OPINION, P10 FE LINES WELL BEING Constitutional morality is at stake WHEN YOUR THOUGHTS SPUTTER LIKE POPCORN The might of TikTok While many nations have restricted TikTok, the Chinese app continues to assert its dominance Page 6 Know all about ‘popcorn brain’, what it feels like and how technology has a role to play in it Page 9 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL. XX, NO. 32 FOREVER & ALWAYS ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 Business with heart & mind What was once a choice is now an operating imperative India seeks $100 bn in FDI a year: Official BLOOMBERG April 6 INDIA AIMS TO attract at least STEPPING UP ■ Boosting share of manufacturing in economy one of Modi's key promises ■ PLI programme has helped reduce dependence on imports ■ Administration has plans for new industrial corridors ■ Govt working to address delays in granting visas to Chinese vendors & professionals offered by the Narendra Modi government. Still,foreigninvestmenthasn’t matched the pickup in local manufacturing. Singh attributedthattohigherinflationand interest rates in developed nations, as well as geopolitical conflicts and risk perception about emerging markets. India has“unmatched mar- ket growth opportunity in a variety of sectors such as electricvehicles,electronicgoodsor generalconsumergoods,where penetration levels in ourpopulation are far lower than the global average,” he said in the interview Thursday. He vowed that the government will take more steps to ease FDI rules. Boosting the share of manufacturing in India’s economy has been one of the key promisesmadebyModi,whois seekingathirdterminelections that start onApril 19. The government’s production-linked incentive programme has already helped boost manufacturing and reduce India’s dependence on imports for products like telecommunications and auto components, Singh said. He citedexportgrowththat’sbeen driven by new industries.“We have at least 39 new medical devices being made in India thatwere nevermade,” he said. The administration has plansforseveralnewindustrial corridors that would likely get approval within the first 100 days of a new government, Singh said. Continued on Page 2 to Oriana Investments (Aditya Birla Group entity forming part of the promoter group), on a preferential basis”, the filing said. The board also approved an increase in the authorised share capital of the company from existing `75,000 crore, divided into `70,000 crore equity share capital and `5,000 crore preference share capital, to `1 trillion, the filing said. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 `1 trn ■ Infusion part of Vi's two-part fundraising plan totalling `45,000 cr through mix of equity & debt service provider expects the corpuswill help repayvendors, strengthen its 4G network and fund the launch of 5G services to help compete with bigger and profitable rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The Vodafone Idea board has approved “issuance of up to 1,395,427,034 equity shares of face value of `10 each at an issue price of `14.87 per equity share (including a premium of `4.87 per equity share), aggregating to `2,075 crore ● A SPECTACLE IN PINK Tourists take a selfie near cherry blossom trees on Cherry Blossom Avenue in downtown Bonn, Germany, on Saturday. While Japan has been synonymous with the spectacle of cherry blossom, the 'magic' can be witnessed in many places around the world at different times of the year. The season is marked by the arrival of spring, but the full bloom depends on the region with weather playing an important role REUTERS Cognizant defers salary hikes FE BUREAU Bengaluru, April 6 NASDAQ-LISTED IT SERVICES firm Cognizant has delayed salaryhikesforeligibleemployees by around four months compared to the previous year. Accordingly, the hikes will be rolled out fromAugust 1. The development comes at a time when Cognizant as well as other IT services firms are witnessing a weak demand environment due to macroeconomic issues. Cognizanthasover347,000 employees across the world, of which around 254,000 are based in India. Though a USbased company, Cognizant’s performancereflectstheoverall marketsentimentforITservice companiesinIndiasuchasTata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro.