COMPANIES | PAGE 5 BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 OpenAI’s IndQAto evaluate Indian languages, culture Hinduja Group Chairman GopichandHindujanomore AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2025 VOL NO. XX 131, 28 PAGES, `12 INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 Key polls across US pose early test forTrump 2.0 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD 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: 83,459.13 ▼ 519.36 NIFTY: 25,597.65 ▼ 165.70 NIKKEI 225: 51,497.20 ▼ 914.14 HANG SENG: 25,952.40 ▼ 205.96 `/$: 88.66 ▲ 0.12 `/€: 101.96 ▲ 0.27 BRENT: $64.01 ▼ $0.88 GOLD: `1,19,944 ▼ `212 RATAN’S CONFIDANTWANTSTO PREVENTSPECULATION Mistry saysTata to Noel URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, November 4 FORMER TRUSTEE OF Tata Trusts Mehli Mistryhas reached out to Chairman Noel Tata and other trustees, saying that he would like to partways and“put an end quietus to speculative media reports”. In his letter,Mistry,whowas recently voted out of the Tata Trusts board, alluded to a commitment he made to the Trusts’ former Chairman, the late Ratan Tata, including the responsibility of not precipitating a controversy.“The precipitation of matters can cause irreparable damage to the Tata Group,” he said, adding: “I part ways with a quote that Ratan Tata used to say to me, ‘Nobody is bigger than the institution it serves’.” “I believe that this letter should assist in putting the quietus on speculative news reports that do not serve the interests of the Tata Trusts and are inimical to itsvision,” Mistry said,adding that it had been his privilege to serve as a trustee till his term ended on October 28. “...in the spirit of Ratan N Tata, who always put public interest before his own, I hope that the actions of the other trustees going forward will be guided by the principles of transparency,good governance, and public interest,” he wrote. IN THE NEWS FM: Privatisation of banks won't hurt financial inclusion THE FEAR THAT privatisation of banks would undermine financial inclusion is misplaced as professional and board-driven banks serve both national and banking interests effectively, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 Exporters seek interest relief, faster GST refunds EXPORTERS, IN A recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have asked for support that will help mitigate the adverse fallout of extra tariffs that their shipments to the US face, when compared to main competitors, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 3 Lenskart IPO ends with 28x subscription THE INITIAL PUBLIC offering (IPO) of Lenskart Solutions, India’s largest prescription eyewear retailer, was bid 28x on the final day. Total float was `7,278 crore, comprised of a fresh issue of `2,150 crore and an offer for sale of `5,128 crore, reports Nesil Staney. ■ PAGE 6 FE S P EC I A L The Badshah of bankability Brands can pick up lessons on authenticity from SRK ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 ● Yes Bank stake sale boosts net MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, November 4 PARTING WAYS STATE BANK OF India (SBI) on Tuesdayreporteda10%risein its net profit at `20,160 crore for the September quarter on the back of a one-time income of`4,593crorefromthesaleof shares ofYes Bank. Excluding the one-time gain, the country’s largest lenderreportedanordinaryset ofnumbers,postinganoperating profit of `27,311 crore, a 7% year-on-year decline. On a sequential basis, SBI’s net profit rose by 5.2%. Analysts had estimated a net profit of `17,387 crore. MEHLI MISTRY, FORMER TRUSTEE, TATA TRUSTS I part ways with a quote that Ratan Tata used to say to me, ‘Nobody is bigger than the institution it serves’ Noel Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts SBI posts 10% rise in Q2 profit I hope actions of other trustees will be guided by principles of transparency, good governance, and public interest SCORECARD CS SETTY, CHAIRMAN, SBI State Bank of India standalone financials Q2 FY25 Q2 FY26 y-o-y % growth Net interest income (` cr) Net profit (` cr) 41,620 42,984 Gross NPAs (%) 2.13 18,331 3.3 20,160 Net NPAs 1.73 (%) The bank’s net interest income(NII)increasedby3.3% y-o-y and 4.7% q-o-q to `42,984 crore.The lender’s net interest margin (NIM) came in at 2.97%, a contraction of 17 bps y-o-y, but up 7 bps q-o-q. NIM for the domestic business 10 The U-shaped trajectorywe anticipated has already begun to play out NIM (%) 0.53 0.42 3.14 was 3.09%, down 18 bps y-oy and up 7 bps q-o-q.Domestic advances rose by a strong 12.32%,withSME,agriculture, andretailsegmentsregistering double-digit growth. Asset quality remained stellar, with gross NPA at a two-decade low 2.97 of 1.73%, net NPA at 0.42% and PCRat 75.79%. The SBI tock hit an all-time highof`959onTuesdaybefore closing the session at `957.05, representinga0.72%increase. Continued on Page 18 Q2 REPORT CARD DifferenceswithintheTrusts had led to Vijay Singh, former defence secretary, being voted outoftheboardofTataSonsand Mistry being ousted from the board of Tata Trusts. Last week, Mistry had approached the Maharashtra CharityCommissionertotryand ensure no changes were made to the Trusts’ roster of trustees without first granting him a hearing. Theinternalstrife,whichhad pittedNoelTata,VenuSrinivasan and Vijay Singh against