BACK PAGE, P16 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P7 CANNES DIARY SUPER 8 STAGE MAY REVIVE INTEREST DEFIANCE AGAINST WEST Inspiring to see great work, amazing talent at one place every year T20 World Cup ad revenue may fall 25% amid weak viewership Putin and Kim sign mutual defence pact, US alarmed CHENNAI/KOCHI, THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 38, 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: 77,337.63 ▲ 36.49 NIFTY: 23,516 ▼ 41.90 NIKKEI 225: 38,570.76 ▲ 55.65 HANG SENG: 18,430.39 ▲ 514.84 `/$: 83.45 ▼ 0.04 `/€: 89.61 ▼ 0.19 BRENT: $85.40 ▲ $0.07 GOLD: `71,527 ▲ `498 IIAS RECOMMENDS VOTEAGAINST GAUTAM SINGHANIA PROXY ADVISORY FIRM Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) has urged Raymond shareholders to vote against the re-election of Gautam Singhania as the chairman and managing director (CMD), ahead of the firm's annual general meeting scheduled on June 27. ■ PAGE 4 FE S P E C I A L S How GCCs are tackling talent issues They are building larger talent pool in tier-2 & 3 cities ■ EFE, P9 Why Sebi junked its nomination rule Dividends, interest or redemption payments withheld earlier will now be processed ■ EXPLAINER, P9 2024-25 VIVEK KUMAR M & JOYDEEP GHOSH Mumbai, June 19 ■ Tax experts believe a straight THEGOVERNMENTISconsideringvarious optionstodiscourageretailparticipationin thefuturesandoptions(F&O)segment.The proposed steps include moving F&O from theheadof‘businessincome’to‘speculative income’ and/or also introducing a taxdeductible-at-source(TDS)intheupcoming Budget,sources in the knowsaid. “The government and regulators have been worried for quite some time about the increased participation of retail investors in the derivatives market.There are fears that if markets correct, there could be significant losses to retail investors,leading to overall dampening of sentiments,”said the source. Changing the head of F&O income from ‘business income’ to ‘speculative income’will be a big step because itwill be considered at par with lottery or crypto ■ Income from investments. Income from F&O transactions is now taxed as business income. The income is added to business/salaryincome and taxed as per the applicable slabs of 5%,20% and 30%,respectively.The added advantage of making it a part of business income is that thegainscanbeoffsetagainstanyotherloss. “As per the current practice, businessmen can offset the F&O profits with losses in otherbusinessandvice-versa,”saidalawyer. `76,200-cr Maha port gets Cabinet nod,to be among top-10 globally MSP for kharif rice hiked by 5.4%, sharper increases for pulses & oilseeds 30% F&O transactions is now taxed as business income FARMERS TO BENEFIT FE BUREAU New Delhi, June 19 THECABINETONWednesdayapprovedthe MSP hikes for Kharif crop, 2024-25 development of mega `76,200 crore all- (%, y-o-y) weather greenfield deep-draft port at Vad7.9 7.7 havan in Maharashtra, signalling the 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.3 NationalDemocraticAlliance(NDA)govern- 5.4 ment's intent to give continued thrust to publicinvestmentininfrastructure. The Cabinet also gave its nod toviability gap funding for`7,453 crore offshorewind 1.4 energyprojects,includingoneinGujaratand a `2,870-crore project for the expansion of Varanasiairport. Oncompletion,thenewportonwestcoast willhaveacumulativecapacityof298million metrictonne/annumandwillbeamong the top10intheworld.Itwillbe constructed by Vadhavan togetherinthecountrynow,” INSIDE Port Project,an SPVformed information and broadcastby Jawaharlal Nehru Port VGF support for `7K-cr ing ministerAshwini VaishAuthorityandMaharashtra wind projects PAGE 3 naw said.Road connectivity Maritime Board (MMB) in a between the port and 74:26jointventureandwill national highways and linkinvolve substantialprivate investments.The age to the existing rail network and the projectcostincludesthecostoflanddevelop- upcoming Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor ment of core infrastructure,terminals and havealsobeenapproved. other commercial infrastructure in publicThe Cabinet also approved increases in private partnerships (PPP) mode.“Today,in the range of 1.4-12.7% in the minimum thecountrywehave20millionTEUs(twenty- support prices (MSP) of 14 crops for the foot equivalents) capacity in all ports put 2024-25kharifseason(July-June),butraised together.Compared to this,Vadhavan Port thesupportpriceforpaddy,thekeysummer alonewillhave23millionTEUs.Thisportwill crop, by a relatively modest 5.35% to alone have more capacity than all ports `2,300/quintal. Soybean BROADER MARKET INDICES ended their longest winning streak of 2024 on Wednesday as they fell for the first time in 10 sessions due to profit booking, reports Vivek Kumar M. