BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 Morethan1,400missingas floodravagesNepal,China INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 FM'sIndiapitchtoCanadian CEOs:Abetbeyondtrade KOLKATA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2026 NvidiaseesAI-leddemand boostingsales70%in2027 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 35 NO. 255, 48 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: 76,933.59 ▼ 539.35 NIFTY: 24,090.85 ▼ 116.90 NIKKEI 225: 66,131.98 ▼ 130.18 HANG SENG: 25,565.74 ▼ 87.23 `/$: 95.55 ▼ 0.13 `/€: 111.22 ▲ 0.11 BRENT: $88.94 ▲ $1.10 GOLD: `157,750.00 ▼ `2,720 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 2 BPCL: E10 OPTION FOR OLDER CARS UNDER REVIEW THE GOVERNMENTAND OMCs are examining whether E10 petrol can be offered alongside E20 for older vehicles, with BPCL saying its existing infrastructure can handle the lower ethanol blend, reports Saurav Anand. » INSIDE « S&PAFFIRMS INDIARATING; OUTLOOK STABLE PAGE 3 FOREX SWAPACCESS: BANKS GETMORE LEEWAY PAGE 6 Average PMJDY account balance up 55% in 5 years THE AVERAGE BALANCE in bank accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has grown over 55% in past five years—highlighting wider acceptance of the scheme launched 12 years ago, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 6 »INSIDE« THE WORLD'S LARGEST FINANCIAL INCLUSION DRIVE, WRITES SANJAY LOHIYA P6 Only So IPO flood puts appetite to the test `4.62-lakh-cr pipeline builds as deadline looms ● IN THE OFFING (SEBI-approved) 5,000 Oravel S Stays 7,600 Advanta Enterprises ofIPOsinthefirsteightmonths of 2026 to 62,against 49 in the corresponding period lastyear. But the bigger story lies RETAIL ted claim accounted for only 3.2% of the total claims and was inherited from erstwhile HDFC Limited. Continued on Page 7 VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, August 27 THE PRICE TAGS have gotten heavier, but the shopping bags haven't gotten lighter. An energy shock has made everything from fuel to fashion costlier, yet the tills are still ringing—retailers reported brisk sales in the AprilJune quarter, and shoppers Wait... small margin, `50,000 is the most I can lose. ' That s the margin. Not the size of your risk. 4,500 PGP Glass ahead.AccordingtoPrimeDatabase,161 companies that have already received Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approval are looking to raise around `2.60 lakh crore.These include Avaada Electro, Oravel Stays and Zepto. Another 75 awaiting Sebi approval could raise`2.02lakhcrore,takingthe potentialpipelineto`4.62lakh crore. Mega issues such as Jio Platforms and NSE are part of this queue, while PhonePe is among the other big names awaiting regulatoryclearance. Continued on Page 7 Consumerswillingtospend,butnotsplurge PUZZLE-I CHANDRAPEGS INSOLVENCY CLAIMSAT`3,992 CR PAGE 4 AGS Health »INSIDE« SEBI ‘CLOSE’ TO APPROVING NSE IPO, SAYS CHAIRMAN PAGE 6 Consumption has held up despite tough macros—an energy shock has pushed up input prices, which firms are passing on to buyers.Yet demand remains robust in some sectors,while in others only specific categories are doing well.In a four-part series,FE looks at why CONSUMPTION »INSIDE« 4,800 Sael Industries 4,250 many as 23 initial public offerings (IPOs) hit the market in August, the highest in 11 months.That took the number Hella Infra Market 4,575 Avaada Electro FE BUREAU Mumbai, August 27 `50,000 margin? Nice. Estimated issue size (` crore) 6,650 Chandracase:HDFC weighsNCLATappeal HDFC BANK IS “exploring an appeal” before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against an NCLT order approving a repayment plan for Essel Group founder Subhash Chandra that entails a 99.97% haircut on creditors’ admitted claims. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday approved the plan, under which creditors will receive `6.5 crore against admitted claims of `22,006.57 crore—a recovery of just 0.03%. HDFC Bank said its admit- Dorf-Ketal Chemicals India Credila Financial Services Zepto KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, August 27 INDIA’SIPOMARKETmaysoon have a problem of plenty. A record-sized pipeline of companies seeking to raise as much as `4.62 lakh crore is beginningtomakeitswaytothe market,setting up a test of how muchfreshequityinvestorscan absorb—andatwhatvaluations. The first signs of the supply surge are already visible. As 5,000 5,106 Top upcoming IPOs 5,000 GST rate cuts and income-tax relief cushioned spending Premium demand picked up since mid-February and sustained through Q4 FY26 and Q1 FY27 as shoppers seek value appear to have taken the price hikes in their stride. Two policy breaks explain the cushion, experts say: GST rate cuts of last September, Quick commerce has been driving smaller, more frequent orders Non-metros have outpaced large cities in retail sales growth which made several items cheaper, and the February 2025 move making annual incomes below `12.75 lakh tax-free for salaried taxpay- Exactly. Leverage lets you take bigger risk? SPENDING SPREE exposure to a much larger contract value. If the market moves against you, your losses can go beyond the margin you started with. Small spoon. F ull buf fet bill. So... the margin tells me what I need to enter, not how much I can lose? Exactly. Before you trade, know your lot size, contract value and leverage. Margin is the amount required to take and maintain a leveraged position — not your maximum possible loss. Know the exposure before you take the position. Read the Risk Disclosure Document (RDD) carefully before transacting or investing in Commodity Derivatives Market Kolkata ers, which left more money in consumers’ pockets. The clearest signs of buoyancy are at the premium end. At Shoppers Stop, Kavindra Mishra, MD and CEO, confirms demand picked up from mid-February and sustained through Q4 and Q1, with momentum continuing into July. The departmentstore business delivered 6% like-for-like growth in Q1, with shoppers spending 10% more per visit. The premium portfolio — 72% of department-store sales — grew 15%, evidence that the wellheeled customer is doing the heavy lifting while price-sensitive segments stay soft. Continued on Page 7