OPINION | PAGE 8 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 The economics of FIFAWorld Cup COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Rapido’s Ownly pivots from its no-discount promise NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2026 OpenAI's ChatGPTWork raises stakes for Indian IT FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 114, 38 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: 77,569.39 ▲ 827.57 NIFTY: 24,206.90 ▲ 244.10 NIKKEI 225: 68,557.73 ▲ 813.88 HANG SENG: 24,175.12 ▲ 144.94 `/$: 95.33 ▲ 0.06 `/€: 108.93 ▲ 0.10 BRENT: $76.11 ▼ $0.19 GOLD: `1,42,741 ▼ `465 NSE TO PITCH IPO TO 30 GLOBAL INVESTORS THE NATIONAL STOCK Exchange will pitch its initial public offering to over 30 global investors this month as a bet on the country's rapid financial expansion and growing capitalmarket participation, reports Reuters. Broad-based growth still elusive for TCS: Analysts TCS' Q1FY27 performance suggests the recovery in technology spending is likely to remain gradual rather than broad-based, with analysts pointing to sustained strength in banking and financial services but weakness in consumer-facing industries and discretionary spending, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 4 ■ Domestic ■ Lenders remain confident about the success of the initiative, sources say groundwork for the new regime is complete and what is taking time is the structuring at the overseas end, an official says ■ Experts believe the central bank initiative could bring in ■ Officials expect foreign deposit inflows to accelerate over August and September $50-60 billion in foreign deposits leverage against eligible deposits and permits Indian banks to extend loans to nonresident Indians (NRIs) through their overseas branches. Banks have raised FCNR (B) deposit rates by200-300 basis points to 5.25-7.13%,making the product more attractive. State Bank of India is understood to have mobilised more than $1.5 billion so far and others are confident about the initiative, sources said. The pace of inflows has been gradual as banks and depositors work through operational and fundingarrangements.“Alevel of fund flow has started. It is not a flood of money, but the process has begun,” an official said. He added that depositors are still in the process of tying up loans from banks to park in FCNR (B) deposits in India. “The groundwork on our ● MeitYorregulator will initiate action if rules flouted: Lahoti amidTruecallerrow RISHI RAJ New Delhi, July 10 INTERNET-BASED CALLER IDENTIFICATION applications cannot override or alter designated telecom numbering norms, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman A K Lahoti said, asserting that apps are required to “follow the law of the land”. Speaking to FE from Geneva in his first comments A K LAHOTI, CHAIRMAN, TRAI Both (1600 and 140) number series are for regulated entities... If an app flags them as spam, then it is tinkering with regulations to any newspaper since the issue came to light, Lahoti said Trai has written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) over caller ID applications flagging designated telecom number series as spam, stating that such practices disrupt legitimate com- munication between regulated entities and consumers. “Apps have to follow the law of the land. They cannot tinker with regulatory norms,” Lahoti said. The remarks come amid a dispute between Trai and caller identification platform Truecaller over the labelling ● ANINDIANPMINNEWZEALANDAFTER40YRS of calls originating from the 1600 and 140 number series. While the 1600 series has been earmarked for service and transactional calls, the 140 series is reserved for promotional communications from registered entities. Explaining the rationale behind the numbering framework, Lahoti said the 1600 series has been specifically designated for banks and other regulated entities of the BFSI sector, i.e. entities regulated by RBI, Sebi, Irdai and PFRDA, to their existing customers and by government entities for government-tocitizen communication. Continued on Page 10 AROUND THE WORLD Burnhamsetto becomeUKPM ANDY BURNHAM IS on the brink of becoming Britain’s next prime minister replacing Keir Starmer after an overwhelming show of support from Labour lawmakers. He is likely to be anointed as Labour leader next Friday and officially named as PM on July 20, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 10 FOUR YEARS AFTER unveiling India's first dedicated semiconductor policy, Gujarat has begun attracting the ancillary ecosystem that supports chip manufacturing, reports Nandini Oza. Around 10 companies have applied for land and another 15 are in talks as the state looks beyond marquee fabrication projects. ■ PAGE 2 Hasinaplansto returninDec » Q1 RESULTS « BoM PROFITJUMPS 27% PAGE 7 Continued on Page 5 Appscan’ttinkerwithnorms:Traichief Gujarat shifts focus to semiconductor supply chain INDIAN BANK PATRISES 10% PAGE 6 side is complete.What is taking time is the structuring at the overseas end,” the official said, adding that some foreign banks have already started increasing lending rates in response to higher demand.Officials expect that foreign deposit inflows will accelerate over August and September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is welcomed by New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon at the airport in Auckland on Friday. This is the first visit to New Zealand by an Indian PM in 40 years. The ‘historic visit’ is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties ■ RELATED REPORT ON PAGE 24 PTI OUSTED BANGLADESHI PRIME MinisterSheikh Hasina, facing a death sentence back home, told Reuters she and senior party colleagues plan to returnfromexileinIndiaaround Decemberand surrender.