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.9% and the BSE Smallcap index ended 0.6% lower, after hitting fresh lifetime highs intraday. ■ PAGE 6 government keep track of investors in the F&O market Sunflower seed BROADER MARKET SNAPS WINNING STREAK OF 2024 BUDGET ■ If F&O income is moved to ‘speculative income’, the losses can be offset against gains only from F&O trading, much like cryptocurrencies ■ TDS will help the Groundnut EUROPE'S RIGOROUS SUSTAINABILITY rules appear set to take a toll on India's exports. Come January 2026, exporters to the European Union (EU) will see an increased compliance burden as the 27-member bloc has mandated that eight key products entering the member countries must carry detailed information from that date, to prove they are “sustainable”, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 CHECK ON F&O RUSH Urad EU’S SUSTAINABILITY RULES MAY HIT INDIA EXPORTS RUN-UP TO THE Moong THE BUDGET FOR 2024-25 should focus on fiscal rectitude while providing for social welfare, capital expenditure, and job creation through schemes and contain inflation, economists told finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, reports Prasanta Sahu. Sitharaman met over a dozen economists in her first preBudget consultation. ■ PAGE 2 Tur/Arhar FISCALPRUDENCE, CAPEX & JOBS RAISED IN FM MEET F&O transactions may attract higher tax rate Maize NEWS SPECULATIVE INCOME TAG, TDS BEING CONSIDERED Paddy (common) IN THE tax – similar to cryptocurrencies – on F&O income could also be on the cards ■ The regulator, exchanges have been ringing alarm bells over unabated rise in retail F&O trading However, if it is moved to ‘speculative income’, the losses can be offset against gains only from F&O trading, much like cryptocurrencies. “AsF&Otradingisprimarilyspeculative, the government wants to discourage retail investorsastheirinvestmentdecisionstend to get affected by informal sources rather than research,” said a lawyer. Continued on Page 5 Bharti Airtel raises stake in Indus Towers to 48.95% FE BUREAU New Delhi, June 19 BHARTI AIRTEL ON Wednesday bought around 1% stake in Indus Towers, by acquiring around 26.95 million shares, thus raising its stake in the tower firm to 48.95% from 47.95% it held earlier. The shares were acquired by Bharti as UK'sVodafone sold an 18% stake in Indus Towers for €1.7 billion (about `15,300 crore).The shares were sold at `310-341. UK'sVodafoneowneda21.5%stakein thetowerfirmandhadinitiallyplannedto sell10%stakebutstronginvestordemand prompted it to nearly double the sale size, sources said. Following the transaction, Vodafone's stake comes down to 3.1%. The company will use the major portion of the proceeds to pay €1.8 billion outstanding bank borrowings taken against Vodafone's assets in India. Shares of Indus Towers closed 2.88% down at `334 on the BSE on Wednesday. Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel managing director GopalVittal had said that the telecom operator, which is the largest stakeholder of Indus Towers, is committed to ensuring the tower company remains strong and that it won’t hesitate to take overthe reins to prevent anyinstability caused by key customer Vodafone Idea's financial challenges. After Vodafone Idea recently raised around `20,000 crore, Bharti Airtel's chairman Sunil Mittal had said thatVodafone Idea must clear all of Indus’ past dues, failing which, it will not be allowed tousethetowercompany’sinfrastructure for any new services such as 5G. Vodafone Idea owes nearly `10,000 crore in old dues (including interest) to Indus. Monthly urban jobs data soon to cut lag Rural data release on quarterly basis PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, June 19 THE GOVERNMENT HAS drawn up a plan to boost the system of employment data generationanddisseminationamidconcernsoverthe officialdatabeinglessfrequentandnotexactly insyncwiththosefromindependentagencies. According to official sources, the ministry ofstatisticsisactivelyconsideringreleasingthe Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for urban areas on a monthlybasis and forrural areas on a quarterly basis as it aims to make the data more frequentlyavailable to policymakers. Currentlythestatisticsministryreleasesthe urban PLFS data on a quarterlybasis,and rural one on an annual basis.The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the survey arm of the ministry,isworkingon“predominantlyusing” technology to conduct the PLFS,which it feels would be crucial in enhancing its frequency. OnWednesday,StatisticssecretarySubhash Garg said: "Use of technology is something whichwe continue to focus on.The purpose of that is to ensure that the time period between surveys can be reduced." Lekha Chakraborty, professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) said that the high frequency data on urban labour force participation can strengthen the understanding about relatively less analysed urban face of unemployment and poverty. It would also help the government design social security measures better to cope up with the intense povertytheyface,she added. The NSSO had launched the PLFS in FY18. The objective of the survey is to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (namelyWorker Population Ratio,Labour ForceParticipationRate,UnemploymentRate). As per the survey, the unemployment rate TECH UPGRADE ■ Currently the statistics ministry