THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 18 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 TheWhatsApp insight that built a digital giant COMPANIES | PAGE 4 FMCG majors turn to D2C players for digital growth CHENNAI/KOCHI, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 AI forces ITcompanies to rethink cybersecurity FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVII 115, 36 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 ECONOMY PAGE 2 INDIA’S BRICS EXPORTS SURGE 34% TO $19.9 BN INDIA’S EXPORTS to Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa surged 34% to $19.9 billion in AprilAugust this year, from $14.9 billion a year earlier, signalling sharply higher shipments to the BRICS bloc’s original members, writes Mukesh Jagota. COMPANIES PAGE 4 MARUTI EXPECTS CNG GROWTHVIA AUTOMATIC PUSH MARUTI SUZUKI expects automatic transmission to widen CNG cars’ buyer pool, potentially lifting their portfolio share beyond 43%, as India’s largest carmaker taps demand for lower running costs, writes Nitin Kumar. OPINION PAGE 8 MEND THE GUARANTOR PROCESS, WRITE MS SAHOO & RAGHAV PANDEY ICAI tightens audit checks for PSB branches ICAIWILLextend mandatory peer review to all component auditors conducting PSB branch audits from January 2027, writes Manu Kaushik. It also plans to cut disciplinary case disposal to 365 days from 2-3 years, strengthening audit oversight and accountability. ■ PAGE 2 HFCs seek wider pool of long-term funding TRUSTSASSERTSVOTING RIGHTS CAN’TBE DISREGARDED TataTrustsstepsupbattle aslegalheavyweightsjoin ● Singhvi: SC FROM BOARDROOM TO COURTROOM defended Tata Sons’Articles of Association ■ Trusts advised by Cyril Shroff, Deshmukh and Vasani; senior advocates Chinoy, Singhvi and Rohatgi retained ■ Tata Trusts challenged the validity of Chandrasekaran’s reappointment as chairman for a further 5-year term FE BUREAU Mumbai, September 20 TATATRUSTS ON Sundaychallenged thevalidityofTata Sons’ decision to reappoint N Chandrasekaran as chairman, arguingthattheSeptember17resolution failed to meet a key requirement underthe holding company’s Articles of Association (AoA), even as both sides assembled leading corporate lawyers and litigators for a potential legal battle. TheTrusts,whichholdabout 66% of Tata Sons,said the AoA require the affirmative support ofatleastamajorityofdirectors nominated by them before a board decision can take effect. ■ Tata Sons and ■ Affirmative support from Trust-nominated directors mandatory as per AoA With two Trust-nominated directors currently on the Tata Sons board,it argued that both had to support the resolution. At the September 17 meeting,Tata Trusts Chairman Noel TataopposedChandrasekaran’s reappointment,whiletheother Trust-nominateddirector,Venu ■ Both camps have now assembled heavyweight legal teams ahead of a possible court battle Srinivasan, supported it. The Tata Sons board backed a further five-year term for Chandrasekaran,beginningFebruary 21, 2027. The Trusts said the split between its two nominees meant the affirmative-vote conditionprescribedbytheAoA was not satisfied.“Whether the Chandrasekaran advised by Anagram Partners; Salve and Kadam retained as senior advocates resultofthevotewas4:1,orany otherfigure,isirrelevant.Aconditioniseithermet,oritisnot.In this case the condition was not met,”it said.It also rejected the contention that a casting vote could cure the deficiency. Continued on Page 11 SIFsturnonewithstrongHNIappetite ● Assetsup35%in August;market downcycle,short positionsposerisks ON A STRONG FOOTING July 2026 31,175 KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, September 17 August 2026 (in ` crore) 35 23,177 SPECIALISED INVESTMENT FUNDS (SIFs)markedtheirfirst anniversarywithasharpacceleration in assets, with net assetssurging35%to`31,175 crore in August from `23,177 croreamonthearlier,drivenby strong investor interest in equity and hybrid strategies. The surge comes at a time when monthly systematic investmentplan(SIP)contribu- Net SIF assets Source: AMFI 21,390 Growth (in %) 9,785 29 16,524 Net hybrid SIF assets tions to mutual funds also touched an all-time high of `32,297 crore in August,highlighting continued investor interestinequitiesdespitetepid performance of benchmark indices overalmost twoyears. 