THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 24 FOREVER BRANDS | PAGE 9 When salon hygiene became a business opportunity EFE | PAGE 10 Camel faces a fight for its category crown AHMEDABAD, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2026 India growth mkt, critical R&D hub: Cloudera CEO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXI 73, 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 IN THE NEWS PAGE 2 ECONOMY INDIA, JAPAN PUT CRITICALTECH CENTRE STAGE INDIAAND Japan are making critical technology manufacturing and supply-chain resilience central to bilateral ties, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal leading India’s largest-ever business delegation to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka from August 24. FE Bureau PAGE 4 COMPANIES URBAN COMPANY SUES KENT OVER PURIFIER ADS URBAN COMPANY has sued Kent RO Systems in the Delhi High Court, alleging defamation and disparagement over advertisements that it claims made false and misleading statements about its Native water purifiers, damaging its reputation and consumer trust. FE Bureau Beyond the milk pouch, dairy firms chases margins India’s dairy industry is moving beyond its traditional volume driver—liquid milk—as firms seek higher margins from cheese, paneer, yoghurt, ghee, ice cream and proteinrich products. Rising health awareness, urbanisation and convenience-led consumption are raising this shift. However, intense price competition and limited pricing power are keeping basic milk products a relatively low-margin business for the firms, writes Viveat Susan Pinto LOWER SUBSIDY,TIGHTER SPENDINGTO OFFSETREVENUE LOSS Fiscal deficit on course despiteWestAsia crisis PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, August 23 WITHABETTER assessmentof the impact of theWestAsia crisis on the economy and lowerthan-anticipatedsubsidypressures, the Centre is hopeful of containing the fiscal deficit at around the Budget Estimate (BE) of 4.3% of GDP for FY27, despite the revenue loss from the recent cut in petrol and diesel excise duty,sources said. The government’s confidence stems largely from a sharp moderation in the additional fertiliser subsidy requirement, which had emerged as a major fiscal risk after the West Asia war broke out 27 days after the Budget forFY27waspresentedonFebruary 1. The additional requirement, initially estimated at `2.7 lakh crore over and above the Budget provisionof`1.71lakhcrore,subse- BALANCING ACT ■ The Economic Stabilisation Fund gives the Centre a fiscal cushion without adding to the FY27 deficit ■ The Centre is hopeful of containing the fiscal deficit at around the Budget Estimate of 4.3% of GDP for FY27 ■ Disinvestment and asset ■ Additional fertiliser subsidy requirement seen at monetisation receipts could exceed the against `2.7 lakh crore initially estimated Budget target and cross `1 lakh crore `30,000-40,000 cr quently fell to `2.5 lakh crore, then`1.7lakhcroreandisnow estimatedatlessthan`70,000 crore as global fertiliser prices have moderated sharply. “Hopefully, the additional fertiliserrequirementwouldbe `30,000-40,000 crore this year,”an official said.The additional requirement will be met partly through the `1 lakh `80,000 cr crore Economic Stabilisation Fund (ESF),which was created from unspent balances of the previousyeartomeetthefiscal impact of the Pay Commission awardinFY28.TheESFhasprovided the government with a fiscalbufferfollowingtheWest Asia shock. Importantly, any drawdown from the fund will not add to the FY27 fiscal deficit since the corpus had already been reflected in the FY26 fiscal deficit. The `10,000-crore aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price stabilisation fund created from the ESF corpusalsodidnotresultinany drawdown, providing another cushion to the government. Continued on Page 11 Chandra’sdirectorshipinlegalgreyzone URVI MALVANIA & JYOTSNA BHATNAGAR Mumbai/Ahmedabad, August 23 LEGALOPINIONISdividedover whetherNChandrasekarancan continue as a director on the Tata Sons board after the holding company’s AGM was adjourned without transacting business, adding fresh uncertaintytoaleadershiptransition alreadyunderway. The August 18 AGM was adjourned forwant of quorum after Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), barred from holding meetings by the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner, could not nominate its representative. The agenda included the renewal of Chandrasekaran’s directorship. At the heart of the debate is whether his directorship continues until a validAGM is IN A QUANDARY ■ Chandrasekaran’s Tata Sons directorship is in legal limbo after August 18 AGM was adjourned without transacting business Legal experts are split: Some see litigation risk for director due to retire by rotation; others see an impasse ■ The question is consequential as the chairman must by law be a board director ■ Tata Sons may need to approach the RoC or NCLT if deadlock persists, clouding the transition held, or whether his status as a director liable to retire by rotation creates a legal vulnerability because the meeting that was to consider his renewal could not proceed. The question matters because the law is clear that a company’s chairman must be a director on its board. “The question of the tenure status