releases the urban PLFS data on a quarterly basis, and rural one on an annual basis ■ The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the survey arm of the ministry, is working on “predominantly using” technology to conduct the PLFS ■ Monthly unemployment data is only provided by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a non-government outfit ■ Usually, the CMIE and PLFS data differ, due to difference in methodology, but the former’s dataset holds significance to gauge the immediate picture of the joblessness in rural areas had dropped to 4.3% in 2023 from 5% in 2022 and in urban areas, it fell to 6.7% from 7.6%. Monthly unemployment data is only provided by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a non-government outfit. Usually,the CMIE and PLFS data differ,due to difference in methodology, but the former’s dataset holds significance to gauge the immediatepictureofthejoblessnessconditioninthe country. Continued on Page 5 Exodus of super-rich falls India will lose fewer millionaires to migration in 2024, compared with the previous two years, according toThe Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024. Around 4,300 millionaires are likely to leave India in 2024 compared with 5,100 in 2023. China tops the list with an estimated loss of 15,200 HNIs. — Compiled by Biswajiban Sharma TOP FIVE COUNTRIES BY NET OUTFLOWS AND INFLOWS OF MILLIONAIRE MIGRANTS Top losers Projected net outflows Top gainers Projected net inflows China 15,200 UAE 6,700 UK 9,500 USA 3,800 India 4,300 Singapore 3,500 South Korea 1,200 Canada 3,200 Russia 1,000 Australia 2,500 Reasons for migration: UAE remains world’s leading millionaire magnet: With zero income tax, golden visas, luxury lifestyle & strategic location, the UAE has become the top destination for migrating millionaires, expecting a record net inflow of6,700 this year The other big millionaire losers in 2024 Besides China, the UK, India, South Korea and Russia, the Top 10 countries for millionaire outflow include Brazil (800), South Africa (-600) High-net-worth families relocate for various reasons, including safety, financial considerations, tax benefits, retirement prospects, business opportunities GROUP TO INVEST MORE THAN $100 BILLION IN ENERGY TRANSITION PROJECTS Economy took off in 2014-24 on 1991 reforms runway: Adani RAJESH KURUP Mumbai, June 19 INDIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE STORY, which has been in the making from 1991, has taken off from 2014 with the catalyst being “governance” that was witnessed over the past decade,Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has said. He was referring to the liberalisation policy by the former finance minister Manmohan Singh in 1991 and the decade under the Modi government from 2014. “If the period between 1991 and 2014 was about putting down the foundations and building the runway, the period from 20142024 has been about the aircraft taking off. And a strong example of this take off is the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) programme,”Adani said delivering the keynote address at Crisil's Annual Infrastructure Summit on Wednesday. The core essence of the NIP is its integrated approach GAUTAM ADANI, CHAIRMAN, ADANI GROUP INDIA’S REMARKABLE INFRASTRUCTURE JOURNEY IS FUNDAMENTALLY ROOTED IN THIS GOVERNMENT’S EFFECTIVENESS IN INSTITUTIONALISING POLICY FOR TRANSFORMING OUR NATION'S LANDSCAPE—FROM ONE OF CHALLENGES—TO ONE OF POSSIBILITIES involving participation from both the public and private sectors, with the funding model divided between NO OTHER NATION IS REMOTELY CLOSE TO SUCH A SCALE OF POSSIBILITY. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE INDIAN the two. The programme, which has earmarked a projected investment of `111 trillion over FY20-25, is a benchmark of how a government can put in place a national view of over 9,000 infrastructure projects across sectors like energy, logistics, water, airports and social infrastructure. “The single most important catalyst enabling this take-off has been the quality of ‘governance’ that we have witnessed over the past decade,” he added. During this period, the country’s fiscal investment has doubled to 3.3% of the GDP from 1.6%, corporate income tax rates have fallen to 22% from 30% that created headroom for corporates to invest. The current account deficit fell from 3.5% of GDP to 0.8% of GDP, he said, citing as metrics of the development. "India’s remarkable infrastruc- ture journey is fundamentally rooted in this government’s effectiveness in institutionalising policy for transforming our nation's landscape—from one of challenges—to one of possibilities," Adani added. The government's Aadhaar UPI infrastructure has transformed the financial ecosystem in India, and with the median age of population standing at 29 years, India will be at its peak consumption for at least the next three to four decades. "No other nation is remotely close to such a scale of possibility. There has never been a better time to be Indian," he added. Continued on Page 5 CHENNAI/KOCHI