WORDS WORTH WELL BEING Unshackle the mind FE LINES A WHIFF OF DANGER Rise of rogue AI Even though scented candles have become a lifestyle staple in our homes, doctors say they can come with their fair share of toxins and health risks Page 9 A provocation to rethink what binds us, and that freedom is fluid and never settled Page 4 VOL.NO.XVII SL.NO.29 Recent hacking incidents involving AI models are heralding a new era of cyber chaos Page 10 LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM CRAFTING NEW HEIRLOOMS BENGALURU 20 Pages, `12 FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2026 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 , Gen Z’s fashion legacy is not weaves they inherit but the way they reinterpret them Page 6 READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , ● Doc home visits CONSULTATIONS ON CALL in 20-60 minutes ■ Model works in urban ■ Most visits instant settings, fills gap requests rather getting popular of quality-assured than scheduled Bollywood gets big-budget shy Play@work ● Exporters worried if bill becomes law Relaxing at work is no longer taboo; it is an imperative for offices of the future FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 8 Singapore-based FPIs’ India assets fall 17% 10.9 10.7 17 1.9 Other Ireland 1.7 2.0 72.0 70.3 11 US 2.4 Canada 1.1 Norway 8.1 Mauritius 8.2 UK France Luxembourg Japan 9.4 8.3 Total 4.4 4.9 4.9 4.1 2.2 2.0 5.4 4.9 1.7 1.5 3.5 3.2 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.8 31.2 31.2 10.5%) and Luxembourg (down 9.4%) also witnessed significant declines in their equity assets. Overall, FPI equity assets in India fell 2.4% year-on-year to `70.25 lakh crore. — Compiled by Kishor Kadam y-o-y % chg Source: NSDL Delhivery top deck rejig: COO Pai to exit IN A rejig of Delhivery's leadership, COO Ajith Pai is set to exit the logistics company, while chief business officer Vani Venkatesh has been elevated to deputy chief executive officer. H1B: US may scrap 60-day grace period THE US is reviewing a proposal to eliminate the 60-day window for foreign workers holding non-immigrant visas to find employment after a job loss, a move that may force them to leave the country immediately. ■ PAGE 20 Medanta, Max Healthcare also have similar services pay-per-visit basis; costs appointments ■ Several players now in segment — DocHome, Pulse Doctor at Home, Doctor Dada, Dr Morepen, Kyno, Sanocare in metropolitan cities where traffic congestion, long hospital queues and busy schedules makeclinicvisitsinconvenient. ■ Hospitals offer specialist visits, nurses and home medicine deliveries as well Several players have come up in this segment, such as DocHome which operates in over 14 cities, including Delhi, 100% tariffsword hangs over India ■ LIVING, P8 FPI equity assets primary healthcare ■ Hospital chains Apollo, US SENATE PASSES RUSSIA OIL TARIFF BILL The box office is all about spectacle now, with the biggest hits having a larger-than-life canvas. But the Hindi film industry, including big production houses, is thinking small instead Singapore `500-`1,500 GROCERIES, PHONES, LAPTOPS,ambulance,medicines– if all of this can be available within minutes,whynot a doctor as well? Doctor home visit services within 20-60 minutes are increasinglybecomingapopularhealthcareoption,especially ■ SPOTLIGHT, P7 17.2 10.5 ■ Services function on SREYA DEB New Delhi, August 8 (in ` lakh crore) July 2025 July 2026 D E L H I , P U N E AfterQ-comm,nowquickdoctorwithinminutes WHAT'S INSIDE FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS (FPIs) from Singapore recorded a 17.2% decline in their equity assets in India over the past year, with assets falling from `4.94 lakh crore in July 2025 to `4.09 lakh crore in July 2026, marking the steepest decline among the top 10 investing nations, as per NSDL. As a result, Singapore slipped to the fourth position from third in the ranking of the top 10 countries by FPI equity assets in India. Besides Singapore, Japan (down N E W ANOTHER ROUND OF tariffs on exports to the United States could become a realitywith the US Senate passing a legislation empowering President Donald Trumptoimposeadditionaltariffs of up to 100% if India continuesbuyingRussiancrudeoil. The US Senate on early Saturday India time passed the bipartisan Lindsey O Graham SanctioningRussiaandIranAct of2026byan86-11vote.Before it becomes a law,the legislation will have to clear