NATION | PAGE 10 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 He prevented a 9/11: PM leads praise for Indian pilot INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Humour sells but it can cut both ways Trumpwarns ofrenewed bombing after midterms BENGALURU, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2026 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXIX 142, 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 SENSEX: 71,909.70 ▼ 570.59 NIFTY: 22,421.95 ▼ 198.50 NIKKEI 225: 68,956.72 ▲ 2,203.00 HANG SENG: 24,613.27 ▲ 89.70 `/$: 96.32 ▼ 0.49 `/€: 108.54 ▲ 0.31 BRENT: $100.81 ▲ $2.78 GOLD: `1,47,770 ▲ `157 WESTASIAN CRUDE has made a sharp comeback in India’s import basket. Supplies from the region rose 74% month-onmonth to 2.10 million barrels per day (mbd) in September from 1.21 mbd in August, as Persian Gulf oil flows recovered towards levels seen before the US-Iran conflict, reports ■ PAGE 2 Saurav Anand. NCLT president pushes for higher IBC threshold NATIONAL COMPANY LAW Tribunal President Anupinder Singh Grewal has called for a rethink of the threshold for initiating insolvency proceedings, suggesting that the existing `1 crore limit could be raised to `5 crore or even `10 crore, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 3 11.17 H1 FY27 11.6 12.46 Receipts (%, growth, y-o-y) 6.1 27 From imports From domestic transactions » INSIDE « FINMIN REPORT FLAGS RISE IN INFLATION RISKS PAGE 2 jumped 27.1% to `3.72 lakh crore.“Thiscanbeattributedto high demand for inputs and capital goods for supporting thelocalmanufacturingunder the Make in India initiative,” Rahul Renavikar, managing directoratAcurisAdvisors,said. Continued on Page 7 THE PASSENGER VEHICLE marketstagedasharprecovery in the first half of FY27, with sales at the country’s four largestcarmakersrising30.2% year-on-year to 2.1 million unitsinApril-September2026, aslowertaxes,improvedaffordability,strongSUVdemandand newmodellaunchesliftedpurchases.Thefigures,whichcover Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai Motor India,point to a broad-based revival in the market after a relatively subduedperiod. The performance also reflects the impact of the GST rate reduction on passenger vehicles announced in September 2025. The lower tax burden improved vehicle affordability and provided a demand boost,with the benefit becoming more visible in thefirsthalfofFY27.However, the year-on-year comparison will become progressivelyless favourable in the second half as the GST-led increase in volumes gets incorporated into the base. SWIFT RIDE Total sales (in mn) Growth (%) 16.3 H1 FY26 30.2 21.2 H1 FY27 Akeyfeatureoftherecovery hasbeenthecontinuingshiftin consumer preference towards SUVs.Maruti'svolumesincreased 56% during the period, while Mahindra’sgrowthcontinuedto be led byits SUVportfolio.Tata Motors also recorded strong growth in its passengervehicle business,withitselectricvehicle portfolioprovidinganadditional growthlever. Continued on Page 7 ...AND THE LOWS FPIscoldtoD-St; Q2projectshint pullout`1.3Lcr atslowingcapex SAIKAT NEOGI New Delhi, October 1 SMALLCAPS OUTPERFORMED IN the first half of FY27 while large-cap stocks posted modest gains, reports Kishor Kadam. The FPI selling continued (`1.30 lakh crore) but the DIIs cushioned the impact with equity purchases worth `3.94 lakh crore. Top Nifty gainers in H1FY27 % gain Adani Enterprises 64.82 Eternal Top Nifty losers in H1 Power Grid West Asian crude regains ground in India’s basket Growth (%) 39.47 Adani Ports 35.99 Interglobe Aviation 26.28 Bajaj Auto 23.74 -12.07 EARLY DEALON BTAWITH US SEEN; GOYALHOLDSTALKS WITH USTR PAGE 2 (` lakh crore) H1 FY26 TCS S » INSIDE « Gross GST collections -13.10 ACCENTURE HAS RAISED its revenue growth outlook for fiscal 2027 and reported betterthan-expected fourthquarter revenue and bookings, offering a positive read-through for global technology spending and lifting ADRs of Indian IT firms in early trading, reports Poulomi Chatterjee. GROSSGOODSANDServices Tax (GST) collections grew a robust11.6%inthefirsthalfof FY27, driven by the surge in taxes collected on imported inputs & capital goods and reflecting improved sentiments in the manufacturing industry. Gross collections in September (largely August transactions) topped `2 lakh crore mark, and was up 14.7% year on year, according to official data released on Thursday. Except forApril and May,double-digit GST growth was reported for other months in the first half. Thedouble-digitgrowthin GST collections in April-September came despite the cuts in GST rates for a wide array of products that took place in September last year.With the festive season around the corner,expertsseeindirecttaxcollections to be buoyant in the coming months. While gross domestic GST revenues rose by a moderate 6.1%to`8.74lakhcroreinH1, collections from imports NTPC PC ACCENTURE Q4 REVENUE BEATS ESTIMATES NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, October 1 TAX BOOSTER -13.20 PAGE 4 SHUBHAM RANA New Delhi, October 1 Infosys s COMPANIES 12% GST rise sharp recovery -20.48 ACTIVITY IN THE manufacturing sector rose to a seven-month high in September as stronger domestic and overseas demand lifted sales and production, the Purchasing Managers’ Index survey showed, reports Shubham Rana. The index rose to 55.1 in September from 52.8 a month ago, ending a three-month decline. ONGC MANUFACTURING PMI AT 7-MONTH HIGH IN SEPT Bagchiinheritsfullplateat Imports drive Car sales stage HDFCBank’scorneroffice -20.94 PAGE 3 % loss Net equity investments in ` crore FPIs Apr -68,872 May Jun -46,889 -21,022 DIIs Apr 51,064 May 82,669 Jun 85,800 2026 ECONOMY FIRST-HALF HIGHS... 