BENGALURU, TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXVI 311, 14 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: 73,399.81 ▼ 845.09 NIFTY: 22,272.50 ▼ 246.90 NIKKEI 225: 39,232.80 ▼ 290.75 HANG SENG: 16,600.46 ▼ 121.23 `/$: 83.45 ▼ 0.03 `/€: 88.92 ▲ 0.02 BRENT: $89.53 ▼ $0.92 GOLD: `72,266 ▼ `665 THE SCRAPPING OF electoral bonds by the Supreme Court is a decision "everyone will regret when there is honest reflection" and has "completely pushed the country towards black money", Prime Minister Narendra Modi told news agency ANI in an interview on Monday. ■ PAGE 7 GOODS EXPORTS DOWN 3.1% IN FY24; PROSPECTS MIXED INDIA'S MERCHANDISE EXPORTS contracted 3.1% on year in 2023-24 and imports 5.3%, even though the later months of the year saw a pick-up in the two-way shipments, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 EXPLAINER Changing track: Court relief to Delhi Metro a rarity ■ PAGE 9 SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, April 15 THE WITHDRAWAL OF subsidies underthe FasterAdoption and ManufacturingofElectricVehicles(FAME) IIschemehasledtoasharpfallinthe average daily sales of electric twowheelers (e2Ws). Battery electric motorcycles, scooters and mopeds clocked average sales of 1,460 units per day during the first half of April, down from 2,900 units clocked in February, data from the government’sVAHANportal show. The average daily e2W sales, however, saw a surge in March, the last month of the FAME II scheme. The scheme used to provide a subsidy of up to `22,000 per e2W. OnApril1,thegovernmentrolled out the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS),where the subsidy per electric two-wheeler was halved to `5,000/kWh from `10,000/kWh and capped it at a maximum of New Delhi, Mumbai on Tesla radar LOW ON CHARGE Total sales (2024) Avg sale per day Jan 81,680 2,634 82,237 2,937 139,531 4,501 21,900 1,460 *Data till April 15, 2024 Source: FADA and VAHAN `10,000 per vehicle, a significant reduction from the provision in the previous scheme. Continued on Page 10 US ELECTRIC CARMAKER Tesla is looking at potential showroom locations in New Delhi and Mumbai ahead of plans to begin sales in India later this year, two people told Reuters. ■ PAGE 4 IMD showers good news THE INDIA METEOROLOGICAL Department (IMD) on Monday forecast ‘above normal’ monsoon rainfall during June-September this year,with 90% chances of the rains being in the “normal-toexcess” range. Its prediction was also sanguine about regional distribution as it said ‘above-normal’ rainfall is expected “over most parts of the countrywith exception of some parts of North-East,NorthWest and states including Odisha 2021 2022 2023 106 96 94 SANDIP DAS New Delhi, April 15 99 106 TRACKING THE MONSOON Says 90% chance of Forecasts^ normal-to-excess rains (% of LPA*) vs performance IMD Actual performance 98 99 EVERYONE WILL REGRET SCRAPPING OF POLL BONDS: PM Electric 2W sales crash Feb NEWS VOLUMES HALVE AS FAME II EXPIRES Apr* Mar IN THE 2024 INSIDE Forecast boosts FMCG firms’ rural hopes PAGE 4 and Chhattisgarh”. This augurs well for the agriculturesectorwhichsawa4.4%annual ^first forecasts, *LPA (long period average) is average annual rainfall (87 cm) recorded between 1971-2020, 96%-104% of LPA considered 'normal', <96% is 'below normal', <90% is 'deficient', >104% is 'above normal', >110% plus is 'excess', according to the IMD decline in output in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June), after a steady risewitnessed forsix straightyears. The monsoon rains were ‘below normal’ and patchy last year, although the weather department initially predicted it to be normal. Continued on Page 10 Byju’s India CEO resigns INSIDE Raveendran back in charge of daily ops BENCHMARK INDICES FELL on Monday as the fear of geopolitical tensions inWestAsia sawinvestors, especially the foreign institutional players, withdrawing over `3,000 crore,reports Vivek Kumar M. BothSensexandNifty50declined over 1% each to hit two-week lows. TheSensexclosed845pointsdownat 73,399.78,while the Nifty fell 247 points to end at 22,272.50.The BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices also ended 1.5% lowereach. Oil prices breached the $91 per barrel mark intraday before falling, bringing some relief. ■ PAGE 6 IN THE RED Apr 12 (close) 74,244 Byju's rights issue gets shareholders’ nod PAGE 4 ANEES HUSSAIN Bengaluru, April 15 BYJU’S INDIA CHIEF executive officer (CEO) Arjun Mohan resigned on Monday, just seven months after assumingcharge.Mohanhadjoined the troubled edtech major for the second time in July 2023 to head its international business and was made the India CEO in September. Sensex, Nifty decline over WAsia fears; oil on the boil Arjun Mohan (left) took over as Byju’s India CEO in Sept 2023; group CEO Byju Raveendran In a statement, Byju’s said founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran will now take direct charge of the company’s day-today affairs. According to industry sources, Mohan was hopeful of landing the top job at Aakash, a role which last week went to former Pearson India managing director Deepak Mehrotra.With reduced business in Byju’s and no role in Aakash, Mohan decided to look for other opportunities,the sources said. Continued on Page 11 ■ Both Sensex and Nifty fell to twoweek lows ■ FIIs sold shares worth over `3,000 crore Se Sensex 845 points (1.14%) Apr 15 (close) 73,399 BENGALURU