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APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 17 NO. 107, 24 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: 74683.70 ▼ 58.80 NIFTY: 22,642.75 ▼ 23.55 NIKKEI 225: 39,773.13 ▲ 426.09 HANG SENG: 16,828.07 ▲ 95.22 `/$: 83.32 ▼ 0.02 `/€: 90.21 ▲ 0.06 BRENT: $90.53 ▲ $0.15 GOLD: `71,607 ▲▼ `596 2021 2021 2022 2023# 2023 ^first forecasts, *LPA (long period average) is average annual rainfall (89 cm) recorded between 1951-2000, 96%-104% of LPA considered 'normal', <96% is 'below normal', <90% is 'deficient', >104% is 'above normal', >110% plus is 'excess', India Meteorological Department (IMD) Source: #second advance estimate of crop production, covers only kharif & rabi season, summer crops data not included 102% of the benchmark long period average (LPA) with an average errormargin of +/- 5%,Skymet said. Rainfall in the range of 96104% of LPA is considered normal. However, the monsoon season may start with risk of impairment, Continued on Page 11 9 Apr (open) 75,124 1,414 Reliance Inds ICICI Bank 553 SBI 503 Tata Motors 452 Bharti Airtel 450 Top contributors to 5,000 points rally (from 70,000 to 75,000) Days taken Fourth fastest 5,000 points rally 382 33 138 28 438 110 82 Dec 04, 2020 Jan 21, 2021 Aug 13, 2021 Sep 24, 2021 Jul 03, 2023 Dec 11, 2023 Apr 09, 2024 74,683 330 (close) May 23, 2019 8 Apr (close) 712 74,742 Jan 17, 2018 0.08% 196 5K* 10K 15K 20K 25K 30K 35K 40K 45K 50K 55K 60K 65K 70K 75K *4000 points Source: Blooomberg Invesco marks up Swiggy valuation ● AERIALAID FOR WAR-TORN GAZA US-BASED ASSET management companyInvescohasmarkedupthe valuation of food delivery platform Swiggyby19%to$12.7billion.This is the third-straight valuation markup by Invesco, and comes at a time when the unicorn is preparing for an initial public offering. Last year,Invescohadmarkedupitsvaluationto$8.5billionasofOctober31, from $7.8 billion in July. ■ Page 4 Ola hits brakes on international biz Jordanian armed forces air drop aid parcels over Gaza on Tuesday. Israel said aid is moving into Gaza more quickly after international pressure to increase access, but the amount is disputed and the United Nations said is still much less than the bare minimum to meet humanitarian needs. REUTERS RIDE-HAILINGMAJOROlaCabshas decided to shut down its existing operationsininternationalmarkets like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand by the end of this month, reports Anees Hussain. The company has started sending notifications to users about the impending closure,with operations set to cease inAustralia fromApril 12. ■ Page 4 IndusInd Holdings buys 60% in US firm’s India arm FE BUREAU Mumbai, April 9 AFTER RELIANCE CAPITAL, the Hinduja Group has nowset its sights on the mutual funds space. The group’sIndusIndInternationalHoldings(IIHL)willacquirea60%stakein InvescoAsset ManagementIndia. IIHL, the promoter of India’s fifth-largest private sector lender IndusInd Bank, said it has entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture with US-based Invesco.Aspartoftheagreement,the Hinduja Group-backed firm will acquire majority stake in Invesco’s India subsidiary. InvescoAssetManagementIndia isthefifthlargestforeignassetmanager and the 17th largest domestic asset manager in India with combinedonshoreandoffshoreadvisory and assets under management of `85,400 crore. “It was our vision to transform IIHL into a BFSI powerhouse. Our endeavouristoreach‘lasthome,last investor’ in a transparent and efficient manner,” said Ashok Hinduja, chairman of IIHL. The company had recently DEAL DETAILS ■ IIHLwill acquire majority stake in Invesco Asset Management India ■ Invesco will retain a 40% stake in the new JV; both will have sponsor status ■ Invesco's India arm is the fifth largest foreign asset manager, 17th largest domestic asset manager ■ It has combined onshore and offshore advisory and assets under management of `85,400 crore secured NCLT approval to acquire RelianceCapitalanditssubsidiaries, which has businesses in life insurance, health and general insurance, asset reconstruction, and research and securities broking sectors. Continued on Page 11 Technician strike to add to AI’s woes RAGINI SAXENA April 9 TROUBLE FOR AIR India is mounting, with aircraft technicians planning a strike later this month after its pilots voiced concerns last week about being overworked and underpaid. Technicians at AI Engineering Services — a state-run