COMPANIES | PAGE 4 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 NovoNordiskIndiaMDbullish onanti-obesitydrugmarket BACK PAGE | PAGE 24 FM urges push to attract more Fortune 2000 GCCs NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2026 OpenAImademanychanges duringtalkswithUS:Altman FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 113, 32 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 SENSEX: 76,741.82 ▲ 238.22 NIFTY: 23,962.80 ▲ 80.75 NIKKEI 225: 67,743.85 ▲ 924.80 HANG SENG: 24,030.18 ▼ 169.28 `/$: 95.39 ▲ 0.17 `/€: 109.03 ▼ 0.05 BRENT: $77.61 ▼ $0.41 GOLD: `1,43,206 ▲ `1,133 PAGE 2 MONSOON HAS COVERED WHOLE OF INDIA: IMD THE SOUTHWEST MONSOON covered the entire country on Thursday, a day after its usual date, having advanced into Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, India Meteorological Department said, reports Sandip Das. MARKETS PAGE 6 SBI FUNDS LAUNCHES `11,000-CR IPO SBI FUNDS, INDIA'S largest asset management company, will open its initial public offering for public subscription on July 14, reports Kushan Shah. The anchor investor portion will open on July 13, while the three-day issue will close on July 16. » INSIDE « ADANITO FILEAFFIDAVITTHIS WEEK IN US COURTPAGE 5 KHARATO HEAD PANELTO WOO GLOBALPENSION FUNDS PAGE 3 Indices rebound, profit-booking limits gains THE BENCHMARK EQUITY indices rebounded on Thursday, rising more than 1% intra-day as value buying emerged after Wednesday’s sharp sell-off, reports Kishor Kadam. However, profit booking in the final hours of trade erased much of the early gains. ■ PAGE 6 Battery recycling, ACC may receive wider policy push THE MINISTRY OF heavy industries is looking to expand policy support for battery recycling and advanced chemistry cells as India’s storage needs have risen sharply and the power system moves from the challenges of generation capacity to grid flexibility, reports Saurav Anand. ■ PAGE 3 India secures Australian uranium for energy push SAURAVANAND New Delhi, July 9 INDIA SIGNED A deal with Australia on Thursday to secure long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power plants, in a boost to its ambition of 100 GWnuclearenergy capacity by 2047. Theagreement,announced afterPrime MinisterNarendra Modi and his Australian counterpartAnthonyAlbanese held talks in Melbourne, comes nearly 12 years after the two countriessignedacivilnuclear cooperation agreement. It is significant for India’s energy strategy as nuclear power is expected to provide firm, non-fossil electricity while the countryrapidlyadds renewable capacity and prepares for rising demand from industry, electrification, data centres and urbanisation. The two countries also sealed a number of pacts covering critical minerals, IT’S A DEAL... ■ Nuclear power contributes a little over 3% of India’s electricity generation ■ India currently operates 24 nuclear reactors across seven sites with a combined installed capacity of 8.78 GW ■ The aim is to raise capacity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Melbourne on Thursday AP defence, maritime cooperation, cyber technologies, supply chains and education. According to an India-Australiajointstatementonenergy security,thetwocountrieshave “finalised the administrative arrangements necessary to enable the export of Australian uraniumtoIndiaforexclusively TCSprofitshrinksonone-off legalhit;revenuebeatsStreet ● AI-led demand remains strong; margins narrow URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, July 9 TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES (TCS) on Thursday reported a 2.7% sequential decline in consolidated net profit for the April-June quarter, weighed down by a onetimelegalprovision,evenasthe country’s largest IT services company beat Street expectations on revenue and pointed tosustaineddemandforAI-led transformation projects. The company posted a net profit attributable to shareholdersof`13,349crore,compared with `13,718 crore in the preceding quarter.The figure was marginally below Bloomberg estimates of `13,436 crore. Excluding the exceptionallegalcost,however, net profit stood at `13,849 crore,ahead of estimates. Revenuerose2.2%sequentially to `72,275 crore from `70,698 crore in the March quarter,surpassing Bloomberg estimates of `71,837 crore. In constant currency terms, revenue grew 0.4%, slower than the 1.2% growth recorded in the previous quarter,reflecting TECH WATCH TCSconsolidatedfinancials Q4FY26 Q1FY27 (`cr) q-o-q%change Revenue 72,275 ECONOMY NEARLY12YEARSAFTERCIVILNUCLEARCOOPERATIONAGREEMENT 70,698 IN THE NEWS Ebitda 19,276 18,556 2.2 -3.7 Netprofit 13,718 22 GW by 2031-32 and to 100 GW by 2047 peaceful purposes and under International Atomic Energy Agencysafeguards”. Continued on Page 5 India counters WTO move for e-commerce agreement MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, July 9 K KRITHIVASAN, CEO & MD, TCS from 25.3%, primarily due to the annual wage revision. THE WORLD TRADE Organization (WTO) is facing a major constitutional showdown after India launched a fierce legal challenge against a group of 66 nations attempting to bypass the body’s strict consensus rules to push through a global e-commerce deal. India questioned the legality of bringing the E-Commerce Agreement (ECA) into force at the WTO as a plurilateral pact. It even questioned the role of WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in actingastheofficialdepositary and circulator for an agreement that has not been formally adopted by the WTO. TheWTOoperatesbyaconsensus principle for decisionmaking underArticle IX of the Marrakesh Agreement, but in recent years, developed nations have attempted to undermine this. Under this principle, a decision is considered approved onlyif no memberpresent at the meeting formally objects to the proposal. In a communication to the WTO General Council, India has sought written responses to the issues it has raised. Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 As customers accelerate investments in AI..., TCS is well positioned to translate opportunity into sustained growth 13,349 -2.7 Quarterly staff addition highest in over a year TCS ADDED 9,279 employees during April-June 2026, its highest quarterly headcount addition in more than ayear,signallinganimprovement in hiring even as the company continues to a moderation in underlying business momentum. Operatingmarginnarrowed130basis points sequentially to 24% reshapeitsworkforcearound artificial intelligence (AI), reportsPoulomiChatterjee. The addition took TCS’ total headcount to 593,798 and markedasecondconsecutive quarterofnethiring. ■PAGE 4 Govtbroadensdutyrelief forelectronicsecosystem ● Lithium-ion & display units get wider relaxation MANUFACTURING DRIVE ■ Wireless charging components get duty parity OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, July 9 ■ Push to deepen THE GOVERNMENT HAS broadened customs duty relief across the electronics manufacturingecosystem,removing long-standingdutydistortions andextendingsupportbeyond smartphonestosectorssuchas electric vehicles (EV), battery storage, automotive displays and industrial electronics. The finance ministry on Thursday issued three notifications waiving basic customs duty (BCD) on specified goods used in the manufacturing of display assemblies, lithiumion cells and inductor coil modules,a move industry said would encourage fresh investments and deepen domestic component manufacturing. The measures mark a shift in policy focus from finished products to components, subassembliesandmanufacturing equipment as the government lookstoincreasedomesticvalue addition in electronics. One notification extends customs relief to inputs used in display assemblies for automotive, domestic value addition in electronics ■ Expected to spur ■ One customs regime for lithium-ion cell manufacturing; display support widened beyond consumer electronics medicalandindustrialapplications, widening a benefit that was largely available for consumer electronics. Existing exemptions for display assemblies used in mobile phones, smartwatches, televisions and certainotherproductscontinue under separate provisions, while the new exemption for automotive,medicalandindustrialapplicationswillremainin force till March 31,2029. Another notification removes duty on key inputs used to manufacture inductor coil modules used in wireless charging,including nano-crystalline assemblies, NFC coils, magnets and shielding mater- Trafficvia Hormuz at a nearstandstill ● US,Iran exchange strikes as fears grow of a return towar SARA GHARAIBEH, SKYLAR WOODHOUSE & OMAR TAMO July 9 THE US MILITARY attacked Iran for a second day and Tehran retaliated against American allies in the region, raising fears of a return to war afterlittleprogressineffortsto secure a diplomatic outcome. The US Central Command said onXabout90 targetswere hit overnight — after 80 the previous day — “to further degrade”Iran’sabilitytoattack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the crucial waterway came to a near standstill on Thursday, and Iran’s insistence that it retains control of the passage is one of many issues on which the two sides remain far apart. Iran reported strikes on the perimeter of a nuclear power plant and two railway bridges connecting the capital to the cityof Mashhad,where former Smoke rises after a strike on a maritime traffic control tower in Chabahar, Iran REUTERS »INSIDE« CRUDE OIL PRICES SLIDE OVER 1% PAGE 7 ANATOMY OF A FAILED CEASEFIRE, WRITES HARSH V PANT PAGE 8 Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei was buried on Thursday. Iran responded by targeting US bases in Bahrain, KuwaitandQatar,accordingto the semi-official Iranian Students’News Agency. Continued on Page 7 investments in gigafactories, battery storage and component manufacturing ial.Industry said the move correctstheinverteddutystructure for the component and promotesdomesticmanufacturing instead of imports of finished modules.The exemption is also valid till March 31,2029. Themostsignificantchange relates to lithium-ion cells.The government has replaced separate customs exemptions for machineryusedinmanufacturing lithium-ion cells for mobile handsets and electric vehicles with a single technology-neutral exemption applicable to machinery used for manufacturing lithium-ion cells. Continued on Page 7 Co-location scam: HC setback to NSE ex-MD IN A SETBACK to former National Stock Exchange (NSE) MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna, the Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed her appeal againstatrialcourtordertaking cognizance of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Actintheco-locationscamcase. Ramkrishnacontendedthat the definition of “public servant” under the law was extremely vagueandthat the provision cannot be Former MD of made applicable to private NSE Chitra persons Ramkrishna employedwith a private limited company.The court, however, ruled that the NSE performed a“public duty” andthepetitioner,beingitsMD and CEO,“equally performed a