COMPANIES | PAGE 4 POLITICS | PAGE 10 CJI Khanna retires, says won't take up any official assignment INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 US drug pricing order makes a case for generics: Biocon chief CHENNAI/KOCHI, WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025 In race againstApple, Samsung launches slimmest phone FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 6, 20 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: 81,148.25 ▼ 1,281.65 NIFTY: 24,578.35 ▼ 346.35 NIKKEI 225: 38,183.26 ▲ 539 HANG SENG: 23,108.27 ▼ 441.19 `/$: 85.35 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 94.81 ▲ 1.22 BRENT: $65.89 ▲ $0.93 GOLD: `94,036 ▲ `1,405 Sebi proposes easing norms for FPIs buying only govt bonds SEBI ON TUESDAY proposed to ease rules for foreign portfolio investors investing in government bonds under the voluntary retention route and fully accessible route, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 6 Credit to agriculture sector likely to rise 9% this fiscal CREDIT TO THE agriculture sector by commercial banks and regional rural banks is likely to cross `31.5 lakh crore in FY26, a rise of 9% year-on-year, a senior official Nabard said, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 2 Tata Steel’s capex to remain flat at `15,000 cr in FY26 TATA STEEL’S CAPITAL allocation in FY26 is expected to remain flat annually at `15,000 crore, its management said on Tuesday, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 5 FE S P E C I A L S ● Chances rise for IN COMFORT ZONE another 50-bps rate cut this fiscal (% change, y-o-y) 12 10 MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, May 13 Co-founder, InMobi on how tech tools are driving shifts in the ad business ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 The big opportunity in govt procurement The FTA with the UK has opened up India’s large govt procurement sector ■ EXPLAINER, P9 4.2 3.16 8 INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION, measured by consumer price index (CPI), eased to a 69-month low of 3.16% in April, as food prices fell further,amplifying the chances of a third straight rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in its June monetary policy review. Headlineinflationtrendeddownward for the sixth straight month, and for the third month in a row,the print remained below 4%, the level where the central bank seeks to hold it on a durable basis.Retail inflation came in at 3.34% in March and 3.61% in February. The last time inflation was lower than the April level was in July 2019,when it stood at3.15%.Foodpriceinflationfelltoa 41-monthlowof1.78%inApril.Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy,however, has inched up to 4.2% in April from 3.6% in December 2024.Core inflation is believed to be a better gaugeofdomesticdemandandmore amenable to monetarypolicy. Last month, the RBI lowered its key policy rate for a second consecutive time,and indicated more rate cuts bychanging its policystance to CPI CPI 6 4 CPI core 2 1.78 0 Apr 2024 1,281 KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, May 13 THE BULLS TOOK a breather on Tuesday, a day after recording their best session in four years with a 4% rally, as investors resorted to profit booking.Benchmark indices declined by up to 1.55%, with TECK, IT, utilities, FMCG,and power sectors witnessing heavy selling pressure. The Sensex fell 1,281.68 points, or 1.55%, to close at 81,148.22, while the Nifty dropped 346.35 points, or 1.39%, to end the day at 24,578.35. Outperforming the benchmarks, the broader BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices extended their gains for a second consecutive ses- (1.55%) (%) FMCG Power Utilities IT Top sectoral losers points -3.54 -3.40 Infosys Power Grid -3.38 Eternal HCL Tech -2.94 -2.88 May 13 (close) May 12 (close) Top Sensex losers (%) TCS 81,148 82,429 sion, rising 0.17% and 0.99%, respectively. Market experts said that while the overall sentiment remains bullish, the huge rise on Monday gave opportunities to investors to take some money off the table. Moreover, with the fear of geopolitical tensions coming down, investors will be more focussed on the earnings season. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of Indian equities worth `476.86crore,whiledomesticinstitutionalinvestors purchasedshares worth`4,273.80crore,accordingto provisional data bythe BSE. Continued on Page 6 Apr 2025 ■ Last month, RBI lowered its key policy rate — by 25 bps — for a second consecutive time ■ RBI had kept rates unchanged for two years till Jan 2025 ■ In February 2025, RBI cut the policy rate by 25 basis points Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will hold meetings with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and other senior officials between May 17 and 20 “accommodative” from “neutral”. he repo rate currentlystands at 6%. A fair amount of monetary transmission has occurred afterthe rate cut cycle began, with leading banks cutting their lending and select fixed deposit