maintenance,repairand overhaulfirmand an erstwhile Air India unit — will strike on April 23 due to various issues affecting their “well-being” and“professional growth,”All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Unionwrote in a letterdatedApril 8 to the chief executive officer. AI Engineering’s biggest client is Air India. Theunrestamongaviationworkers risks thwarting India’s air travel boom. Pilots and aircraft engineers are crucial to support the country’s rapid fleet expansion after IndiGo, AirIndiaandAkasaplacedordersfor more than 1,100 aircraft combined. The strike will further roil India’s aviation industrythat sawhundreds offlightcancellationslastweekafter some pilots at Vistara,jointly owned byAir India’s owner Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, called in sick en masse due to fatigue and pay cuts. The airline is cutting back 25 to 30 TURBULENT TIMES ■ The state- AI Engineering Serviceswill strike on April 23 run MRO firm is an erstwhile Air India unit; its biggest client is Air India ■ Thy have cited ■ The strike ■ Technicians at issues affecting their “wellbeing” and “professional growth will further roil the aviation industry, already facing pilot protests flights a day to create a buffer in its rosterstopreventmorecancellations. AI Engineering’s staff are upset over lack of career advancement opportunities because they haven’t been promoted in the past seven years, according to the letter. The managementpromisedarevisedpay structure for technicians who have workedforatleasttwoyearswiththe firm but hasn’t followed through. Continued on Page 11 MANY EDTECH FIRMS OFFER BLENDED LEARNING AT 40-50% LOWER PRICE ‘Budget’ study abroad programmes find many takers ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, April 9 boAt data breach: Liability under data protection law likely CALL IT ‘BUDGET’ education or blended degrees. For an increasing numberofstudentsfromIndia,they arejustwhatthedoctorordered.The fact that they reduce the burden on the wallet is just one — but important reason — for their attraction. Consider this: A four-year bachelor’s degree in the US costs `1-1.5 crore,including tuition fees and living expenses.Thanks to hybrid programmes offered by study abroad platforms like Leap, upGrad, Great Learning and Leverage Edu, the students can get the same degree by shelling out just `45-50 lakh. The firms have tied upwith universities in the US, Germany, France, ■ EXPLAINER, P9 Points rally Mar 04, 2015 THE S&P BSE Sensex scaled the 75,000 points level for the first time ever on Tuesday, rising 0.5% intraday to hit a fresh record high of 75,124.28 points. It subsequently snapped its three-day winning streak to end the day 440 points or 0.1% lower at 74,683.70 points. It took the Sensex only 82 sessions to rise from 70,000 to 75,000 points, as against 110 days for the previous 5,000-point gain. This was the fourth-fastest 5,000-point gain for the benchmark. Reliance Industries was the biggest contributor to Tuesday’s rally, contributing over 1,400 points or 30% to these gains, according to Bloomberg data. MILESTONE MOMENT May 16, 2014 1,624 VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, April 9 FE S P E C I A L S The DPDPAct provides for a penalty of up to `250 crore on entities for any incidents of data breaches Continued on Page 11 Sensex kisses 75,000-mark YOGA GURU RAMDEV and Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna have tendered an “unconditional and unqualified apology" before the Supreme Court over th firm’s advertisements making tall claims about the medicinal efficacy of its products, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 5 RK Swamy’s chairman and group CEO talk about the role of technology in the industry If the forecast holds good, it is expected to boost forthcoming kharif crops mainly paddy, pulses, oilseeds,soybean and cotton which allay fear of rise in food prices. the agency said,and attributed this to the “remnant impacts of El Nino phenomenon.” The second half of theseason(August-September)will, however, have an “overwhelming edge” over the primal (June-July) phase,it said. RAMDEVTENDERS UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY IN SC ‘GenAI is just another tool to improve biz results’ 309.3 315.6 94 96 94 2022 329.6 (in million tonne) 79 STATES’ CAPITAL EXPENDITURE likely rose by a third on year in the first 11 months of 2023-24 compared with a 12% rise in the year-ago