MARKETS | PAGE 6 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Sebilookstoeasemarginsfor longer-termF&Ocontracts INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 VWpares costs of EV development in India AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025 Saudiprinceseekstoburnish imagewithCorporateAmerica WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XX 144, 30 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: 85,186.47 ▲ 513.45 NIFTY: 26,052.65 ▲ 142.60 NIKKEI 225: 48,537.70 ▼ 165.28 HANG SENG: 25,830.65 ▼ 99.38 `/$: 88.59 ▼ 0.02 `/€: 102.54 ▼ 0.15 BRENT: $63.29 ▼ $1.60 GOLD: `1,23,452 ▲ `1,933 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 3 NBFCS SEEK TAX SOPS, REFINANCE SUPPORT IN A PREBUDGET meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, non-banking finance companies have sought a dedicated National Housing Banklike refinance window and reduction of SARFAESI enforcement threshold to `1 lakh, reports Prasanta Sahu. ECONOMY PAGE 2 GOYALINTELAVIV TO REVIEWFTA WITH ISRAEL COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Israel fromThursday for a review of the proposed free trade agreement between the two sides, reports Mukesh Jagota. » INSIDE « INDIA’SAI FUTURE HINGES ON HOME-GROWN MODELS P4 IBBI FOR STRICTER BIDDER IDENTITY CHECK NORMS P2 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 7 NVIDIA’S SHIFTTO SMARTPHONE-STYLE MEMORYCOULD DOUBLE SERVER-MEMORYPRICES Govt may revise CPI base year every 3-5 years THE MINISTRY OF Statistics and Programme Implementation may conduct the revision of the base year for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) series every three-tofive years, reports Kuldeep Singh. ■ PAGE 2 NHAI raises `9Kcr from TOT round, IRB Infra wins bid INTHE FIRST highway monetisation deal in FY26, the NHAI will raise `9,270 crore, with the letter of award issued to IRB Infrastructure, the highest bidder, for a 333.4-km stretch in Uttar Pradesh, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 3 Govt hardens stance Sensextops85,000afteroverayear onACC-PLIdefaulters ● Nifty ends above ● Fresh penalty notices issued to Ola,Reliance arm, Rajesh Exports 26,000; investors gain `1.12 lakh cr MISSED TARGET ■ Ola has accumulated dues of around `35 crore, while the other two owe about `14 cr each NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, November 19 THE MINISTRY OF heavy industries (MHI) has issued fresh notices to all three beneficiariesoftheadvancedchemistry cell (ACC) productionlinked incentive (PLI) scheme whichfailedtomeetmandated timelines for setting up their manufacturing plants. The government has directed Ola Electric, Reliance NewEnergyandRajeshExports (ACC Energy Storage) to pay penaltiesaccruedtillSeptember 30, signalling that requests for extensions and penaltywaivers have not been accededto. This marks a clear hardening of the Centre’s position on implementationoftheACC-PLI scheme,which was announced in 2021 with an outlay of `18,100croretobuild50GWh of domestic battery cell manufacturing capacity. Under the terms of the programme,companies are required to establish plantswithintwoyearsofsigning final agreements and meet domestic value addition and investment milestones. Delays attract penalties calculated dailyanddeductedfromfuture incentive payouts. All three companies had ■ All companies ■ The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 with an outlay of `18,100 cr ■ Ola Electric, which received the largest allocation of 20 GWh under the scheme, faces penalties of sought relief in February, citing restrictions on sourcing of critical equipment from China ■ Officials say two of the firms have shown lakh per day virtually no progress, while ■ Reliance New Energy and Rajesh Exports Ola Electric — both 5 GWh beneficiaries — have been reported trial slapped with a fine of `5 lakh a day each production to build 50 GWh of battery cell capacity `12.5 first sought relief in February, after the initial showcause noticeswereissuedforfailingto comply with timelines. They maintainedthatsourcingcritical equipment and plant machinery from China had beenseverelyaffectedbyexport restrictions and shipping delays. The upstream supply chain for advanced chemistry cellproductionremainsheavily dependent on specialised imports, and companies claimed that bottlenecks had forced them to slow execution despitehavingobtainedallcen- tral and state-level approvals. However, the government now appears to have rejected that reasoning. According to officials, the penalties remain applicable from January 1, 2025, and no