2026 IN THE NEWS Jul 23,332 Aug 22,847 Aug Sep -39,651 35,099 Sep Jul 58,268 76,030 THE VALUE OF new investment projects announced declined marginally by 6% year-on-year to `10.2 lakh croreintheSeptemberquarter even as the private sector held its share at a remarkably high rate of 87% in the first half of the current fiscal year,according to data from the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy(CMIE). Thedeclineinprojectvalue inQ2FY27wasonalowbase(3.1%); on a sequential basis, the fall was a sharper 48.5%. Coupledwiththis,ajumpinthe valueofstalledprojects(591% and 287% in Q1 and Q2 respectively) indicates a slowing of the investment tempo and discounts the optimism about the new capex cycle whichtheprivatesectorissupposed to anchor. Yet, thanks to a buoyancy seeninQ1,projectintentsrose 33% year-on-year to `30 lakh croreduringthefirsthalfofthe current financial year,as comparedwith`22lakhcroreduringthesameperiodlastfinancial year.While private sector H1 INTENT HIGH New projects announced (` lakh cr) Government Total Private 30 22.6 16.8 5.8 H1 FY26 26.1 3.9 H1 FY27 % growth -33 32.7 Source: CMIE 55.9 projects announced rose 56% on year to `26 lakh crore,government projects contracted 33%toaround`4lakhcrorein the first half of the fiscal. Continued on Page 7 TECH CEO JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, October 1 HDFC BANK ON Thursday namedAnup Bagchi as the next occupant of the corner office at India’s largest private sector bank, following approval from theReserveBankofIndia. Bagchi, 55, has traversed almost every major segment of financial services over a career spanning more than three decades — retail and corporate banking,treasury,capital markets, technology, wealth management and,most recently,life insurance.ThatbreadthofexperiencewillnowbetestedatHDFC Bank, where he takes charge amid one of the most consequentialleadershiptransitionsin thelender’shistory. Bagchi will also be the first outsider to helm HDFC Bank. AdityaPuriwasitsfoundingchief executive, while his successor Sashidhar Jagdishan spent decadesatthebankbeforetaking overthetopjobinOctober2020. QUICK PICKS IPO fundraise hits new peak in first half FUNDRAISING THROUGH INITIAL public offerings (IPOs) scaled a new high in the first half of FY27, with companies mopping up more than `1 lakh crore as large issues, strong domestic liquidity and a rush of previously deferred offerings buoyed the primary market. ■ PAGE 6 US bond yield at highest since 2002 GLOBAL BONDS WERE engulfed by heavy selling again on Thursday sending borrowing costs from the US to France and Japan surging to levels not seen in decades. The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.34%, its highest since 2002. ■ PAGE 7 India beat Pak to enterAsiad hockey final DEFENDING CHAMPIONS INDIA survived a scare before Abhishek struck with just 45 seconds remaining to snatch a dramatic4-3victoryoverarchrivals Pakistan and seal a place in the Asian Games hockey final onThursday,reports PTI. India will take on Malaysia, who beat South Korea in the other semifinal, in the gold medal contest on Saturday. ■ After graduating in chemical engineering from IIT Kanpur, Bagchi joined ICICI in 1992 and subsequently obtained a management degree from IIM Bangalore ■ He succeeds Jagdishan, whose second term as managing director and chief executive ends on October 26 ■ Bagchi inherits India’s largest private-sector bank at an important inflection point ■ The 55-year-old Bagchi will be the first outsider to helm HDFC Bank ■ Technology has been a recurring thread through his career »INSIDE« NEWS POINT:THE OUTSIDER PERSPECTIVE P24 Bagchi, by contrast, is an ICICI veteran — an engineer-turnedbanker who spent most of his careerbuildingbusinessesforthe institution that HDFC Bank regarded as its biggest privatesectorrival. Thenewmoneyiscurious,cautiousandchoosy COURTING GENZ-V WEALTH MANAGERS KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, October 1 THEY START SMALL, learn fast andaskhardquestionsaboutAI. And there are more of them everymonth.Investorsunder30 now make up 38% of all investors, up from 23% in March 2019.They account for 59% of new registrations so far in2026-27,andbyoneestimate, nearly three in four demat accounts opened between November 2025 and June belongtoinvestorsbelow30. That is a constituency no wealth manager can ignore. India's Gen Z cohort is close to 400 million strong and contributes more than 40% of the country's total consumption spend.Butwinning this money is not easy. Young investors want personalised service, an app that is simple and fast,and researchtheycantrust.Theyare also a mixed lot: some are chasing a quick buck,others are in it forthe long haul. They may begin cautiously, but they learn quickly. Vishal Jain,CEO,Zerodha Fund House, says this is a generation used to startingsmallandmakingdecisions on the go,while working towardsarealisticgoal. That is one reason many want tailored solutions, says DIGITAL NATIVE ■ Investors ■ They account for 59% of new 38% ■ Much of their under 30 now make up of all investors, up from 23% in March 2019 registrations so far in 2026-27 financial education happens on YouTube and social media rather than through advisors Rahul Jain, President & Head, NuvamaWealth.