BACK PAGE | PAGE 22 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Festive gig hiring set to rise 20% on demand INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 9 AI needs trusted data to scale: Infosys executive LUCKNOW, TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2026 Apple ordered to change iPhone app data prompts FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 19 NO. 216, 42 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: 77,728.16 ▼ 281.09 NIFTY: 24,287.65 ▼ 78.35 NIKKEI 225: 69,220.25 ▲ 506.45 HANG SENG: 25,453.23 ▲ 336.38 `/$: 95.61 ▼ 0.18 `/€: 110.88 ▼ 0.61 BRENT: $89.05 ▲ $0.53 GOLD: `1,53,608 ▲ `1,864 THE CENTRE will soon form the proposed high-level committee on banking for Viksit Bharat to begin a new phase of comprehensive banking sector reforms, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Sources indicated that the panel may be formed this month itself, reports fe Bureau. OPINION PAGE 8 RESPONDING TO TRUMP’S UNENDING TRADE TURMOIL, WRITES ABHIJIT DAS OMCs’ LPG burden may ease 40% as prices soften STATE-RUN oil marketing companies’ LPG under-recoveries are expected to fall nearly 40% sequentially in the September quarter as global LPG prices ease, offering relief after the West Asia supply shock pushed the burden to around `13,700 crore in Q1FY27, reports ■ PAGE 2 Saurav Anand. Contributing SIP accounts rise after six months AFTER SIX months of stagnation, contributing mutual fund SIP accounts rose by 1.2 million in July to nearly 99 million. The investor base added 3 million investors during the first half of 2026, despite flat SIP growth, reports ■ PAGE 6 Kushan Shah. Rupee vs dollar (Intra-day, August 17) »INSIDE« 95.40 6.82 6.78 6.76 95.55 6.74 Previous close 9: 9:00am 17:00pm 95.61 Inverted scale Open Close course. “The market reacted to confused signals as the RBI announced premature closure of the swap scheme after stating that it would run its course.You don’t want a market where everyone is saying the rupee is falling.The regulator’s job is to change that belief. That is the credibility that the market is looking for from the RBI,” Mecklai said. He believes the central bank decided last week to close the scheme after receiving the foreign currency inflows it was seeking, while also being wary of attracting IMPACT OF SRTT MEETING BAN ■ SRTT cannot take key decisions requiring board approval ■ Failure to meet quorum will result in the adjournment of Tata Sons AGM ■ N Chandrasekaran’s reappointment as a director could be delayed ■ Approval to FY26 dividend of `4,479 cr could be held up Key items on the AGM agenda are consequently likely to remain pending. These include the reappointment of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaranasadirectorandthe approval of the dividend for FY26.InitsFY26annualreport, TataSonssaiditsboardhadrecommended a dividend of `1,10,717pershare,translating intoatotalpayoutof`4,478.58 crore,a rise of 70.6% onyear. The restriction on SRTT stemsfromadirectiveissuedby the Maharashtra charity commissionerinMay.Theauthority said itwas investigating allegations of governance lapses at the trust and directed SRTT to refrain from holding board meetings while the inquiry remained underway. Over the past few days,SRTT has sought temporaryrelieffromthecharitycommissionerbut has so far been unsuccessful.Although it has the option of approaching a higher court, the trust has not yet exercised it. WAR IN WEST ASIA Trump threatens to bomb Oman US PRESIDENTDONALDTrump said on Monday that Iran should surrender to end the war as peace talks remained stalled.He also threatenedto“bombtheshitoutof”Oman,whichhas been in talks with Iran to restore commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. ■ PAGE 9 excessive flows.Exporters are holding back dollar sales even as importers are stepping up purchases. And despite the sizeable dollar inflows, the rupee has not strengthened. Continued on Page 5 A HAWKISH FED QUEERS THE PITCH, WRITES ASHVIN PAREKH PAGE 8 Quorum hurdle may delayTata SonsAGM THETATASONSannualgeneral meeting (AGM), scheduled for 2.30 pm on Tuesday,is likely to beadjournedforlackofquorum as the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) continues to face a ban on convening meetings,people aware of the mattersaid. UndertheTata SonsArticles ofAssociation,theholdingcompany’s AGM requires the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) to jointly nominate a representative.The two trusts, along with several smaller Tata trusts, collectively hold a 66% stake in Tata Sons.With SRTT unable to conveneitsboard,thetwotrusts have not been able to nominate a representative, leaving the AGMwithouttherequiredquorum. Under Article 87 of the Articles of Association,if a quorum is not present within half an hour of the scheduled start, the meeting stands adjourned. 6.758 95.60 95.65 Iran ups the ante, to go ‘fully offensive’ IRANHASDECIDEDtoshiftitspolicyfromdefensive to “fully offensive” due to the deadlock in efforts to agree a permanent end to the war,an Iranianofficial said.