COMPANIES | PAGE 4 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 Hoteliers bet big on mid-market segment INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Black box needed to monitor, scrub content:ASCI chairman CHENNAI/KOCHI, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery says it’s up for sale, shares soar FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 141, 12 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: 84,426.34 ▲ 62.97 NIFTY: 25,868.60 ▲ 25.45 NIKKEI 225: 49,316.06 ▲ 130.56 HANG SENG: 26,027.55 ▲ 168.72 `/$: 87.93 ▲ 0.04* `/€: 102.55 ▲ 0.41* BRENT: $61.04 ▲ $0.01 GOLD: `1,26,854 ▼ `2,974* *Prv close FESTIVAL OF SAVINGS, SEASON OF JOY Utsav IN THE NEWS BY NEARLY ₹40,000 ● MUHURATTRADING FAILSTO LIGHTUP MARKETS At 3%, core sector growth slows to 3-mth low in Sept National Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO Ashish Chauhan and others attend the Muhurat trading ceremony in Mumbai on Tuesday. After hitting their 52week highs during the one-hour special session, equity benchmarks closed only around 0.1% higher due to profit-booking. This was the worst Muhurat trading session in eight years THE STEEL SECTOR’S performance supported the core sector output in September which expanded 3% on year despite a contraction in four of the eight components of the Index of Eight Core Industries, reports fe Bureau. The growth rate in September was a threemonth low. ■ PAGE 2 RBI bulletin: Higher small savings rates limit transmission WITH THE INTEREST rates on most small savings instruments being higher than their formulabased rates, transmission of policy rates to bank deposit rates is getting limited, especially in an easing cycle, because of the potential substitution effect, the Reserve Bank of India's October bulletin noted, reports Saikat Neogi. ■ PAGE 2 China questions India's PLI, EV sops at WTO ALLTHREE FLAGSHIP schemes to encourage manufacturing of electric vehicles and support renewable energy expansion in India have been challenged by China at the World Trade Organization, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 Banks’ interest in loan against shares set to rise WITH THE RESERVE Bank of India announcing an enhanced limit on loan against shares to `1 crore from `20 lakh, banks are expected to become more aggressive in this segment, said both bankers and analysts, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 6 Coca-Cola’s Q3 volume declines THE COCA-COLA COMPANY flagged a volume decline of 1% in Asia-Pacific including India due to inclement weather conditions in the September quarter, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. SANKHADEEP BANERJEE ■ REPORT ON PAGE 6 VENUBECOMESTRUSTEEFORLIFE,MISTRYTOBENEXT Reliance grabs TataTrusts: Battle won, the real war lies ahead THE DIFFERENCES AMONG the trustees of Tata Trusts had no impact on the reappointment of Venu Srinivasan on the board of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), which along with Sir Ratan Tata Trusts holds over 51% stake in Tata Sons. The decision was taken unanimously. While the focus now shifts to the reappointment of Mehli Mistry, whose term ends on October 28, sources familiar with the developments said that is also expected to be a smooth affair. Both will become trustees for life in accordance with a resolution passed in a board meeting on October 17 last year. While their reappointment should come as an immediate relief in the backdrop of simmering tension between the two groups in Tata Trusts, the real war — that of selection of new members on the Tata Sons board — is going to be a tricky affair. That’s because the war started with the proposed renomination of Vijay Singh on the board of the Tata Group’s holding company. Singh,who continues as one of the members of Tata Trusts, had to quit Tata Sons board last month as his renomination was opposed by four Filling in their positions may be tricky Vijay Singh Ralf Speth trustees — Mistry, Darius Khambata,Pramit Jhaveri and Jehangir H Jehangir. Though Srinivasan and Noel Tata supported him, it wasn’t enough for Singh as all Tata Trusts’decisions need to be unanimous. In turn, the duo opposed Mistry’s candidature for Tata Sons board, exposing the deep rift among the trustees. Sources familiar with the developments