“Theyarelookingforsolutionsalignedtotheir investment goals and risk appetite,” he told FE. Nor are they all daredevils.“Many prioritisecapitalpreservationand want a balanced approach ■ AI is an obsession, and young investors weigh a company's tech stack when assessing its business model rather than chasing returns at anycost,”he said. RajkamalTiwari,CEO,Union AMC, sees the same caution about money.“They scrutinise closely what they are investing in,what it costs and how it connects to goals such as travel, higher education or a first home,” he said. Guiding them through rough market cycles, Tiwaribelieves,iscrucial. Costmattersasmuchasconvenience,saysVijayKuppa,CEO, InCred Money, who finds that Gen Z customers often prefer picking companies to backing a mutual fund scheme.Zerodha's Jain adds that theywant instant withdrawals,alongwithflexibilityandcontrolovertheirmoney. The wealthier among them arecastingawidernet,lookingat pre-IPO deals, venture capital and even private credit if the returns look right. Kajal Dhoroda,VP,PrivateWealth,IIFL Capital,sayssomearevalue-consciousandsomearenotaverseto quick money.But they are serious investors: well-informed, hungryforinformationandwilling to learn."I like AI,what can you do for me?" is the kind of question they ask,she says,and some have even asked to intern atIIFLtolearntheropes. Continued on Page 10 BENGALURU Continued on Page 13 KotakBanknames AnupSahaasCEO FE BUREAU Mumbai, October 1 THE RESERVE BANK of India has approved the appointment of Anup Saha as the managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank with effect from January 1 for a period of three years, the bank informed the exchanges on Thursday. He will take over from Ashok Vaswani, whose term as the MD & CEO will end on December 31. C S Rajan,Chairman of the Board,Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “We welcome the Reserve Bank of India’s approval. Anup brings with him extensive experience across banking and financial services and has already been actively engaged with the Bank’s businesses in his current role.” The board of directors will initiate further steps in due course, »NEWS POINT« SAHA’S REMARKABLE RISE TO KOTAKTOPJOB PAGE 24 to formalise the appointment and also seek members’ approval for the same, the bank said. Anup is currently Wholetime Director (Executive Director) at the bank. He joined Kotak in January and has overseen the retail bank, data analytics and marketing function since March. Anup has over 32 years of professional experience, including 25 years in financial services across banking and non-banking financial institutions. Before joining Kotak, he held a series of senior leadership roles at Bajaj Finance, culminating in his appointment as managing director and CEO. Continued on Page 13 Tata Sons rejig deepens rift ● Two SDTT trustees question ‘unilateral’move byTata Trusts URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, October 1 THE LASTPARTOFTHE SERIES LOOKSATYOUNG INVESTORSWHO CAN BE DEMANDING & COST-CONSCIOUS HesucceedsJagdishan,whose secondtermasmanagingdirector and chief executive ends on October 26. Jagdishan decided nottoseekanotherterm. SIR DORABJI TATA Trust (SDTT) vice-chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh havewritten to fellowtrustees questioning a proposal sent to Tata Sons for reorganising the holding companythrough the merger of Tata Electronics Systems Solutions (TESS) and Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) into it. The September 30 letter, reviewed by FE, was also marked to the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT). Srinivasan and Singh said theywere surprised to learn of the proposal and a related press release through public sources, alleging that no meeting of SDTT trustees had been held to discuss or deliberate on the matter before the proposal was sent to Tata Sons. “We were not consulted, and are not aware that the otherTrusteeswere consulted either,” the letter said, ques- We were not consulted, and are not aware that the other Trustees were consulted either SDTT VICE-CHAIRMEN VENU SRINIVASAN & VIJAY SINGH IN A LETTER » INSIDE « EX-TRUSTEE QUESTIONS NOEL’SAUTHORITY PAGE 4 tioning whether the proposal had the support of all SDTT trustees. They also noted that following the Charity Commissioner’s May 15, 2026 order, no SRTT meeting could have been convened to take a decision of this magnitude. Continued on Page 10