time both hitched on to Indian automakers to revive their fortunes in the subcontinent,exactly two years ago. In July 2023, Triumph partnered with BajajAuto and started selling the Speed 400 motorcycle in India—manufactured at Bajaj’s Chakan plant in Pune—followed by the Scrambler 400 X in October.In two years,Triumph has sold 68,673 units of both these bikes. In July 2023, Harley- D E L H I , P U N E Davidson partnered with Hero MotoCorp and started selling the X 440 in India. Under this agreement, Hero also developed a bike on the platform, and called it the Mavrick 440 (launched in February 2024). Till now, Harley-Davidson has managed to sell just 26,629 units (less than half of what Triumph did), and Hero has sold merely 4,025 units of the Mavrick 440. Automotive experts shared with FE key reasons why Bajaj-Triumph has triumphed over Hero-Harley. “TheX440was launched as a single model with three variants,priced from `2.29 lakh to `2.69 lakh. It catered to a sin- PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, August 16 US President Donald Trump (right) with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska US calls off visit for BTA talks A SCHEDULED VISIT of the US trade negotiators to New Delhiforthe sixthroundof negotiationson a BilateralTrade Agreement (BTA) has been called off, a senior official confirmedonSaturday,reportsMukeshJagota.“Fromtheir(US) side,the trade negotiations (are) halted,whether(this is) forever or temporary, there’s still no idea.They said they won’t come fortheAugust 25 meeting,”the source added. ■ PAGE 3 headway is important. There were apprehensions that additional secondary tariffs would have hit India in case the US decided to enforce them. India faces a 50% US tariff—including 25% as ‘penalty’ for buying Russian oil—and,therefore,had a clear stake on the outcome of the meeting. US officials, including the treasury secretary, havewarned that in case there is no deal, an even higher BONHOMIE SIGNS PTI penalty may be imposed. On Saturday, India ‘welcomed’ the meeting between Trump and Putin and“appreciated the progress made”. “India welcomes the summit meeting inAlaska between US President Donald Trump and President VladimirPutinofRussia,”Randhir Jaiswal, the MEA’s official spokesperson,commented. Continued on Page 2 »INSIDE« ZELENSKYTO MEET TRUMP ON MONDAY PAGE 18 ■ Doval travelled to China in Dec last year to hold talks with Wang Yi ■ Wang Yi to hold next round of special representatives' talks on border issue with NSAAjit Doval ■ PM Modi expected to travel to China later this month to attend SCO summit annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The Chinese foreign minister is visiting India primarily to hold the next round of special representatives’ (SR) ZOOMING AHEAD ■ Efforts on by two neighbours to repair ties following 2020 Galwan stand-off dialogue on the boundary question. Wang and Doval are the designated special representatives for the NSAAjit Doval & Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi Total July 2023-June 2025 4,800 (sales in units) 4,000 3,200 2,400 0 3,194 Mar ‘24 477 1,600 800 Triumph 400 twins 568 68,673 Harley-Davidson X 440 18 Sep ‘23 y July 2023 gularset of buyers—thosewho wanted a premium Harley experience at a lowerprice and were mostly urban riders. Triumph, on the other hand, launchedtwobikes—theSpeed Continued on Page 2 ● States won’t be UPDATED RATES forced to accept proposals: Centre THE TAX ON all passengercars, except hybrid and electricvehicles, as well as three- and twowheelers,couldcomedownsubstantially by the Diwali sales season if a proposal being put forward bythe Centre as part of a structural overhaul of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) passes muster with the GST Councilwhen it meets next. The GST cut could be sharper for SUVs,just because the incidence of tax on them is currently as high as 50%, and these and all other vehicles under the 28% tax slab with varying rates of cess, may be moved to the 18% slab. Air conditioners and cement are among the other items to attract a lower GST rate than now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech that a redesigned GSTwill havelower rates for everyday use items. Chinese FM to visit India on Monday CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER Wang Yi will pay a twoday visit to India beginning Monday to hold border talks with national security adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday. Wang’s visit comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned trip to China