THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 20 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 How Noise is tuning into the right frequencies BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 NewVi CEO tasked with debt funding, 5G push CHENNAI, MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2025 Challenging the rules of the marketing game FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 88, 20 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 IN THE NEWS CP Radhakrishnan is BJP pick as NDA’s VP candidate THE BJP PARLIAMENTARY board on Sunday nominated Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan as the NDA candidate for vice-president, reports PTI. PAGE 11 Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 to be tabled today THE GOVERNMENT WILL introduce the secondJanVishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill in Lok Sabha on Monday to further decriminalise minor offences, reports FE Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 Over 70 million farmers now have digital IDs AIMED AT GIVING a boost to digital infrastructure, over 70 million unique farmers IDs linked to land records have been generated under the Digital Agriculture Mission, reports ■ PAGE 2 Sandip Das. Foxconn begins making iPhones at Bengaluru unit FOXCONN'S BENGALURU FACTORY, its second-largest manufacturing unit, has commenced operation with production of iPhone 17 at a small scale, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 4 Tata, Adani to cash in on India's T&D rollout TATA POWER AND Adani Energy Solutions are betting big on transmission tendering pipeline and distribution opportunities, report Raghavendra Kamath & Arunima Bharadwaj. ■ PAGE 4 GST plan, S&P move likely market drivers PLANS FOR BIG bang reforms in the GST regime by Diwali, the PutinTrump summit and S&P upgrading India's sovereign credit rating are likely to instil optimism in equity markets in the week ahead, reports PTI. Govt pushes India Inc to increase global footprint CENTRALMINISTRIESASKEDTO SUBMITWISH LIST Quick set of reforms to follow GST reset PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, August 17 THE RESTRUCTURING OF the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which the Centre intends to carry out by October, may be quickly followed by another set of reforms aimed at arresting any potential slowdown of the economy due to cyclical, structural or geopolitical factors, according to official sources. The proposed Task Force forNext-Generation Reforms, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, may be asked to come out with a set of reforms that need to be taken up on a priority and contingent basis. The government has already asked all central ministries to »INSIDE« ● Time to shed ‘camp office’ approach,says govt official COMPLIANCE OVERHAUL ■ Centre plans RISHI RAJ New Delhi, August 17 ■ Investment GST restructuring with simplified compliance and corrections efficiency, reducing costs of businesses, and promoting ease of doing business on agenda ■ Task Force to recommend immediate and long-term reforms and measures ■ Jan Vishwas Bill aims to further ease compliances 40% tax will be a disaster, say online gaming firms send in their wish list on the reforms blueprint. There will be immediate reforms in the existing mechanism/institutions and those to be implemented in the next fiveyears orso,said an official. Online gaming firms say the Centre’s proposed move to bring the industry under a specialgoodsandservicestax rate of 40% will be cata- Continued on Page 5 PM SEEKS STATES’ COOPERATION PAGE 2 RBI considers reducing riskweightsforautoloans KSHIPRA PETKAR Mumbai, August 17 CREDIT EASE THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) is considering reducing riskweights forautoloans,and has initiated an internal study for the same, a senior official awareofthedevelopmentsaid. Though auto loans currently fall under secured lending,the riskweightage applied for such loans is 100%, whereas for a home loan, it is between 35% and 50%, depending on the loan-tovalue ratio. In a recent meeting between senior officials of the RBI, including governor Sanjay Malhotra,and the Fed- in risk weights for auto loans ■ Auto loan rates yet ■ RBI studying potential reduction to fully reflect recent repo cuts ■ FADA urges RBI to ensure uniform MSME lending benefits ■ Rising inventory and retail stress highlight need for sector support eration of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), the latter requested the apex bank to conduct a review of the transmission of repo rate cuts in auto loans. “The discussion also involved how to ease things for the auto industry. One of the points discussed was higher risk weights for auto loans,”said a senior FADA official. Continued on Page 11 strophic. The issue