Mistry, Darius Khambata and Jehangir HC Jehangir, was undermining Noel Tata’s influence, experts said. Noel Tata has been trying to induct new members to the board ofTata Sons,but had been unable to do so. Mistrywasexpectedtoargue before the Charity Commissionerthat his renewal as trustee for life should be in keeping with the resolution passed bytheTrusts on October 2024,shortly after the death of group patriarch Ratan Tata. WhileTataTrusts was yet to file the ‘change report’ with the Charity Commissioner, the movewas seen as the prelude to a long and ugly legal battle. The internecine war had threatened to impact the operations of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group’scompaniesandinwhich Tata Trusts has a 66% share. Noel Tata and N Chandrasekaran,chairman,Tata Sons, had met Union ministers Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard. The discord centred around governance practices, lifetime trusteeships and board representation,exposing an unusual split overhowtheTrusts should exercise control and nominate directors to Tata Sons. M&M beats Street, profit rises 18% IndiGo loss soars 2.5x on forex hit Adani Enterprises profit surges 84% MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA (M&M) posted a nearly 18% year-on-year rise in standalone net profit in the second quarter of FY26, helped by a strong growth in tractor and light truck volumes even as its mainstay, SUVs, witnessed a relatively slower growth, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ PAGE 4 INTERGLOBEAVIATION (INDIGO) posted a consolidated net loss of `2,582 crore for the second quarter of FY26—an increase of more than two-and-a-half times from `987 crore in the year-ago period—hit by higher forex losses and expenses, reports Nitin Kumar. The loss surpassed estimates of `1,432 crore. ■ PAGE 4 ADANI ENTERPRISES REPORTED an 84% growth in its net profit for the second quarter at `3,199 crore compared with `1,742 crore in Q2FY25, reports Raghavendra Kamath. The Q2 profit included an exceptional item of `3,583 crore related to sale of stake in AWLAgri Business. ■ PAGE 5 Airtel to approach Govtturnswaryof govt forAGRrelief greenpowerbids WhatsApp,MetagetNCLAT Torevisecontract IN LIMBO model;case-by-case go-aheadondatasharing 40 GW approachlikely OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, November 4 ● But appellate tribunal upholds CCI’s `213-cr fine FE BUREAU New Delhi, November 4 THE NATIONAL COMPANY LawAppellateTribunal(NCLAT) on Tuesday granted partial relief to Meta Platforms and its messaging arm WhatsApp in the long-running competition casearisingfromtheplatform’s 2021 privacypolicyupdate. While the appellate body upheld the penaltyof `213.14 croreimposedbytheCompetition Commission of India (CCI), it set aside key findings related to dominance and overturned the five-year prohibition on user data sharing with Meta group companies for advertising purposes. Atwo-memberbench comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Arun Baroka, in its order, struck down the portions of the CCI’s November 2024 ruling that had found Meta guilty of leveraging WhatsApp’s dominant posi- ■ WhatsApp updates privacy ■ CCI finds policy, allowing broader data sharing with Meta (Facebook) ■ CCI begins investigating this as possibly anti-competitive 2021 Nov 2023 CASE FILES Meta/WhatsApp guilty of unfair business practices; fines `213.14 cr ■ Meta and WhatsApp appeal to NCLAT Jan 2024 WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for ads for 5 years ■ NCLAT issues interim stay on 5-year data sharing ban NCLAT hears arguments, reserves judgment Sept 2024 Nov 2024 Nov 2025 ■ It also bans CCI finalises, releases detailed order confirming penalty & ban NCLAT modifies CCI order, sets aside 5-year ban on data sharing, keeps `213-cr penalty tion in the over-the-top (OTT) messaging market to protect its standing in online advertising. Specifically, the tribunal set aside paragraph 247.1 of the CCI order that barred WhatsApp from sharing data with Meta for ad-related purposes.“We are setting aside the findings of the Commission in so far as it holds breach of Section 4(2)(e) and the corresponding directions in paragraph 247.1,” the bench said, notingthattherestoftheCCI’s directions would stand. Continued on Page 10 tion of the AGR dues including interest and penalties up to financial year BHARTI AIRTEL ON Tuesday 2016-17,” Gopal Vittal, vicesaid it plans to approach the chairman and managing government, seeking a director, Bharti Airtel, said reassessment of its adjusted during the company’s quargross revenue (AGR) dues. terly earnings call. This comes a day after the “The order has been made Supreme Court in the petition of clarified that the Vodafone Idea. government We are now GOPAL VITTAL, could undertake planning to take VICE-CHAIRMAN & MD, BHARTI AIRTEL a comprehensive up our matter review of Vodawith the governfone Idea’s AGR The fact that ment,” he added. liabilities, Vittal said even errors of including interAirtel has consisest and penalties calculation were tently mainup to FY17. The not entertained tained that move marks a (in 2019 AGR the 2019 AGR fresh attempt by order) is deeply judgment was a the telecom body blow to major to revisit disappointing the industry. its long-standing “The fact that dispute over even errors of dues that it says calculation were were