OPINION, P10 WELL BEING ‘Mischief thou art afoot’ FE LINES RED FLAGS FOR RAINY SEASON The emoji effect While monsoon provides some much-needed relief from the scorching heat, it also brings with it a host of infections and diseases. Know how you can stay safe Page 8 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM As many as 88% Gen Zs can’t do without emojis while communicating Page 9 WORDS WORTH Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XX NO. 07 THEREWOULD BE NO MODIWITHOUT VAJPAYEE AHMEDABAD 18 Pages, `12 FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2025 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 , READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , ● High-tech trade DEAL CONTOURS ■ Exemption from additional 25% duties on table as fifth round of talks ends on auto, 50% on steel & aluminium sought ■ India seeking to maintain ■ SPOTLIGHT, P6 India’s $6-billion e-waste goldmine While recycling rates have increased, a lion’s share remains unprocessed. What the growing e-waste crisis holds, and how it can be turned into an economic opportunity ■ LEISURE, P7 Food beyond the fame Today’s celebs aren’t just lending names to their dining ventures; they are curating spaces, investing time & working alongside professionals. So what’s driving this new wave of star restaurateurs? Midcaps, smallcaps outshine benchmarks April–June quarter, inflows into midcap funds surged 42.6% to `9,877 crore,while smallcap fund inflows jumped 56.2% to `11,239 crore. Compiled by Kishor Kadam (Relative performance - Base: March 28, 2025= 100 BSE Sensex BSE Midcap BSE Smallcap 130 118.5 112.6 105.6 110 100 Mar 28, 2025 Jul 18, 2025 Top midcap gainers (% gain) Delhivery 50.4 48.8 Whirlpool India 45.9 Nippon Life India 45.3 CALLING media reports "premature and speculative", US federal agency National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a rebuke over the AI crash probe. ■ PAGE 18 India-EFTA free trade pact from October 1, says Goyal THE FREE TRADE agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will come into force from October1,commerceandindustry minister Piyush Goyal said Saturday, reports Mukesh Jagota. India and the fournation EFTAhad signed the FTA—officially named Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) —in March last year. EFTA comprises Switzer- land, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. “All the four countries have ratified the FTA. The documents have been launched with a repository, which is Norway, and the TEPA will come into effect from October 1,”Goyal said at a Assocham event in Mumbai. Switzerland was the last country in the groupingtohavecompleted the process of ratification. Continued on Page 2 D E L H I , DIVYAA New Delhi, July 19 WITH THE NEW academic season in the US starting next month, all international students applying to study in the countrywill need to keep their social media profiles public, not only while applying for a visa but also during itsvalidity period—in effect, during their entire study course. “All student and exchange visitorvisaapplicants(F,Mand J visa classes) are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of personal social media profiles to ‘public’ in order to facilitate vetting necessary to establish the applicant’s admissibility to the United States,” said a spokesperson from the US Embassy in New Delhi in response to a query from The Indian Express. “Securityvetting runs from the time of each application, through adjudication of the visa, and afterwards during the validity period of every issued visa,to ensure the individual remains eligible to travel to the United States,”the spokesperson said. Last month, the Embassy had cited “public safety and SECURITY CHECK ■ Security vetting runs from time of application, through adjudication, and during validity period of issued visa ■ Last month, US Embassy cited 'public safety and national security' in visa process ■ In 2023-24, Indians formed largest cohort of international students in the US, with 331,000 enrolments national security” in the visa process while mandating those applying to study in the US to make their social media profiles public. The F category visa in the US refers to the F-1 student visa, meant for international students who wish to pursue academic studies at a US institution, while the M visa (M-1) is a non-immigrant visa for individuals pursuing vocational or other nonacademic studies. »INSIDE« UNION BANK POSTS 12% RISE IN PROFIT PAGE 3 ICICI Bank Q1 net up 15.5% at `12,768 cr KSHIPRA PETKAR Mumbai, July 19 of `11,985 crore. The rise in profitwasduetohigherincome and stable asset quality. On a sequentialbasis(QoQ),thebottom line rose merely1%. ICICI