rates. Goyal tovisit US for trade talks thisweek Continued on Page 10 LEADERSHIP CHURN WALMART-OWNED E-COMMERCE MAJOR Flipkart is witnessingastringofhigh-profileexecutive exits. Sources said that at least four senior executives — a senior vice president and three vice presidents — have stepped down from their roles in recent weeks, signalling a deep churn within the company’s top brass amid mounting competitive and financial pressures. Among those departing is Ankit Jain,seniorvice president and head of grocery and large supply chain, who is set to join rival SwiggyInstamart. Jain will take over as SVP at Instamart, replacing Sairam Krishnamurthy,who had joined the food and grocery delivery platform in August 2024 after a stint at More Retail. Jain will work alongside Instamart CEO Amitesh Jha, a former Flipkart executive. BesidesJain,PrajaktaKanaglekar, VPofHRforthetechdivision;Anurag Singhvi,VPandheadofanalytics;and Ganesh Ramaswamy,VP at Flipkart and chief product and technology officer at Cleartrip, Flipkart’s travel subsidiary,haveleftthefirmrecently. While Jain’s next move is clear, the to 1.55% a day after record rally TAKE A BREATHER Source: MoSPI Flipkart sees string of senior-level exits RAGHAVAGGARWAL New Delhi, May 13 ‘Adtech firms today are expected to own outcomes’ Consumer food price index ● Indices fall up -1.35 -1.07 -1.00 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA Sitharaman will likely meet the chiefs of public sector banks on Thursday to assess their performance in 2024-25 in key parameters, including profitability and bad loans recovery, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 Inflation cools to 69-month low of3.16% Profit booking halts bull charge TECK FM to review PSBs’ profitability, bad loan recovery FOOD PRICES EASE FURTHERINAPRIL -2.39 -2.21 IN THE NEWS Ankit Jain, senior vice president and head of grocery and large supply chain at Flipkart, is leaving the company after a six-year stint ■ PM Narendra Modi during a visit — his first since Operation Sindoor — to the Adampur air force station in Punjab on Tuesday. Modi’s visit to Adampur, barely 100 km from the border, assumes significance as Pakistan PTI had claimed to have targeted the air base and destroyed its S-400 air defence system ■ REPORTS, P20 careerpathsoftheotherthreeremain uncertain, though sources suggest they may explore entrepreneurial opportunities.Flipkart did not reply to querieson the matter. Notably,Singhvi had been one of the longest-serving members among the group, with a tenure of nearly13years.Theothershadspent close to six years each at Flipkart. Continued on Page 10 denied that claim then following whichTrumphadwalkedbackonthe mediationoffersayinghewouldonly interveneifaskedbybothcountries- a standard formulation adopted by Washington.This time, though, the toneandtenorofthecounterismore aggressive. On Monday, he said his administration stopped a “nuclear conflict” — saying “millions…could have died” – and claimed he told India and Pakistan thatAmerica will do a “lot of trade”with them if they end hostilities. In response to Trump’s comments on trade, ministryofexternalaffairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was categorical: “From the time Operation Sindoor commencedonMay7tilltheunderstanding on cessation of firing and militaryactiononMay10,therewere conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation.The issue of trade did not comeupinanyofthesediscussions.” COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY minister Piyush Goyal will visit the US this week to take forward the negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) and explore the possibility of an interim trade deal. During the minister’s stay in the US,a team of Indian officials will also be in Washington and the chief negotiators of India and the US will hold parallel talks. Goyal will hold meetings with US officials as well as the political leadership dealing with trade, including US trade representative Jamieson Greer and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, from May 17 to 20. The delegation of Indian officials led by chief negotiator and special secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agrawal will hold talks with the US team from May 19 to May 22. While officials maintain that the first phase of the BTA will be completed only by SeptemberOctober, the work is on to see if an interim agreement can be reached between the two sides, before the 90-day pause on the US reciprocal tariffs comes to an end on July 8. The suspension of reciprocal tariffs led to additional duties on India being capped at 10%. Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 10 India shoots downTrump’s ‘lot of trade’fortruce theory SHUBHAJIT ROY New Delhi, May 13 Jain is set to join rival Swiggy Instamart, where he will work alongside Instamart CEO Amitesh Jha, a former Flipkart executive ■ WITH US PRESIDENT Donald Trump claiming credit for“mediation”instoppinga“nuclear”conflict, offertoworkfora“solutiononKashmir”,andsayingAmericawilldoa“lot of trade” with both India and Pakistan if they end hostilities — India on Tuesday gave a sharply worded rebuttal on each and everypoint. New Delhi ruled out mediation sayingtheonlyoutstandingmatteris thevacationofillegallyoccupiedterritory by Pakistan. It said that trade never came for discussions with the US,underlined that India won’t give in to“nuclear blackmail”,and gave a chronological account of conversationstoreinforcethepointthatitwas Pakistanwhichreachedoutforpausingmilitaryactionafteranextremely effective attack by Indian forces on keyPakistaniAirForce bases. This is the strongest counter by Delhi since Saturday’s claims by DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, US Let us not trade nuclear missiles, let us trade goods, the good things that you make. Maybe we can even get them...have a nice dinner together Trump on the range of issues and makesclearandsignalsitsdiscomfiture with Trump wading into IndiaPakistan politics and hostilities. In his first term, in July 2019, TrumphadclaimedthatPrimeMinisterNarendraModihadaskedhimto mediate on Kashmir.New Delhi had FE BUREAU New Delhi, May 13 »RESULTS CORNER« Experts say gradients mark a shift towardAI-first branding while preserving aesthetic familiarity Adecadelater,Google’s‘G’getsanewlookinoldhues GEETIKA SRIVASTAVA New Delhi, May 13 ATFIRSTGLANCE,Google’s new‘G’ appears almost identical to the one consumers have been tapping for nearly a decade. However, a closer look reveals a subtle change: the four primary colours — red,yellow, green, and blue — now ripple into each other in a soft gradient. The redesign, first spotted on the iOS app and later in the 16.8 beta release on Android, hasn’t yet replaced the old logo everywhere. However, it has started appearing on Pixel devices and will likely spread across the broader Google ecosystem in the coming weeks. This isn’t a radical rebrand. While the Product Sans font (used SUBTLE DESIGN, STRATEGIC SIGNAL ■ Google’s new gradient ‘G’ marks its first logo update in nearly a decade ■ The shift hints at an AI-first future, visually syncing with Gemini’s design language ■ Experts say the change reflects evolution, not reinvention ■ The updated ■ Gradients add depth and polish while preserving the brand’s familiar identity since September 2015) remains unchanged, experts say the key change lies in the nuance, with an infusion of harmony.While Google has yet to clarify whether the full ‘Google’ wordmark or apps like Maps and Chrome will follow suit, look aligns with modern interface demands across devices the new ‘G’ seems to signal the future — one shaped byAI. “Subtle design changes suggest evolution, not reinvention,” says Ambika Sharma, founder & chief strategistatPulpStrategy.“Itreflects thematuringofitsecosystemasthey ■ For younger users, even subtle design updates help signal trust and relevance ■ Gradients, once out of vogue, now convey motion, transition, and digital fluidity, say experts ■ The refresh whispers change rather than shouting it, underscoring an evolving brand, they conclude integrate AI more deeply into every experience,especiallywithGeminiat the centre of that narrative.” The AI connection is no coincidence.GoogleGemini,thecompany’s generativeAIassistant,alreadyincorporates gradients in its logo, featur- ingadistinctive blue-to-purpleflow. ThevisualsimilaritiesbetweenGemini and the new‘G’suggest an effort tounifyGoogle’sbrandingaroundits AI-first future,while preserving the aesthetic familiarity that millions associatewithits products. “In digital environments, nuance matters,” Sharma adds. Yasin Hamidani, director, Media Care Brand Solutions, agrees: “The update signals Google’s desire to modernise itsvisual presencewithout disrupting brand continuity.” Experts add that gradients, once banished by the “flat-design orthodoxy of the 2010s”, are back. For Google, this isn’t trend-chasing, it’s about functionmeeting nostalgia. Continued on Page 10 BhartiAirtel beats profit estimates BHARTI AIRTEL ON Tuesday reported a 25% sequential decline in consolidated net profit during the JanuaryMarch quarter at `11,022 crore.However,the telecom operator beat Bloomberg’s estimate of `6,509 crore, primarily due to a significant exceptional gain, reports Urvi Malvania. This included a tax benefit of `5,913 crore arising from the recognitionofpreviouslyunrecognised deferred tax assets. ■ PAGE 4 TataMotorsposts Hero MotoCorp `8,556-crprofit profit rises 6% TATA MOTORS ON Tuesday reported better-than-expected profit in the March quarter, buoyed by a surge in margins at Jaguar Land Rover, reports SwarajBaggonkar.Itsconsolidated net profit came in at `8,556 crore, beating the Bloomberg estimate of `7,662 crore. ■ PAGE 4 CHENNAI/KOCHI ON THE BACK of lower two-wheeler sales and high input costs, Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday reported a modest 6% rise in its standalone net profit at `1,016 crore for the January-March quarter,missing Bloomberg’s consensus estimate of `1,124 crore, reports Nitin Kumar. ■ PAGE 5