EFE | PAGE 9 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 TCS now eyes bigger slice of enterpriseAI INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 India ships $140-mn goods to UK as CETAkicks in AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2026 Stripe & Advent offer $53 bn-plus for PayPal FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXI 40, 40 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 77,185.43 ▲ 130.49 NIFTY: 24,078.50 ▲ 26.45 NIKKEI 225: 68,751.51 ▲ 1,008.01 HANG SENG: 24,681.10 ▲ 340.37 `/$: 96.26 ▼ 0.06 `/€: 109.91 ▼ 0.23 BRENT: $84.38 ▼ $0.35 GOLD: `141,311 ▲ `182 ECONOMY PAGE 3 NET FDI INFLOWS TURN NEGATIVE AFTER 4 MONTHS NET FDI inflows turned negative in May after four consecutive positive months, with net outflows of $0.1 billion compared with net inflows of $0.9 billion a year earlier, according to RBI data, reports Shubham Rana MARKETS PAGE 7 SBI FUNDS IPO SUBSCRIBED 2.77x ON DAY 2 SBI FUNDS Management's IPO was subscribed 2.77 times by the end of the second bidding day, with all investor categories fully subscribed, reports Kushan Shah. The issue attracted bids nearly worth `19,827 crore. OPINION PAGE 8 CASH IS ALIVE, LET IT STAY HEALTHY, WRITE ABHEEK BARUA & ANIL KATIA Patanjali shares tank 15%, firm says biz as usual PATANJALI FOODS said no undisclosed material event triggered its sharp shareprice fall, after the stock tumbled nearly 20% to a 52-week low for a third straight session, with 87 million shares worth ?3,055 crore changing hands. ■ PAGE 4 New grid norms may hit wind, solar revenues India's proposed grid-discipline framework could slash windproject revenues by up to 48% and solar revenues by about 11%, hurting investor returns and potentially slowing capital inflows needed to achieve the country's 500-GW nonfossil energy capacity target by 2030., reports ■ PAGE 2 Saurav Anand. RESOLUTIONOVERSIGHTMAYBESEPARATEDFROMDAY-TO-DAYAFFAIRS Insolvency revamp may freeRPsfromrunningfirms 4,656 1,983 FRAMEWORK OVERHAUL MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, July 15 THE INSOLVENCY REGULATORisconsideringaproposalto divest resolution professionals (RPs) of the responsibility of managing the distressed company’s day-to-dayoperations. Under the proposed structure,RPswillberequiredonlyto handle insolvency-related procedures, manage compliance, coordinate with lenders and supervise the entire corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). A separate specialised entity will manage the operations of the company undergoing insolvencyproceedings. The proposed bifurcation is Source: IBBI IN THE NEWS Registered Insolvency Professionals Insolvency Professionals with AFA^ Insolvency Professional Entities ^AFA stands for authorisation for assignment; As on Mar 2026 ■ RPs may focus on compliance, while specialists run daily operations likely to be introduced initially forlargeinsolvencycases,where operationalcomplexityandthe sizeofthebusinessrequireprofessional management. An official source told FE 131 thattheproposal,currentlyatan earlydiscussionstagewithinthe Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), could addresswhatstakeholdershave identified as a major drawback ■ Role split likely to begin with large companies' insolvencies ■ Currently, RPs act as process managers and de facto CEOs in the existing insolvency framework,where a single RPis expected to handle the resolution process. Continued on Page 7 USlaunchesnewstrikesagainstIran REUTERS Cairo/Dubai, July 15 THE US CONDUCTED a new wave of strikes against Iran’s coastal defence systems and missilesitesonWednesdayafter reimposing a naval blockade of Iranianports,whileIranthreatened to shut off more regional energyexports. The daytime strikes mark the latest escalation of attacks andcounterattackslaunchedby thetwosidesastheyvieforcon- trol of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before thewar. “At 6 am ET (4.30 pm IST) today, US Central Command forces began launching a wave of strikes against Iran," the US. militarysaid. “The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranianforceshave used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz." There were no immediate reports of attacks in Iranian media. US Central Command said the military had attacked coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran's Greater TunbIsland,andhadcompleted the wave of strikes within around 90 minutes. That followed seven hours of strikes on Tuesday in which the US said it had hit dozens of military targets nearthe Hormuz. Continued on Page 7 CRISIS DEEPENS ■ Hostilities have intensified since last week ■ Iran threatens to close 'all other export corridors' Cabinet clears `1.9L-cr push for chips,mobiles ● New schemes target deeper localisation OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, July 15 THE UNION CABINET on Wednesday approved two flagship