“They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me... Still, I havetogo,”shesaid. ■PAGE 10 INDIA HAS REVVED up plans to bolster its emergency crude buffer after recent geopolitical shocks exposed risks to oil supply routes. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has approved a 1.75-milliontonne strategic petroleum reserve in Mangaluru,adding nearly 13 million barrels of storage. ONGC said in a stock exchange filing that the project will be developed as a Phase-I extension of the Mangaluru strategic petroleum reserve, along with associated facilities. The government also approved the second phase of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) programme, which will add another 6.5 million tonne of storage capacity. This includes a 4million-tonne reserve at Chandikhol in Odisha and a 2.5-million-tonne expansion at Padur,Karnataka.Together with the existing 5.33-MT FORMER PRIME MINISTER Manmohan Singh was so distressed at the thought of violating the election code of conduct, he told former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi he “will commit suicide” if the CEC felt the Congress was violating the model code during the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. This is among the many revelations in Quraishi’s newbook, India and I: A Hundred Memories,Not a Memoir. Quraishi also writes of how he declined the post of joint secretary in the PMO SY QURAISHI, FORMER CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER Even in those days there was a prejudice against Muslims. I declined a PMO post as I wanted to be considered on merit and not on the basis of my religion gized me.Second,I had silently decided to avoid three places, home, defence and the PMO, because, as a Muslim, I feared ‘extravetting’.Theideaoffended me.I was an IAS officer,secular to the bone; I did not want my religion to become an additional file on someone’s table.” The former CEC writes of howhe managed towriggle out of the situation by persuading NKSinha,thenadditionalsecretary in the PMO, and also his next-door neighbour, that he wantedtofocusonhistwochildrenwhoweretakingtheBoard exams that year. And while Sinha immediately responded to Quraishi’s concern that he was selected on basis of his religion,saying“there is no quota”, and that “minority matters sometimes benefited from a Muslim perspective”, later, KR Venugopal,thensecretarytothe Prime Minister, told Quraishi: “Yaqoob,youdidtherightthing. I had suggestedyourname earlier and was told, ‘We already have one Muslim.’ You were being considered through that lens.” Ultimately, the incumbent, Imtiaz Ahmad Khan,was given a two-yearextension. Speaking with FE, Quraishi said:“Even in those days there was a prejudice against Muslims. I declined the post as I Upcoming SPR 4.00 Chandikhol 2.50 Padur SPR: Strategic Petroleum Reserve capacity, the expansion is expected to raise India’s emergency crude coverage to more than 20 days of domestic consumption. While ONGC did not disclose the new Mangaluru project cost or completion timeline, industry estimates peg the 1.75-MT reserve at about $1.6 billion, or roughly `14,000-15,000crore,including cavern development and crude filling costs. ONGC’s board has also authorised the company to engage with the central government on expanding commercial utilisation of the facility, subject to regulatory support. The move is significant as India has been trying to make strategic reserves financially viable by allowing part commercial use while retaining emergency stockpiling capacity. The SPR programme was launched to maintain crude stockpiles that can be drawn down during supply disruptions or sharp spikes in global oil prices. These reserves are separate from operational inventories maintained by refiners and oil marketing companies. In the first phase, India built underground rock caverns with a combined capacityof5.33MTatVisakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Mangaluru and Padur. Continued on Page 5 Earnings cheer,lower oil prices lift markets FIRST WEEKLY LOSS IN FIVE KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, July 10 STOCKS RALLIED SMARTLY on Friday driving up benchmark indices by over 1% as investors cheered a good start to the Q1FY27 earnings season. Softening prices of Brent crude oil,which have come off to $75 a barrel from $79 over the past couple of days, also boosted the sentiment. The Sensex rose 827.57 points, or 1.08%, to close at 77,569.39 while the broader Nifty gained 244.10 points,or 1.02%, to end the session at 24,206.90.Afterfalling 9% on Thursday, the India VIX declined another 8.33% to 12.25, indicating easing market volatility. Friday’s rally was broadbasedwiththeBSEMidcapand BSE Smallcap indices outperforming the benchmarks gaining 1.67% and 