“We are committed to recognising the hard work anddedicationofourassociates throughannualmeritincreases andbonuses,”thecompanysaid in a statement. Continued on Page 2 NSE cash market turnover breaches `200-trillion mark THE CASH MARKET turnover on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) surged by 51.1% to reach `201 trillion in FY2024. Similarly, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) also reported a significant increase, with its cash market turnover rising by 58.3% to `16.3 trillion. In the previous fiscal, the cash market turnover had declined by 19.7% on the NSE and by 23.1% on the BSE. The average daily turnover in the cash market rose by 52.9% to `81,721 crore on the NSE, while it recorded a rise of 60.3% to `6,622 crore on BSE. Compiled by Kishor Kadam Cash market turnover (` trillion) near Hyderabad, this 'wellness farm community' sells land in 1-acre lots, priced at `1.6 crore per plot ■ Several projects on city's outskirts allowing urban residents to own or rent pieces of land to get the farming experience ingeverythingtotakeupfarming. While farming itself is a harsh profession,the dream of citydwellerstotakeupfarming isbecomingarealityinadiffer- Akshara Ananda GREEN LEAF ■ This 3.5-acre 'community organic farming' space in Gurugram leases out mini plots of 600 sq yards each, costing `35,00 per month entway.Severalprojectsoncity outskirts offera farming experience,to own or rent pieces of land devoted exclusively to farming. And these urban farmers get to experience organic produce, reconnect with theirroots,and also to destress and rejuvenate. Essentiallyareal-estatepro- ject sprawling across 150 acres close to Hyderabad, Akshara Ananda’s founder Ashwin Rao says:“Iselllandinone-acrelots, priced at `1.6 crore per plot.” Continued on Page 2 42.4 How it works is that the entire 150 acres is maintained by Rao and his team, while the land owners can visit their plot and invest time and effort as they please.“Time is the main ingredient in farming, which an urban farmermight not be able to commit, as the land owners have their daily jobs and routines.So we make it a collective experience,andwhatevercomes out of this entire land—fruits, vegetables and dairy products—is distributed among the plot owners.”Akshara Ananda even houses a clubhouse with several cottages where land ownerscanstaywhileengaging in farm activities. 7.4 her home in Hyderabad, life coach and image consultant Priya Rajiv drives to Akshara Ananda,a‘wellness farm community’,where she indulges in planting, tending to plants, vegetable plucking, animal feeding, etc, and enjoys the fresh produce too.“Every time we visit the farm we learn something new, either about crops,thesoil,seasons,etc,”says Rajiv,apartofthegrowingtribe ofcityfolksundertakingfarming on the side. Often urban settlers complain about the pressures of city life and contemplate leav- ■ Sprawling across 150 acres 8.5 AN HOURAND ahalfawayfrom FARM FRESH NSE FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 Cash market: Average daily turnover 3,518 17,818 2,996 17,154 4,025 20,387 4,402 29,410 3,127 32,052 2,676 36,432 4,197 61,839 5,396 66,799 4,132 53,434 6,622 81,721 SHUBHANGI SHAH New Delhi, April 6 43.3 Stressed city dwellers can now live their rural dreams BSE 201.0 Behaviour of consumers is evolving as rapidly as the number of brands and their offerings. Amid the deep discounts and offers and intense competition, how is the BPC market faring in India? shareholders' approval at EGM on May 8 133.1 board has approved raising of `2,075 crore from one of its promoters, Aditya Birla Group, and increasing its authorised share capital to `1 trillion.The approvals are part of the company’s plans to raise `20,000 crore of capital to fund its operations and lower its debt burden. The company will seek shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary general meeting on May8 on the proposals, it said in a regulatory filing. The promoter’s infusion is partofVodafoneIdea'sbroader two-part fundraising plan totalling `45,000 crore through a mix of equity and debt. It plans to raise `20,000 crore via equity by June-end, andfollowthatupwitharound `25,000 crore from lenders. The cash-strapped telecom ■ Vi to seek as he brought in more leaders from Capgemini. AsinvestorsandshareholdWIPRO CEO AND managing ers raised questions on its perdirectorThierryDelaporte has formance, chairman Rishad resigned from his position Premji had said in Januarythat effective April 6, the company Delaporte had his and the said on Saturday. Wipro has board’s confidence. appointed Srinivas Pallia, a “I would like to express my company veteran, as the new gratitude to Thierry for his CEO and managing director leadership at Wipro. The with immediate effect. changes he implemented have Delaporte, who had joined better positioned us for Wipro from the future. We Capgemini,was at have optimised the helm of affairs our structure, at the IT services enhanced our company for the leadership,priorilast fouryears,and