BACK PAGE | PAGE 18 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Why India’s airlines keep importing their CEOs M&M bets on XUV7XO to grow SUVvolumes CHENNAI/KOCHI, TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026 VOL NO. XLVI 206, 18 PAGES, `12 BACK PAGE | PAGE 18 Call on Mustafizur’s ouster taken at top level in BCCI 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: 85,439.62 ▼ 322.39 NIFTY: 26,250.30 ▼ 78.25 NIKKEI 225: 51,832.80 ▲ 1,493.32 HANG SENG: 26,347.24 ▲ 8.77 `/$: 90.29 ▼ 0.09 `/€: 105.47 ▲ 0.24 BRENT: $61.25 ▲ $0.50 GOLD: `1,35,779 ▲ `1,636 PAGE 6 HDFC BANK SEES HIGHER LOAN GROWTH IN Q3 HDFC BANK EXPECTS its loan book to grow by 11.9% on year and deposits slightly lower at 11.5% as on December 31, according to provisional figures released by the bank, reports fe Bureau. MARKETS PAGE 6 RBI RELAXES RELATED-PARTY LENDING NORMS THE RBI ON Monday issued the final guidelines on lending to related parties, easing several provisions from the draft norms, including allowing existing noncompliant transactions to continue till maturity, reports fe Bureau. » INSIDE « DABUR MAYSEE MID-SINGLE DIGITGROWTH IN Q3 PAGE 4 NEWPUNCHTOTAKE ON EXTER, MAGNITE PAGE 4 COMPANIES PAGE 5 DRAFTSOCIALSECURITY RULES MAYEXCLUDE MAJORITYOF GIGWORKERS Experts forecast conservative tax targets for FY27 AS THE UNION BUDGET for FY27 approaches, tax experts foresee the government adopting a realistic yet cautious approach while setting tax collection targets, reports Kuldeep Singh. ■ PAGE 2 ONGC enters ethane shipping via Mitsui JV ONGCWILLTAKE a 50% stake in twoJV firms thatwill own and operatevery large ethane carriers in tie-up with Mitsui, reports PTI.This marks its foray into specialised ethane shipping. ■ PAGE 2 Trumprenewstariffthreat MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, January 5 US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has warned that the US may further raise the tariffs on Indian merchandise. His comments cast a darker cloud over India’sexportprospectsatatime whena50%additionaltariffby the US has already caused substantial foreign exchange losses tothecountrysinceMay. AddingtoUSsenatorLindsey Graham’s comment that because of the high US tariffs, Indiaisbuyingsubstantiallyless oil from Russia, Trump said: “Modi is a good guy. He knew I wasnothappyanditwasimportant to make me happy.” He, however,wenton,andseemedto contradictGraham.“They(India) do trade (with Russia) and we couldraisetariffs(onthem)very quicklyand itwould beverybad forthem,”Trumpsaid. The Indian government did not respond to the US president’s latest remarks. AT IT AGAIN India’s crude oil imports ($ million, April-November, 2025) 8,000 7,734 DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT Share in crude oil imports 6,000 34 (Nov, %) 13.2 Russia MARKETS CAN RAISETARIFFS ON INDIA‘VERYQUICKLY’,SAYS US PRESIDENT US IN THE NEWS 30,393 2,181 2,000 (%) 8.1 US Total 4,000 Apr-Nov From Russia 32.4 Russia 7,641 Modiisagood guy.Heknew Iwasnothappy... Theydotrade, andwecanraise tariffsonthem veryquickly 3,722 1,143 0 Apr May From US Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct 2025 Trump’s comments followed the US’dramatic capture of Venezuela and aggressive comments on other countries, includingIran,Greenland,Cuba Nov and Mexico. He also seemed to express his exasperation with New Delhi’s reluctance to open up significant parts of its farm and dairy sectors to US goods,a VENEZUELA MOVE »INSIDE« TRUMP’SRIL, ONGC PAGE 6 MAY EDIT: TARIFFS AS THEATRE BENEFIT PAGE 8 factor that appears to delay the much-touted bilateral trade pact between the two nations. Continued on Page 7 FURTHER HIKE MAY HIT EXPORTS, SPUR DIVERSIFICATION PAGE 3 Mid-capITfirms’Q3 E-auction ofwheat revenuemayrise4% may be resumed iD Fresh Food plans big global push MID-CAP IT SERVICES companies are expected to report a sequential revenue growth, in constant currency terms, of 0.5-4% for the December quarter on stabilising demand conditions and slowing pace of contract ramp-downs, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 4 ID FRESH FOOD is doubling down on international expansion after a strategic investment from funds advised by Apax Partners, with plans to set up a plant in Saudi Arabia later this year and enter the UK and US markets within the next 3-5 years, reports Anees Hussain. ■ PAGE 4 WITH SLUGGISH OFFTAKE due to adequate private stock and prospects of a robust harvest, the Food Corporation of India is likely to relaunch the e-auction of open market sale of wheat after discontinuing the weekly sales since early December, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 2 IDBI Bank sale may spill overto next financialyear ● Non-debt capital receipts may face a shortfall MOVING SLOW Total stake on offer: 60.72% 30.48% PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, January 5 THE STRATEGIC DISINVESTMENTofIDBIBankislikelytoget delayed to the next fiscal as the necessaryproceduralandevaluation processes are still underway, sources said. This would