BACK PAGE | PAGE 26 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 No plans to exit food biz, clarifies HUL INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Amazonplanssmartphoneforay againaftermorethanadecade BENGALURU, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2026 BYDshowroomsbustling acrossAsiaafteroilshock FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL NO. XXXVIII 286, 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 READ TO LEAD SENSEX: 74,532.96 ▲ 375.72 NIFTY: 23,114.50 ▲ 112.35 NIKKEI 225: 53,372.53 ▼ 1,866.87 HANG SENG: 25,277.32 ▼ 223.26 `/$: 93.71 ▼ 1.07 `/€: 108.23 ▼ 1.32 BRENT: $108.67 ▲ $0.02 GOLD: `146,640 ▼ `778 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 3 NEW I-T RULES EXTEND HRA TO MORE CITIES THE CENTRE has revised exemption limits for allowances and perquisites to reflect inflation. Under I-T Rules 2026, CBDT has included EVs in concessional valuation norms for employer-provided cars, reports Kuldeep Singh. COMPANIES PAGE 5 GOVTNUDGES ViTO BROADEN INVESTOR HUNT THE GOVT has asked debt-laden Vodafone Idea to widen its investor search, exploring both domestic and global options, to facilitate a potential exit, sources said, as the telecom operator continues to face financial stress. » INSIDE « GOVTUNVEILS `20K-CR MFI CREDITSCHEME PAGE 6 TELECOMTARIFF HIKE DEFERREDTO DEC PAGE 4 Resiliencebeneaththered:HalfofBSE500stocksinthegreen KISHOR KADAM & KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, March 20 INDIAN STOCK MARKETS may have stumbled since the onset of the West Asia crisis, but beneath the surface, a surprising resilience persists. Nearly half of the BSE 500 stocks—accounting for about 87% of total market capitalisation—have delivered positive returns over one-, three- and five-year periods. Data collated by FE shows that 225 stocks in the BSE 500 have posted gains over the past year, with average returns at a robust 28%. The picture looks even stronger within narrower indices: 55 stocks in the BSE 100 and 103 in the BSE 200 are in the green over the same period. The trend becomes more pronounced over longer horizons. In the BSE 100, as many as 90 stocks have delivered positive returns over three years and 89 over five years. For the BSE 200, the numbers stand at 166 and 163, NOT ALL GLOOM (No. of stocks) BSE 100 Average Gainers (No. of stocks) returns (%) 1-year 20.4 55 5-year 164.6 89 Losers 15.0 45 1-year 5-year 8 Gainers 1-year Losers 1-year 12.4 respectively. In the broader BSE 500, more than 350 stocks have gained over both periods. This comes even as 5-year the Sensex has slipped about 13% from its January highs. Analysts attribute this divergence to strong earn- Rupeebreaches93/$mark DOWNHILL RIDE THE ESCALATING CRISIS in West Asia continued to pressure the Indian rupee, which breached the 93 mark for the first time on Friday – the worst single-day fall in four years. It fell to a record low of 93.70, down 1.16% from the previous close as the ongoing war pushed oil prices to $108 per barrel (bbl) on Friday. After Friday's sharp fall, the depreciation in the current financial year reached 9.65%, the worst in 12 years. The rupee has been the worst-performing currency in FY26, followed by Japanese yen and Philipine pesso at 5.46% and 4.76%, 90.50 ` vs $ Worst perfoming Asian currencies FY26* 90 90.98 FY26* return in % -1.64 -2.50 91.50 92.50 South Korean Won Indonesian Rupiah -4.76 93.50 Inverted scale Feb 27 Source: Bloomberg 94.50 93.71 Mar 20 respectively. Currency traders said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) refrained from aggressive intervention to -5.46 -9.65 Philippine Peso Japanese Yen Indian Rupee *up to March 20 defend the rupee, opting instead to permit its depreciation. Continued on Page 3 Brent crude prices ($ per barrel) 112 Previous close: 108.65 110 109.90 10 108.96 108 106 104 102 Open en Close at 8:40 pm IST »INSIDE« INDICES END FLATAFTER ROLLER-COASTER WEEK PAGE 6 28.1 225 5-year CRASHES 9.65% IN FY26,THEWORSTIN 12YEARS CHRISTINA TITUS Mumbai, March 20 Average returns (%) BSE 500 351 269 62 319 19.5 25.5 ings growth and sustained domestic inflows. Pankaj Pandey, head of research at ICICI Securities, said robust earnings expansion—particularly among companies beyond the top 50—has been a key driver of returns over the past year. Another research head at a financial services firm pointed to strong participation from mutual funds,supported by steady retail inflows through systematic investment plans (SIPs). V Shunmugam, partner at MCQUBE, noted that India’s consumption story has so far remained intact, enabling consumer-facing companies to sustain earnings growth. Looking ahead, Pandey expects the trend to largely continue. Other experts concur, arguing that unless there is a sharp uptick in redemptions or a significant slowdown in SIP inflows, the market’s underlying strength should hold. Shunmugam, however, flagged risks over the medium term, warning that a prolonged disruption to global trade due to the conflict could weigh on the growth prospects of Indian companies. India’s90%LPGsupplyat riskduetoHormuzimpasse SAURAVANAND New Delhi, March 20 THE DE FACTO shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz -- with tanker traffic collapsing to fewer than 10 vessels a day in March from about 135 in February -- is triggering a fresh supply shock for India. Over 90% of the country's LPG imports, 50–55% of crude inflows and nearly 60% of LNG supplies routed through the critical energycorridorare at risk. The disruption has already begun to choke supply flows. Middle East crude loadings have fallen sharply to 7.4 million barrels per day (bpd) from 17.3 million bpd, tightening availability and forcing Indian refiners to turn to alternative, BENGALURU DAY-TO-DAY STRUGGLE ■ Over 90% of India's LPG imports, 50–55% of crude are routed through Hormuz ■ Tanker traffic from the strait has collapsed to fewer than 10 vessels a day costliersources. “Global energy markets are under severe stress… the Strait is a key energy artery,” said Pulkit Agarwal of S&P Global Energy,pointingtobothimmediate supply shortages and ■ India’s crude oil basket prices have surged sharply since the onset of the West Asia conflict, touching $156.29 per barrel on March 19 longer-term geopolitical risks. LPG remains the most vulnerable segment,with limited short-term substitution alternative supplyoptions. Continued on Page 3