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L1 NO. 273, 26 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) 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: 83,382.71* ▼ 244.98 NIFTY: 25,665.60* ▼ 66.70 NIKKEI 225: 54,110.50 ▼ 230.73 HANG SENG: 26,923.62 ▼ 76.19 `/$: 90.30* ▼ 0.11 `/€: 105.21* ▲ 0.06 BRENT: $63.62 ▼ $2.90 GOLD: `139,799* ▼ `168 QUARTERLY RESULTS JIO FINANCIALQ3 NET PROFITDROPS 9% PAGE 6 LTTS Q3 PROFITFALLS 6% TO `302 CR PAGE 5 HDFC LIFE Q3 NETPROFIT FLATAT`421 CR PAGE 6 Unemployment rate in Dec rises marginally to 4.8% JOBLESSNESS FOR PERSONS aged 15 years and above rose marginally to 4.8% in December 2025 compared to 4.7% in the preceding month, the periodic labour force survey showed, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 ■ Over the following first invested in Flipkart in 2009 starting with an initial amount of KULDEEP SINGH New Delhi, January 15 years, it increased its exposure to about $1 bn, building a stake of roughly 20% in the company $9 million THE SUPREME COURT on Monday ruled that private equity firm Tiger Global is required to pay capital gains tax in India for its 2018 stake sale in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart to American retailer Walmart, setting aside an August 2024 Delhi High Court verdict. While holding that the transfer of the unlisted equity shares by the PE firm occurred under an impermissible arrangementwhich lacked real commercial substance, the apex court held that benefit under Article 13(4) of the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) would not be available to the firm and its subsidiaries involved in the transaction. Importantly, the ruling dilutes the grandfathering provisions with April 1, 2017 as the cut-off date under the 2016 amendments to India's key tax treaties with Mauritius and Singapore. It could also potentially take away the leniencey available under the General AntiAvoidance Rules (GAAR), exited most of the remainder, selling around three-quarters of its stake to Walmart ■ The ruling will help the tax department to lay its hands on around ■ In 2017, Tiger began monetising the investment by selling part of its holding to SoftBank Group `15,000 cr in the Tiger Global case »INSIDE« that once a transaction is found to be prima facie designed fortax avoidance,the tax authorities are not required to examine the merits of taxability. The ruling will help the tax department to lay its hands on around `15,000 crore in the Tiger Global case itself, and could set a benchmark for a large number of other cases in the listed and unlisted equity space,potentially allowing the taxman to raise far higher amounts in the aggregate. THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA OF INDIAN INVESTING, WRITES SIDDARTH PAI P8 UNCERTAINTY FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS: EXPERTS P2 introduced simultaneously. The 2016 amendments chiefly removed the tax exemption for capital gains made from investment in equities for prospective cases, under the two treaties. Essentially,a two-member SC Bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ruled Continued on Page 7 Indian firms slip in global m-cap list OVER THE PAST year, most Indian companies, including TCS, HUL and LIC, have slipped in the rankings of the world’s top 500 companies by market capitalisation, while three --SBI, Bajaj Finance and Maruti Suzuki --have moved up, writes Kishor Kadam. With ITC and Sun Pharma exiting the global top-500 club, just 14 Indian firms remain in the group. List of Indian companies in the global top 500 firms by market cap Market cap 36.2 21.7 12.9 8.3 -27.7 (% chg, y-o-y) Global rank RIL Current 78 125 Year ago 68 99 HDFC Bharti Bank Airtel 11.0 31.8 24.2 -20.9 -4.8 Infosys Bajaj HUL Finance TCS ICICI Bank SBI 155 167 194 204 317 357 145 78 165 233 181 376 7.0 14.7 -11.8 -4.0 Maruti M&M Suzuki HCL Tech L&T LIC 388 410 418 435 482 485 300 355 323 463 454 340 Source: Bloomberg Wishlistincludesprivatisationpipeline,taxcredits IndiaIncseeksenablers fordemandvisibility POLICY SUPPORT HARSH MARIWALA, CHAIRMAN, MARICO 0 - 10 Jul Aug Sept - 20 INDIA INC IS seeking targeted policy support in the Union Budget to revive private capital expenditure, with industry leaders calling for demand-boosting measures, fiscal incentives and