manufacturing programmeswithacombinedoutlay of nearly `1.9 lakh crore, markingthegovernment'sshift from attracting electronics assemblytobuildingacomplete domestic ecosystem spanning semiconductor design,fabrication, components and mobile phone manufacturing. The Cabinet approved the `1.27 lakh crore India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 and a `62,500 crore Mobile PhoneManufacturingScheme (MPMS), both of which build on the first generation of incentiveprogrammesbutsignificantlywiden their scope to deepen domestic value addition,strengthen supplychains and position India as a global manufacturing base for critical electronics. Announcing the decisions, ElectronicsandITMinisterAshwini Vaishnaw said the semiconductor programme would make India self-reliant in indigenous chip production by the end of the scheme period. The government expects ISM 2.0 to attract investments of around`4lakhcroreandgenerate semiconductor production worth nearly`2 lakh crore. SEMICON 2.0 & MPMS: WHAT'S NEW? Semicon 1.0 Outlay: `76,000 cr Semicon 2.0 `1.27 lakh crore Focus on fabs & OSAT Entire semiconductor ecosystem DLI only for startups Extended to large firms Initial focus on 28 nm fabs Roadmap to 7 nm and eventually 2 nm Earlier Mobile PLI Focus on assembly MPMS Focus on value Production incentives Incentives plus local component kicker Helped India become No.2 producer Target 30% global production share Value addition 23-24% Target 44-45% New urea investment policy gets green light THE CABINET ON Wednesday approved the National Investment Policy for Urea2026 to facilitate setting up of 8-9 new urea plants with an annual manufacturing capacity totalling 10 million tonne, aiming to eliminate imports completely, reduce government costs and subsidyburdens. Unlikethefirstphase,which largely focused on attracting fabrication and packaging projects,ISM 2.0 will cover six segments of the semiconductor The policy is expected to encourage fresh investment in gas-based urea manufacturing units across the countryandsupportIndia’sgoalof self-sufficiency.Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announcedthedecisionafter the Cabinet meeting. ■ Full story on PAGE 2 valuechain—chipdesign,semiconductor equipment and materials,fabrication facilities. Continued on Page 7 US’100%tariff threattestsIndia’s Russiaoil strategy SUPPLY RISK SAURAVANAND New Delhi, July 15 INDIA’S RUSSIAN CRUDE strategy faces a fresh challenge, with US senators proposing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Moscow’s oil.The move comes at a time when Russian supplies have surged to 2.6 million barrels per day, accounting for more than half of India’s crude imports. The revised bill scales back an earlier 500% blanket tariff threat but narrows its focus to the world’s five largest buyers of Russian oil or natural gas, placing India and China directly in its crosshairs. This raises risks for India's refinery operations, fuel security and replacement crude costs. For India, the proposal also threatens a supply source that has emerged as its Russia (kbd) 2,093.72 July 2024 2,469.99 July 2026 (till 15th July) Source: Kpler strongest energy-security hedge amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Russian crude imports rose to around 2.6 million barrels per day in June,accountingformorethan 50% of India’s total crude imports,according to Kpler. Continued on Page 7 Funds slow investment decisions amid macro uncertainty PEdealcycleslengthenas investorsturncautious RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, July 15 PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS in India are taking significantly longertoclose,withtransaction timelines stretching from the earlier three-four months to as long as six-nine months. Geopolitical uncertainty,supply-chain disruptions and the emergence of new investmentthemessuchas the AI value chain, defence manufacturing and data centres are forcing investors to spend more time evaluating risks,testing business assumptions and negotiating valuations, investment bankers, PE funds and consultants said. A recent acquisition of an industrial company, yet to be EXTENDED TIMELINES ■ Private equity transactions now take ■ West Asia tensions and supply-chain disruptions are months making investors to close, up from reassess business 3–4 months forecasts 6–9 ■ AI value chain, defence manufacturing and data centres require deeper scrutiny of business models announced, took nearly six months to conclude after repeated rounds of due diligence on demand,margins and order-book visibility before the buyer and seller could agree on valuation. In another transactioninvolvingadefencecompo- nents manufacturer, extensive checks on manufacturing standards,qualitycontrolsandregulatory compliance prolonged talks before a consortium of investors committed capital. Continued on Page 7 Ahmedabad