“IranianentitiesmustbepreparedtoescalatetensionsintheStraitofHormuz andwiderregion,”theofficialsaid. ■ PAGE 9 Govtnodto `7,877-crore electronics partsplants OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, August 17 THE GOVERNMENT ON Monday approved 31 more manufacturing proposals worth `7,877 crore under the fifth trancheoftheElectronicsComponents Manufacturing Scheme(ECMS),takingthetotal number of sanctioned projects to 106 and cumulative committed investment to around `69,500 crore, well above the `59,350-crore target set when the schemewas launched. The 106 projects are now expected to generate cumulative production of `5,34,101 crore,comparedwith the original target of `4,56,500 crore. The latest tranche, spread across 10 states,is expected to add `82,243 crore to output and create nearly 10,000 direct jobs, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said. The latest approvals include projects by GX Group, Centum Electronics, Ennovi Mobility Solutions, Micromax Precision Moulding, Syrma SGS Technology, Rosenberger Interconnect, Jyoti CNC Automation, and Britannia RFID Technologies. The government is now focusing on converting the approvals into operational capacity. Continued on Page 7 INDIAN ITHIRINGAI BUILDERS, BIGTECHADDING SALESTALENTTO DRIVEADOPTION AIsplitstechhiringintobuilders&adopters POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, August 17 ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE IS creating two distinct hiring tracksinthetechnologyindustry, with Indian IT services firms strengthening their technical talent pools to build and customise enterprise AI, while Big Tech firms are increasinglyadding sales,consulting and go-to-market talenttodriveadoptionoftheirAI and cloud platforms. The divergence reflects the different stages at which the two segments are operating in theAIvalue chain,even as both are increasinglyconverging on a new role that sits between technology and the customer — the forward deployed engineer (FDE). “As enterprise AI andcloudplatformstransition EMPLOYMENT IN AI ERA ■ Big Tech firms hired more than 30,000 people from India in 2025, and the number is expected to rise 16-20% in 2026 ■ Demand for AI engineering, production deployment and forward deployed engineers is rising sharply ■ FDE postings have grown almost eightfold in a year; and TCS is building a FDE cadre equivalent to around 1-1.5% of its workforce from complex emerging tech into mainstream operational infrastructure, the go-to-market mandate for Big Tech has fundamentallyshifted,”Milind Shah, managing director at RandstadDigital,said.“Thepriority is no longer just explaining how a technology is engi- 4 5 717 713 555 448 446 6.80 0.18% EDIT: A PRUDENT PAUSE PAGE 8 URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, August 17 6.807 5 bps 95.44 95.50 3 Revenue ($billion) 10-yr govt bond yield (%) Previous close 95.45 2 neered, but articulating how it drives business transformation,operationalefficiency,and ROI (return on investment).” Anecdotal evidence suggests technology majors such as Meta and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are expanding entryandmid-levelsalestalent ■ Shift is also visible in compensation, with leading IT firms offering freshers `20-25 lakh for elite AI engineering roles compared with standard services entry packages of `3.5-4 lakh pipelinesforclient-facingroles in the UK and other markets. InternalAIcopilottoolsarealso making it easier for sales professionals to understand complex architectures and pitch them to customers without necessarily having formal STEM backgrounds,Shah said. A portion of this hiring is alsomovingtoIndia,wherethe combination of lower costs and a rapidlyexpanding enterprise technology market is making the country an increasingly important base for Big Tech’s sales and customer-facing operations. US BigTechfirmshiredmorethan 30,000 people from India in 2025, and the number is expected to rise 16-20% in 2026, according to Neeti Sharma,CEO,TeamLease Digital. “Hiring is no longer just limited to engineering. Companies are building out enterprise sales, solution engineering, consulting and GTM leadership in India, increasingly tapping into consulting and B-school talent,”she said. Continued on Page 7 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi has set India Inc an ambitious corporate milestone: put 50 Indian companies in the Fortune Global 500 over the next decade, up from just 10 today. The latest rankings show just how far the target is. The US dominates the revenuebased league table with 141 companies, followed by China with 116. Japan, Germany and France take the next three positions, while India is a distant 10th. Reliance Industries and LIC are among the 10 Indian companies that make the cut, with both ranking among the world’s top 100. The entry barrier itself is formidable: a company needed annual revenue of at least $33.2 billion to qualify for the Global 500. -Compiled by Kishor Kadam Top Indian companies by revenue Global rank 85 92 130 136 162 208 272 298 399 471 Revenue ($ billion) Company 120 110 89 88 81 69 56 52 41 35 Reliance Industries LIC Indian Oil Rajesh Exports State Bank of India Oil & Natural Gas HDFC Bank Bharat Petroleum Tata Motors Passenger Vehic Vehicles ICICI Bank Companies by count country/territory Global rank nk