ECONOMY, P3 MARKETS, P8 INTERNATIONAL, P7 MARKET CONDITIONS, PROFITABILITY TARGETING NEW AREAS RUSSIA GOES TO POLLS OMCs to take the call on more fuel price cuts: Puri RBI steps up scrutiny of 'exuberance' in retail lending Putin looks to secure fifth term as president CHENNAI/KOCHI, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLIV 265, 18 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: 72,643.43 ▼ 453.85 NIFTY: 22,023.35 ▼ 123.30 NIKKEI 225: 38,707.64 ▼ 99.74 HANG SENG: 16,720.89 ▼ 240.77 `/$: 82.89 ▼ 0.07 `/€: 90.33 ▲ 0.29 BRENT: $84.86 ▼ $0.56 GOLD: `65,365 ▲ `56 NEWS LOK SABHA POLL SCHEDULE TO BE ANNOUNCED TODAY THE ELECTION COMMISSION will announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. In a post on X, the election panel said a press conference to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections and some state assemblies will be held at 3 pm on Saturday. FE S P E C I A L S Volvo’s new XC40 Recharge: Price steals the thunder One less motor and yet an amazing electric car. But `54.95 lakh, seriously! ■ MOTOBAHN, P7 Passing on principal to nominee reduces annuity income Children may be earning or your spouse may have own pension ■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P8 THE GOVERNMENT ON Friday announced a new electric vehicle (EV) policy, aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing byglobal players, paving the way for the India entry of US-based Tesla. Under the set of measures unveiled,global automakerswill be allowed to import completely built-up units (CBU) at a concessional import duty of 15% for vehicles priced (cost, insurance & freight) $35,000 and above for a period of five years. However, they will be required to set up manufacturing facilities in the country within a three-year period. “The policy is designed to attract investments in the electric vehicle space by reputed global EV manufacturers,” the ministry of commerce and industry said in a statement. Proposed duty onvehicles ofminimum CIFvalue of$35,000 and above for 5 years NO FREE RIDE 15% Current import duty on imported cars (including EVs) with a cost, insurance & freight (CIF) value of less than $40,000 70% ■ This is subject to 100% on imported cars (including EVs) that have a CIFvalue of more than $40,000 Conditions apply: firm setting up manufacturing facilities in Indiawithin a 3-year period ■ Have to achieve 25% lo- ■ To give bank guarantee for calisation in 3 yrs, should duty forgone, to be encashgo up to 50% by 5th yr ed in case ofnon-compliance No hit to local Luxury firms to players: Experts explore options THE CUTIN the import dutyapplied on electric vehicles (EV) fully built outsideofIndiawillbeonthosemodelswhich do not form the core of the Indian car market and will therefore not impact Indian companies, said some senior executives, reports SwarajBaggonkar. ■ Page 4 LUXURYCARBRANDS said theyare exploring options to benefit from the new EV policy announced by the government on Friday, but also acknowledged that the country’s luxury car market is too nascenttoseelargevolumes,reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ Page 4 CCI orders probe into Google’s app billing system MF stress test reveals low liquidity in some schemes Continued on Page 13 MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, March 15 THE COMPETITION COMMISSION of India (CCI) on Friday ordered a probe against Google, after finding the tech giant’s user choice billing (UCB) system to be “prima facie” anti-competitive as it involves “abuse of dominant position.” TheCCIorderhascomeafterfour entitiesapproachedtheCCI,alleging that Google’s UCB system is “discriminatory and unfair” that disrupts competition in the app markets and favours Google’s own apps. In September 2022, Google introduced UCB that allowed app developers offering digital content to offer alternative billing systems (ABS) alongside Google Play Billing System (GPBS). In this system, Google is charging a service fee ranging from 10-30% in case of GPBS and 6-26% in case of ABS. The regulator’s investigative wing — director-general (investigation) — will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and submit the report within 60 days. The CCI noted that informants (homegrown app developers) are aggrieved with Google’s updated payment policies in relation to its proprietary app store — Google Play Store. As per CCI’s order, Google’s service fee in both GPBS and ABS substantiallyexceeds its cost of providing the services. “Based on 6% break-even revenue share,Google is FACINGTHE HEAT ■ In 2022, Google introduced user choice billing (UCB) that allowed app developers to offer alternative billing system (ABS) alongside Google Play Billing System (GPBS) ■ Google is charging a service fee ranging from 10-30% in case of GPBS and 6-26% forABS JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, March 15 charging 4 to 5 times of its cost to the app developers, which on a prima facie level, appears to be disproportionate to the economic value of services being rendered to the app developers and appears to beanabuseofdominantpositionby Google,”the CCI order noted. In early March, Google