relaxation has been granted. Ola Electric, whichreceivedthelargestallocation of 20 GWh,faces penaltiesof`12.5lakhperday,while the two 5 GWh beneficiaries — Reliance New Energy and Rajesh Exports — have been fined `5 lakh a day each. Continued on Page 7 Banks seek more leeway in acquisition financing KSHIPRA PETKAR & MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, November 19 BANKS HAVE FLAGGED several restrictions in the Reserve Bank of India’s acquisition financing guidelines that they believe will limit their participation in the merger and acquisition (M&A) space. These include capital caps, equity restructuring as well as inabilityto fund smaller deals. According to banking sources,a detailed representation has already been made to the banking regulator. One of main feedback that bankers have given is on the majorityand controlling stake acquisitions. “This rules out funding for minority acquisitions or staggered deals done intranchesassometimescompanies acquire 15-20% initially and scale up later,” said Anu Aggarwal, president & head,corporatebanking,Kotak Mahindra Bank, adding that the current framework should allow that flexibility Another concern is the FUNDING FLEXIBILITY Exposure cap too restrictive: Suggestion is to raise the cap to 25-40% from the proposed 10% Eligibility limited to listed entities: This excludes many PE-driven deals,and favours only large corporates 3-year profitability track record: Banks say they be allowed to assess risk independently Debt-equity ratio: Shift to 80:20 for flexibility without compromising on norms exposure cap — banks are permitted to allocate only 10% of Tier-1 capital towards acquisitionfinancing.“Thiseffectively turns out to be a very small numberofaround`3lakhcrore as the banking system’s Tier-1 capital stands at `30 lakh crore,”saidabanker.Mostbelieve that this is inadequate,especially since the M&A activity in India has already touched $50 billion in the first half of 2025. 30% pure equity contribution ambiguity: Banks seek clarification on whether promoter-level debt injected as equity is acceptable Majority stake requirement: Bankers call for flexibility to support phased M&A strategies A senior official from a privatesectorbankaddedthatthe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shouldconsiderraisingthecap to 25-40% of Tier-1 capital, allowing banks to lend up to 25% of that capital to a single corporategroup.Theeligibility criteriawhich restricts financing to onlylisted entities is also a limiting factor. Continued on Page 7 KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, November 19 THE BENCHMARK INDICES rebounded on Wednesday, recouping the entire losses of the previous session despite weak global cues, supported by strong buying in IT and banking stocks. The Sensex rose 513.45 points (0.61%), closing above the 85,000-mark for the first time since September 27, 2024, at 85,186.47.The Nifty also jumped 142.60 points (0.55%), closing above the 26,000-mark, at 26,052.65. On Tuesday, the Sensex and the Nifty had fallen 0.33% and 0.40%,respectively. The rally comes a day after aMorganStanleyreport stated the Sensex is expected to rise UNDER THE LENS Waaree stock declines 3% after I-Traids INCOME TAX OFFICIALS conducted searches at multiple offices and facilities ofWaaree Energies across India as part of an investigation under the Income Tax Act, the company said, reports fe Bureau. Following the development, shares of Waaree Energies declined by over 3% on Wednesday to close at `3,175.10 on the BSE. ■ PAGE 4 KECsharesslip 9%afterPower Gridaction SHARES OF KEC International, an RPG Group firm, fell 9.08% on Wednesday after Power Grid Corporation of India barred it from tenders for nine months citing “alleged transgression of contractual provisions”, reports Raghavendra Kamath. The company, however, said the decision will have “no bearing” on the execution of its existing contracts. ■ PAGE 4 IT, BANKS DRIVE REBOUND Nifty (Intra-day, November 19) Close: 26,052.65 0.55% Open: 25,918.10 Top sectoral gainers IT TECK PSU bank Healthcare Consumer durables Top Sensex g gainers Previous close: 0.48 0.41 (% gain) 13% to 95,000 as a base case scenariobyDecember2026.In case of a bull run, it could rise 27% to 107,000 points. “The market rebound was supported primarily by unex- 4.32 3.74 Infosys TCS 1.16 1.54 pected strength in IT majors after Infosys announced its `18,000-crore share buyback effective November 20, lifting sentiment across the sector,” saidAjit Mishra,SVP-research, Religare Broking. Continued resilience in the banking space