tised partneris stepping down ships, and to “pursue pasimproved our sions outside overall efficiency,” the workplace”. chairman Rishad “He (DelaPremji was porte) will be quoted as saying relieved from the on Saturday. employment of Delaporte, in the companywith Srinivas Pallia, a his resignation effect from the company veteran, letter, said it was close of business will be CEO and an “incredible hours on May 31,” managing honour” to have Wipro said. played a role in the director with Pallia has been immediate effect growth and sucwith Wipro for cess of Wipro. over three “During my decades and most recently tenure as CEO and MD, we served as the CEO for Ameri- have witnessed a significant cas 1, the company's biggest transformation within the and fastest-growing strategic companythat has notonlydrimarket. In this role, he over- ven financial growth but has saw diverse industry sectors, also positively impacted our established their vision, and associates, clients, and shareimplemented growth strate- holders,”Delaportewasquoted gies, resulting in increased as saying in the release. market shares within these In 2023 alone, over 10 sectors. Pallia is a member of senior leadership members the Wipro executive board. had quit the company,includDelaporte’s resignation ing chief growth officer comesamidquartersofunder- StephanieTrautman and chief performance,whereWiprohas financial officer Jatin Dalal. lagged rivals.It also witnessed a string of top-level exits,even Continued on Page 2 PADMINI DHRUVARAJ Bengaluru, April 6 16.3 DEBT-RIDDEN VODAFONE IDEA on Saturday said its on Saturday said the airline hopes to stabilise operations forthismonthbythisweekend and that more than 98% of pilotshavesignedthenewcontract. The full service carrier faced significant disruption in operations earlier this week due to the non-availability of crew, because of which many flights were cancelled. In a statement,Kannansaidthesituationisalreadybetter,withits on-time performance improving for the past three days. “We hope to stabilise our operations for the rest of April bythisweekend,”hesaid.Referring to the new contract for pilots,he said some pilots have some concerns and queries regarding the contract.The airline is engaging with them to clarifyandresolvetheconcerns, Kannan said, adding that “over 98% of pilots have signed the new contract”. Vistara has around 1,000 pilots. A section of pilots have raised concerns about the new contract that will result in pay revision, sources had said earlier. P U N E Delaporte quits as Wipro CEO, Pallia to take over 165.7 Behind the sheen of the beauty market company's authorised share capital to VISTARA CEO VINOD Kannan D E L H I , 10.3 ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 repay vendors, fund launch of 5G services ■ This will increase PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, April 6 N E W 154.0 FE BUREAU New Delhi, April 6 CASH RELIEF Vistara: Over 98% pilots signed new contract M U M B A I , 13.4 ● Move part of company plans to lower debt burden ■ Telco expects corpus to help L U C K N O W , 90.0 Vi gets board nod to raise `2,075 cr K O L K A T A , 10.5 K O C H I , 79.5 H Y D E R A B A D , ADITYA BIRLA GROUP TO INFUSE FUNDS WHAT'S INSIDE $100 billion ayearin gross foreign direct investment, a top official said, as it courts investors looking to diversify awayfrom China.“Ourtarget is that we will average at least $100 billion over the next five years.The trend isverypositive and upward,” said Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade,in an interviewin NewDelhi. The ambitious target compareswithanannualaverageof more than $70 billion in FDI in the five years through March 2023andwouldbeareversalin trend after last year’s decline. Singh said the figure for the currentfiscalyearwillbe‘closer to’the $100-billion target. Theworld’sfastest-growing major economy is appealing to businesses that want to hedge againstgeopoliticaltensionsby spreading their operations more broadly—sometimes called a ‘China plus-one’ strategy.Companies like Apple and Samsung have boosted manufacturing in India, taking advantage of incentives C H E N N A I , 6.6 C H A N D I G A R H , 72.3 B E N G A L U R U , 7.8 F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , 50.6 P U B L I S H E D READ TO LEAD 10.8 SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2024, 14 Pages, `12 (NE States & Andaman `13) 10.0 FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY KOLKATA A Taylor Swift fan shares her experience of attending a live concert Page 7 (` crore) BSE NSE FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 Source: BSE, NSE Kolkata