47 6,654 Net equity SIF assets SIFs completed a year on September17sincethelaunch of the first new fund offer (NFO).Positioned between traditional mutual funds and more sophisticated products such as portfolio management services (PMS) and alternative investment funds (AIFs), SIFs have a minimum investment thresholdof`10lakhandhave gained traction particularly among affluent and high-networth investors. While September numbers are yet to come, the category has been a stellar performance till now. The growth in SIFs was broad-based. Net assets of equity SIFs jumped 47% during the month, while hybrid SIF assets rose nearly 30%. Three NFOs collected `1,420 crore, while investor folios increased 33%, suggesting that the expansion was driven by both fresh launches and a widening investor base. Continued on Page 5 ● SILVER LINING FOR INDIA’SASIAD CAMPAIGN (From left) Vidarsa Vinod, Sonam Maskar and Elavenil Valarivan pose with their silver medals after winning the women’s 10m air rifle team event at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Sunday. The win opened India’s medal tally at the Games. Valarivan also won silver in the individual women’s 10m air rifle event PTI HOUSING FINANCE companies (HFCs) are seeking a wider pool of long-term funding beyond NHBs, particularly affordable housing lenders, as bank funding remains largely short to medium term and access to longer-tenure capital remains limited, write Kshipra Petkar & Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 6 » THE HUMAN FACTOR « WANTED: FRESHER, 3 YEARS' EXPERIENCE ESSENTIALP8 Smartphone battle shifts gears as specs converge ASHUTOSH MISHRA & VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO New Delhi/Mumbai, September 20 FIGHT FOR DOMINANCE Vivo THE SMARTPHONE BATTLE in the`15,000-30,000segmentis moving beyond the familiar race to offer more RAM, bigger batteries and higher-resolution cameras,asincreasinglysimilar hardware leaves brands with fewerways to stand apart. The change is reflected in a fragmented market, with no single Android brand commanding a dominant position. Vivo led India’s smartphone market with an 18.4% share in Q2ofCY2026,followedbySamsung at 16.4%,Oppo at 13.8%, Xiaomi at 9.7% and Realme at 9.3%, according to IDC. In the first half of CY2026,Vivo had a 19% share, Samsung had 16.7%, Oppo 14.5%, and Xiaomi and Realme had 9.1% each. In 2023, Samsung was India’s largest smartphone brand with a 17% share. The Titanopento smallerwatch brandbuysin growthpush PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Bengaluru, September 20 LEADING WATCHMAKER TITAN is open to acquiring or investing in smaller and emergingwatch brands as part of its growth strategy, Chief Marketing Officer Ranjani Krishnaswamysaid,astheTata group firm looks to deepen its presence across segments and markets. Titan also expects a “robust” festive season this year,Krishnaswamy added. Titan has been evaluating opportunities that could complement its long-term growth ambitions,she said. Pointing to theTata group’s past acquisitions in the jewellerybusiness,Krishnaswamy said the idea of investing in or acquiring smaller watch companieshasbeen“debatedinternally”atTitan. “We have always been open to inorganic growth as well as organic growth,”she said. Continued on Page 11 Samsung OPPO Xiaomi Realme Apple 16.6 19.3 19 13.2 14.1 16.7 12 13.3 (in %) 14.5 CY24 12 CY25 9 9.1 H1 26* 11 9 9.1 8.2 9.5 * Calculated by using weighted average of IDC’s Q1 and Q2 8.9 CY26 brand shares; figures are approximate; Source: IDC narrowing gap between brands comes as specifications have increasingly become standard across competing models. “In the `15,000-30,000 segment, specifications are increasingly becoming hygiene factors rather than the sole differentiator,” said Swarn Bajaj, founder and CEO of P3S Ven- tures, a smartphone retail distributor.Consumersenterstores with two or three comparable devicesshortlisted,hesaid,leaving brands to compete on camera and software experience, design, availability, after-sales support and ease of purchase. Continued on Page 11 Warehousing returns shrink as costs surge RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, September 20 THEWAREHOUSINGSECTOR isfacingasqueezeonreturnsas rising competition for operationalassetsandsharpincreases in land prices push down yieldto-cost ratios, even as warehouserentsriseataslowerpace. Yield-to-cost, a key measure of returns in real estate,is calculated by dividing the net operating income generated byan asset bythe total original investment. For operational warehouses, the ratio has declined to 6.5-7% from 8.59% a couple of years ago, as more institutional investors chase a limited pool of ready, income-generating assets, industry experts said. Recent transactions indicatetheextentofthecompression. Singapore-based Mapletree Logistics Trust bought a warehouse nearBhiwandi earlier this year from Morgan Stanley for `389 crore, at a YIELD PRESSURE ■ Higher land costs and intense investor demand are pulling down returns in the warehousing sector ■ Yield-to- cost ratios for operational warehouses declined to 6.5-7% from 8.5-9% a few years ago yield of 6.9%.Bids forassets of Welspun One, which is liquidating its first fund,have come in at around 7%,sources said. Continued on Page 11 QUICK PICKS WestAsiawar clouds $130-billion oil M&A Small cities emerge as India’snewtalenthubs GLOBAL UPSTREAM OIL and gas M&A reached nearly $130 billion in announced deals through August 2026, with another $137 billion of opportunities on the market. The West Asia conflict