period, aided by their robust revenue growth and the Centre’s interest-free capex loans, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 2 IMD Oct 29, 2007 CAPEX BY STATES LIKELY GREWA THIRD IN APRIL-FEB Skymet Monsoon performance 353 DIXON TECHNOLOGIES HAS entered into a share-purchase agreement with Chinese phone company Transsion and other shareholders to acquire a majority stake in Ismartu India, Transsion’s local mobile manufacturing unit, reports Jatin Grover. ■ PAGE 4 (% of LPA*) Jul 06, 2007 DIXON TO ACQUIRE OVER 50% STAKE IN TRANSSION UNIT Forecasts^ vs performance Feb 06, 2006 1,588 SHAPOORJI PALLONJI GROUP’S plans to refinance debt and infuse cash in its operating firms by pledging Tata Group shares are likely to run into trouble with potential lenders raising concerns, reports Rajesh Kurup. ■ PAGE 5 Tenuous link of rains with food grain output Oct 08, 1999 2,065 SP GROUP’S FUND RAISING PLANS MAY RUN INTO TROUBLE PRIVATEWEATHER FORECASTER Skymet on Tuesday forecast ‘normal’ monsoon rainfall during June-September this year, after below-normal and patchy rains witnessed last year. This augurs well for the agriculture sector which saw 4.4% annual decline in output in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June), after a steady risewitnessed forsix straightyears. Robust monsoon could also have a positive impact on rural consumption demand which has remained tepid for several quarters, and is believed to be on the cusp of revival. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is likely to announce its first forecast for this year’s monsoon in the next couple of days. Rainfall in the forthcoming monsoon season is likely to be MONSOON TREND 106 THE DELHI HIGH Court on Tuesday dismissed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy case, saying ED had enough material to show he was “actively involved in formulation” of the policy. ■ PAGE 7 SANDIP DAS New Delhi, April 9 98 99 DELHI HC REJECTS KEJRIWAL PLEA AGAINSTARREST 99 NEWS Hindujas enter Skymet sees normal rains MF space with Invesco deal MONSOON FORECAST A BOOST TO FARM SECTOR PROSPECTS 103 98 IN THE COST COMPARISON LEAPADVANTAGE Masters in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), US UPGRADABROAD Bachelor ofBusinessAdministration from IU International University of Applied Sciences ■ Online duration: 6 months ■ Online duration: 1 year ■ On campus duration: 1.5 years ■ On campus duration: 2 years ■ Online tuition fee: `5.95 lakh ■ Online tuition fee: `4.07 lakh ■ On-campus tuition: `31 lakh ■ On-campus tuition:`21.6 lakh Tuition fees for studying normally on campus: 54 lakh ` Canada, Ireland, Finland, and others to offer the hybrid service. Take the case of upGradAbroad, which has partnered with 80 foreign schools, IIIT Bangalore and Tuition fees for studying normally on campus: IMT Ghaziabad. Under the programme, a student finishes part of the course in India,and then moves abroad to complete theireducation in the respective foreign universi- 42.7 lakh ` ties.In the process,theyend up saving a huge amount, and earn a foreign degree awarded to regularstudents of these universities. For instance, through upGrad’s collaboration with Germany-based IU International University of AppliedSciences,aBScComputerScience course is spread oversix semesters (orthreeyears),wherein the first twosemestersaretaughtonline.The tuitionfeeforthefirsttwosemesters is `4.07 lakh. For the next four semesters, the students go to Germany and study on campus,where the tuition fee is about `10.8 lakh. This results in savings of up to `15 lakh in comparison to a full-time degree in Germany,upGrad claims. The firm says courses are designed afterdetailed discussions with foreign universities and Indian partners. After the online course is completed in India, the students are required to clear certain modules and score a GPA of 3- 3.5 or above to be eligible for oncampus studies. “There’s no compromise on the quality of students going abroad. The role of Indian institutes ends as soon as the online portion of the course is completed. The credits earned by a student during the online course are transferred abroad,”saidAnkurNyati,president at upGrad Abroad. Mohan Lakhamraju, founder and CEO of Great Learning, an institute offering hybrid courses, said accessing high-quality global education has been challenging for a large section of students due to high costs and the logistics involved. Continued on Page 11 Lucknow