MARKETS | PAGE 6 NEWS POINT | PAGE 24 Watchfuloninflationrisks, economystable:RBIguv INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 HowInnovistfoundersturned trustintoa`4K-crbeautyfirm AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2026 StarmerrivalwinskeyUK by-poll,raisingthreattoPM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXI 18, 24 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 SENSEX: 76,802.90 ▼ 607.08 NIFTY: 24,013.10 ▼ 154.90 NIKKEI 225: 71,250.06 ▲ 196.57 HANG SENG: 23,924.81 ▼ 387.35 `/$: 94.33 < > 0.0 `/€: 108.11 ▲ 0.17 BRENT: $79.90 ▲ $0.05 GOLD: `144,606 ▼ `3,071 — TODAY, THE COUNTRY HAS NEARLY 1,000 WAREHOUSES, ALMOST TWICE AS MANY AS IN 2014 Jio Airtel CMD, RELIANCE Customer base (mn) 524 www.tmb.bank.in | Toll-free: 180 0425 0426 tmb bank in IN THE NEWS MARKETS PAGE 6 RBI ACCEPTS KEY SUGGESTIONS ON DRAFT KCC THE RBI ON Friday announced the final guidelines on Kissan Credit Card scheme.The central bank accepted several stakeholder suggestions on its proposed norms, including deferring the implementation of the revised framework to January 1, 2027, reports fe Bureau. » INSIDE « HIGHWAY DEVELOPERSTO GETCOMPENSATION P3 BANKS FURTHER RAISE RATES ON FCNR(B) DEPOSITS P6 OPINION PAGE 8 TATA’S THUCYDIDES TRAP, WRITE R GOPALAKRISHNAN & NOSHIR SOONAWALA URVI MALVANIA & KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, June 19 RELIANCE INDUSTRIESBACKEDJIO Platforms on Friday filed draft papers forwhat could become the country's largest initial public offering (IPO) with the company proposing a fresh issue of 270 million equity shares and earmarking up to `27,500 crore of the proceeds to prepay borrowings at its telecom arm Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL). While the final size of the issue will depend on the price band,brokeragesincludingMorgan Stanley and Jefferies have previously estimated Jio Platforms' valuation at $120-150 billion,implyingafundraisethat couldexceed`40,000croreand surpass the `27,860-crore IPO of Hyundai Motor India, currentlythe country'slargest publicissue.TherecentlyfiledDRHP of NSE is estimated to be worth around`30,000crore. Continued on Page 7 »INSIDE« EDIT: AI-LISTER PAGE 8 MF borrowings to manage liquidity mismatches MARUTI SUZUKI AND Tata Motors strengthened their hold on the country's passenger vehicle market in May, benefiting from a surge in demand for small cars and electric vehicles as rising fuel prices pushed buyers towards more affordable mobility options, reports Nitin Kumar. ■ PAGE 5 POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, June 19 THE GOVERNMENT'S AMBITIOUS plan to build sovereign AI models is running into a familiar hurdle: a shortage of private capital. While IndiaAI Mission-backed startup Sarvam recently raised $234 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, most other startups selected under the programme have attractedonlyafractionofthat amount. Launched in 2024 with an outlay of `10,000 crore, the IndiaAIMissionaimstosupport thedevelopmentofindigenous foundationalmodelsthrougha combination of grants, subsidisedcomputeandinfrastructure support.The programme has shortlisted 12 teams, including Sarvam AI, Soket AI, Gnani AI, Gan AI, Avataar AI, BharatGen, GenLoop, Zentieq, Intellihealth, Shodh AI, Fractal Analytics and Tech Mahindra 482 Arpu - mobile (` per month) 214 257 Data traffic mobile (bn GB) 241 101 ...they(Isha,Akash,and Anant)arethreebodies,one soul.TheirsoulisReliance. Onesingleindivisible Reliance,nowandforever (` lakh cr) 1.47 1.40* Data consumption per customer - mobile (GB/month) 42 Source: Companies; *(India ops excluding passive infra) IPO to erase net debt: Proposed debt repayment is roughly equal to Jio's FY26 net debt of `27,579 crore 31 AI, cloud in focus: Jio is positioning itself as a digital platform spanningAI, cloud enterprise services 5G monetisation phase begins: With rollout largely done, the focus shifts to cash generation and new services Global ambitions for India-built tech: Jio has global plans for its proprietary 5G and digital technology CMD unveils Reliance Next Exports push to aid growth Consumerarm eyes`1Lcrsales RELIANCE INDUSTRIES CMD Mukesh Ambani announced a blueprint for the next phase of Reliance's evolution during Friday’s AGM, reports Raghavendra Kamath. At the heart of the vision is a framework he described as the "5-S" model. RILISACCELERATINGitstransformation into a global manufacturing and export powerhouse, with plans to generate $125-150 billion in exports by 2032, building on Reliance’s position as India’s largest merchandiseexporter,reportViveat Susan Pinto & Raghavendra Kamath. PAGE 4 RELIANCE CONSUMER PRODUCTS (RCPL) has set a target of achieving `1 lakh crore in revenue by FY30, Isha Ambani, executive director of Reliance Retail Ventures and non-executive director of Reliance Industries (RIL), said at the AGM on Friday. PAGE 4 PAGE 4 ANJANATHERESEANTONY