No No. of companies 1 United States 2 China 3 Japan 4 Germany 5 France 141 116 40 28 24 Sou Source: Fortune Global 500 List CAS here to stay,reviewing marketconcerns:Sebichief KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, August 17 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE Board of India (Sebi) Chairman TuhinKantaPandeyonMonday made it clear that the recently introduced closing auction session(CAS)isheretostay,evenas the market regulator looks at waystoaddressconcernsraised bymarket participants. Speakingtoreportersonthe sidelinesoftheSebiSymposium »EXPLAINER« CAS: WHAT INVESTORS NEED TO KNOW PAGE 9 on Cyber Defence in Mumbai, Pandey added,“…We will see if there are certain constraints or issues thatwe can improve,and certainlywewill improve.” The market regulator is currently analysing TUHIN KANTA PANDEY, CHAIRMAN, SEBI A smart stock lending and borrowing mechanism can help to increase participation in CAS. We’ve formed a working group & must get to the reformed SLBM very soon FMCG firms step up ad spending ASHUTOSH MISHRA New Delhi, August 17 INDIA’S LARGE FMCG companies are increasing advertising and promotional spending faster than sales growth in several cases, banking on an improvement in volumes to invest ahead of demand and strengthen their brands, particularly in premium products,newlaunches and emerging retail channels. Nestle India, for instance, increased advertising spends by more than 40% year-onyear in the June quarter,while Colgate-Palmolive India raised advertising and promotional expenditure 33.7% to `251.9 crore. Marico increased advertising and sales-promotion investments 25.3% and DaburIndia raised such spending 13.6% to `229.5 crore.HUL,the largest spender in absolute terms, increased its outlay 3.7% to `1,657 crore, its highest in nearly three years. The spending spikes come as companies see improving data on trading activityduring CAS — a special trading window to determine the closing price for stocks with futures & options (F&O) contracts — as well as feedback on concerns raised by options traders and other market participants. Pandey emphasised that Sebi cannot react to every suggestion or criticism of the mechanism, which he described as a major market reform.“We are looking at all the suggestions.I have myself seen a number of suggestions which have come from social media. Our teams have gone through them and they are discussing them with the participants,”he said. Pandey said many of the concerns could ease as participation in CAS increases. Continued on Page 7 BRAND BUILDING Advertising and promotion spending growth in Q1FY27 Frame airfare rules in 3wks: SC to Centre FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 17 volume momentum, giving them greater confidence to spend behind brands. THE CENTRE TOLD the SupremeCourtonMondaythat it has fast-tracked the framing of rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam and will finalise them within three weeks, as the court pressed for anearlyrolloutofthenewregulatory framework amid concerns over high airfares and passengerprotection. The government placed the draftrulesbeforeabenchofJusticesVikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta in a sealed cover, saying final discussions were under way.The bench asked it to publish the rules within seven days andwarnedairlinesofstringent action for non-compliance.“If airlines are not complying, groundthem,”itsaid.Additional Solicitor General Anil Kaushik, appearingfortheCentre,sought three weeks to complete the processandplacethefinalrules beforeit.Thebenchthenposted the matterforSeptember7. Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 40 33.7 25.3 13.6 3.7 HUL* BANKING PANEL LIKELYTO BE SET UP THIS MONTH THE RESERVE BANK of India’s (RBI’s) decision to prematurely close its concessional swap facility for FCNR(B) deposits, coupled with a rise in crude oil prices to nearly $90 a barrel, sent the rupee lower on Monday, though intervention by the central bank prevented a sharper slide. Despite a softer dollar,the rupee was the worst-performing currency in Asia, depreciating 0.2% to close at a 17-day low of 95.61 against the dollar as importers rushed to take forward cover. Currency expert Jamal Mecklai said the market was reacting to mixed signals from the central bank after the RBI decided to advance the closure of the swap scheme, having earlier indicated that it would run its 1 Dabur India PAGE 6 WORST PERFORMER IN ASIA Global top 5 companies by revenue Global rank Marico MARKETS MANJU AB Mumbai, August 17 « « PAYTM FOUNDER VIJAY Shekhar Sharmaowned Resilient Asset Management plans to sell a 4.98% stake in One97 Communications in a block deal, according to an exchange filing. Proceeds of the deal, however, will be retained by China-based Alibaba Group firm Antfin under its existing pact with Resilient Asset Management, reports PTI. Rupee slips as RBI shuts FCNR(B) window early FORTUNE 500: INDIA’S LONG ROAD TO 50 ColgatePalmolive India PAYTM FOUNDER’S FIRM TO OFFLOAD 4.98% IN ONE97 RISINGOILPRICESADDTOJITTERS;RBIINTERVENTIONLIMITSFALL Nestle India IN THE NEWS * HUL had the highest advertising and promotion spend in absolute terms. Lucknow