OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES Urinary incontinence is a common medical condition among Indians, but awareness remains abysmally low Page 9 From Hollywood experiments to Hindi chatbots, stories shaping the future of AI Page 6 BLADDER LEAKS NOT JUST A CONCERN FOR THE AGED Time for an apology ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM The AI tracker LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXIV NO. 46 DILLI REIMAGINED FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2025 20 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, Raipur `12, Srinagar `15) 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 , READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , 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 CBC 15502/13/0013/2526 P U B L I S H E D An art & heritage festival is transforming the capital city into a ‘living museum’ Page 7 VaranasitoVietnam,Indianshighonfestivegetaways WHAT'S INSIDE ● Rise in demand TRAVELTRENDS for family bookings this holiday season ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 85% becoming norm; people aligning personal leaves with public holidays of Indian travellers increasing frequency of trips, size of travel budgets VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, September 13 THE TRAVELAND tourism sectorhas its hands full this festive season with high demand.And, with Diwali being a long weekend, the sector is poised for multi-day, multi-generational getaways.Moreover,with travel ■ Festive holidays set to become cheaper with the newGSTregimecoincidingwith thefestiveseason,thesectorhas even more reason to cheer. “The notion that festivals must be celebrated at home is changing,” said Rajeev Kale, president & country head, ■ Surge in advance bookings, growing inclination for luxury stays, heritage properties, cruise holidays ■ Spiritual journeys also gaining traction; Char Dham, Ayodhya, Rameswaram, Sri Lanka trending holidays, MICE, visa, Thomas Cook (India),adding,“Diwali is now a time to explore new destinations, cultures, and FIRST VISIT TO STATE AFTER VIOLENCE The new investor From piggy banks to SIP apps, fixed deposits to `2.5-cr homes, Indian women are moving beyond traditional savings to embrace independence, risk-taking and long-term financial planning Modi visits Manipur with slew ofdevelopment gifts Auto shares rally up to 21.5% post GST boost ● Says peace is imperative, govt of India with you SHARES OFAUTO companies rallied up to 21.5% in one month, driven by recent GST boost.The BSEAuto Index surged 12.5% during this period, emerging as the topperforming sector and outperforming the benchmark Sensex, which rose 2.1%.The government reduced GSTfrom 28% to 18% on small cars, two-wheelers, SUKRITA BARUAH & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY Imphal, New Delhi, September 13 three-wheelers, buses, trucks, and auto parts —a move expected to boost demand in the festive season. Compiled by Kishor Kadam Sensex vs BSE Auto Index 112.5 115 BSE Auto Index 110 105 102.1 100 95 Sensex Base: August 12, 2025 = 100 Aug 12, 2025 Sep 12, 2025 Top gainers (1-month % gain) 21.54 Eicher Motors Uno Minda Maruti Suzuki TVS Motor Hyundai Motor 19.81 19.37 17.86 16.18 UNDERLININGTHAT“PEACE is imperative for development”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his first visit to Manipureversince the start of ethnic violence in the state in May2023,told the people Saturday:“I amwithyou,the Government of India is with you.” The thrust of the Prime Minister’s speecheswas on the development projects worth Kavin Mittal’s Hike logs out URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, September 13 KAVIN MITTAL, FOUNDER of Hike, announced in a Substack post early Saturday that the company will wind down after a13-yearjourneythatsawmultiple pivots and experiments. “After regrouping with our investors and the team, I’ve made the difficult decision to wind down Hike completely,” Kavin Mittal, son of Bharti Airtel founder Sunil Mittal, wrote in the note. Continued on Page 2 experiences together.” As per the India Holiday Report 2025 by Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel, 85% of `4,300 crore that he laid foundation stones for in Churachandpur, and projects worth `1,200 crore that he inaugurated in Imphal. Speaking in the Kuki-Zo stronghold ofChurachandpur, Modi said, “This land of ANI Manipur is the land of hope and aspirations.” Continued on Page 2 Trump urges NATO for 50-100% China tariffs PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New York/Washington, September 13 US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump on Saturdaysaid NATO countries should impose 50% to 100% tariffs on China and stop buying oil from Russia to help end the Ukraine conflict. Trump’s post on Truth Social comes a dayafterthe US asked G7 countries to impose tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia. In his post, DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT NATO’s commitment to win has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian oil, by some, has been shocking Trump said he is ready to impose “major sanctions” on Russia when all NATO countries agree and start to do the same thing and stop buying oil from Moscow. The US president said that NATO’s commitment to win has been “far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian oil, by some, has been shocking!”. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 Tough to regain market share once high US tariffs go: Govt to exporters ANIL SASI New Delhi, September 13 PM Narendra Modi interacts with children in Churachandpur, Manipur ■ SEE ALSO: PAGE 19 Indian travellers are increasing boththefrequencyoftheirtrips and the size of their travel budgets thisyear. The report highlights that from the traditional three days Indiansarenowextendingtheir vacationstosix-12daysasfamilies combine school vacations like Dussehra, Durga Puja and Diwali. Festive holidays are becoming the norm,with professionals, millennials, Gen Z, and families aligning personal leaveswith public holidays. TO PREVENT LOSS of market share for labour-intensive exporters following the high 50% US tariffs, the governmentis readytoextendaseries ofmitigatingmeasuressuchas subsidised interest rates, collateral-free loans, credit guarantee and facilitating access to big domestic buyers—both public like the Railways, and privatelikeReliance Retail and Aditya Birla Group. In the first half of this year, and just weeks before the 25% reciprocalUStariffskickedinon August7,Indiamanageda12% growth in shipments of textiles andapparelstotheUS.Thiswas, however, far lower than the export growth clocked by competitors Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Cambodia. With the additional 25% secondarytariffsforRussianoil purchases becoming effective August 27, there is little doubt the comparative advantage has reversed sharply for India, impactingshipmentsofleather Adani Power inks deal with Bihar co ADANI POWER has signed a 25-year Power Supply Agreement with Bihar State Power Generation Company for supply of 2,400 MWfrom a greenfield plant in Bhagalpur district. ■ PAGE 3 MEASURES TO SHIELD EXPORTERS ■ Govt assures to backstop losses till tariff situation normalises ■ Confident secondary 25% tariffs will go soon ■ Ready to extend help like subsidised interest rates, collateral-free loans, credit guarantee, facilitating access andshrimps,apartfromtextiles and apparel. In New Delhi,policy makers had multiple rounds of deliberations with affected exporters, and a constant refrain in these meetings is: Shore up market share,whateverittakes…Losing market share will make it really difficulttorecoveritbackasand when the situationnormalises. Continued on Page 2 `77,000-crore rail projects for NE RAILWAY PROJECTS worth `77,000 crore are being implemented in the Northeast, said railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, as PM Modi inaugurated Mizoram's first railway line. ■ PAGE 2 Indo-Pak Asia Cup encounter fails to create ad frenzy ● Sony faces unsold inventory; brands wait and watch ALOKANANDA CHAKRABORTY New Delhi, September 13 EVERY INDIA-PAKISTAN CRICKET match has been a bonanza for broadcast and streaming partners. Thus far. Sunday’s fixture between the two teams in the 2025 Asia Cup might just be the oddity. Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) had priced the television advertisements at `14 lakh-`16 lakh per 10 seconds, but despite the broadcaster’s early rate card, there’s been chatter of a 10-12% unsoldTVad inventorytill Saturday. “It appears the main friction comes from the exit of real-money gaming advertisers, sticker shock for smaller brands, and hesitancy amid political and social sensitivi- INDIA, PAK FACE-OFF IN ASIA CUP ■ India appear strong, with pacer Jasprit Bumrah, top order batter Shubman Gill Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE, 8 pm IST Total matches played in Asia Cup: 18 India won Pak won 10 No results: 2 ties,” said Yasin Hamidani, cofounder& director,Media Care Brand Solutions. The Asia Cup 2025 is 6 being aired on Sony Sports channels and live streaming on SonyLIV. Experts said there is still time for demand ■ Pakistan sans former skippers Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan; but on high post T20 tri-series win to ratchet up.“Sony may close the gap on Sunday with aggressive last-minute deals. So far, it’s more a timing/risk issue than a boycott or purely marketing failure,” said a senior mediaperson. Even during this February’s ICC Champion’s Trophy, advertising rates for India matches were hovering at `20-25 lakh per 10 seconds for linear TV and around `1015 lakh per 10 seconds for CTV. On digital, ad rates were around `500 per CPM (cost per mille or cost per thousand is a metric that measures the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions/views). WhenIndiastormedintothe finals, the ad rate surged 40% for TV and digital by 20-25% compared to other India matches.Despitetheriseofsubscription-based models,advertising remains the primaryrevenue driverforbroadcasters. “Many brands are playing wait-and-watch,partly due to the steep pricing, partly because some are over-committed on digital, and some are simplyriding organic content instead,” said Sushant Sadamate, COO & co-founder of Buzzlab. Continued on Page 2 See also: Page 19