said there is no possibility of Noel reconsidering his decision to reject Mistry’s bid fora board seat atTata Sons. “Even Ratan Tata, who worked very closely with Mistry for a very long time, never proposed his entry to the Tata Sons board. Thus it’s highly Ajay Piramal Leo Puri unlikely that Noel would do otherwise,”sources said. The hard position taken by the two camps can potentially lead to a long stalemate over existing vacancies on the Tata Sons board. After the snub he has received, Mistry is unlikely to accept the names proposed by Noel Tata. The names doing the rounds are that of Kotak Mahindra Bank Founder and Director Uday Kotak and AZB & Partners CoFounder Bahram Vakil, who joined the board of Tata Investment Corp in March this year.The other name proposed is Tata Steel Managing Director TV Narendran. Continued on Page 7 YONGCHANG CHIN October 21 RELIANCE INDUSTRIES BOUGHT West Asian crudes last week and may place more orders, in a sign that Western pressure against Russian flows may be starting to impact its procurement patterns. The refiner bought at least 2.5 million barrels, including Iraq’sBasrahMedium,aswellas Al-ShaheenandQatarLand,said tradersfamiliarwiththematter, who asked not to be named as they’re not authorised to speak to the media.While Reliance’s typical diet does include crude fromtheregion,therecentspurt of buying was more active than usual,the traders said. On top of the flurry of spot purchases, Reliance has also beenmakingenquiriestoalarge number of potential counterparties about the availability of oil from the region of quality similar to Russian crude, the traders said.The company has typically been the largest single buyer of Moscow’s crude in India, relying on the flows as a mainstayforits operations. The US has been pressuring IndiatocurbimportsofRussian crudeaspartofeffortstoendthe war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said India had agreed to halt all buying of Moscow’s oil, althoughNewDelhididnotcorroborate his remarks. Reliance didn’t respond to a request for comment. —BLOOMBERG ● Move to boost credit profile & capex of urban local bodies MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, October 21 AFTER AMENDMENTS TO the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC),currently under the consideration of a select committee of Parliament, the government may look at drafting a separatelegislationforhandling insolvencyofurbanlocalbodies (ULBs) and municipal corporations,official sources told FE. The move is intended to inspire confidence among lenders to these entities,which play a critical and rising role in city infrastructure creation, besides being responsible for provisionsofpublicserviceslike watersupply,sanitation,etc. “Currently,the creditors are sceptical of lending money to municipalities which is affecting their ability to undertake capitalexpenditure.Adedicated insolvencylegislationwilllower theriskforlenderswhichwould be willing to lend to them at lower rates. For municipalities, this will also provide a wider pool of capital to source from,” an official said.“An insolvency PUSH TO INFRA CREATION ■ An insolvency mechanism designed for urban local bodies could jumpstart investments to enhance urban infrastructure, an official says ■ Capital expenditure rose from 56.1% of total municipal spending in 2019-20 to 61.5% in 2023-24 ■ Municipal corporations’ revenue receipts were just 0.6% of the GDP in 2023-24 compared with 9.2% of Centre and 14.6% of states ■ Total expenditure of India’s municipal corporations stood at 1.3% of GDP in 2023-24, much lower than 7.5% in Brazil and 6% in South Africa mechanism designed for urbanlocalbodiescouldjumpstart the investments to enhance the urban infrastructure,”the person added. Since 2018,ULBswith relatively better credit profiles have been tapping the bond market,and the Securities and Exchange Board of India has been promoting municipal bonds as a key instrument to finance urban infrastructure and sustainable development. Accordingtothesources,the proposed insolvency law for ULBs might take cue from global examples like the Chapter9RuleintheUS,tosafeguard investors in municipal bonds during bankruptcy. Experts pointedoutthateventheSebiis yettoofferclearguidanceonthe aftermath of municipalities turning