will be examined bythree Groups of Ministers (GoMs),whose recommendationswillbesentto the GSTCouncil. PAGE 5 Investorsbeton just10%stocks INVESTORS HAVE BECOME very selective about picking stocks. In fact, they are betting on just 10% of stocks out of the total traded counters. Consequently, while benchmark indices have fallen by up to 10% from their 52-week highs, 90% are trading much PAGE 6 below that. 12 firms enter `1-lakh-cr club IN THE FIRST few months of the current fiscal, 12 companies have already entered the `1 lakh crore market capitalisation club. During the same period, benchmark indices have gained up to 4.73%, while broader indices have risen up to 11.04%. PAGE 6 Top paid India Inc CEOs in 2025 THE NUMBER OF CEOs receiving remuneration of `50 crore or more has dropped from 21 in fiscal 2024 to 13 in fiscal 2025. Company ` cr % chg Pawan Munjal Hero MotoCorp `109.4 cr Salil S Parekh Infosys 80.6 21.7 S N Subrahmanyan Larsen & Toubro 76.2 49.4 Vinay Prakash Adani Enterprises 69.3 22.4 Jayadev Galla Amara Raja Enterprises 67.3 6.3 H M Bangur Shree Cement 63.4 8.0 Bajaj Auto 58.6 9.0 Tech Mahindra 53.9 - Wipro 53.6 - Nitin Rakesh 10.5 37.6 Srinivas Pallia `92.7 cr 88.2 Mohit Joshi C Vijayakumar, HCLTech Divi's Lab Rajiv Bajaj Sandeep Kalra Persistent Systems `148.1 cr 93.4% Murali K Divi Mphasis 52.7 19.4 Compiled by Kishor Kadam ■ PAGE 6 Source: Capitaline THE GOVERNMENT IS advising India Inc to expand its international presence in a big waywith the aim of giving a push to the creation of Indian multinationals. Top government sources said the idea being shared with members of industry is that Indian companies should look beyond participating in and winning just global tenders abroad and then setting up project offices in those countries to complete their orders. “Instead, we are telling them to establish permanent establishments,and are ready to help them out in this regard through our missions in those nations,” the sources said leading Indian groups must look beyond a “camp office” approach. To aid their expansion and provide governmental help in tiding over regulatory hurdles, the ministry of external affairs has created three per- OUTBOUND DRIVE ■ MEA has set up three permanent desks in embassies of major countries to assist Indian firms ■ Outbound investments rose sharply, reaching $29.2 billion in FY25 ■ Overseas expansion ensures future dividends, royalties, and global reach ■ Key destinations include Singapore, Mauritius, the US, the UK, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Europe manent desks in all Indian embassies in major countries. These desks are exclusively to help companies in creating permanent establishments in the countries where they see opportunities. Officials said that the government's advice as well as push to India Inc is to hedge risks, tap global talent, and integrate into international value chains. While it has already started happening, the time has come to give the process a furthermomentum. In some ways, the trend is Hinduja aims 3X increase in green capacityby2030 RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, August 17 THE HINDUJA GROUP plans to more than triple its renewable energy capacity from the current 3 gigawatts (GW) to over10 GWby2030,and looks to invest $3-4 billion for that. Thegroupwillfocusonamix of solar, wind, hybrid projects and battery energy storage systems(BESS),whilecontinuingto operate its thermal assets, said AmitSaharia,grouppresident– strategy,Hinduja Group. “We see energy as a very strategicspaceforthegroup,on parwith mobilityand financial services,”he added. “Our aim is to cross 10 GW by2030throughawell-diversified portfolio,"Saharia said. Hinduja's plans come at a timewhen the countryis looking to have a power capacity of 500GW from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, according to the ministry of new & renewable energy (MNRE). Adani Green Energy, which hasthelargestoperationalcapacity in renewables currentlywith nearly 16 GW,aims to achieve a renewableenergycapacityof 50 gigawatts(GW)by2030. Hinduja Renewables BIG PLANS getting reflected in the numbers. India’s outbound investments jumped 75% to $29.2 billion in FY25, while foreign firms repatriated a massive $51 billion from the country. However, gross foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last fiscal saw a growth of 14% to $81 billion,including equity inflows exceeding $50 billion. So, while there were robust flows in either direction, the net inflow remained negligible. Continued on Page 5 Tech giants, startups eye governance mkt usingAI URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, August 17 Energy (HREPL) operates about 3 GW of solar,wind and hybrid projects,with 80-90% of capacity in solar. The portfolio is complemented by a 1,040 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, run