COMPANIES | PAGE 17 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 iPhone Duo sells out in hours as supply runs thin INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Quick commerce tests its economics beyond metros KOLKATA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2026 Ukrainewar: MelaniaTrump securestruceinOleshky FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 35 NO. 300, 28 PAGES, `12 (NORTH EAST STATES `13 & ANDAMAN `20) 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: 73,123.83 ▼ 125.56 NIFTY: 22,600 ▼ 87.65 NIKKEI 225: 62,693.16 ▼ 214.68 HANG SENG: 23,093.37 ▲ 158.69 `/$: 94.94 ▼ 0.12 `/€: 106.34 ▲ 0.06 BRENT: $116.12 ▲ $2.95 GOLD: `141,031 ▼ `1,778 PASSENGER VEHICLE RETAIL sales increased by nearly one million in the 12 months following the introduction of GST 2.0, with SUVs driving the bulk of the growth even as tax cuts for small cars coincided with a sharp recovery in the entry-level segment, reports Nitin Kumar. » INSIDE « BUSINESSACTIVITY GROWTH AT4-MONTH HIGH PAGE 2 BAN ON REUSE OFSPECIFIED MEDICALDEVICES PAGE 3 Economy resilient despite inflation risks: RBI bulletin INDIA’S ECONOMY HAS remained resilient to global shocks, supported by robust domestic demand, sustained manufacturing and services activity and improving exports, but rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainties pose key risks to the outlook, according to the RBI's October bulletin, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 Business sentiment looks up again in Q2: NCAER report ■ PAGE 2 Non-institutional investors Retail individual investors Employees Shareholders Total ■ First globally to receive more than 10 million applications tions. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bid for 1.23 billion shares, while domestic financialinstitutionsaccounted foranother1.36 billion shares. Retail investors, too, stepped up their participation on the final day.The retail portion, which was subscribed around 1.5 times at the end of Thursday, closed with 2.72x 3,86,901 57,109 25,867 1,538 19,000 4,90,415 14.00 2.72 2.93 7.60 22.19 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 30th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council in New Delhi on Friday. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, heads of financial sector regulators and senior government officials attended the meeting. The Council reviewed India’s macro-financial stability amid rising geopolitical uncertainties and deliberated on measures to strengthen domestic PTI investment, enhance capital flows and deepen financial sector reforms ■ PAGE 3 *at higher price band of `1,119 per share; at 7pm; Source: NSE KEY MILESTONES ■ Fastest mega IPO to get fully subscribed Value (` crore*) ■ India's largest IPO, with a total size of `30,213 crore ■ Biggest public ■ Saw record investor demand, with bids worth over `7 lakh cr, including anchor book issue comprising entirely fresh shares subscription. Individual investors bid for 231.2 million shares against 85.04 million shares reserved for them. Demandwas equallyrobust among non-institutional investors (NIIs),whose portion was subscribed nearly 14x.The category attracted bids for 509.80 million shares against 36.44 million shares on offer. Parsi bodies urge PM to protectTata legacy Within this segment, investors placing bids above `10 lakh showedstronginterest.Thecategory was subscribed 15.9 times,withbidsfor386million shares against 24.29 million sharesonoffer.Highnet-worth individuals (HNIs) accounted for343.64 million shares. SIX PARSI AND Zoroastrian community organisations havewritten to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing support fortheTataTrusts and theTata familyamid the ongoing tensions over the governance ofTata Sons,and urging that the group’s distinctive ownership structure and philanthropic legacybe preserved. In a letter dated October 7, the organisations said the developments went well beyond a corporate or shareholder dispute, raising fundamental questions about the future character and purpose ofoneofIndia’smostrespected business institutions. The community organisations have made a strong case forretaining the existing ownership structure, under which Tata Trusts holds a majority stake inTata Sons.Theyargued that this arrangement has enabled the group to pursue long-term goals without compromising its commitment to Continued on Page 7 InfylowersguidancedespiteAIwins ● Pricing pressure ing margin remained at 21%. Infosys’ American Depositary Receipts fell 8% to $12.15 in pre-markettrading. AI is emerging as a growing contributor to the business, accounting for 10.5% of quarterly revenue, compared with 8.2% in July,and growing 29% sequentially. However, the increase has not yet translated intoasignificantaccelerationin overall growth, as weakness in other segments and intense competition for large contracts continue to constrain performance.ThechallengeforInfosys is to scale its AI business sufficientlytooffsetpressuresaffectingitstraditionalservices. SALIL PAREKH, andweak retail weigh;ADRs dip CEO, INFOSYS There is the