to attend the verified professionals,offering services like tarot and palm reading as well. According to founder and CEO Puneet Gupta,the maximum number of queries that come to the app are on marriage and relationships, and in the age group of 25-35 years. “About 65% of our queries per day are on marriage and relationships,” he shared, adding that queries related to finance and career closely followed relationship questions. GSToncars,SUVs, 2-wheelers may beslashedto18% boundary talks. “At the invitation of national security adviser Ajit Doval, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi will visit India on August 18 and 19,” the MEA said in a statement. External affairs minister S Jaishankar will also hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart. Continued on Page 2 Triumph plays its cards right to beat Hero-Harley in India VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, August 16 N E W HIGH TAX ON SIN GOODS TO STAY Trump hints India may be spared more tariffs PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, August 16 62.0 67.5 % change 10.0 11.8 6.4 7.5 Current* 5.6 7.0 2.4 3.1 K O L K A T A , SHUBHAJIT ROY New Delhi, August 16 India slips to 10th in m-cap performance 22.3 K O C H I , ● Says penalising Russia’s oil clients to be ‘devastating’ How Johnson & Johnson was peddling not just baby powder but also lies that cost many lives 25.0 H Y D E R A B A D , ALASKA TALKS YIELD NO DEAL ON UKRAINE Scrap to splendour 27.9 READ TO LEAD Marriage in stars? Indians seek astro apps foranswers WHAT'S INSIDE Dec 31, 2024 C H E N N A I , Toy makers are offering products that stimulate real-world learning Page 5 26,629 710 0 June 2025 400 for a young professional, and the Scrambler 400 X for someonewho loves to go touring,” an industry analyst told FE.“Bajaj was astute in pricing —it launched the Speed 400 Hero Mavrick 440 4,025 for`2.33lakh,butsaidthefirst 10,000 customerswould get it for just `2.23 lakh. The youth found it a great deal,and dealerships swelled.” By the time the Scrambler 400 Xwas launched for `2.63 lakh in October,Triumph had garnered enough positive word of mouth. Unlike the top-end X 440 (`2.69 lakh), which was essentially the same bike as entry-level X 440 (`2.29 lakh) but with a different paint and decals,the Scrambler 400 X had a unique personality of an adventure tourer and didn’t look anything like the Speed 400— this gave it a new set of buyers, and today it contributes to almost a quarter of Triumph sales. Hero MotoCorp, however, had an ace up its sleeve, and made a blazing entrywith the Mavrick 440 in February 2024, priced just `1.99 lakh. HYDERABAD “The price was awesome, but possibly the design wasn’t aspirational, and the Mavrick 440 couldn’t take off,” the industry analyst said, adding: “As against the X 440 that was selling 2,000-3,000 per month, the Mavrick 440 sold just 568 units in its first month of sales (March 2024), followed by 1,049 in April, 791 in May, 459 in June, 269 in July,and dropped to a lowof just 170 units in August.” He added that in the first six months of this calendar year, Hero could sell only 243 units of the Mavrick 440,even though Harley-Davidson fared better with 3,386 units. Continued on Page 2 ■ GST cut to ■ Other 50% 18% be sharper for SUVs, currently as high as vehicles under 28%, with varying cess rates, to move to ■ ACs, cement among other items to attract lower GST rate than now The Centre’s plan is to have atwo-tierGSTwithameritrate of 5% for essential and daily use items, and an 18% standard rate. These apart, there could be certain ‘special rates’, which will be limited to very few products, including precious metals and‘sin goods’,so that the GST structure, improvement of which is the central theme of the redesign, is not undermined. Continued on Page 2 India’s electronics exports rose 47% in Q1 FY26: Goyal INDIA'S ELECTRONICS exports surged over 47% yearon-year in Q1 of FY2025-26 over the same quarter in FY2024-25, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said in a post on X. ■ PAGE 3 Money laundering case: ED raids TN minister, son THE ED searched multiple premises linked to Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader I Periyasamy and his MLA son IP Sentilkumar as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said. ■ PAGE 2 OpenAI staffers to sell $6 bn in shares to SoftBank, others CURRENT AND former OpenAI employees plan to sell about $6 billion worth of shares to an investor group that includes Thrive Capital, SoftBank and Dragoneer Investment Group. ■ PAGE 3