mean that the government’s non-debt capital receipts in the current fiscal may fall significantlyshortoftheBudgettarget. Since the revised estimates for FY24,no separate target for disinvestment proceeds was kept.Receipts from sale of government stakes in companies Govt `1.17 lakh cr in Dec 2025 TAKING STOCK ~₹72,000 cr are now under the head -“miscellaneous capital receipts”. TheproposedIDBIBankdisinvestment involves the sale of a 30.48% government stake, which is currently valued at around `36,000 crore. A slip- THE DOMESTIC STOCK market turned in modest returns in 2025, but risk-taking through the use of the margin funding facility touched new highs during the year. The benchmark indices— BSE Sensex and Nifty 50— ended the year with gains of 9% and 10.5%, respectively. At the same time, the margin trading facility (MTF)—a short-term loan facility extended by brokers to investors for shortfalls during trading—saw a year-on-year rise of 44% in December to hit `1.17 lakh crore, its highest ever. The rising appetite for leveraged equity exposure SIDDHARTHA SINGH January 5 THE GOVERNMENTIS likelyto retaintheexistinginflationtarget for the central bank, with the setup seen as effective in managing prices, according to peoplefamiliarwiththematter. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) currently aims to keep inflation anchored around 4%, the mid-point of a 2-6% range mandated by the government. The target for RBI is set every five years and is due in March. The government is unlikely to change the target, finance ministryofficials said.The ministry did not immediately respondtorequestforcomment. In place since 2016, the Dec 2025 Jul 2024 1,04,034 57,018 Sep 2025 Jan 2024 85,395 Sep 2024 72,082 Apr 2025 Source: BSE/NSE among Indian investors has been on the rise, with doubling of MTF volumes in two years. The volume was at `57,018 crore in January 2024. “Margin positions are rising because investors aren’t signalling fear—despite volatility, they still believe there’s money to be made,so they are holding and even averaging down rather than exiting,” said a CEO of a domestic brokerage.What was interesting, according to him, that even with a flat market, traders kept leverage intact. “It shows confidence that short-term pain won’t derail the medium-term opportunity,” he said. Continued on Page 7 Demand for heating appliances zooms Earlywinterchills sale ofACs, fridges ahead of newnorms YARUQHULLAH KHAN New Delhi, January 5 AN EARLYAND sharperwinter has reshaped India’s white goods market, pushing consumers towards heaters, geysersandairpurifierswhileleaving manufacturers saddled with excess inventories of air conditioners and refrigerators—just weeks before tighter energyefficiencynormskicked in from January1. Sales of heating appliances jumpednearly40%inDecember 2025 from a year earlier, according to multiple manufacturers.Demand forairpurifiers rose 30% year-on-year, electronic retailer Croma said, with Delhi-NCR accounting for nearly three-fourths of its purifier sales. HOT & COLD 12-15% 40% rise in geyser sales in Dec quarter, while room heaters posted 15-18% growth surge in sales of heating appliances in Dec 2025 from a year earlier 10-15% 30% decline in sales expected in 2025 for most airconditioner makers year-on-year jump reported by Croma in demand for air purifiers Geyser sales grew 12-15% in the December quarter,while room heaters posted 15-18% growth, aided by colder-thanusual conditions across north India. Local traders reported a 40-50% surge in late-December sales,with markets such as ChandniChowkexpecting`2025 lakh in seasonal revenue from heating products alone. This consumer pivot came at the cost of cooling appliances. Air-conditioner and refrigerator sales were hit at a timewhen manufacturers had ■ A delay could affect the FY26 combined target of `47,000 cr for disinvestment & asset monetisation ■ Disinvestment proceeds for the current year stand at only `8,768 cr pageinthetransactiontimeline couldresultinashortfallagainst the FY26 combined target of `47,000 crore for disinvestment and asset monetisation. Continued on Page 7 4% inflation target likelyto stay 76,858 MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, January 5 ~₹36,000 cr Combined stake 1,17,480 MTF market (` cr) LIC Current market value: Govt stake Marginfundingatnewhigh despitetepidmarketshow ● Volumes touch 30.24% anticipated pre-buying ahead of revised Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) norms, which effectivelydowngradeexisting star ratings and raise prices of new models. Continued on Page 7 CHENNAI/KOCHI inflation targeting framework has helped contain price volatility, including during supply shocks triggered by geopolitical events. Inflation rate picked up in Novemberfrom a record lowin thepreviousmonth,butstayed well below RBI’s 4% target. The government has also sought RBI’s feedback, which has favoured maintaining the status quo following internal deliberations and consultations with stakeholders, the people said. —BLOOMBERG