by Hinduja National Power Corporation (HNPCL). AS THE APPLICATION of enterprise AI proliferates, developers are now exploring how AI can be used to keep otherAI systems in check. The global AI cybersecurity governancemarketwasanestimated $188 million in 2024 but is projected to reach $1.33 billionby2034,growingannually by over 21%. Firms like IBM, Cisco, and Salesforce are currently developing AI tools andplatformstoaidincompliance and ethical use of the new generation technology. AI governance tools aim to set guardrails for algorithms, ensuring they act responsibly and safely. “When there’s a shortcoming in AI often the solution is to add more AI to address that shortcoming,” said Steve Ledzian, chief technology officer, Google Cloud Security, JAPAC at Mandiant toldFE.“Youwillseethissortof emergenceofAIprotectingAI.” In the US, firms like PointGuardAI are pivoting their business model to cater to the growing need for solutions in the AI security space. Continued on Page 5 Continued on Page 11 Hinduja Renewables Energy operates about ■ 3 GW of solar, wind and hybrid projects Expansion plan includes storage systems and integration with EV charging ■ Hinduja Group is also looking to expand thermal plant in Vizag ■ As the rhythm of loomswithers away,an uneasysilence sets in First in 3-part series on how India’s bustling industrial towns are grappling with hefty US tariffs TARIFF TREMORS GROUND IMPACT-I NARAYANAN V Tiruppur, August 17 FOR 38-YEAR-OLD V Dinesh Kumar, a small apparel manufacturerbasedoutofthisindustrial town located on the banks of the Noyyal river in western Tamil Nadu, the fear that had been gnawing at him forweeks became arealitythe otherday. His first order from a US buyerwas cancelled through a briefemail,wipingoutmonths of preparations and over `50 lakh from his savings invested in fabrics, accessories and capacity expansion. “It’s a huge blow for a company of our size,” said Kumar, proprietor of Woodrose Apparel, a micro enterprise whichemploysaround70people, and exports cotton infant and baby clothes. Until recently, Woodrose was exporting mainly to Europe and the UK,supplying 30,000–40,000 packs of TOUGH TIMES 50% of Knitwear capital’s `45,000-cr exports at risk due to higher US tariffs Industry pins hope on trade pacts and Covid-style package for survival ■ The cluster-based textile hub feels tariff ripple effects across 2,500 exporters and 20,000 units infant wear each month. In July, Kumar secured his first US order — 50,000 packs, or one lakh pieces, worth `1.5 crore. He stocked up on raw materials,upgraded machinery,and even planned a trip to meet potential buyers and attend trade shows in the US. “All those plans have now gone,” he said. Today, the materials lie untouched in his workshop — “dead stock,”as he calls it. “Forasmallplayerlikeme,`50 lakh is huge.We don’t have bank funding.We use ourown capital, and if that gets stuck,the entire supplychainfreezes,”hesaid. Kumar’splightmirrorsthat of thousands of micro-entrepreneurs in this knitwear hub. Units located here export about `45,000 crore worth apparel each year — with over half of the merchandise going to the US.That model has been upended by Washington’s recent decision to impose a 50% tariff on Indian goods, dealing a severe blow to an industry of 2,500 exporters CHENNAI and nearly 20,000 standalone units, 96% of them small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The relentless rhythm of looms and whirring of spindles — long synonymouswith livelihoods here — has been replaced byanuneasysilence.“Itfeelslike theCovidlockdownwheneverything stopped,” said Kumar Duraiswamy,joint secretary at theTiruppurExportersAssociation(TEA).“Eventhefruitvendor on the street asks me when this tariff issue will end.That’s how deeplyit’sbeingfelt.” Duraiswamy runs Eastern Global Clothing,which exports knitted garments, including baby and infant wear,women’s clothing, joggers and licensed apparel for major brands like Disney. The US accounted for 30% of his business, with the rest in Europe and the Gulf. “Even at 25% additional tariff, we could manage, because the gap with competing countries was just 5%,”he said.But when theUSPresidentDonaldTrump added another 25% — taking the total to 50% — orders stoppedovernightThefulltariff istotakeeffectfromAugust27. Key rivals like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka face only around 20% tariffs or less,making India uncompetitive almost instantly. Tiruppur’s strength lies in core products — undergarments, innerwear, vests, briefs, infant bodysuits and other fast-moving basics. Most exporters operate on a cost-plus-5% model, a highvolume, low-margin business. “Undergarments are produced in bulk, but the margins are razor thin. At 50% tariff, it’s not sustainable,” Duraiswamy said. Continued on Page 11