CHENNAI/KOCHI, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2026 VOL NO. XLVI 242, 20 PAGES, `12 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 CBC 06124/13/0013/2526 SENSEX: 83,450.96 ▲ 173.81 NIFTY: 25,725.40 ▲ 42.65 NIKKEI 225: 56,566.49 ▼ 239.92 HANG SENG: 26,705.94 ▲ 138.82 `/$: 90.69 ▼ 0.03 `/€: 107.42 ▼ 0.13 BRENT: $67.60 ▼ $1.05 GOLD: `1,51,525 ▼ `2,257 TIE-UPLOOKSTO UPGRADE ENTERPRISE OPERATING MODELS Infy,Anthropicjoinforces tobuildcustomAIagents »INSIDE« RESET OPPORTUNITY FOR FIRMS: NILEKANI PAGE 6 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 3 PANEL MAY PITCH FOR SWEEPING BANKING REFORMS THE CENTRE MAY set up the proposed high-level panel on banking for Viksit Bharat by the first quarter of FY27, with broad terms of reference aimed at undertaking comprehensive reforms, reports Prasanta Sahu. TariqueRahman sworninasnew BangladeshPM BNP LEADER TARIQUE Rahman was on Tuesday sworn in as the new PM of Bangladesh, after the country saw 18 months of political uncertainties, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 9 ■ DETAILED REPORTS ON PAGES 6 & 7 Adaniplans$100-bnAIdatacentres FE BUREAU Mumbai, February 17 ADANI GROUP ON Tuesday announced a $100-billion investment to build renewable energy-powered, artificial intelligence-readydatacentres by2035,a move aimed at positioningIndiaasaglobalAIhub. The investment--one of the world’s largest integrated energy compute commitments--is expected to catalyse an additional $150 billion across server manufacturing, sovereigncloudplatforms,electricalinfrastructureandrelated industriesoverthenextdecade, the group said in a statement. Together, this could create a $250-billion AI infrastructure ecosystem in India,it added. “The world is entering an Intelligence Revolution more profound than any previous Industrial Revolution,” Chairman GautamAdani said. Continued on Page 9 FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 17 THE GOVERNMENT HAS discovered the future. And it comes with a two-page note. The cabinet secretariat has issued an office memorandum directing senior officers across ministries to step out of their files and into the future at the India AI Impact Summit. According to the memorandum dated February 16, every officer of the rank of deputy secretary and above must attend the summit, walk the exhibition floors,sit through presentations, inspect demos, and absorb the buzzwords — machine learning, generative AI, predictive analytics, digital twins, and whatever else the future throws up between coffee breaks. But this is not a sightseeing tour of shiny dashboards and humanoid robots. The directive makes it clear: look closely, think harder. Continued on Page 9 Fromdefencetotech,India &Francegivetiesaboost ● H125 helicopter final assembly line inaugurated VALLABH OZARKAR & SHUBHAJIT ROY Mumbai, New Delhi, Feb 17 INDIA AND FRANCE elevated their bilateral ties to a Special GlobalStrategicPartnershipfollowingtalksinMumbaionTuesday between Prime Minister NarendraModiandFrenchPresident Emmanuel Macron.With the meeting resulting in 21 key outcomesinareasrangingfrom defence to critical minerals and tech, advanced materials to health&skilling,Modisaid“this tie-up will provide stability and progress”in“this era of unpredictableglobaldynamics”. Continued on Page 9 SAURAVANAND New Delhi, February 17 AFTER THREE YEARS of blockbuster margins fuelled by ultra-cheap Russian crude, the country’s refining sector is moving into a new — and tougher — earnings cycle. Gross refining margins (GRMs),which touched record highs during the peak of geopolitical supply disruptions,are nowexpected to cool andstabiliseat$6-8perbarrel, marking a clear shift from windfall gains to structurally sustainable profitability. At its peak in FY24,Russian oil made up nearly 36% of India’s crude import basket,floodingrefinerieswith barrels discounted by $8-10 per barrel to Brent and propelling GRMs to a historic $10-12 per barrel. Backing the outlook, CareEdge Ratings said the MarutieVitara tocost`10.99L THEEMPLOYEES'PROVIDENT Fund Organisation (EPFO) is holding a crucial meeting on March 2 to finalise the interest rate on EPF deposits for the financial year 2025-26,reports feBureau. ■ PAGE 2 MARUTI SUZUKI UNVEILED the introductorypricing forthe eVITARA,whichwillbeavailable at `10.99 lakh under a batteryas-a-servicemodel,withbattery usage charged separately, reports NitinKumar. ■ PAGE 12 GOING WITH THE FLOW Gross refining margins ($/bbl) 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 