ECONOMY, P2 COMPANIES, P6 INTERNATIONAL, P12 FREIGHT GROWTH EVEN LOWER ‘FOCUS REMAINS ON VOLUME GROWTH’ CLEAR PICTURE EXPECTED TODAY Railways’ passenger revenues stagnate over last decade Price pressures in India to continue for two more quarters: Unilever CEO Pak counts votes after polls marred by terror attacks, internet curbs CHENNAI/KOCHI, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLIV 234, 34 PAGES, `12.00 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: 71,428.43 ▼ 723.57 NIFTY: 21,717.95 ▼ 212.55 NIKKEI 225: 36,863.28 ▲ 743.36 HANG SENG: 15,878.07 ▼ 203.82 `/$: 82.96 ▲ 0.01 `/€: 89.46 ▼ 0.10 BRENT: $80.29 ▲ $1.08 GOLD: `62,449 ▲ `73 IN THE NEWS SPECTRUM WORTH `96,318 CRORE TO BE AUCTIONED THE UNION CABINET on Thursday approved the next telecom spectrum auction across multiple bands at a reserve price of `96,317.65 crore, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 4 NHAI RAISES `15,625 CR VIA INVIT ROUTE NHAI HAS RAISED `15,625 crore from monetisation of 10 highway stretches via the InvIT route, reports Mukesh Jagota. The total amount raised so far is now `1 trillion — `42,334 crore via TOT, `26,125 crore via InvIT and `42,000 crore via securitisation. ■ PAGE 2 NESTLE INDIA SEES DEMAND PICKING UP THIS YEAR NESTLE INDIA EXPECTS a growth in demand for FMCG products this year on the back of government's investment push and a more benign inflation, reports Akanksha Nagar. However, it said there are some stress points in the sector. ■ PAGE 6 GOVTTIGHTENS STOCK HOLDING LIMIT FOR WHEAT TO BOOST SUPPLIES of wheat and prevent its hoarding, the government on Thursday halved the stock holding limits for traders, wholesalers, big retailers and processors, while extending the controls to March 31, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 2 RESULTS CORNER LIC profit jumps 49% to `9,444 crore PAGE 9 Zomato beats estimates, delivers profit again PAGE 6 Grasim profit falls 40%, revenue rises 11.6% PAGE 7 FE S P E C I A L UPA plunged economy into a crisis: White Paper Government lists measures to bring it back on track FROM ‘FRAGILE FIVE’ TO ‘TOP FIVE’ FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 8 2004-14 Underspending in 14 major social and rural ministries 2013-14 2022-23 (in %) (Budgeted expenditureActual expenditure) THE CONGRESS-LED UPA governmenthadplungedtheeconomyinto a “crisis” in 2014, and it took “enormous” effort by the Narendra Modi government to stabilise it and set it on the recovery/growth path, the financeministrysaidonThursdayin aWhitePaperontheEconomytabled in Parliament. With the electoral battle lines drawn, the 59-page document nar- Key ratios of public sector banks Net interest margin 2.45 2.72 Further risk mitigation on the lines of hybrid annuity model may be required to make it lucrative enough ■ EXPLAINER, P11 Return on equity 2014-24 0.9% of BE FY04 - FY14 FY14 - FY23 5% Source: IMF Improvement in the quality of expenditure during the last decade CAGR of— 8.48 12.35 Source: RBI rated the “unenviable legacy” left behindbythepreviousdispensation in great detail, and asserted that it took“toughdecisions”totransform thecountryfromthe“fragilefive”to RATES UNCHANGED, MAY STAY HIGHER FOR LONGER 8.2% Return on 0.5 assets 0.79 6.4% of BE Revenue expenditure FY04-FY14 14.2% FY14-FY24 the“top five”in a decade. The White Paper said,“We continue to undertake measures to unearthblackmoneyandtodiscourage recourse to it”, but avoided any Capital expenditure 9.9% 5.6% 17.6% reference to the decsion to demonetise the bulk of the currencyin circulation on November8,2016. Continued on Page 13 Cong’s black paper flags 'failures' of Modi govt FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 8 THE CONGRESS PARTY presented a“black paper”onThursday highlighting the Narendra Modi government’s “failure” in the past 10years.The paperwas unveiled by party’s president Mallikarjun Kharge hours ahead of the “white paper on Indian economy” tabled in Parliament by the finance ministry. The black paper, titled “10 Saal Anyay Kaal 2014-2024 (10 years of injustice)”,mentioned that under Modi’s tenure,the country’s economy “crumbled”, unemployment rose to a 45-year high, institutions got subverted,farmers suffered distress and migrant workers “starved”. The paper said that unemployment rose to 40 million in 2022 from 10 million in 2012. It said that about 1 million central government’s posts remain vacant and unemployment among postgraduates stands at 33%. Continued on Page 13 FY25 GROWTH OUTLOOK AT 7%; INFLATION AT 4.5% RBI focus on the last mile JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, February 8 THE MONETARY POLICY Committee left the policyreporateunchangedat6.5%forthesixth straightmeetingandstucktoitshawkishstance onThursday,signalingthatit’sinnohurrytocut interestrates.