of retiring directors in the absence of a timely AGM remains a grey area under the Indian corporate laws.Courts have taken divergentviews: one line of authorityholds that directors cannot benefit from their own failure to convene meetings, while another prioritises business continuity and management stability,” a partner at a leading law firm said. “Thepracticalconsequence is that any director whose tenure depends on the AGM faces legal uncertainty and potential litigation risk until the meeting is eventually convened,”the partner added. Other experts take a more definitive view: the adjournment does not automatically endChandrasekaran’sdirectorship. “The adjournment has created a governance impasse, not a vacancy. Since the AGM was inquorate owing to the restrictions placed on SRTT by the CharityCommissioner,Mr Chandrasekaran’sdirectorship continues pending a validly constituted adjourned AGM,” said Krishnava Dutt, founder and managing partner at Argus Partners. Continued on Page 5 ● BOTS PUTTHEIR BEST FOOT FORWARD ATiangong humanoid robot competes in a long-jump contest at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Sunday. The five-day event featured robots racing, playing football and marching, with one reportedly running faster than Usain Bolt’s 100metre world record REUTERS PAGE 5 » INSIDE « GOVTMAYRELEASE BUFFER ONION STOCKS: KHARE PAGE 2 ETERNALMAY MISS 100% EV DELIVERIESTARGET PAGE 4 OPINION `1-lakh-crore PAGE 8 WHEN THE HACKER HAS NO HANDS, WRITE INDER GOPAL & KAPILVASWANI THE HUMAN FACTOR QUIET QUITTING, LOUD MANAGEMENT FAILURE PAGE 8 Mid & small caps corner 50% of newfolios,a first ● Categories draw 56% of July inflows,highest since 2023 KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, August 23 INVESTORS ARE FLOCKING to mid- and small-cap mutual fund schemes.In the first four months of this financial year, these two categories accounted for more than 50% of the total folios added by the mutual fund industry — the highest since the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) began making the data public. The rise of the mid- and small-cap funds is staggering, given that their share in folio additions was just 2.91% in FY21. In fact, small-cap schemeshadseenanetdecline in folio additions then. The two categories have also attracted healthy net inflows in recent months, accounting for about 56% of total equity fund inflows in July 2026. This was the first time since 2023 that cumulative monthlyinflows into midand small-cap funds accounted for more than half of total equity inflows. Experts attributed the surge in investor interest SpaceX puts Starlink India supply-chain hiring in gear URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, August 23 SPACEX IS BUILDING a supply chain team for its Starlink satellite communications business in India, even as the company awaits final regulatory clearances to begin commercial operations in the country. The Elon Musk-led companyhaspostedmultipleopeningsinBengaluruacrosssupply chain engineering and sourcing and planning, signalling a focus on building supplier capabilities and preparing the hardware ecosystem needed for Starlink’s operations. The hiring comes as Starlink awaits regulatory approvals to begin commercial services in India.The company has alreadysecured a licence to provide satellite broadband services and established ground infrastructure,but the final regulatory go-ahead remains pending. SpaceX currently has at least fourrelevant openings in Bengaluru, including three supplier development roles and a global supply manager position. Continued on Page 11 FOREIGN PATIENTS SURGE, BUTLOWASSETCREATION KEEPS INVESTORS CAUTIOUS Medicaltourismstartupsawaittheirfundingcure S SHANTHI Bengaluru, August 23 INDIA’S GROWINGAPPEALas a medical-tourism destination is spawning a new layer of startups that manage everything from hospital selection and medical consultations to visas, travel, accommodation and post-treatment care. However, despite rising foreign patient flows and rapid growth reported by some companies, the segment has attracted only $9.28 million across 18 funding rounds, highlighting the challengeofbuildingaventurescale business around an assetlight service model. According to Tracxn, India has 122 medical-tourism startups.VaidamHealth,backedby 4CE Ventures, receives around 18,000 inquiries and serves more than 500 patients globallyeverymonth,withpatients from over 150 countries havinguseditsservices.“Ouroverall revenue has grown as we have increasingly focused on high-ticket and complex cases rather than patient volumes alone,” Pankaj Chandna, cofounder, Vaidam Health, told FE. The Medical Travel Company is currently handling about1,000patientsayearand istargeting2,000bytheendof this year. CureMeAbroad has more than 21,500 patients using its services each month forpartoftheirtreatmentjourney, including researching options, comparing hospitals andgettingmatchedwithdoc- BIG MARKET, SMALL MONEY ■ India’s medical ■ Foreign tourism market is projected to reach $22.1 bn by 2031, up from medical arrivals jumped from in 2026 in 2024 $12.3 bn 182,945 in 2020 to 644,387 ■ B2B2C and aftercare could help startups scale and attract hospital acquisitions ■ Yet 122 medical- tourism startups have raised just $9.28 mn across 18 funding rounds ■ Nexus, Kriscore, IPV, 35North, 9Unicorns and Wavemaker have shown investor interest in the segment tors. The company has an annualrecurringrevenueof$5 millionandisgrowingatabout 73% quarter-on-quarter on a booked-case basis,Aditya Oza, CEO and co-founder, CureMeAbroad,said. Yet,funding remains mod- est.