function and duty in which the public at large is invested”.The case pertains to the alleged abuse of the co-location facility by certain brokers to make windfall profits. —FE BUREAU Rural market lifts FreshregulatoryscrutinyloomsoverMetaforMuseImage Q1 FMCG growth Govt will examine whether it is within legal framework or not following representations, says ITsecretary FE BUREAU New Delhi, July 9 FRESH REGULATORY TROUBLE may be brewing for Meta in India over its newly launched Muse Image AI generator, with the government saying it will examine the feature under the existing legal framework if it receives representations, amid mounting concerns overprivacy,consent and the misuse of AI-generated images. “We will have to look at it with reference to the legal framework,andwhetheritisin accordance with the legal framework or not. We will examine the representations we receive,” IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit. Krishnan’s remarks come days afterMeta unveiled Muse Image,which it describes as its most-advancedAI image-generation model and the first IN THE CROSSHAIRS ■ Meta describes Muse Image as its mostadvanced AI imagegeneration model ■ It allows manually turn off the setting if they do not want their public content to be used for AI image creation ■ The feature has generation ofAI images using photographs from public Instagram accounts media generation model developed by its Superintelligence Labs. The launch has triggered criticism after users pointed out thatAI images can be generated using photographs from public Instagram accounts simply by entering an account’s username in the prompt. The feature has reignited concerns over consent and image scraping because it is ■ Users have to heightened concerns over privacy, consent and misuse of AI-generated images enabled by default for eligible public Instagram accounts.Users have to manually turn off the setting if they do not want their public content to be used for AI image creation. Privacy experts say that the opt-out approach relies on user inertia rather than informed consent, raising the possibility that users could find AI-generated images resembling them circulating online without ever explicitly permitting such use. Meta, however, said users remain in control of how their content is used.The company has updated Instagram’s settings to clarify that when users allow others to reuse their public content in features such as Remix,they also permit AI products at Meta to create images using that con- tent. Users can disable the setting at any time. Meta said Muse Image is capable of following complex instructions, editing images with precision and drawing on Instagram for social context.It has also introduced an invisible Content Seal watermark designed to survive cropping,compression,resizing and screenshots, and is previewing a detection tool that allows users to check whether an image carries the watermark. The company said the content seal will also be extended to videos. Industry experts, however, said the safeguards do not address the largerissue of consent or the broader risks associated with making AI image generation widely accessible. Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, told PTI that the feature fundamentally changes what it means to have a public Instagram account.“It used to sim- ply mean more people could see someone’s posts. Now, it also means strangers can use thatperson’sfacetocreatenew images they never agreed to. That’sespeciallysignificantfor influencers and creators who rely on public accounts for their work, but it also affects everyday users because Meta has said it will not notify them when this happens,”Singh told the news agency. He added that if a business unknowingly uses one of these AI-generated images in an advertisement, it is likely to face legal and reputational consequences rather than Meta. More broadly, placing an easy-to-use deepfake capability in the hands of millions of users could make it harder to distinguish authentic images from AI-generated ones, increasing the risks of impersonation, harassment and misinformation. Continued on Page 5 ● Value growth rises to 6.8% from 3.6% in previous quarter VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, July 9 INDIA’S FAST-MOVING CONSUMER goods (FMCG) market witnessed an improvement in value growth during the first quarter of FY27, supported by sustained momentum in rural markets, accordingtoBizomdata shared exclusivelywith FE. OverallFMCGvaluegrowth rose to 6.8% in the April-June period,upfrom 3.6% recorded in the preceding quarter, pointing to a sequential recovery in demand. However, Q1 growth remained marginally below the 7.3% value growth registered in the corresponding quarter last year. Bizom New Delhi tracks value growth across FMCG categories in over8 million retail outlets. It does not report volume growth. Rural markets recorded 9% valuegrowthintheJunequarter, significantly ahead of the 2.3% growthseeninurbanmarkets.In theMarchquarter,ruralmarkets had posted 5% growth compared with just 1.2% in urban centres. A year ago, urban demand was slightly ahead of rural demand — 7.7%comparedwith 7%. Bizom data showed that rural value growth outpaced urbangrowthinfiveoutofsix quarters,barringQ1FY26. While the data underscored thecontinuingstrengthofrural consumption, Bizom as well as FMCG firms have cautioned that the El Nino threatwill have to be monitored closely during the ongoing monsoon season. 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