bankrupt and being unable to payback theirdebts. Continued on Page 7 ● Delhi gasps for air after Diwali PTI An anti-smog gun sprays water droplets to curb air pollution in New Delhi on Tuesday. Delhi's air quality deteriorated sharply after Diwali, with levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) rising to their highest in four years ■ REPORT ON PAGE 12 Overhalf a million cars sold in a month since GST2.0 SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, October 21 Minimum wage revision overdue THE GST 2.0,which came into force a month ago, has given a significant push to the automotive industry,with car sales more than doubling to over half a million units. Market observers say that the retail total of the entire passenger vehicle industry between the implementation of the new goods and services tax (GST) rates on September 22 and Diwali could be anywhere between 650,000700,000 units. The automotive industry, which usually saw average 30-day sales of 250,000300,000 cars,has emerged as one of the biggest beneficia- ■ EXPLAINER P9 Venu Srinivasan (left), Mehli Mistry West Asian oil as Russian flows draw scrutiny Coming:Insolvency law for civic bodies Auto industry emerges as one of the biggest beneficiaries of tax cut with sales more than doubling since September 22 FE S P EC I A L Living wages tend to be higher than minimum wages, which have remained unchanged in India in the last 8 years BOARD GAME FE BUREAU New Delhi, October 21 CBC 15502/13/0038/2526 Bachat TRACTORS ARE NOW CHEAPER My farming now comes with savings ries of the GST reforms. BetweenSeptember22and October18,Maruti Suzuki,the country’s largest carmaker, retailed350,000units,making it an average of nearly 13,500 units a day.Bookings,however, crossed 450,000 units. Tata Motors, one of India’s topfourcarmakers,onTuesday saidthatitachievedalandmark milestone with over 100,000 vehicle deliveries during the period, reflecting a growth of 33% from theyear-ago period. Shailesh Chandra, managing director and CEO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said, “Our SUVs continue to lead this momentum with the Nexon registering over38,000 retails, a 73% growth, while the Punch clocked 32,000 CHARGED UP ■ Hyundai retailed an average of 2,500 ■ Sales of the entire passenger vehicle industry between GST2.0 implementation and Diwali could be anywhere between cars every day and accepted 3,500 bookings daily since September 22 650,000-700,000 ■ Mahindra, Kia and units Toyota are estimated to have sold ■ Between September 22 and October 18, Maruti Suzuki retailed units and recorded bookings of 450,000 cars 350,000 units,growing by29%.OurEV portfolio too has shown strong traction,with over 10,000 EVs retailed during this period, 100,000-150,000 units ■ Tata Motors achieved over 100,000 vehicle deliveries during the period, a growth of 33% year-on-year marking a 37% growth.” Hyundai said it retailed an averageof2,500carseveryday and accepted 3,500 bookings daily since September 22.This brings the total numberof cars delivered to 75,000 units. On the first dayof Navratri, the company clocked dealer would have retailed more,” billings of over 11,000, mak- said a Delhi-based dealer of ing it the highest in five years. these three car brands. On Dhanteras, it recorded Dealers in most large cities 14,000 deliveries, a rise of had opted to keep their show20% year-on-year. rooms open beyond »INSIDE« Mahindra,Kiaand theirnormalbusiness Toyota, which make hours to meet the DIWALI SALES up the top six passen- CROSS `6L CR rushofcustomerswho ger vehicle makers in DRIVEN BY GST wereeagertomakethe CUTS: CAIT India, controlling most of the offers PAGE 4 more than 90% of the doled out by dealers total domestic marand carmakers. EDIT: NOW, ket, are estimated to In the first half of RETURN THE have generated September,the Centre FAVOUR 100,000-150,000 had announced a PAGE 8 units in retail sales. reduction in GST on “Our previous estimate small cars to 18% from 28% was to generate 2x the vol- and to 40% on other cars.The umes during the festive days. cut led to an unprecedented We have exceeded ourvolume spurt in demand, even to the projection. If it were not for extentofshortageinlogisticsto the shortage in supplies we supplyvehicles to dealerships. CHENNAI/KOCHI