the House of Representativesandreceivethe President’s signature. The bill, however, does not directly impose tariffs.Instead, TRADE UNCERTAINTY ■ Bill doesn't include China, India, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan directly impose tariffs; instead, Sec 113 would give president authority to levy ■ Indian exporters, particularly in engineering sector, express concern ■ Exemptions possible for nations importing less than of energy from Russia ■ Countries to be hit 15% Section113wouldgivethePresidentdiscretionaryauthorityto levy tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries purchasing Russian oil or natural gas.The president would have the power to decide whether to impose the tariffs,which countries to target and the rate applicable to them. Indian exporters, particularly in the engineering sector, haveexpressedconcernoverthe proposedmeasure.TheUSisthe largest market for India’s engineering goods. “If the bill becomes law,it might have significantimpactonIndiangoods exports.At present, however, it would be premature to discuss any possible impact of this legislation,”saidChairmanofEngineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) Pankaj Chadha. Continued on Page 2 Meta’s intermediary status underquestion PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, August 8 KEY ISSUES THE CENTRE'S MEETINGS with Meta have brought into focus a key question — whether the social media giant’s recommendation systems and paid content promotion fit in its status as an intermediary, government sources said, adding the key issue is whether the company complies with the provisions underthe ITAct orcrosses into the role of a publisher by deciding “what content is shown to whom”. Sources said the issue cen- ■ Whether a platform that decides what users see can be intermediary under ITAct ■ Another Meta meet with govt likely next week amid row over child sexual abuse material, deepfakes, bots tresonwhetheraplatformthat activelydecideswhatuserssee, cancontinuetoclaimintermediary status under the Infor- mation TechnologyAct. The issue assumes significance because Section 79 of the IT Act grants intermediaries a ‘safe harbour’ from liability for third-party content, subject to compliancewith the provisions of the law and due diligence requirements. Sources said if Meta’s recommendation systems determine“whatisshowntowhom” and also “promote content for payment”, it raises the question ofwhethersuch functions are consistent with the legal definition of an intermediary. Continued on Page 2 Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune, with verified doctors available forurgenthomeconsultations. Doctor@Home provides round-the-clock doctor visits along with medicine delivery and diagnostic services in No charges for UPI users,small merchants: Govt FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 8 THE GOVERNMENT ON Saturday clarified that UPI users will not be burdened with transaction charges, and that any future merchant discount rate (MDR) will apply only to a limited set of merchant transactions above a specified threshold. Even then,the MDR will be nominal and significantly lower than the rates typically charged on debit and credit card transactions,it said. “The recent amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (PSS Act) has generated debate,with some misinterpreting it as a move to impose charges on ordinary users,” the finance ministry said in a statement. In reality, the amendment is an enabling provision designed to ensure UPI’s long-term sustainability, technological advancement, and resilience against emerging risks,it said. “Consumers making pay- CLEARING THE AIR ■ Levy only for merchant transactions over certain limit ■ Charges to be far lower than debit/credit cards ■ Move to ensure UPI's longterm sustainability, resilience selected locations, including New Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru,besides other cities. In Delhi-NCR specifically, providers such as Pulse Doctor at Home, Doctor Dada, Dr MorepenandDocNCRpromise doctor arrivals within 20 to 30 minutes. All of these services function on a pay-per-visit model, including Sanocare, which operates primarily in south Delhi localities. Hospital chains Apollo, Medanta and Max Healthcare also have same-day doctor services on similar models. Continued on Page 2 Iran:Hormuz dealclose, buthinges onconditions BLOOMBERG August 8 IRAN SAID IT’S ‘very close’ to a deal with Oman on a new maritime transit route in the Strait of Hormuz, after expectationsgrewthisweekthat an announcement may soon be made. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that negotiators Conditions are closing include in on tem- compensation porary for US’s lanes for violations of ships enter- Islamabad ing and Agreement, exiting the said Aragchi Persian ments will not face any transaction charges,” it said, adding that “all person-to-person transactions will continue to be free of charge.” It further said the “vast majority” of UPI transactions would continue to remain free for merchants. AnyMDR,if introduced,would be “threshold-based and not blanketly levied to all”. Gulf. He cautioned that any agreement won’t result in an immediate reopening of the strait,signaling that any respite for energy supplies may be limited. “The opening of the Strait is subject to other conditions,” said Araghchi. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 ● PRIDE & PATRIOTISM Independence Day fervour in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh as locals hold a Tiranga Yatra on Saturday PTI How despite low sales, Hero winning in EV space VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, August 8 HERO'S EV ARM Vida may be trailing legacy players TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto, as also startup Ather in sales,but when it comes to the overall EV space, the twowheeler giant is no loser. FY26 sales data sourced from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) show that TVS was India’s biggest electric twowheeler(E2W)playerwithsales of 3,67,501 units, followed by Bajaj (3,02,674 units) and Ather (2,60,070 units).Vida — even though its sales jumped 154% in FY26 — was a distant fourth (1,48,473 units). The H1CY26 sales data is no different, with TVS leading the charge at 2,41,087 units, followed by Bajaj at 2,03,692 units, and Ather at 1,63,681 units. Vida, again, was fourth with sales of 1,02,097 units. However, evaluating Hero just through Vida wouldn’t be correct — while it is building Vida forthe mass market,Hero is also helping build Ather. Having invested `205 crore in Ather’s Series B round in 2016, Hero increased its capital infusion to `1,700 crore by mid2024. On July 15, 2026, Hero announced a fresh investment of `960 crore. In essence, when a Vida sells, Hero wins, but when an Ather sells,Hero still wins. THE E2W LANDSCAPE E2W sales (in units) H1CY26 FY26 TVS 3,67,501 2,41,087 Bajaj 3,02,674 2,03,692 Ather 2,60,070 Hero's Vida 1,48,473 Meanwhile, TVS and Bajaj have leveraged their vast dealer networks to scale up E2Ws — with over 2,000 and 4,500 touchpoints, respectively, but Hero took a phased ■ While Hero is positioning Vida for mass market, it is also helping build Ather approach with Vida with over 200 select outlets before expandingitswiderdealership fold. Ather’s retail and service network, meanwhile, has crossed 700 touchpoints. 1,63,681 1,02,097 Itwas theVX2 modelwith a removablebatterythatpushed Vida’s sales,taking it to the top 4.“Vida had a slow start since 2022, but found momentum after the launch of the VX2 BENGALURU with a removable battery in July2025,”a partnerwith a Big 4 consulting firm told FE. “What helped was the launch of the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) scheme with the VX2, bringing the upfront cost down to less than `50,000 — effectively placing a high-tech electric scooterat a price point lower than entry-level petrol scooters.Hero is now expected to leverage its massive rural network to bring its affordable EVsolutionstotier-3markets.” “Although Vida and Ather compete in certain price segments, there is a differentiation,”said S Subramanian,professor of strategic management at IIM Kozhikode. “Ather’s value proposition is built around a sophisticated software ecosystem (AtherStack), connected features, and an aspirational, tech-led brand identity aimed primarilyat urban consumers. Vida, in contrast, emphasises the convenience of removable batteries, home charging, and accessibility for mainstream buyers seeking affordability.” According to Subramanian, this reflects strategic market segmentation with selective overlap ratherthan pure cannibalisation. “Hero participates directly when a Vida scooter is sold, while also sharing in Ather’slong-termvaluecreation throughitsequitystake,”hesaid. Continued on Page 2