OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM It’s not just the amount of protein you’re eating but where it’s coming from holds the key to good health Page 9 Get some tech help for care of plants Page 7 ANIMAL VS PLANT PROTEIN: WHAT’S YOUR IDEAL PICK? Mr Modi acknowledges hero of LS 2024 Apps for plant parents WORDS WORTH Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXIII NO. 28 VENKI RAMAKRISHNAN FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY B E N G A L U R U , From sunshine yellows to hot pinks, eye-catching hues are making this summer brighter No. of foreign tourists who visited India in 2019 to witness elections ■ No. of dark stores per player 350-450 order value `300-`500 ■ Monthly WITH RISING COMPETITION in ■ Average ■ GMVARR `2,500 cr to `14,200 cr active users 10 mn-20 mn No. of tourists that can be brought to India for polls alone, as per experts festive colourful events,” founder of Election Tourism India and chairman of Gujarat Tourism Corporation Society Manish Sharma told FE. Dur- ing elections, each state, district,taluka,village and colony encounter rallies, jan sabhas, and cultural events, an ambience that is appropriate for tourism,he added. Sharma said Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka have been highlighted this time as MOVE COMES AHEAD OF POLLS IN ONION-GROWING AREAS Onion export ban lifted on robust crop prospects SANDIP DAS New Delhi, May 4 ONION EXPORTS Source: Commerce ministry *Onion exports ban imposed in Dec 2023 onion exports,” Sarangi said. The move comes just before the onion growing regions of Maharashtra vote for the Lok Sabha elections. Farmers there have been demanding lifting the ban on exports, as modal 36.88 21.87 73.97 1.8 29.64 42.38 1.01 1.57 1.53 2.52 86.32 Retail inflation in onion (% chg, y-o-y) (in million tonne) 2023-24 exports imposed in December last year, the government on Saturday imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per tonne,as per a directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) notification.A40%exportduty on staple vegetables has also been introduced from Friday. Santosh Kumar Sarangi, director general, DGFT, said onion shipments are being allowed at a minimum price of $770/tonne or around `64/kg, which,traderssay,isonahigher sideforboostingexports.“Keeping into consideration the current market supply and global availability and prices, it has been decided to lift the ban on 2022-23 LIFTING THE BAN on onion Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023 2024 Source: MoSPI mandi prices at Lasalgaon in Nashik—the hub of the country’s wholesale trade—are around `15/kg,which are close to costof production. “At such a high price band,it would be difficult to export onions, as `64/kg is steep for intended markets,” Jaydutt Holkar, director, agricultural produce market committee (APMC),Lasalgaon,told FE. Nidhi Khare, secretary, department of consumer affairs,said the estimated rabi crop (2024-25), which has a share of around 60% total annual output, is projected at around 19.1 million tonne (MT), which is ‘reasonably comfortable’, considering monthly domestic consumption is around 1.7 MT.“With a good kharif prospect due to ‘above-normal’monsoon forecast,the availabilityof onion is at a comfortable level till arrival of kharif output,”Khare said. She said as a perishable crop, onion has to be consumed either domestically or through exportwithin five-six months of harvesting and holding on to the rabi stock beyond shelf life would only increase storage losses. Continued on Page 2 ● POLL * Average of top 4 players in the sector Q-commerce market Market volume ($ mn) 2029* 2024 3,349 No. of foreign tourists already in India so far this year 500,000-700,000 2021-22 MARKET METRICS* S SHANTHI Bengaluru, May 4 the quick commerce segment, optimising dark store locations has become critical to growth. Leading q-commerce players Zepto, BigBasket’s BB Now, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are now extensively looking at severaldatapointssuchasshopping patterns, traffic during peak and non-peak hours,road conditions, demographics and internet connectivity, among others,beforechoosingaparticular location for their dark stores,sayindustrysources. TKBalakumar,COO,BigBasket,told FE that on a scale of 110, in terms of factors determiningturnoveratadarkstore, he would rate location a 9.“We are an incumbent player. Even thoughquickcommercepicked up pace recently,we have been inthegrocerydeliveryspacefor over 10 years.This has given us mammoth data on customers’ 25,000 7,000 SPIRITUAL 2020-21 ● Extensive data used to optimise store locations KNOW ELECTION TOURISM ● Minimum export price 550/tonne; plus 40% duty It’s all about location in quick commerce M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E DANCE West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in step with dancers during a public meeting for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections at Ranaghat in Nadia district on Saturday 9,951 *Projected Source: Industry experts, Statista buying patterns,” he said. Besides, he said, the team seeks regular external inputs, such as traffic,road conditions, the number of traffic signals a deliveryexecutivewouldhaveto cross,numberofproperty(flats) handovers that may happen in the area, among others. “We then use our internal tools to collaboratethisdataandfinalise a location,” he added. PTI Continued on Page 2 75 delegates from 23 nations arrive to see LS elections REPRESENTATIVES OFELECTION management bodies from 23 countries,including Australia, Russia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,are in India to observe the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Seventy-five delegates will visit six states in small groups to witness the elections and preparations related to it in various conthese are “tourism-friendly states”, and visitors can be “easily facilitated to experience the process”here.He said having facilities like airports stituencies. The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday described the visit of the foreign delegates as a first in termsofscaleandmagnitude of participation. Beginning Saturday, the programme seeks to familiarisethemwiththenuances of India's electoral system as well as the best practices being used. — PTI and good internet and mobile networks are factors in choosing locations. Continued on Page 2 Kotak Mahindra’s net rises 18% on healthy loan growth REPORT CARD ● Bank CEO worried Kotak Mahindra Bank's about reputational financials Q4FY23 impact of RBI action (` cr)change y-o-y Q4FY24 % SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, May 4 KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK on Saturday reported an 18% rise in net profit to `4,133 crore in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year, driven by healthyloangrowth.Thelender surpassed street expectations, asBloomberganalystsexpected the bank to post `3,304 crore net profit in the quarter. Net interest income,the differencebetweeninterestearned and paid, rose 13% to `6,909 crore in 2023-24 from `6,103 crore in the same quarterof the previous fiscal. The bank’s resultscomenearlyaweekafter the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from taking on new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards due to informationtechnology-relateddeficiencies.