THE BIG IDEA| PAGE 24 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Acko stays put, is now building its next phase BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 Meesho’s value-comm bet gets mkt thumbs up HYDERABAD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2025 The new face of masculinity FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. NO. XXII 197, 24 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 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 2 RAILWAYS HIKES PASSENGER FARES FROM DEC 26 THE RAILWAY MINISTRYon Sunday announced hikes in train tickets by 1 paisa per km for ordinary class beyond a journey of 215 km, and 2 paise per km for non-AC classes of mail/express trains andAC classes ofall trains, reports Manu Kaushik. No change in short selling regulations: Sebi SEBI HAS CLARIFIED there is no change in the existing regulatory framework for short selling. The clarification comes after a media report said changes in the framework will be applicable from December 22, reports PTI. ECONOMY PAGE 2 ZERO-MARGIN DEALS, TARIFF-EXEMPT SECTORS PUSH EXPORTS TO US IN NOVEMBER CAPACITYGROWTHFORECASTREVISEDDOWNWARDS IndiGo may delay global expansion ● Pilot shortages, OPERATIONAL STRAIN regulatory action lead to rethink ■ The airline had planned adding 5 new foreign destinations by March 2026 YARUQHULLAH KHAN New Delhi, December 21 ■ Those plans are now likely to be pushed to around July-August Unicorn tallyflat as firms tap IPOs AYANTI BERA Bengaluru, December 21 ■ The carrier is looking to build greater flexibility into its network planning for next financial year INDIGO IS LIKELY to defer parts of its international expansion plan as it grapples withapersistentpilotshortage and increased regulatory scrutiny following the recent spate of flight cancellations, according to sources aware of the airline’s plans. Thecountry’slargestcarrier had earlier planned to add five newinternationaldestinations to its direct network bythe end ofMarch2026.Thoseplansare now likely to be pushed to around July-August, after the airlinestrengthensitspilotroster and stabilises operations, sources said. Plans to launch direct flights to European cities such as Paris, BrusselsandBirminghambythe end of the current fiscal, have been put on hold. The focus, sourcessaid,hasshiftedtoensuringadequatecrewavailabilityso that operational disruptions on one part of the network do not cascade across domestic and internationalservices. Small FMCG packs still see odd pricing ‘Meeting FY26 RBI flags risks over high gold fiscal deficit target feasible’ pricevolatility ODD PRICING ON small packs of biscuits continues to be visible on shop shelves, even as othercategoriessuchassnacks and shampoos, which also push low-unit packs, have moved back to magic price points of `2, `5 and `10 by increasing grammage,reports Viveat Susan Pinto. Page 4 EVEN AMID SLOWING nominal GDP growth and ambitious fiscal consolidation plan, economists broadly agree that the government can still meet its headline fiscal deficit goal of 4.4% of GDP for FY26, reports Prasanta Sahu. Page 2 Alongside this, IndiGo is lookingtobuildgreaterflexibilityintoitsnetworkplanningfor thenextfinancialyear,allowing ittorespondmoreeffectivelyto operational challenges such as aircraft-on-ground situations, pilot shortages and weatherrelated delays. Continued on Page 5 ONLYFIVE STARTUPSbecame unicorns in 2025, the same number as last year, even as growth-stage funding recovered and larger cheques returned to the market. The flat count points to a continuingresetinstartupvaluationsandaclearshiftamong late-stage companies towards tappingpublicmarketsearlier, rather than pursuing valuation-led private rounds. Data from Venture Intelligence shows that $3.2 billion was invested in growth-stage startups,typically Series B and C, during the year, up from $2.6 billion in 2024. Despite the increase in capital, only five companies crossed the $1 billion valua- New unicorns 2024 Entry valuation ($ bn) Ather Energy Rapido Perfios Entry valuation ($ bn) 1.2 MoneyView 2025 1.2 1.3 Raise Financial (Dhan) 1 1 Jumbotails 1 1 1.2 1 Krutrim 1.1 Drools Porter Juspay Source: Venture Intelligence tion mark — broking platform Dhan, B2B e-commerce firm Jumbotail, pet food brand Drools, logistics player Porter and payments company Juspay. The number is significantly below the peak seen in 2022, when 22 startups achieved unicorn status, underscoring how far the ecosystem has moved away from the high-valuation cycle of the pandemic years. Investors saythe slowdown in unicorn creation is not a concern. Deepak Gupta, founderofWEHVentures,told FE that the focus on headline unicorn numbers had diminished afterthe funding correction of 2022-23. According to him, the current phase reflects healthier operating performance and more disciplined capital deployment rather than valuation inflation. He added that theunicorncountincreasingly fails to capture a keystructural shift underway in the market. Continued on Page 5 MUDRA may get another 5 years CREDIT CONTINUITY RUN-UP TO THE BANKS AND NBFCs have begun tightening lending limits on gold loans after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) flagged concerns over rising volatility in the prices of the yellow metal, reports Mahesh Nayak. The regulator has advised lenders to exercise caution. Page 6 VALUATION RESET BUDGET 2026-27 ■ Annual budgetary cost of PMMY is estimated at around ■ An announcement for `400-500 cr extension of the scheme is expected in the Budget for FY27 ■ Most loans are in relatively small ticket sizes of ■ As of June 2025, NPA rate PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, December 21 under PMMY for public sector banks stood at 3.31% of disbursed amount THE GOVERNMENTIS likelyto extend the flagship Pradhan MantriMUDRAYojana(PMMY) by another five years up to 2030-31, reinforcing its focus on promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment throughcollateral-freecreditto micro and small businesses in the non-corporate, non-farm sector,sources said. The scheme, launched in 2015, is currently scheduled to run until March 31, 2026. “The scheme will likely be extended by another five years,” a government official `1-2 lakh said, indicating continuity in policy support for small entrepreneurs. An announcement in this regard is expected in the Budget for FY27. PMMY primarily caters to sections of society that have traditionally remained outside the formal credit system due to the absence of collateral, limited business experience or lack of access to institutional finance. Continued on Page 5 LARGE, MID OR SMALL? MULTI CAP FUND IS FOR ALL! Scan to learn more about Multi Cap Funds An open-ended equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap & small cap stocks SIP for life Exposure across many sectors/industries Suitable for long-term investors An Investor Education and Awareness Initiative SIP - Systematic Investment Plan | Visit https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how to know more about the process to complete a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to invest in Mutual Funds. Investors should only deal with registered Mutual Funds, details of which can be verified on the SEBI website (www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html). 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