“Thejobisnotyetfinished,andwe needtobevigilantaboutnewsupplyshocksthat may undo the progress made so far,” Reserve BankofIndia(RBI)governorShaktikantaDas said,addingthe“lastmileofdisinflationis always the most challenging”. Monetarypolicytransmissionremains incomplete, Das said, implying banks haven’tfullypassedontheRBI’sratehikes to customers,while inflation still remains abovethetarget.Theuncertaintyoverthe SHAKTIKANTA DAS, RBI GOVERNOR THE LAST MILE OF DISINFLATION IS ALWAYS THE MOST CHALLENGING" timing of the rate cuts and the continuation of tight liquidityenvironment at a timewhen the banking industry has been facing liquidity issues spooked the stock markets,which fell by 1%.WhileDassaidtheRBIwillremain“nimble and flexible”on liquidityand that an appropriate mix of instruments will be used to adjust banking-systemcash,deputygovernorMichael Patra said the objective is to keep the overnight market rates close to the policyrate. The decision to hold on to the rates wasmade5-1,withexternalmember Jayanth Verma voting against it.The MPCunanimouslydecidedtoremain focused on “withdrawal of accommodation”toensurefullertransmissionandanchoringofinflationexpectations,disappointingsome analysts who had predicted a shift to neutral. The good news was that the projections of grossdomesticproduct for FY24 have been revisedupwardsto7.3% from 7%. For FY25, it has been kept at 7%. Continued on Page 12 MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 8-9 Paytm didn’t comply on various parameters: RBI PIYUSH SHUKLA Mumbai, February 8 Will the new BoT model bring back private developers? Average headline inflation during the UPA government vs NDA government THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) on Thursday stoutly defended its January 31 action on Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) bysaying that therewere compliance issues across various parameters,not just KYC. Atthepost-monetarypolicycommittee (MPC) conference,RBI governorShaktikanta Das said,“The regulations are there in place and are robust.It isnotacasewheretherewereregulatorydeficienciesorregulatorycorrectionsrequired.” Deputy governor Swaminathan J added that such actions take place after “months and at times, years of bilateral engagement with the regulated entity where we not only point out the deficiencies but also provide more than enough time for them to take corrective actions”. Halting two days of recovery, Paytm shares slumped 10% to `446.65 on Thursday after RBI’s comments. Thedecisiontoimposerestrictions on PPB was persistent noncompliance with regulatory norms and lack of corrective measures taken by the entity despite multiple meetings with the regulator,among others. Continued on Page 12 BAT signals stake sale in ITC VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, February 8 BAT,THELARGESTshareholderincigarettes-to-hotels major ITC, on Thursdaysaid itwasworking towards selling some of its stake in the company. The British company holds a 29.03% stake in ITC. Following the announcement, BAT’s shares jumped the most in fouryears to nearly 8% intradayontheLondonStockExchange. “We continue to pursue all opportunitiestoenhancebalancesheetflexibilityand,as part of this,we regularly review our stake in ITC,”Tadeu Marroco, CEO, BAT, said during the company’sFY23earningsannouncement. “We recognise that we have a significant shareholdingwhich offers us the opportunity to release and reallo- PREPARING TO PARE HOLDING ITC shareholding as on Dec 31, 2023 GoQ partners Others 1.74 Insurance cos 5.07 Suuti 7.82 5.95 (%) 29.03 Retail 11.29 investors FPIs 29 28 *Through Tobacco Manufacturers (India), Myddleton Investment Company & Rothmans International Enterprises catesomecapital,”hesaid,addingthat BAT was working on completing the regulatory process required to monetise some of its shareholding in ITC. While Marroco did not provide a timeline, the announcement clearly 32.77 30 15.21 14.23 33 31 LIC 9.66 (%) 32 BAT * MFs BAT Plc shareholding in ITC 29.03 Dec 2001 Quarter Dec 2023 Source: BSE cheered investors who were waiting for the share sale since December 2023, when the company had indicated the move in an analyst call. Continued on Page 13 CHENNAI/KOCHI