BRANDWAGON, P9 COMPANIES, P4 BACK PAGE, P20 READY FOR THE BIG CRUMBLE? FLURRY OF DEALS EXPECTED THE BIG PICTURE What Google’s delay in phasing out cookies means for the ad world PE players warm up to medical devices sector, eye medtech assets Capital APPreciation: Aditya Birla Capital poised for a take-off LUCKNOW, MONDAY, MAY 13, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 17 NO. 135, 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 IN THE NEWS GOVT MAY LOOK AT LIFTING CURBS ON RICE EXPORTS GIVEN THE HUGE surplus of rice stocks the government holds and the forecast of an ‘above normal’ monsoon, the government may need to look at lifting curbs on rice exports imposed last year, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 3 THE FM INTERVIEW WITH FE ‘Robin Hood economics can’t work any more’ Sitharaman hopes for‘vibrant discussions’ on the draft project finance guidelines BHARATNET: BSNL RELAXES ELIGIBILITY NORMS FOR TENDER BSNL HAS RELAXED the eligibility criteria and tightened the domestic value addition norms for its phase-III BharatNet project tender, reports Jatin Grover. ■ PAGE 4 CENTRALBANK OF INDIAEYES `4,000-CR RECOVERY IN FY25 PUBLIC SECTOR LENDER Central Bank of India expects to recover `4,000 crore from bad loans in the current financial year, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 6 EXPLAINER Quality concerns can temper spices exports ■ PAGE 6 PRASANTA SAHU & SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN New Delhi, May 12 THE CONGRESS’ IDEA of wealth redistribution was nothing but robbing Peter to pay Paul — something that was not only an outdated approach but also an irresponsible one,finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told FE in an exclusive interview. “These are not the days of Robin Hood,”she said. “The methodology Congress has been adopting is very insidious.They have been constantly talking about carrying out X-rays of wealth and caste census,”Sitharaman said. hypocrisy towards India’s The FM said while the BJP wealth creators.“For the past would continue on its path of few years, they have been weavimproving economic growth ing this disastrous narrative of along with targeted distribution crony capitalism and showcased of amenities to the needy, the businessmen as people Congress wanted to take away who loot.Why have they sudsomeone else’s money denly lost hate for Adani and and give it to many others. Ambani?”she asked. “Instead of making the Pointing out that the poor wealthier, their Bharatiya Janata Party solution is to make the (BJP) treated businesswealthier poor. It’s just men and entrepreneurs unjust.Wealth creators with respect and gave also provide jobs and them opportunities to opportunities to people ON PAGE 2 perform, Sitharaman and resources to the said entrepreneurship had government,”she said. given India its strength.“After Asked whether the prime developing a narrative of hatred minister’s recent statement on towards businessmen, Congress truckloads of money being sent suddenly adopted silence in the by Adani and Ambani to the hope that people will no longer Congress party painted businotice.The PM’s speech was in nessmen in general as being that spirit,”she said. dishonest, Sitharaman said the PM was only calling out Rahul Gandhi and the party on their Continued on Page 18 ❝ AFTER A NARRATIVE OF HATRED TOWARDS BUSINESSMEN, CONGRESS SUDDENLY ADOPTED SILENCE. THE PM’S SPEECH (ON ADANI-AMBANI LINK) WAS IN THAT SPIRIT & Hybrid tax cut will boomerang: TaMo SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, May 12 EASINGTAXES ON hybridcars may not result in lower emission levels, according to EV market leaderTata Motors.The automaker says hybrid users may opt to drive on the regular combustion engines after benefiting from lower duties. CitingareportbyBrussels-based think tank Transport & Environment, which said plug-in hybrids did not reduce CO2 emission but made itworse,PB Balaji,group CFO, Tata Motors,said hybridswere used for tax breaks rather than lower emission levels. “Thereportsaidmostofthepeople who bought hybrids drove on petrol only, because hybrids were usedmoreasataxbreakratherthan forzero carbon.This makes it even a starkercase forjustifyingwhythere needstobeataxcutonhybrids,”Balajisaidinapost-earningsmediacall. In hybrid cars, the driver can choose between a regular petrol engine and a limited-range battery THERE WAS A FAIR AMOUNT OF MISUSE (OF SUBSIDIES) IN FAME I. HYBRIDS BEING USED FOR TAX BREAKS IS QUITE RISKY FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE pack (25 km for the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara,for instance). At present, GST and cess on hybridsfallbetween28%and43%, while on EVs,the burden is 5%. Continued on Page 18 Burmans should execute open offer or shed Religare stake, says Saluja ❝ REGULATION — WHETHER IT’S FOR EQUITY MARKETS, BANKS OR CORPORATES — CAN’T BE FIXATED. A SOFT TOUCH ALWAYS RESULTS IN BETTER RESPONSE FROM THE GROUND PB BALAJI, GROUP CFO, TATA MOTORS Rashmi Saluja WITH CONTINUED UNCERTAINTY over the open offer made by the Burman family for Religare Enterprises, the Dabur owners should either expedite their plan or sell their stake to another investor, said Religare chairperson Rashmi Saluja, reports RajeshKurup.TheBurmansareyettogetregulatory approvals,andthetimelinesfortheopenofferasgiven bythem have superseded,Salujatold FE. ■ Page 6 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. Lucknow