started delisting various Indian apps from its PlayStorewhich failed to comply withUCB.It‘temporarily’reinstated these apps with appeals after the government’s intervention. SOME LEADING MUTUAL fund housescouldneedasmanyas30days to liquidate 25% of their small-cap schemes, a stress test mandated by theSecuritiesandExchangeBoardof India (Sebi)showed on Friday. According to data collated from over 15 fund houses, including the top 10, there are indications that almost 50% would require over 10 days to liquidate 25% of theirsmallcap schemes.Among the top 10,SBI Mutual Fund would require 30 days toliquidate25%ofthescheme,while Franklin Templeton would require just2daystodoso.Incaseofliquidation of 50% of the scheme, some fund houseswill require between 20 and 60 days. Theliquiditynumberslookmuch betterwhen it comes to the mid-cap schemes, with most fund houses needingbetween2and17daystoliquidate 25% of the scheme and around double the time for 50% of the scheme (See table on pageX). Fund houses are required to pay investors within three days after the investorhas appliedforredemption. According to industry players, most of the numbers look quite reasonable,andevenifsomeofthemare onthehigherside,mostfundhouses are sitting on reasonable cash (in excess of 5%) in theirschemes. Continued on Page 13 Continued on Page 13 ■ As per CCI order, Google’s service fee in both GPBS &ABS substantially exceeds cost of providing the services POLL BONDS: LITTLE KNOWN NAMES STEALTHE SHOW Reliance-linked Qwik Supply Chain emerges from shadow RIL says firm not its subsidiary VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, March 15 QWIK SUPPLYCHAIN Private Limited,a little-known companywith a registered address at Navi Mumbai’s DhirubhaiAmbani Knowledge City (DAKC) and having links to Reliance Industries, was the thirdlargest donor to political parties using electoral bonds. Qwik Supply Chain is in the spotlight, thanks to its `410-crore donation using electoral bonds between FY22 and FY24,making it the third-largest donor to political parties, according to information uploaded by the Election Commis- INSIDE IN THE SPOTLIGHT ■ Firm provides logistics and supply chain support to Reliance Retail ■ Unlisted private firm Qwik Supply Chain is into warehousing, storage and transportation; incorporated on Nov 9, 2000 ■ RoC filings show Reliance Group Support, Reliance Fire Brigade & Reliance Hospital Management together own 50.04% of Qwik sion of India, after Future Gaming andHotelServicesandMeghaEngineering & Infra.Another reason for Qwik’s sudden entry into the limelight is that it shares a common address with Reliance Industries (RIL) — the Dhirubhai Ambani Megha Engineering: Winner of marquee infra projects ■ PAGE 18 ■ Between FY22 and FY23, it donated `360 crore to political parties, `50 crore donated in FY24, EC data show Knowledge City (DAKC), However, an RIL spokesperson in an emailed statement said that Qwik Supply Chain was not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity. Continued on Page 9 Links between poll bonds, agency raids only assumption: FM ■ PAGE 2 Cracking the whip again: SC says SBI duty-bound to give bond numbers ANANTHAKRISHNAN G New Delhi, March 15 A DAY AFTER the Election Commission (EC) released a list provided by State Bank of India (SBI) of all entities that purchased electoral bonds since April 2019 to make political donations, the Supreme Court on Friday expressed its displeasure over the non-disclosure of the bond numbers. A five-judge Constitution Bench issued notice to SBI and sought a response by Monday,saying that the bank is “duty-bound” to furnish the unique alphanu- meric code on the bonds to the EC to enable matching them with their recipients. The Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was hearing an EC application seeking return of the bond data deposited with the SC registry following two interim orders of the court dated April 12, 2019, and November 2, 2023. The Election Commission said it had not retained a copy of the data and would upload it on its website once the court returned what had been deposited with its registry. Continued on Page 9 ICC TV rights: Star drags Zee to London arbitration court PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, March 15 BATTLE IN COURT STAR INDIAHAS initiated proceedings against Zee Entertainment in the London Court of International Arbitrationovernon-complianceof the agreement for the sub-licence of TV broadcasting rights of ICC international matches from 2024 to 2027. Star India, part of global media giant Disney Star, has sought specific performance of the alliance agreement or payment of damages for the $1.4-billion deal, which are yet to be determined,according to a regulatory filing from Zee. “On March 14, 2024, Star India has initiated arbitration proceedings against the Company (ZEEL), underthe alliance agreement dated August 26, 2022, entered between Star and the Company, by filing a request for arbitration (under the has sought specific performance of the alliance agreement or payment of damages of the ■ Disney-owned Star India ■ InAug 2022, Zee entered into the pact with