regulatory clarity to translate investment intent into onground spending. Executives said the focus should be on sustaining growth amid tariff uncertainty and geopoliti- Nov 8.76 30 10 Dec 2025 0 ● Shipments to »INSIDE« the US‘holding up’,says govt MARINE EXPORTS UP DURING APR-DEC PAGE 2 MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, January 15 cal shipments,which were up 5.65% to $2.63 billion and engineering goods, which saw a growth of 1.28% to $10.98 billion. Despite the 50% tariff by the US on Indian imports,the exports to US are still holding up, somewhat. In December, India’s merchandise exports to the US were $6.89 billion compared to $7.01 billion in December of last year and $6.98 billion in November. INDIA’S MERCHANDISE EXPORTS grew for the second straight month despite challenges of high additional tariffs in its biggest market, the US, expanding by 1.87% on year to $38.5 billion. The drivers of the growth were electronics where the exports grew 16.78% to $4.17 billion, pharmaceuti- ‘In-principle’nod to NSE’s plea in unfairaccess case ANJANA THERESE ANTONY Mumbai, January 15 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given an in-principle approval for the resolution of the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) unfair market access case, Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday. “In principle, we agree to the settlement," Pandey told reporters on the sidelines of the AIBI Annual Convention adding that the case is being processed by various Sebi committees. The markets regulator’s approval will clear the way for NSE’s initial public offering (IPO) allowing it to start the paperwork. The country’s biggest stock exchange is expected to sell a stake of 2.5%. Last Saturday, the Sebi chairman had said the noobjection certificate for the stock exchange’s IPO is in advanced stages and will likely be issued this month. exports to the US were $6.89 bn compared to $7.01 bn in Dec of last year ■ The drivers of the growth were electronics, pharma and engineering goods Exportsriseananaemic1.87% inDec,tradedeficitat$25.04bn IPO HURDLE REMOVED ■ The markets regulator’s approval will clear the way for NSE’s initial public offering (IPO) allowing it to start the paperwork ■ Pandey also said the regulator is in discussions with the govt to consider whether it should start regulating the unlisted market TUHIN KANTA PANDEY, CHAIRMAN, SEBI The settlement application is in process with different committees, but in principle, we agree on the settlement On Thursday, Pandey also said the regulator is in discussions with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to consider whether it should start regulating the unlisted market. “Sebi first needs to examine whether it has the legal authority to regulate compa- nies that are not listed on the stock exchanges and how far such regulation can extend.” The main concern,he said, was the big differential between the prices in the unlisted market and final IPO valuation. Continued on Page 11 Dividendpayoutsby Indian CEOs lead in banksmaytop130% AI optimism: BCG S&PupsShriramFin ratingonMUFGdeal THE 31 COMBINED state-run and private banks may soon be able to hand over 131% higher dividends to shareholders, driven by the RBI newly proposed framework on dividend distribution for commercial banks, reports Mahesh Nayak. While they paid about `64,300 crore last year, the draft norms would allow payouts of nearly `1,48,600 crore. ■ PAGE 6 S&P GLOBAL RATINGS has upgraded Shriram Finance’s long-term issuer credit rating to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’ and its shortterm rating to ‘A-3’ from ‘B’, citing a significant strengthening of the company’s capital position following a proposed investment by MUFG Bank, it said on Thursday, reports fe Bureau. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable. ■ PAGE 6 INDIAN BUSINESS LEADERS are among the most bullish globally on artificial intelligence delivering positive returns, with 88% expressing confidence in AI’s ability to generate business value, above the 82% global average, according to Boston Consulting Group’s AI Radar 2026 report, released on Wednesday, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 22 Source: CMIE Continued on Page 7 1.87 16.68 Oct Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec 2024 2025 cal risks, even as urban demand shows early signs of recovery and rural consumption remains resilient. Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico,told FE that the Budget could help by rationalising customs duties and improving demand conditions. 40 20 2026-27 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO & URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, January 15 19.37 25.04 I am of the view that reforms can happen irrespective of the Budget 92.2 91 85.2 81.1 68.6 62.6 BUDGET 48.6 RUN-UP TO THE 77.4 Share of private capex (%) Continued on Page 11 10 Imports 27.56 20 ■ In Dec, merchandise Trade deficit ($ bn, RHS) 50 -1.88 ■ Tiger Global ■ A year later it Growth (%, LHS) 30 Exports -11.8 applicability of anti-abuse provisions CASE HISTORY INDIAANDTHEUSareveryclose toatradeagreementanditwould materialise when both sides are ready, Commerce Secretary RajeshAgrawalsaidonThursday. The talks between India and the US had never broken down and both sides remained engaged, he added.“In the last week of December,Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyalheldavirtualmeetingwith US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.Negoti»INSIDE« ating teams SENSITIVE are talking vir- AGRI ISSUES tuallyonissues OUT OF that are still INDIA-EU FTA pending,” PAGE 2 Agrawalsaid. The December meeting between Goyal and USTR happened afterthevisit of a delegation of officials from the USTR officetoNewDelhionDecember 10 and 11,led by Deputy USTR RickSwitzer.OnWednesday,US Ambassadorto India Sergio Gor assumed office and presented his credentials to the President. A day before, External Affairs MinisterSJaishankarhadatelephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio where trade also figured along with nuclear cooperation, defenceandenergy. NAVIGATING TOUGH TIMES 6.74 ● Ruling extends MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, January 15 16.66 INDUSTRY BODIES AND gaming companies have highlighted their concerns over the rapid rise of offshore betting platforms targeting Indian users, as the government prepares to notify the final Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2025, in a few weeks, reports Ojasvi Gupta. TigerGlobal’sFlipkart stakesaletaxable:SC 1.73 GAMING PLAYERS FLAG OFFSHORE BETTING THREAT USdealveryclose:Commercesecy -10.1 PAGE 5 COMPANIES APEXCOURTOVERTURNS2024ORDERBYDELHIHC 6.86 8.69 IN THE NEWS *Prv close »INSIDE« DEBT-GDP RATIO MAY BE REDUCED TO 55% IN FY27 P3 NASSCOM SEEKS CLARITY ON TAXES IN BUDGET P4 LLM, DEEPTECH INCENTIVES ON STARTUPS’WISHLISTP4 New Delhi Sequentially, exports to the largest trading partner have been declining since May, except for November. Merchandise trade deficit widened slightly to $25.04 billion in December as imports rose. In November 2025, the deficit was $24.53 billion, and December 2024, it stood at $21.9 billion. “Despite all the challenges we have been facing, there has been a positive movement in our export growth,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told reporters. Continued on Page 7 AIA350flights maybehit afterengine issueinDelhi AIR INDIAWARNED of possible disruptions to its A350 routes due to engine damage sustained by one of its longhaul aircraft after encountering ‘a foreign object’ on Thursday. Air India operates six AirbusA350s on lucrative routes, including between India's capital New Delhi and London, NewYork and Newark,making the airline vulnerable to disruptions should an aircraft be grounded unexpectedly. The damage to the airplane occurred as it was taxiing in dense fog in New Delhi, the carrier said. It did not disclose further details on the foreign object or the routes that could be affected. "The aircraft is currently grounded for a thorough investigation and necessary repairs, which may cause potential disruptions on select A350 routes,"Air India said. The plane had been flying to New York but was forced to turn back to its origin following Iran's temporary airspace closure, which impacted its planned route. The incident occurred after it landed back in New Delhi. Iran has since reopened its airspace aftera near-five-hour closure imposed amid concerns over possible military action between the US and Iran that forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights. -- REUTERS