“The Reserve Bank of India order, obviously, has had animpactbothonourfranchise (and)ourreputation,whichdoes Net profit NII 18 NIM (%) 5.75 5.28 Other income 13 2,979 Colour me neon! L U C K N O W , 2,186 ■ LEISURE, P6 K O L K A T A , 6,909 Electoral bonds may have been struck down as unconstitutional by SC, but can such funding schemes take newer forms? K O C H I , REWATI KARAN New Delhi, May 4 WE Political funding: The way forward H Y D E R A B A D , When democracy becomes a tourist attraction tourism is big in India.But the world’s biggest democracy also cashes in on what it does best: elections. If the 2019 general elections attracted around 25,000 visitors in ‘election tourism’, this year already over 7,000 foreign tourists have arrived to witness the country going to polls,as per a private player. Not restricted to Lok Sabha elections alone, the Indian electoral process as a spectacle has been increasingly in demandinthelastdecadeduring assembly elections as well. “We are the biggest democracy and Indian elections are like ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 C H E N N A I , 6103 WHAT'S INSIDE C H A N D I G A R H , 4,133 F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , 2019-20 P U B L I S H E D READ TO LEAD 3,496 SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024, 28 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, Raipur `12) ILLUSTRATION: ROHNIT PHORE NEW DELHI Nobel Prize winner on immortality, aging and why we die Page 4 36 Gross NPA (%) 1.78 1.39 not feel good,” said Ashok Vasvani, MD and CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, in his first interaction with media after RBI’s action.“...we are committed to coming back strongly; that's ournumberone priority.” The bank will double its efforts,resources and moneyin addressing IT-related issues, Vaswani said, adding that the bank currently spends 10% of its total expenditure on IT. Continued on Page 2 PAYTM COO BHAVESH GUPTAQUITS; REJIG IN MANAGEMENT HD REVANNA HELD; BLUE CORNER NOTICE LIKELYAGAINST SON PAYTM'S PARENT company One97 Communications president and chief operating officer (COO) Bhavesh Gupta has resigned from the company, an official statement said on Saturday. As part of a change in leadership structure, fintech firm Paytm has appointed Rakesh Singh as chief executive officer of Paytm Money, reports FE Bureau. ■ PAGE 3 JD(S) MLA HD Revanna, whose son Prajwal is facing sexual abuse allegations was taken into custody on Saturday. He was picked up by a Special Investigation Team after a court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. He is also facing sexual abuse allegations. As per reports, there is a possibility of CBI issuing a Blue Corner Notice against Prajwal Revanna. ■ PAGE 2 India’s love for midsize SUVs continues; 3 more models to roll out this year ● Tata’s Curvv, Citroen’s Basalt, 5-door Thar in line VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, May 4 THE MIDSIZE SUV segment isn’t done yet. While French carmaker Citroen will launch the Basalt, an SUV coupe, during the festive season laterthis year, Tata Motors will drive in the Curvv around the same time. Mahindra is also expected to launch the fivedoor Thar on Independence Day (August 15). Defined by industry body SIAMasavehiclewhoselength is between 4,000 mm and 4,400 mm, and priced under `20 lakh, midsize SUV is a heavily populated segment. Some of the existing models are Force Gurkha, Honda Elevate, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Mahindra three-door Thar, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, MG Astor, Citroen C3 Aircross, Skoda Kushaq, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, and Volkswagen Taigun. In FY24, midsize SUVs GROWING SEGMENT ■ Midsize SUV is a vehicle whose length is 4,000-4,400 mm, and priced under `20 lakh as per industry body SIAM formed 16% of the overall passenger vehicle market (678,887 midsize SUVs sold in a total PVmarket of 4,218,746 units), with the Creta leading the pack (162,773 units sold). In FY21, their share was 11.8% (320,876 midsize SUVs sold in a total PV market of 2,711,457 units). ■ In FY24, midsize SUVs formed 16% of the overall passenger vehicle market (678,887 out of 4,218,746 units sold) ■ In FY21, midsize SUVs' share in the overall passenger vehicle market was Boosted by models such as Basalt,Curvvandfive-doorThar, expecttheirsharetorisefurther. “The Basalt and Curvv aren’tSUVs,butSUVcoupes—a 11.8% (320,876 out of 2,711,457 units) new body type that automakersareexperimentingwith,”an automotive analyst said.“They are blending the SUV shape with a sedan’s or a coupe’s sloping roof design, and these SUV coupes are expected to pullalotofcustomersfromthe sedan segment.” The Basalt is expected to be the first such launch in India. Thierry Koskas, Citroen’s global CEO, recently told FE that the Basalt will give the automakeran edge in themarket.“There is no SUV coupe in the Indian midsize SUV segment right now,” he said.“We will launch it soon.” Although Tata Motors hasn’tmadeanystatementsabout the launch date of the Curvv,a source told FE that the product is complete, and some certifi- New Delhi cations and last-minute tests are pending. “It could be launched any time, likely around the festive season,” he said.“Tata Motors has an edge with the Curvv because it’s being developed both as an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle as well as electric. Possibly the Curvv EV could be launched slightly before the Curvv ICE. In any case, it will give a boost to midsize SUVs.” Mahindraislikelytolaunch the five-door Thar during the festive season,whichwill open the Thar brand to families. Continued on Page 2