1.21%, respectively. Investor wealth has increased by `10.51 lakh crore over the past two sessions taking the BSE’s total market capitalisation to `481.75 lakh crore.The rebound in the market more than offsets the erosion in investor wealth of `9 lakh crore seen onWednesday. However,theSensexandthe Niftyendedtheweekwithmarginal losses of 0.25% and 0.26%, respectively, snapping theirfour-weekwinningstreak. On Friday, the good Q1 WhenManmohansaid‘willcommitsuicide’overpollcode offered to him only because he was a Muslim. Speaking with FE, he confirmed he was explicitly told to prepare a list of alternative candidates, all “only Muslim”.The book,published by Hachette, will release on July 16. In the chapter titled The PMOPostingIRefused,Quraishi reveals how he was offered the post of joint secretary in the PMO in the 1990s on the basis ofhisreligion,whichherefused totakeup.Hewrites:“ThePrime Minister’s Office (PMO) was a dreampostingformostofficers: prestigious, powerful, close to the nerve centre.Yet for me, it raisedthreeconcerns.First,Idid notwanttoleaveajobthatener- 2.50 Padur In a new book, ex-CEC SYQuraishi talks about his interaction with then PM & how there was a Muslim 'quota' in PMO IVINDER GILL New Delhi, July 10 1.50 0 Mangaluru SAURAVANAND New Delhi, July 10 wantedtobeconsideredonthe basis of merit and not my religion.Venugopaltoldmehehad proposed my name for the PMO six months before I was offered this post, but it was declined as‘therewas alreadya Muslim in the PMO’. So this confirmed there was a quota system,even if itwas one post.” He also shared with FE that when he was told to suggest alternative candidates,“I was told to prepare a list of only Muslim names, and I drew up a list of over 30 names. In the end, they decided to give the incumbent an extension. But they surely needed a Muslim.” Continued on Page 10 Sensex 77,569.39 77,763.91 Jul 3 Jul 10 Weekly loss 0.25% Net equity investments (in ` crore) Jul 6 FPIs DIIs Jul 7 Jul 8 M-cap gain/loss (in ` crore) Jul 6 2,604 2,020 PAGE 7 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman will meet public sectorbank(PSB)chiefsonMondaytoreviewtheprogressofthe Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) special scheme to mobilise foreign currency deposits to support the rupee,sources told FE. The meeting comes a month after the RBI relaxed regulations governing Foreign CurrencyNon-Resident (Bank) [FCNR(B)] and Non-Resident External (NRE) deposits. The central bank has introduced a concessional swap facility and will bear the entire hedging cost for deposits with a maturity of 35 years. It is also open to banks providing an SBLC (standby letter of credit) to lenders of deposit customers. This would help depositors leverage their capital and boost their returns. The RBI package allows unlimited PROGRESS REVIEW 265 2,058 MARKETS PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, July 10 ● New Mangaluru STRATEGIC STOCK storage estimated Existing SPR Capacity (MT) to cost `15,000 cr Visakhapatnam 1.33 3 9,489 THE BJP'S RECENT electoral gains have led to an upside for labour reforms: states that were holding out from implementing the long-pending labour codes are now coming on board. With a BJP government in place now, West Bengal, which lagged behind in framing the draft rules for the four labour codes, is getting ready to roll them out. 790 BENGAL BOOST FOR LABOUR REFORMS PUSH FCNR(B) deposits: FM to meet banks on Monday Oilreservepushampedup; ONGCclears1.75-MTplan 1,571 -383 PAGE 2 3,791 ECONOMY 848 IN THE NEWS Jul 9 Jul 10 206,456 -211,070 Jul 7 Jul 8 -896,611 Jul 9 470,888 Jul 10 580,750 EquityMFinflows rise 26% INVESTOR PARTICIPATION THROUGH systematic investment plans (SIPs) strengthened in June, with the mutual fund industry recording the highest net monthly increase in contributing SIP accounts since February 2026.The industry numbers from Tata ConsultancyServicesandIndianBank promptedbuyinginITandPSU bankstocks.TheNiftyPSUBank registered a net addition of 487,000 contributing SIP accounts, reports Kushan Shah. The improvement in SIP activity coincided with a rebound in equity mutual fund inflows, which rose more than 26% after nearly 40% declinein May. ■PAGE 6 index jumped 3.03%while the NiftyITindex rose1.96%. Continued on Page 10 Iranceasefireoverbut talkstogoon:Trump COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN July 10 US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said the United Stateswould continue talks with Iran but considers the ceasefire between the countries to be over. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the ceasefire is OVER!” Trump posted on social media on Friday. The president’s comments follow several nights of US airstrikes and Iranian retalia- New Delhi tion that sent oil prices higher and raised doubts about further talks towards a broader peace deal. The recent tensions,alongwith a USTreasury move to revoke a waiver allowing Iran to sell its oil globally posed the biggest challenges yet to an interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran. Trump’s comments are likely to ease fears of a return to all-out war. Oil jumped to session highs before retreating, while stocks fell before trimming losses after the US President’s post. Continued on Page 10