AI which is giving us the growth. There’s AI which is also seeing the compression POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, October 23 INFOSYS ON FRIDAY loweredits FY27 revenue growth guidance to1-3%from1.5-3%earlier,as pricing pressure on large contracts and weakness in key industrysegmentsoffsetstrong growth in artificial intelligence (AI) services and a rise in deal wins. Thecountry’ssecond-largest ITservicescompanyretainedits operating margin guidance of 20-22%,evenastherevisedoutlook pointed to continued chal- INFOSYS Q2 HEADCOUNT UP 4,480 PAGE 4 »INSIDE« lengesinconvertingdemandfor technologytransformationinto fasterrevenuegrowth. Thecompany’sJuly-Septemberresultsweremixed.Revenue rose 2.1% sequentially to `49,244crore,marginallyahead of Bloomberg’s estimate of `49,108 crore,while net profit increased0.7%to`7,823crore, below the estimate of `7,904 crore. Constant currency revenue grew 1.3% year-on-year. Earningsbeforeinterestandtax rose 1.6% sequentially to `10,330crore,whiletheoperat- Continued on Page 7 BENCHMARK INDICES FELL 2.4% during the holidayshortened week as a surge in crude oil prices raised inflation concerns. Brent crude rose 5.5% to $115.85 per barrel. Broader markets came under pressure, with mid- and smallcap indices falling 5.63% and 7.27%, respectively.The selloff eroded investors’ wealth by `20.8 lakh crore this week. The rupee was stable at 94.94 against the dollar, while the 10-year bond yield rose to 7.47%, its highest closing level since November 2022. —Kishor Kadam Brent crude pr prices ($ per barrel) Sensex 74,729.27 5.45 (Weekly change) ge) (Oct 16, 2026) % 109.86 115.85* (Oct 16, 2026) *as of 7:30 pm IST Rupee vs dollar 94.4 94.5 94.6 94.7 94.8 94.9 95.0 94.96 94.94 Oct 23 -2.15 % Nifty 10-yr govt bond yield (%) 23,146.15 (Oct 16, 2026) 22,600.00 (Oct 23, 2026) 10 bps (inverted scale) Oct 16 73,123.83 (Oct 23, 2026) (Oct 23, 2026) Oct 16 Oct 19 Oct 21 Oct 22 Oct 23 -2.36 % RBI’smixedliquiditysignalssqueezebanks THE RESERVE BANK of India’s (RBI) seemingly conflicting liquidity operations are leaving banks grappling with rising funding costs, even as the central bank injects funds to prevent a squeeze in the overnight moneymarket.Withshort-term borrowing rates climbing sharply and surplus liquidity nearlyevaporating,marketparticipants are questioning whether the RBI’s calibrated tightening is turning more restrictive than intended. The one-month certificate of deposit (CD) rate has surged more than 100 basis points to 6.76% in October, while the one-yearratehasrisen94basis points,according to Bloomberg STATUS QUO REUTERS Bengaluru, October 23 ethics,philanthropyand social responsibility. “Theownershipstructureof Tata Sons,majority by the Tata Trusts, has enabled the Group to pursue long-term objectives while maintaining an unwavering commitment to ethics, philanthropy and social responsibility,"the letter said. RESERVEBANKOF IndiaGovernorSanjayMalhotrasaidonFriday non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) classified in the upperlayerarerequiredtoliston thestockmarket,reiteratingthe centralbank’sstanceonthelisting of Tata Sons,without commenting directlyon the firm. “As long as it’s an NBFC within our definition.It’s a core investment company (CIC) and has access to (public) funds ....(then)it’srequiredtoberegistered, and if it is in the upper layer,then it is required to list,” Malhotra said at NDTV’s World Summit conference. Lastmonth,theRBIrejected Tata Sons’application to deregisteras an NBFC. Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 ■ Six Parsi organisations back Tata Trusts and Tata family ■ They sought to retain group’s ownership structure ■ Caution against treating debate over Tata Sons listing as regulatory or technical issue MARKETSTHISWEEK: OILSHOCK SPILLS OVER VWhaltsIndiaEV CD RATES JUMP OVER 100 BPSAS SHRINKING SURPLUS DRIVES OVERNIGHTRATES HIGHER CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, October 23 RBIGuvreads rulebookon NBFClisting URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, October 23 « BUSINESS SENTIMENT IMPROVED ahead of the festive season after moderating for four consecutive quarters amid prolonged geopolitical tensions, with the business confidence index rising from 99.8 in Q1 to 107.8 in Q2 of the current financial year, according to the NCAER Business Expectations Survey, reports fe Bureau. Investor category Subscription (in times) Qualified institutional buyers 70.55 « GST 2.0 EFFECT: CAR SALES RISE BY ONE MILLION JIO PLATFORMS’ INITIAL public offering (IPO) closed on Friday with bids worth over `7 lakh crore, including the anchor book, the highest ever in the history of Indian capital markets, according to data from Prime Database. India’s largest IPO was subscribed 22.2 times, with investors bidding for 4.38 billion shares during the threeday subscription period. The overwhelming response was driven by institutional investors,whosebidsexceeded thesharesreservedforthemby more than 70 times. The qualified institutional buyers(QIB)portionemergedas the star of the issue, attracting bids for 3.46 billion