wrongly not entertained computed. is deeply disap“We welcome pointing,” he the fact that the recent said, noting that order of the the company Supreme Court would first permits the govreach out to the ernment to government undertake a over the comcomprehening days before sive assessdeciding its ment, next steps. reassessment and Continued on reconciliaPage 18 ● ■ India's ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ New Delhi, November 4 THE GOVERNMENTIS actively exploring mechanisms to optimisetransmissioncapacityand improvethecontractingframework forrenewable energy(RE) projects with stakeholders, to enable efficient addition of RE capacity to the grid, the ministry of new and renewable energysaid onTuesday. According to the ministry, the feasibility of signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) and power sale agreements (PSAs) for certain awarded capacities will be reviewed.The ministrydidnotruleoutcancellations of some of the awarded projects that are stranded, but indicated that itwill onlybe the last resort. Themovecomesinthewake of at least 40 gigawatt (GW) of REcapacitybeingstrandeddue to delays in the signing of PSAs by the bidding agencies with state distribution utilities (discoms).The policy shift will also see a “nuanced, case-by-case approach” to the way the bidding process is undertaken by agencies like the Solar renewable energy capacity has grown to 197 ■ However, over of awarded projects stuck ■ This is due to delays in signing pacts with as of Sept, up state discoms from 35 GW in 2014 GW Energy Corporation of India (SECI),with increased focus on grid strength, storage and market reforms, the ministry said in a statement. The delays in execution of sale agreements are mainlyon account of lack of dedicated transmission infrastructure and investments which haven’t kept pace with the RE capacity creation. The pace of utilisation of RE capacity has slowed as a result. Continued on Page 10 Universities of China, Singapore & Hong Kong move up the ladder India’s top institutions slip in QSAsia rankings MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, November 4 INDIA’STOP-RANKED universities have taken a back seat in the latest QS Asia University Rankings 2026, with premier institutes like IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) seeing a drop in their positions. Within the top seven Indian universities that featured on the top 100 list, all institutes have taken a tumble this year, including IIT Delhi which slipped 15 positions to rank at #59. AllsevenIITs—Delhi,Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Roorkee and Guwahati – that feature in the top 150 list have slipped in comparison to the previous year. In contrast, the newer IITs like IIT BHU Varanasi (#237), IIT Hyderabad (#270) and IIT Gandhinagar (#300) have improved their rankings. India has, however, added 137 universities to the list, taking the tally of ranked institutions to 294.Six universities dropped out of the rankings,including Jaypee University of Information Technology, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences (Bangalore) and Mangalore University. On the other hand, institutes from Singapore, China andHongKonghavemovedup in the league tables. China, for example, has 24 universities ranked in top 100 this time,up from 22 last year. China has also seen the addition of 261 universities in PROGRESS REPORT Top 5 universities in Asia 2026 2025 Top 5 universities in India 2026 2025 The University of Hong Kong 1 2 Indian Institute ofTechnology Delhi (IITD) 59 44 Peking University 2 1 Indian Institute of Science 64 62 Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 3 4 Indian Institute ofTechnology Madras (IITM) 70 56 National University of Singapore (NUS) 3 3 Indian Institute ofTechnology Bombay (IITB) 71 48 Fudan University 5 5 Indian Institute ofTechnology Kanpur (IITK) 77 67 the rankings – the highest for any of the 26 countries in the list – and the country now has 395 ranked universities. In the current edition, QS has featured 1,529 universities, significantly higher than lastyearwhen just 984 universities were ranked. A QS spokesperson told FE that the decision to expand the list is in recognition of the growing influence of Asia on the global higher education scene. Despite a sharp fall in rankings, the data show that India has become Asia’s research powerhouse, leading the region in productivityand facultystrength.Inpapersperfaculty metric, Maulana Abul KalamAzadUniversityofTechnology (West Bengal) has ranked #1 in Asia. Also, five Indian universities have featured in Asia’s top 10 for research productivity, and 28 in the top 50, which is more than double of China’s count. Jessica Turner, CEO, QS, said:“India’s higher education transformation is now visible in the data – a system that’s globally relevant and locally empowering”. Meanwhile, the University of Hong Kong has moved up to the top slot within Asia, whereas Peking University in Chinaslippedtothe#2spot.As per the rankings, Hong Kong has five universitieswithin the top 10 list followed byChina (3 universities)andSingapore(2). The QS ranked the institutions on nine parameters, including academic reputation, citations per faculty, employer reputation, facultystudent ratio, international facultyratio,internationalstudent diversity, sustainability and others. Ahmedabad