Mumbai, June 19 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) board on Fridayapproved a slew of measures,including the reintroduction of the open market buyback mechanism,allowing intra-dayborrowings bymutual funds(MFs)duringliquiditymismatches,easingmunicipalbond norms, and simplifying the process of securities transmissiontoheirs. The open market buyback frameworkwill come into effect fromAugust 1,2026,providing companies with an additional route to buy back shares. Cur- WELCOME MOVE ■ Currently, companies undertake buybacks through tender offers and open markets via bookbuilding mechanism ■ The open market buyback route was discontinued in April 2025 amid concerns around unequal treatment of shareholders ■ The buyback process will be completed within 66 working days from the opening date ■ The open market buyback framework will come into effect from August 1, 2026 »INSIDE« SEBITO DISCUSS LONGER-TENURE DERIVATIVES P6 rently, companies undertake buybacks through the tender offerrouteandopenmarketpurchases through the book-buildingmechanism. The board approval follows Sebi’s consultation paper issued in April on reviving the mechanism, which received support frommarketparticipants. The open market buyback route was discontinued in April 2025 amid concerns around unequaltreatmentofshareholders and issues arising from the prevailing income tax framework.These concerns were subsequently addressed through amendments in the Finance Bill 2024andchangestotheIncome TaxAct,2025.Underthe revised framework, open market buybacks will be treated as regular market transactions.Promoters will not be permitted to participateinsuchbuybacks,Sebisaid. The buyback process will be completed within 66 working daysfromtheopeningdate,with companies required to utilise at least 40% of the earmarked funds during the first half of the buyback period.To reduce compliance costs,Sebi has made the appointment of a merchant banker optional for companies undertaking buybacks.Companieschoosingnottoappointone can assign related responsibilities to internal stakeholders, includingthecomplianceofficer, statutory auditor, secretarial auditorandstockexchanges. Continued on Page 5 India's sovereignAI mission has 12 picks but only one has the funding to match its ambitions OneSarvam,11struggles Maker'sLab.Thegoalistocreate homegrownAImodelsthatcan reduce dependence on foreign platforms and strengthen India's technological sovereignty.Yet,despitegrowingpolicy support, private investors havelargelyremainedselective. The contrast is most visible in funding. Sarvam has raised nearly $300 million across funding rounds, making it India's best-funded foundational AI startup. Avataar AI, another participant in the programme, has raised about $55 million. Enterprise voice AI startup Gnani.ai has secured less than $20 million, while Soket AI and Gan.ai have raised only a few million dollars each LAGGING PEERS ■ Sarvam in the best funded raising nearly ■ Indian AI startups $300 mn raised only about $1.34 bn across funding rounds during 2025 ■ The IndiaAI ■ Global private equity Mission was launched in 2024 with an outlay of and venture capital investment in AI totalled $225.8 bn in 2025 through seed and early-stage rounds.BharatGen,meanwhile, is a government-backed academic consortium and relies primarily on public funding.The Ambanilays outsovereign AI&satellite playbook URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, June 19 Revenue from operations Sebirevivesopenmktbuybackroute ● Allows intra-day Small cars, EVs drive big gains for Maruti, Tata MUKESH AMBANI, `10,000 cr disparitysuggeststhatwhilethe governmenthasbackedabroad set of contenders,venture capital has so far concentrated behindahandfulofcompanies. The funding gap mirrors broader trends in the market. AccordingtoCBInsights,global privateequityandventurecapital investment in AI touched MUKESH AMBANI ON Friday unveiled an expansive artificial intelligence strategy that spans computeinfrastructure,AIapplicationsandsatelliteconnectivity, signallinghisgroup’sambitionto become a key provider of the country's AI and digital infrastructure. Atthecentreofthestrategyis a massive AI data centre and compute facility being built in JamnagarunderRelianceIntelligence, the group's AI venture announcedlastyear.Ambanisaid theprojectisaimedataddressing what he described as India's biggestAI bottleneck today: the scarcityandhighcostofcompute capacityrequiredtotrain,deploy andrunAIapplications. "Reliance Intelligence is building India's sovereign AI backbone in Jamnagar.This cutting-edge infrastructure will be poweredentirelybycleanenergy fromReliance'sownsolargeneration from the Kutch renewable platform. Continued on Page 7 QUICK PICKS Pharma firms eye bonanza PATENT EXPIRIES OF blockbuster drugs generating $142 billion in annual sales by CY25, losing exclusivity during 2026-2030, could create a $30-40 billion generic opportunity, with