OPINION, P10 WELL BEING ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM Simplifying insulin resistance, a clinically significant condition that acts as a root cause for type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other ailments Page 9 Heed favourite economist’s advice FE LINES A METABOLIC HEALTH CRISIS NFT art is big again More and more artists, collectors are beginning to see the ‘digital’ value of visual art Page 6 LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXV NO. 13 WARMING UPTO WINE FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2026 24 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, 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 , WHAT'S INSIDE ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 The startup safety net How incubators and venture studios are playing a more visible role in the ecosystem 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 , READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , TREASURY SECY SIGNALS RELIEF FOR INDIA US hints at scrapping 25% tariff linked to Russian oil ● Dip in oil imports ROLLBACK SIGNS from Russia, lowest ■ India's oil imports SCOTT BESSENT, from Russia in Dec down US TREASURY SECRETARY in past two years to 25% of total, from FE BUREAU New Delhi, January 24 US TREASURY SECRETARY Scott Bessent has hinted that the 25% extra tariffs on India could be scrapped following a reduction in Indian imports of crude oil from Russia.“We put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. And Indian purchases by their refineries of Russian oil have collapsed. So this is a success. The 25% Russian oil tariffs 35-40% in mid-2025 ■ Bessent: Dip reflects success of imposition of extra tariffs mid-2025 ■ EU did not sanction Iwould imagine thereisa pathtotake themoff Indian Russian-origin oil products due to impending FTA, he says are still on. I would imagine that there is a path to take them off,”he said Friday,in an interview to US-based news outlet Politico at Davos. Commentingonoil-related tariffs, he took a dig at the “virtue signalling European allies”whodidnotexertsimilar pressureonIndia“becausethey wanted to sign this big trade dealwithIndia”.Theconclusion of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be announced as early as January 27, while progress on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) remains stalled.Offi»INSIDE« cials, however, mainTRUMP THREATENS tain that the CANADA deal with WITH 100% the US too is TARIFFS close, with PAGE 18 even PresidentDonald Trump stating on Wednesday that the two countries are “going to have a good deal”. Continued on Page 2 ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 UltraTech PATrises Scotland replaces 27% to `1,725 crore Bangladesh: ICC Air India cancels US flights over storm ‘President Trump can’t just manifest peace like a mantra’ MARKET LEADER ULTRATECH Cement’s netprofitgrew27%annuallyforthequarterended December31,2025,on the back ofimprovedsales.Netprofitforthequarter came in at `1,725 crore as compared to `1,359croreinthesamequarterlastfiscal. Revenueforthequarterwas`21,506crore, up 22.5%year-on-year. ■ PAGE 3 AIR INDIA HAS cancelled flights to New York and Newark for January 25-26 due to severe winter storm forecast in the US East Coast. It operates daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai to NewYork.There are flights from Delhi to Newark aswellwhile those between Mumbai and Newark are operated on certain days. ■ PAGE 18 Kim Ghattas interview THE INTERNATIONAL CRICKET Council (ICC) has officially informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that it has been replaced by Scotland in the upcoming T20 World Cup aftertheyrefused to travel to India,citing security concerns. ■ PAGE 18 Next chapter of India’s wine story being shaped by resilience, innovation Page 7 K O L K A T A , 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 For urban Indians,way to stomach’svia a packet ● Now, half-cooked, TASTE OF THE TIMES ready-to-eat are $6.65 bn 7-8 cr kitchen constants Size of ready-to-eat Addressable & ready-to-cook food market in 2024 SREYA DEB New Delhi, January 24 WITH A GROWING trend for foodexperimentationaswellas convenience, the market for ready-to-eat (RTE) and readyto-cook (RTC) foods in India is seeing a significant boom. As per an October India’s ReadyTo-Eat Market Report of 2025 by Redseer, the addressable consumer base for these products has grown from 5 crore in 2023 to 7-8 crore,which is an over 40% growth in two years. DEMAND DRIVERS ■ Travel & exposure ■ Higher incomes ■ Awareness of consumer base for clean ingredients RTE items in 2025 $11.88 bn Projected ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food market size by 2033 According to a 2025 report publishedbyIMARC,theIndian marketstoodat$6.65billionin 2024, and is expected to reach $11.88 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGRof 6.14%. Companies in the conve- niencefoodsbusinessarecharting steady growth in demand and foresee a sustained growth as independent living and urbanisation accelerate. Continued on Page 2 RebadgingwoesforSuzuki,Toyota VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, January 24 THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP between Toyota and Suzuki was a masterstroke—Toyota gotaccesstoSuzuki’s expertise in building small cars (via Maruti Suzuki),and Suzuki got access to Toyota’s hybrid and electrification technology. Since the launch of the alliance’sfirstcarin2019—Toy- Combined market share drops from 53% to 48% in 5 years of collaboration ota Glanza, a rebadged Suzuki Baleno—both have shared six modelsinIndia,butdespitethis modelonslaught,thecombined dominance of the two Japanese giantsisshrinking,andthebenefitsappeartobeflowinglargely Partnering for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat We are proud to be a part of India’s thriving aerospace and defence industry. With sourcing over $1.25 billion annually, we’re fostering economic growth and advancing India’s vision for self-reliance. boeing.co.in New Delhi in one direction, from Maruti Suzuki to Toyota. In 2020, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota’s combinedmarketsharestoodat 53%—Maruti Suzuki’s share was 49.9%, and Toyota’s was 3.1%—but in 2021,it dropped to 48.5%,in 2022 to 45.8%,in 2023itrosemarginallyto47%, in2024to48.1%,andin2025it dropped again,to 48%. Continued on Page 2