threatens to delay transactions as volatile crude prices widen valuation gaps between buyers and sellers, according to Rystad Energy, potentially complicating deal talks and valuations. ■ PAGE 3 SMALL CITIES ARE emerging as major talent hubs, with 69% of organisations reporting over 30% growth in hiring from tier-II and tier-III locations over the past two years. The shift reflects India’s evolving hiring landscape, as employers increasingly look beyond traditional metropolitan centres for talent, according to Genius HRTech’s report on workforce and staffing trends. ■ PAGE 5 Campus placements have a ROUTING HELPS ENTERPRISES MANAGE COST, PERFORMANCE & DATAACROSS SYSTEMS new choice: Build,not join Beyondmodels,startupseyeAIswitchboard POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, September 20 AN UNSETTLED ENTRYLEVEL technology job market, coupledwith the growing ease of building a company using artificial intelligence (AI), is pushing more engineering students to considerentrepreneurship over the traditional campus placement route. Facultyandinvestorsatleadingengineeringinstitutionssay they are seeing a sharp rise in students exploring startups, helped by easier access to capital,mentors and incubators. The shift is particularlyvisibleasAIisreducingthecostand manpower required to build technology products. A small team can now use AI tools across coding, research and productdevelopment,allowing students to attempt ventures BREAKING THE MOLD ■ Entrepreneurship emerges as alternative to campus placements in engineering colleges ■ AI entrepreneurship courses see sharp jump in demand ■ Easier access to capital, mentors fuels startup interest ■ Shift comes as AI lowers cost and manpower needed to build products thatwouldearlierhaverequired substantiallylargerteams. “You don’t need an army to build something worthwhile anymore,” said Lakshmi Shankar, general partner at early-stage AI-focused VC firm TogetherFundandvisitingfaculty at IIT Madras and Wad- hwani School of Data Science andAI.AIisallowingteamswith a handful of people to focus intensely on a problem, while thetechnologyisalsocreatinga more level playing field for young entrepreneurs,he said. Continued on Page 5 S SHANTHI Bengaluru, September 20 NEW OPPORTUNITY AS BUSINESSES INCREASINGLY move towards using multiple AI models for different tasks,a new opportunity is emergingforIndianstartupsin the layer that decides which model should handle a particular request. Instead of competing with globaltechnologycompaniesto build foundational models, startupssuchasIndierouterAI, StaquTechnologiesandNthEye aredevelopingAImodelrouters thatsitbetweenusersandmultiple models.The router analysesarequestanddirectsittothe model best suited to the task, whilemanagingfactorssuchas cost,speed,accuracy,reliability and data governance. For instance, a routine cus- AI model routers that sit between users and multiple models ■ Routing relevant for India as models vary across languages, industries and use cases ■ Indian startups are developing 100+ clients using Staqu’s AI Model Router; targeting 200 clients in a year 150 developers on Indierouter AI’s open beta 5 government clients are using NthEye’s routing architecture tomer query or email summary could be routed to a smaller and cheaper model, while a complex coding orreasoning task could be sent to a more powerful model.Forsensitive information,the routing layer can also impose rules on which models can access particular data.This allows enter- ■ For India, the real opportunity lies in building intelligent AI orchestration platforms, not just API aggregators ■ NthEye is targeting 25 institutional clients over next 12 months prises to use different models without having to manage each one separately. The shift is significant becausebuildingafoundational AI model from scratch requires massive computing capacity, large volumes of high-quality training data,specialised talent and substantial capital. “For CHENNAI/KOCHI most startups, competing directly with large global technology companies that have already invested billions of dollars in developing foundational models is therefore difficult,” JaspreetBindra,co-founderand CEO ofAI & Beyond,told FE. “Model routers are not necessarily competing with foun- dationalmodels;theyarehelping businesses make betteruse ofthegrowingnumberofmodelsavailabletothem,”headded. The early signs of adoption are already visible in India. Audio-video analytics startup StaquTechnologies,which has incorporated model-routing capabilities into its agentic framework,hasmorethan100 clients using its AI Model Router and is targeting over 200 clients over the next year. “The routing framework is alreadypartofourreal-worldAI deployments, including facial recognition, number plate recognition,violencedetection, attribute-based search and gait-based re-identification,” Atul Rai, CEO and co-founder, StaquTechnologies,said. Continued on Page 11