Indian pharma firms expected to capture $3-5 billion, according to CareEdge, reports Manu Kaushik. P2 UreaJVwith Russiaontrack INDIA’S JOINT VENTURE project with Russia to manufacture 2 MT of urea is on track, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said on Friday, reports Sandip Das. Russia will continue to supply soil nutrients variants for meeting domestic needs of India. P2 $225.8 billion in 2025, with the United States accounting for nearly $189 billion. Indian AI startups raised about $1.34 billion during the period, representing a small share of global funding. Much of that capitalflowedintoapplicationlayer companies rather than firmsattemptingtobuildlarge foundational models from scratch. "The IndiaAI Mission laid important groundwork, but public compute infrastructure and research grants alone don't immediately create fundable companies. There's a pipeline lag,"Abhishek Srivastava, general partnerat Kae Capital,said. Research-led AI startups take longer to demonstrate commercial traction, while most investors continue to favourbusinessesthatcanshow revenue visibility within a shortertime frame,he said. Continued on Page 5 JANA CHOUKEIR & STEVE HOLLAND Dubai/Washington, June 19 ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after an escalation in fighting there jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting West Asia peace deal. US-Iran talks in Switzerland planned for Friday were cancelled as fighting flared in Lebanon,creating new uncertainty about the timing of negotiations vital to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping. A senior US official said just before 4 pm Lebanon time (1300 GMT) that a ceasefire would come into effect at that time. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today,Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,"the official said on background, adding that negotiators for the US and Qataris worked out the agreement with help from Iran. Two sources from Iranaligned Hezbollah said the group had“applied it from our end”. AseniorIsraeli official confirmed his country was in a ceasefire, adding: “If Hezbollah does not attack us,then for us it is not a time of war.” The official also said Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon, where it has ON-OFF DEAL Brent crude prices ($ per barrel) Intra-day (`), Jun 19 79.85 Previous close 79.90 Close (At 8 PM IST) ■ Brent was on track for more than 8% weekly fall despite Friday’s rise ■ Iraq plans to up oil output to two million barrels per day in the coming few days »INSIDE« IRAN FLOATS ‘INSURANCE FEES’ FOR HORMUZ PAGE 7 occupied an area along Israel's northern border. The conflict in Lebanon, in which 18 people were killed in airstrikes overnight and four Israeli soldiers were killed by Hezbollah militants, could weigh on negotiations because ending fighting there is a condition for the broader US-Iran accord. Continued on Page 7 ITstocksbleedas Accentureupdate roilssentiment POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, June 19 IT STOCKS CAME under heavy selling pressure on Friday after global consulting and technology services majorAccenture on Thursday reported weaker-thanexpected bookings growth and lowered the upper end of its revenue growth guidance, reinforcing concerns about a prolonged slowdown in discretionary technology spending. The Nifty IT index fell 3.65%, making it the worstperforming sectoral index of the day. Infosys led losses among large-cap IT firms, declining 6.5%, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) dropped 3.06%,HCLTech fell 2.23%, and Wipro ended 1.28% lower. Among midcaps, LTIMindtree lost 3.95%, Tech Mahindra fell 2.33%,and Mphasis declined 2.94%. Infosys, TCS and HCLTech were also among the biggest drags on the Sensex. The sell-off followed Accenture's third-quarter earnings announcement, which highlighted continuing weakness in client spending. The company reported a 1.9% year-on-year decline in new bookings to $19.3 billion, citing delays in West Asia-related deals worth about $400 million and the UNDER THE PUMP Jun 18 (close) Jun 19 (close) 28,466 Nifty IT Index 27,426 -3.7% IT stocks performance (% change on June 19) Tech Mahindra AT A MEGA SCALE -2.3 m-capaheadof Airtel’sat`12.7Lcr Mphasis ● Maycommand -2.9 Jio files for India’s biggest IPO TCS 7.75%* -3.1 WITH TMB'S 567 DAYS DEPOSIT SCHEME LTIMindtree *T&C Apply Lebanon truce afterUS-Iran talks scrapped -4.0 Tenor: 567 Days ISSUECOULDRAISEAROUND`40KCR;DEBTPREPAYMENTTOACCOUNTFOR`27.5KCR Infosys DEPOSIT SCHEME MORE RETURNS. MORE REASONS TO SMILE. -6.5 Tamilnad Mercantile Bank »INSIDE« MARKETS SNAP 5-DAY RALLY AMID IRAN UNCERTAINTY PAGE 6 postponement of several large managed-services contracts into FY27. It also narrowed its FY26 revenue growth guidance to 3-4% from the earlier 3-5%. Accenture's stock fell 19% on Friday, its sharpest singleday decline on record. Continued on Page 7 Ahmedabad