Star India for a sublicence ofTVbroadcasting rights of ICC Men's and Under 19 international matches from 2024-27 $1.4-billion deal ■ Zee said it disagrees with Star and will be filing appropriate response Arbitration Rules of the London Court of InternationalArbitration,” it said. However,ZEELbased on preliminary assessment and legal advice received “disagrees with the averments made by Star”,it said. The company “will be filing appropriate response to the said application, make counterclaims ■ Zee had missed the first instalment of $203.56 million and undertake such actions,as may be required,”Zee added. InAugust2022,Zeeenteredinto an alliance agreement with Star India for a sub-licence of TV broadcasting rights of ICC Men’s and Under 19 international matches from 2024 to 2027. Continued on Page 13 TRADE DEFICIT AT $18.7 BN; OUTWARD SHIPMENTS GROWTH HIGHEST IN 20 MONTHS Exports up 12% in Feb, imports grow in tandem MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, March 15 INDIA’S MERCHANDISE EXPORTS grew 11.9% on year in February to $41.40 billion, the highest level in 11 months despite the headwinds from the Red Sea crisis and persistent geopolitical tensions and the stagnation in world trade. The growth in goods shipments during the month was the highest since June 2022. This is for the third month in a row exports have grown, bucking thetrendofcontractionoverseveral previous months. In the AprilDecember period, the export growth was in the positive zone for only two months. Import of goods in February ON A HIGH 40 Trade deficit ($ bn), LHS Imports Exports (% chg, y-o-y, RHS) 12.2 30 20 11.9 -0.4 0 10 0 20 10 -4.2 -10 Feb Mar Apr May Jun 2023 Source: Commerce ministry 18.7 IN THE VIKRAM CHAUDHARY & SWARAJ BAGGONKAR New Delhi/Mumbai, March 15 19.8 THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will roll out the betaversionoftheT+0settlementon an optionalbasis from March 28. After a board meeting on Thursday,alateeveningpressreleasebythe regulatorsaid thebetaversionwillbe rolledoutforalimitedsetof25scrips, and with a limited set of brokers. In parallel,Sebi will continue to do further stakeholder consultation, including with the users of the beta version. The board will review the progress at the end of three months and six months from the date of this implementation,and decide on furthercourse of action. T+0 settlement means that the fundsandsecuritiesforatransaction will be settled on the day the trade was entered into. In addition, Sebi has relaxed the timeline for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to disclose material changes in order to facilitate ease of doing business forthem. "Goingforward,materialchanges required to be notified by the FPIs shallbecategorisedintotwobuckets, Type I and Type II. Type I material changes, shall continue to be informedbyFPIstotheirDDPwithin seven working-days of the occurrence of the change. However, supporting documents for the same (if any) shall now be required to be providedwithin30daysofsuchchange. Other material changes (categorised as Type II) shall be informed along with supporting documents (if any) byFPIstotheirDDPwithin30daysof such change,” Sebi added. Type I material changes are those whichrequireFPIstoseekfreshregistration or which affect any privileges/exemptions available to them. TypeIImaterialchangesareallothers. EV policy: Make in India, made for Tesla 24.3 FE BUREAU Mumbai, March 15 IMPORT DUTY SLASHED, RIDERS ATTACHED 16.6 Sebi to roll out beta version of T+0 from Mar 28, provides FPIs disclosure relief Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb 2024 were up 12.18% to $60.11 billion, also driven by inward shipments of machinery and minerals, apart -20 from gold and electronic goods, indicating a rise in investment demand. “We have been able towithstand difficulttimes.Projectionsforworld trade for 2024 are much better.For next year we are quite optimistic,” commerce secretarySunilBarthwal told reporters. The trade deficit during Februarywas12.9%higherthanprevious year at $ 18.71 billion. For AprilFebruary the deficit stood at $ 225.2 billion,down 8.4% on year. The rebound in February was driven by engineering products which account for 24% of total exports. During the month shipments by the sector grew 15.9% to $ 9.9 billion.Electronic goods shipments were up 54.81% to $2.9 billion. Drugs and pharma exports were up 22%, chemicals 33% and petroleum products,5%. In merchandise exports, 22 of the 30 key sectors exhibited positive growth during the month The rise in exports in February has taken the overall exports (goods andservices)forthefirst11months of the financial year in the positive zone with a growth of 0.83% over the previous year to $709.81 billion. If this trend is sustained in March, net exports could turn positive in Q1FY24 after several quarters,pushing up the gross domestic product. The overall decline in goods exports stands at 3.45% which is a massive improvement from the depths of 14.12% by the end of April-Junequarter.Goodsexportsin April-Februaryaredownto$394.99 billionwhile services exports are up 6.76% to $314.82 billion. Continued on Page 9 CHENNAI/KOCHI