13 12 10 10 8 6 8 9 6 4 4 2 0 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27E sector’s performance is currently being powered by “the dual engines of high GRMs and healthy marketing margins”, but this equation is changing as global crude dynamics realign. “AswetransitionintoFY27, the narrative is likely to shift from high GRMs to moderate but sustainable GRMs,” said Hardik Shah, director at CareEdge Ratings,adding that margins are expected to moderate “due to global supply pressures and realignments in crude oil sourcing,” before settling at “$6-8 per barrel, which is accretive to the historical average”. Continued on Page 13 LegacyfirmsworkintandemwithD2Cstartupsasconsumerpreferencesshift Old meets newin FMCG as brands chase growth VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, February 17 BLACK SWAN EVENTS don’t just disrupt markets—they rearrange power equations.For India’s FMCG sector,Covid was that inflection point.As digital adoption surged and direct-toconsumer (D2C) brands gained traction, legacy players moved swiftly—snapping up digitalfirststartupstoreignitegrowth. While the last five years has seen at least 70-80% of FMCG acquisitions being that of D2C brands, according to estimates by Grant Thornton Bharat and Crisil,themodelremainsthatof collaboration.Legacy firms can modernisequickly,tappinginto areas such as male grooming, functional foods and personal care, while D2C startups get scale,capitalandinfrastructure. PACKAGED DEAL ■ Large companies now acquiring majority stakes in D2C startups ■ Founders are being allowed to continue running operations As Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO, Marico, which has seven D2C brands as part of its'string of pearls' strategy, says: “Preserving entrepreneurial independence is a critical factor in our D2C acquisition strategy. Growth cannot be engineered ■ Estimates suggest 70-80% of FMCG acquisitions in past 5 years have been D2C-focused ■ Bigger firms utilising startups' scale to accelerate distribution and profitability through ownership alone— founders must have the freedom to operate and innovate.” In the last fewweeks alone, Marico has wrapped up three key acquisitions, including that of snack brand 4700BC from PVR-Inox, Vietnamese Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron during a joint press meet, in Mumbai on Tuesday ANI EPFO to meet Ola shares on March 2 hit new low Oilfirms’refinerymargins maycoolto$6-8perbarrel Q3 Continued on Page 9 Visitors attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Tuesday. India is hoping to attract $200-billion investments in data centres in the next few years, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday Q2 ITGIANTINFOSYS onTuesday announced a strategic collaboration with artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic to build and deliver advanced AI solutions to enterprises across industries, including telecom, financialservices,manufacturingandsoftwaredevelopment. Shares of the IT major closed nearly 2% higher on the BSE afterthe announcement. Thelatesttie-upcomesdays after the stocks of domestic IT services firms took a beating on investor concerns overAI tools disruptingtheirtraditionalbusiness models. The sell-off was partlytriggeredbythereleaseof anAItoolbyAnthropic. The collaboration will start with telecom,with a dedicated Anthropic Center of Excellence being launched to build and deployspecialisedAI agents. ● Govtexpects$200bninAIinvestments Q1 POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, February 17 Newhomework forbabus:Meet thebots&filea two-pagenote D2C skincare firm Skinetiq and digital-first wellness brand Cosmix.The companyis aiming to touch `2,500-crore in revenue from digital-first businesses in two years from `1,000 crore now. Typically, the playbook remains the same: Marico acquires majority stakes in digital-firstbusinesses(93.2% in Zea Maizewhich owns 4700 BC, 75% in Skinetiq and 60% in Cosmix),while allowing the founders to run the operations for three to four years. This “partnership model”, Gupta says, enables mutual learning where founders benefit from Marico’s scale,capabilities and ecosystem,while Marico gains insights into agile, consumerfirst digital businesses. Continued on Page 13 CHENNAI/KOCHI SHARES OF OLA Electric slumped to a record low of `27.36ontheNSEonTuesday, sliding over 11% in the past two sessions after weak thirdquarter results, reports Narayanan V. ■ PAGE 8
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