shares against 49 million shares on offer. The segment was subscribed 70.6 times, reflecting strong demand from both domestic and overseas institu- Jio Platforms IPO - Day 3 details « PAGE 4 HISTORIC ISSUE 7.47 COMPANIES KUSHAN SHAH Mumbai, October 23 7.46 THE CENTRE’S DECISION to allow 6,500 tonne of silver imports over the next six months— nearly 90% of the imports contracted in FY26—may help cool domestic prices and curb gold demand to an extent during the ongoing festive season, report Rajesh Bhayani and Shubham Rana. ● SITHARAMAN CHAIRS 30TH FSDC MEET Jio smashes IPO records with `7-lakh-crore bids 7.44 LARGE QUOTA OF SILVER IMPORTS MAY EASE PRICES 7.39 PAGE 6 MARKETS ISSUE SUBSCRIBED 22X; RETAILPORTION NEARLY3X 7.38 IN THE NEWS THE MONEY MARKET PUZZLE 2,00,000 0 Net liquidity injection/absorption (in ` crore) -2,00,000 -4,00,000 9 -6,00,000 8 -8,00,000 -10,00,000 -12,00,000 Apr 1, 2026 -1,84,555 7.94 CD (12-months) 8.04 7.19 7 6.76 6 5 data. The sharp rise comes despitetheRBIhavinginjected `2.5 lakh crore into the banking system, even as it seeks to tighten monetary conditions following its 25-basis-point rate hike earlier this month. Apr 01 CD (1-month) Oct 22, 2026 -31,255 Oct 22 SBIResearchhasquestioned the apparent contradiction in the central bank’s approach, arguing that simultaneous liquidity injections and withdrawals are sending confusing signals to the bond market. “With crude oil prices set to remain at elevated levels, domesticyields are unlikelyto decline even as RBI may have given a contradictory signal on liquidity,” SBI Research said in a report. Acknowledging that financialstabilityconsiderationsmay have influenced the RBI’s actions, the report argued against a two-way liquidity management policy involving simultaneous injections and withdrawals, suggesting that such an approach was more appropriate for exchange rate management. The uncertainty has been compounded by the speed at whichliquidityhasdisappeared from the banking system.The surplusfelltojust`541croreon October 21, according to RBI data , a dramatic reversal from the peak of over `11 lakh crore in early September. The weighted average call rate climbed to 5.65% onThursday, 15basispointsabovethepolicy repo rate of 5.50%, reflecting the growing pressure on overnight funding. “Thepaceatwhichliquidity has fallen to neutral is surprising.Weconsider`50,000crore as neutral.We were expecting this level to be reached by November or December,” said Alok Singh, treasury head at CSB Bank.Singh said the rise in CD rates overjust a month suggested that markets were increasingly pricing in neutral liquidity conditions until March. Although rates could soften after the completion of theJioPlatformsIPO,hebelieves theyareunlikelytoreturntothe levels seen a month or two ago. For banks, that means higher incremental funding costs and potentiallynarrowermargins. Continued on Page 17 Kolkata investment,awaits clarityonJSWdeal ALISHA SACHDEV October 23 VOLKSWAGEN AG IS halting investments in an electricvehicle (EV) programme for India until it has greaterclarity onapotentialpartnershipwith billionaire Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group. The German company has completed design work that would allow it to quickly ramp up the project using a low-cost EVarchitecture initiallydeveloped for China when its discussions with the Indian partner close, said people familiar with the matter who were not authorised to speak publicly about it. But it’s awaiting a clearer business plan before committing more money to the project,they said. Representatives for Volkswagen Group and the JSW respectivelydidn’treplytoseparate requests for comment. Thepausecomesasthecarmaker pursues a global costcutting drive, forcing it to be more disciplined about spending as it contends with weak demand in Europe and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers. The company is seeking to cut investment byabout 15% and hasoutlinedplanstoeliminate tens of thousands of jobs as part of an effort to lower costs. VW had already decided to slash the costs of developing EVs in India by a third last year as it scouted fora local partner, Bloomberg News reported.The decisiontoslowfurtherinvestmentrisksdelayingitseffortto compete more effectively in ON SLOW LANE ■ Volkswagen and JSW are exploring a venture across EVs, hybrids & ICE models ■ VW has completed India EV design work but awaits business plan clarity before fresh investment ■ This comes as company targets 15% reduction in investments as part of global cost-cutting drive VW had already decided to slash the costs of developing EVs in India by a third last year the Indian market even as tighter fuel-efficiency rules have increased pressure on automakers to electrify their lineups. Volkswagen Group currentlysellsnobattery-powered cars in India through either its namesake or Skoda brands, even as rivals including Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra, and JSW’s partner SAIC Motor’s MG brand — along with foreign carmakers like Vietnam’s VinFast, Tesla and BYD — vie for a piece of the pie. Continued on Page 7