also contributed meaningfully to the day’s gains,he added. Continued on Page 7 UPpowerregulatorwithholds nodto`16,700-crAdanideal SETHURAMAN N R New Delhi, November 19 THE UTTAR PRADESH power regulator has delayed approval of a power supply deal with Adani Group’s new $2-billion (approximately `16,700 crore) coal power project over lack of clarity around costs, a filing showed on Wednesday, six months after the announcement. Adani Power in May won a contract to supply 1,500 megawatts of power from a coal plant in Uttar Pradesh at `5.38 per unit. The lack of clarity over costs stems from a decision by the central government in Julyto ease rules for some coal plants from installing equipment that would remove sulfur dioxide from exhausts while burning coal. The easing of rules is RED FLAG ■ Adani Power ■ The lack of in May won a contract to supply costs clarity arose after easing of emission rules to Uttar Pradesh Power Corp at `5.38 per unit ■ The easing 1,500 MW of rules is expected to save crores of rupees expected to bring in crores of rupees in savings for the coal plant operators. The state power regulator noted in the order that the power utility, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation, failed to provide its own analysis of savings or cost changes from not installing the equipment. The commission directed the state powerutilityto make Adani Powera partyto the case and submit detailed cost assessmentswithintwoweeks. The case is now listed for hearing on December 18. The regulator noted in its previoushearinginSeptember that once the equipment was confirmed as not required,the power utility should have approached the commission with revised fixed charges and operating expenses reflecting savings for the state. It also said the utility should have assessed the impact of revised goods and services tax (GST) rates on coal under the power supply agreement. —REUTERS SammaanCap probe:SCpulls upCBI&Sebi THE SUPREME COURT on Wednesday came down heavily on the CBI and the Sebi for their “reluctance” to probe allegations of“dubious transactions” against Sammaan Capital (previously known as Indiabulls Housing Finance), reports fe Bureau. Shares of the company slumped 12.47% to close at `159.75 on the BSE. ■ PAGE 6 AIeyesChinamilitaryairspacetocutcosts AIR INDIA IS lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts,a company document shows. The unusual request comes just weeks after direct IndiaChina flights resumed after a five-year hiatus following a borderclashineasternLadakh. Air India has been seeking to rebuild its reputation and international network after a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamlinercrashed in Gujarat TACKLING HEADWINDS ■ Air India’s fuel costs have risen by 29% It estimates the impact on its profit before tax at around ■ `4,000 cr annually ■ The use of airspace over Xinjiang, China, will help Air India flights reach the US, Canada and Europe faster and journey times by up to three hours on some routes since Pakistan airspace closure in April in June,killing 260 people and forcing it to briefly cut flights for safety checks. But that effort is being complicated by the closure of Pakistan airspace to Indian carriers since tensions between the two ■ Air India has also sought temporary subsidy till Pakistan airspace opens countries erupted in April. For Air India, the country’s only carrierwith a major international network, fuel costs have risen by29% and journey times by up to three hours on somelong-haulroutes,accord- ingtothedocumentsubmitted to Indian officials in October. The Indian government is reviewing Air India’s plea to diplomatically ask China to allow an alternative routing and emergency access to air- 1.39 HUL Sun Pharma Airline urges govt to convince Beijing for route clearance as Pakistan remains out of bounds ADITYA KALRA & GREG TORODE New Delhi/Hong Kong, November 19 2.97 2.21 1.99 HCL Tech 25,910.05 (% gain) ports in case of diversions at Hotan,Kashgarand Urumqi in Xinjiang, aiming to reach the US, Canada and Europe faster, the document said.“Air India’s long-haul network is under severe operational and financial strain ... Securing Hotan route will be a strategic option,”it added. The airline, owned by Tata Group and SingaporeAirlines, estimated the Pakistan airspace closure’s impact on its profit before tax at $455 million annually — a significant amount given its FY25 loss stood at $439 million. The Chinese foreign ministrysaiditwasnotawareofthe situation and referred Reuters to the“relevant authorities”. Continued on Page 12 Ahmedabad