BANK’S NET profit for the first quarter ended June 2025 rose 15.5% to `12,768 crore, beating street estimates »INSIDE« Continued on Page 2 YES BANK STAKE SALE LIKELY BY SEPT PAGE 3 Punch falls to 10th spot after leading sales in 2024 10.1 Wagon R Creta Gr Growth in % 2.4 4.0 Dzire the vehicle’s sales have declined notably in recent months. According to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), Tata Motors sold 202,031 units of Punch in Brezza -23.3 84,579 1.8 H1CY25 08 110,308 H1CY24 93,729 TATA MOTORS' COMPACT SUV Punch, which became the highest-selling car in calendar year 2024, has now dropped to the 10th position in sales rankings in the first half of 2025. On July 17, Tata Motors announced that Punch has reached the 600,000-unit production milestone in under four years.To mark the occasion, the company launched a new campaign titled ‘India ki SUV’. Despite this milestone, FREE FALLING 90,153 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, July 19 P U N E Social media of students to US must be public Continued on Page 2 96,101 NTSB slams reports onAI crash probe to allow entry of genetically modified agricultural products in the country N E W from `10,668 crore in theyearagoquarter.Forthefirsttimethe boardalsoannouncedabonusin the ratio of 1:1 along with an interimdividendof`5pershare. On June 25, HDB Financial Services had launched its IPO, where the bank sold shares worth `10,000 crore via offer forsale.Thebank’sshareholding reduced to 74.19% as on June 30 from 94.32% on March 31. AIDED BY A massive one-time gain of `9,128 crore from the stake sale of its subsidiaryHDB Financial Services, HDFC Bank reporteda12%riseinnetprofit at`18,155crore,from`16,175 crore in theyear-ago period,for the first quarterended June. The gain from offer-for-sale pushed up other income to `21,730 crore in the quarter 93,811 US President Donald Trump said five jets may have been shot down during the recent India-Pakistan conflict, and reiterated that his team used trade pressure to broker a ceasefire between the two sides. ■ PAGE 18 CHRISTINA TITUS Mumbai, July 19 100,560 Trump estimates 5 jets downed in Indo-Pak conflict access for its labour-intensive and emerging manufacturing sectors, such as electronics Continued on Page 2 ■ US wants India ■ US also aims to get a more liberal regulatory climate for its tech companies in India ■ India has sought greater were also held on ‘high-technology trade’, including the digital economy. An exemption from additional 25% duties on the auto sector and 50% on steel and aluminium have also been sought from the US. The current round of negotiations between India and US also opened on SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms,Materials,Equipment, and Technologies). These are high technology items that can also be used for military purposes. The trade of these goods is highly regulated and happens only with trusted partners. ■ US wants India to lower duties on auto and buy more energy products M U M B A I , HDFCBanknet profitrises12% 91,348 AU Small Finance Bank L U C K N O W , IN A FIRST, ISSUES 1:1 BONUS 101,424 Prestige Estates 66.8 THE CHANCES OF a mini interim trade deal between India and the US before the August 1 deadline looked bright as negotiators from both sides wrapped up the fifth round of talks in Washington late last week. While the discussions were focused on the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) for which the target is fall of the year, whatever progress achieved in the negotiations so far could be packaged as an interim agreement, sources said, after the Indian team of negotiators led by special secretary Rajesh Agrawal returned to India. Such a deal is crucial for reducing the extent of reciprocal tariffs that Indian exports could face in the US after August 1. The latest round of talks from July 14-17, sources said, went beyond regular trade issues, as discussions 99,668 90 adequate safeguards for farm sector as US pushes for greater access in agriculture market MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, July 19 120 K O L K A T A , Interim trade deal with US likely beforeAugust 1 WHAT'S INSIDE MIDCAPAND SMALLCAP stocks have outperformed the benchmarks so far in fiscal 2026, as investor demand for these segments continues to remain strong.The BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices have gained 12.63% and 18.54%, respectively, compared to a 5.61% rise in the Sensex. During the Excerpts from former PM’s biography Page 4 Tata Punch 2024,averaging 16,836 units per month. In the first half of 2025, however, sales have dropped to 84,579 units,with a monthly average of 14,096. Continued on Page 2 Ahmedabad