“There is limited asset creation being done.It is more of a service business that is dependent on intermediaries,which could be an impediment to valuecreationbeyondacertain scale,” Puru Gupta, founder and operating partner,Proteus Partners,said. Gupta, however, sees scope for the model to evolve into B2B2C businesses with greater aftercare revenue, making someproviderspotentialacquisition targets for hospitals. Nexus Venture Partners, Kriscore Capital, Inflection Point Ventures, 35North India, 9Unicorns and Wavemaker are among investors that have shown interest in the segment. The opportunity is also changinggeographically.While Africa and the Middle East remain important markets, startups are seeing increasing demand from the UK, US and Australia. In the UK, long waiting times are emerging as an important driver. Only around 62% of NHS patients started treatment within the 18-week standard in late 2025/early 2026, against a 92% target, making overseas treatment an option for some patients unwilling towait. Continued on Page 5 HEALTHY APPETITE Total folio additions FY21 Mid & small cap folio additions Mid & small cap folio share (in %) 3,051,696 88,886 2.91 20,185,864 FY22 4,859,367 FY23 24.07 12,361,571 4,936,643 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27 (till July) 11,531,214 13,061,272 6,654,329 39.94 24,529,886 47.01 41,002,987 31.85 18,906,481 35.20 4,561,569 2,289,370 largely to the strong performance of mid- and small-cap stocks. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices have risen about 20% and 30%, respectively, in the first four months of FY27. In comparison, the large-cap benchmark indices, the Sensex and the Nifty, have gained about 8.5-9% during the period. DP Singh, joint CEO, SBI Mutual Fund, said mutual fund folio additions are largely driven by fintech platforms, where investment decisions tend to be influenced byrecent performance.The rallyin midand small-cap stocks since 50.19 March has, therefore, been a key reason for the elevated investor interest,he said. Singh added that the recent underperformance of large caps relative to mid- and small-caps has also weighed on the performance, and subsequently investor interest in multi-cap and flexi-cap categories because of their relatively high exposure to largecap stocks. As a result, investors have poured more money into dedicated midand small-cap funds to participate in the rally. Continued on Page 11 Sarvam’s $10-bn AI gamble faces the frontiertest POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, August 23 NEWLY MINTED AI unicorn Sarvam’s ambition to build a foundationmodelcomparable with the latest offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic is no longer constrained only by money. The company has raised around $350 million cumulatively, including an extended $75 million Series B round from Nvidia in August, and co-founder and CEO Pratyush Kumar believes $10 billion invested today could take Sarvam to the current AI frontier by Independence Day nextyear.The harderquestion, experts say,is whether Sarvam can remain at the frontier as the benchmark keeps moving. “The gap is actually not as big as it looks. If we were to invest $10 billion today, we could reach the frontier by Independence Day next year,” Kumar said earlier this month. Suchaninvestmentwouldgive HOLDING GROUND ■ Experts flag talent, compute, data and research depth as key constraints ■ India- specific, sovereign AI may offer Sarvam a more defensible edge ■ Capital and compute may narrow the gap, but talent and research will decide if Sarvam can stay ahead Sarvam access to large-scale compute, advanced chips, infrastructureandtheabilityto hire talent. But catching up with models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google involves more than assembling these resources,experts said. Continued on Page 11 SBIeyesdoubling bizin4years:Setty PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, August 23 we should be around `170180 lakh crore, or maybe reaching `200 lakh crore.That STATE BANK OF India’s total would be another important business could potentially milestone,” he told PTI in an double to around `200 lakh interview. crore by 2030, when the bank Setty said SBI’s growth is celebrates its platinum jubilee, closely linked to the perforChairman CS Setty said. mance of the Indian economy. SBI’s total If the economy business—the continues to CS SETTY, aggregate of its expand at 7-8% CHAIRMAN, loans and annually, the STATE BANK OF INDIA advances and bank’s balance Forabankof deposits— sheet has the crossed the potential to grow oursize,scaleis `100-lakh-crore 11-12% ayear,he imminent mark in the secsaid. ond quarter of “For a bank of the last financial our size, scale is year and stood at imminent, and it `110.01 lakh is fully intercrore at the end twined with what of June 2026. is happening in “We don’t the Indian econhave any mileomy,” the SBI stone,butifyou head said. take the current growth Continued rate, I think on Page 5 Ahmedabad