VERDICT 2024, P7 VERDICT 2024, P7 INTERNATIONAL, P3 BOTS HIT TRANSLATION WALL NO COERCIVE STEPS: TAXMAN TO SC BIGGEST ELECTORAL BLOW Full utilisation of AI for voter interaction to take some more time Cong gets tax relief on `3,500-cr demand until after the polls Turkey's main opposition thumps President Erdogan in pivotal local election NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L NO. 26, 20 PAGES, `12.00 (PATNA & RAIPUR `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: 74,014.56 ▲ 363.21 NIFTY: 22,462 ▲ 135.10 NIKKEI 225: 39,803.09 ▼ 566.35 HANG SENG: 16,541.42 ▲ 148.58 `/$: 83.40 ▼ 0.03 `/€: 89.87 ▲ 0.40 BRENT: $86.79 ▼ $0.21 GOLD: `68,431 ▲ `1,444 AUTOMAKERS EXPECT THE country’s passenger vehicle volume growth to taper off to 2.5-3% in the current fiscal, from 9% recorded in FY24, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ PAGE 4 EXPLAINER Price controls on medicines: Where to draw the line? ■ PAGE 9 179 12 0 1.5 0.8 -60 ` trillion % chg, y-o-y (RHS) 2.2 4.7 16 4 0.5 -90 210 9.8 Private 8 -30 Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar 2022 2023 2024 6.1 0 2.2 1 0 -73.1 1.4 2 30 -30.3 1.7 3 % chg, y-o-y (RHS) 4.6 2.2 4 8.4 AUTOMAKERS WARN OF SLOWER VOLUME GROWTH IN FY25 New investment projects announced ` trillion Government 13.8 VISTARA CANCELLED AROUND 50 flights and delayed over 150 flights on Monday due to various reasons, including crew shortage, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 4 THE VALUE OF new investment projects announced fell a sharp 29% on year to `11.3 trillion in the March quarter, extending a declining trend of the previous two quarters, castingseriousdoubtsaboutthegovernment's claim that,“with an uptick in private investments and inflation trending down,economic outlookforthe newfiscal looks positive”. IntheMarchquarter,bothprivateandgovernmentinvestmentannouncementsdeclined roughlyatthesamerate(ofaround30%each), data from the Centre forMonitoring of Indian Economyshowed.Tobesure,inabsoluteterms, valueofprivateprojectsunveiled(`9.8trillion) in Q4 was still the highest since the year-ago quarter,whenitsawarecentpeakof`13.8trillion. However, typically, March quarter sees a spurt in declaration of investment intents. Part reason for the slower-than-expected quantum of project announcements at a time when several sectors are seeing high capacity utilisation levels could be a guarded approach of companiesin the run-up to the elections. SHARP FALL FOR THIRD QUARTER IN A ROW 1.7 VISTARA CANCELS AROUND 50 FLIGHTS, DELAYS OVER 150 SAIKAT NEOGI New Delhi, April 1 4.8 THE RBI WILL conduct auctions for all central government securities via the multiple price method from this fiscal, nearly three years after it changed its methodology, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 6 4.2 RBI REVERTS TO MULTIPLE PRICE AUCTIONS Capex plans drop nearly 30% in Q4 3.1 NEWS PROJECTS WORTH `1.7 TRN SHELVED 6.7 IN THE 140 70 0 -28.8 -70 Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar 2022 2023 2024 Source: Economic outlook Continued on Page 10 March GST mop-up second highest THEGROSSGOODSandservicestax(GST) collectionsforMarch,pertaininglargelyto transactions in February,came in at `1.78 trillion, up 11.5% on year, reports PriyanshVerma.The March mop-up was the second highest in anymonth since the start of the GST regime and reflected robust consumption.Thehighest monthly GSTmop-upwasrecordedat`1.87trillion in April 2023. ■ Page 2 Be ready with action plan: PM ‘Flood of work’ from the next day of swearing-in PIYUSH SHUKLA Mumbai, April 1 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi on Monday asked India’s financial sector regulator and the entities governed byit to be ready for the “flood of work” thatwouldfollowfromthevery next day the new government comes to office.The swearingin ceremony for the next government is expected in June. “What you have seen in the last 10 years was just a trailer. Hectic work will start from RBI governor Shaktikanta Das greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event to mark the 90th anniversary of RBI. The PM praised Das for his out-of-the-box thinking ANI immediately after the oathtaking ceremony,”he said at an event to mark the 90th anniversary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Addressing the audience comprising RBI officials,financial sector leaders and industry captains,Modi said hewould be busy for the next 100 days in elections.“You have ampletime tothinkanddeliberatetillthen,” he said, exuding confidence of forming the new government afterthe general elections. Modi said many new sectors are getting created and there is a need to develop expertise in financing those as India seeks to become economicallymoreself-reliant.He asked bankers and regulators tobereadyfortheneedsofnew and traditional sectors like space and tourism. Pointing out that India needs new ideas forgrowth,the PM said,“Shaktikanta Das is an expert in outof-the-box thinking”. Detailed report on Page 6 Madura Fashion spin-off on the cards VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, April 1 ADITYABIRLAFASHIONandRetail(ABFRL) said thatits board onMondayapprovedthe evaluationofaverticaldemergerofMadura Fashion and Lifestyle business into a separatelisted entity. INSIDE Post the demerger of Madura, its largest BIG PLANS segment,ABFRLwould FOR REEBOK raise growth capital ■ PAGE 4 within 12 months to infusestrengthintoits balancesheet.Themoveisexpectedtocreate a“simplifiedstructure”,enablingcreationof “two separately listed companies as independentgrowthengines”withdistinctcapital structures and parallel value creation BRAND-BUILDING MOVE ■ Madura Fashion and Lifestyle business may be demerged into a separate listed entity ■ Demerger to be implemented via an NCLT scheme of arrangement ■ All shareholders ofABFRL to have identical holding in the newly-formed entity opportunities,thecompanysaidina notification to thestock exchanges on Monday. “Over the years, our fashion and retail businesshasgrownfrom5brandsin2categoriestoadynamicportfolioof20+brands. The evolution of this portfolio has seam- ■ Madura includes lifestyle brands like Louis Phillippe, Van Heusen, casual wear brands like Forever 21 and sportswear brand Reebok lessly mirrored the shift in consumption trends,with a play encompassing all large value-creation opportunities,” KM Birla, chairman,Aditya Birla Group,said. Continued on Page 10 Badon par bharosa rakh kar zindagi mein aage badhiye Large Cap Funds ke baare mein jaaniye Adhik jaankari ke liye apne MFD/RIA se sampark karein ya scan karein Advantages of Large Cap Funds Exposure to large and well established businesses Offer diversification and lower volatility An Investor Education and Awareness Initiative 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). For any queries, complaints & grievance redressal, investors may reach out to the AMCs and / or Investor Relations Officers. Additionally, investors may also lodge complaints directly with the AMCs, if they are unsatisfied with the resolutions given by AMCs they may raise complaint through the SCORES portal on https://scores.gov.in. SCORES portal facilitates investors to lodge complaint online with SEBI and subsequently view its status. In case the investor is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaints raised directly with the AMCs or through the SCORES portal, they may file any complaint on the Smart ODR on https://smartodr.in/login. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. New Delhi