BACK PAGE | PAGE 14 MarkTully:The Englishman who listened to India FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXVIII 240, 14 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 `20,000-cr PLI for nuclear on cards MANUFACTURING BOOST IN THE NEWS India to cut EU car tariffs to 40% INDIA PLANS to cut import tariffs on European cars to 40% from up to 110%, marking its biggest auto market opening yet, as New Delhi and the EU near a free trade pact expected as early as Tuesday. REUTERS Airbus CEO warns staff of new risks THE HEAD OF Airbus has warned staff that the plane maker must be ready to adapt to unsettling new geopolitical risks after facing "significant" logistical and financial damage. REUTERS FINANCIAL EXPRESS wishes its readers a Happy Republic Day RUN-UP TO THE BUDGET 2026-27 SAURAVANAND New Delhi, January 25 THE GOVERNMENT IS likely to announce a dedicated Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing critical nuclear components,in the upcoming Union Budget, as part of efforts to strengthen India’s domestic nuclear supply chain and support long-term capacity expansion, a government official said on the condition of anonymity. People aware of the discussions said the incentive outlay being examined is in the range of `18,000-20,000 crore, though final approvals, timelines and eligibilitycriteria are yet to be firmed up. The move follows opening up of the sector to the private sectorvia the recently enacted Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear EnergyforTransforming India (SHANTI) Act, with caps on accident-related penalties on equipment suppliers. TheproposedPLIschemeis expected to focus on heavy India’s nuclear ambition vs current base Installed nuclear capacity (FY25): ~8.9 GW Share in power mix: ~3% Target: 22.5 GW by 2032 Long-term goal: 100 GW by 2047 Implication: Capacity needs to scale over 10 times in two decades, requiring massive equipment manufacturing Manufacturing bottlenecks Key components: Reactor pressure vessels, heavy forgings, steam generators, nuclear-grade steel alloys Lead time: 4–6 years per critical component Constraint: Limited domestic suppliers, execution risk & cost overruns What PLI push can do: Create scale and reduce lead times forgings, reactor pressure vessels,specialisedsteelalloysand other high-integrity nuclear components, which currently facelonggestationperiodsdue to limited domestic manufacturing capacity. “The objective is to address supply-side constraints in nuclear manufacturing and build domestic capabilities required to support India’s long-term nuclear programme,”the official said,adding that existing domestic capacities are not adequate for large-scale or fleet-mode expansion. The scheme is expected to focus on localisation, capacity creation and reducing lead times for critical nuclear equipment, which are currently key bottlenecks in project execution. India has outlined 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047 as part of its long-term clean energy and energy security strategy. Continued on Page 12 Star power loses shine in D2C ● Growth woes force rethink on celebs as co-founders S SHANTHI Bengaluru, January 25 DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER (D2C) BRANDS ARE growing increasingly cautious about bringingcelebritiesonboardas co-founders,afterseveralhighprofile ventures led by them struggled to sustain momentum beyond splashylaunches. Founders and investors are now leaning towards endorsement-led partnerships rather than equity ownership, as the focusshiftsfromvisibilitytooperationaldepth,executiondiscipline andlong-termbrandbuilding. Anumberofcelebrity-backed labelsthatgeneratedstrongearly FAME FIZZLES ■ Shahid Kapoor’s Skult couldn’t build durable business momentum ■ Celebrity endorsement drives trials but not sustained consumer brand loyalty ■ Shraddha Kapoor’s Imara attracted attention but lacked scalable growth engines ■ Anushka Sharma’s ■ Virat Kohli’s Wrogn Nush failed to sustain growth after initial buzz faced revenue decline for back-to-back financial years ■ Deepika Padukone’s 82E struggled despite early consumer interest at launch buzz have failed to translate that attention into scalable businesses.Brands such as Nush by AnushkaSharma,82EbyDeepika Padukone, Skult by Shahid Kapoor and Imara by Shraddha Kapoorattractedconsumerinterest at launch butwere unable to builddurablegrowthengines. D2C firms now prefer authentic endorsements over celebrity equity partnerships ■ Even among more prominent names, outcomes have been uneven. Cricketer Virat Kohli’s fashion brand Wrogn reported a 29.2% year-on-year decline in revenue from operations to `243.75 crore in FY24, followedbyafurther9%dropto `223croreinFY25,accordingto filings with the Registrar of Companies.This contrastswith newer apparel brands such as Snitch,Bewakoof,ThePantProjectandRareRabbit,whichhave continuedtopoststeadygrowth overthe same period. Continued on Page 12 IndiaIncpostsweakprofitgrowth RESULTS REVIEW Q3 KISHOR KADAM New Delhi, January 25 EARNINGS SEASON HAS got off to a sedate startwith no big surprises so far. Although topline growth has been fairly good, the aggregate operating and net profit numbers have beensubdued,partlyimpacted by the newWage Code rules. The results for the December 2025 quarter – the peak festive and wedding season – do not suggest anybig jump in consumer spends, despite the income tax giveaways and cuts in the GST rates.Of course,the split in the festive season, between Q2 and Q3, would have impacted business somewhat. Exporters have been gainers in a quarter in which the rupee depreciated sharply. Fora sample of 284 companies (excluding banks and financials,HPCLandBPCL),net profits for Q3FY26 were up 5.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) – that's the slowest growth in at least four quarters and despite astrong12.6%riseinnetsales. Continued on Page 12 MARGIN WOES Net sales (% chg, y-o-y) OPM 12.6 10.2 9.2 15.2 Q4 FY25 (bps, y-o-y) 97.7 94.0 -89.5 Q1 Q2 FY26 Q3 Net profit 4.9 (% chg, y-o-y) Q1 COMPONENTLOCALISATIONTO BE INCENTIVISED FY25 Q4 BENGALURU, MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 Break-eveneludesq-comm firmsintier-2marketpush Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 FY25 FY26 FY26 Q2 Darwinbox bridges HR gap with global scale COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Sample of 284 companies (excluding panies banks and financials, HPCL and BPCL); Source:Capitaline BENGALURU Q3 THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 14 11.2 26.2 12.9 5.1