WELL BEING MIND & GAMES Studies have linked pesticide exposure to a host of serious negative health effects Page 6 OPINION, P8 Site in Zambia could make billions for Silicon Valley Page 9 PESTICIDES ON THE PLATE: HOW SAFE IS YOUR FOOD? Who will answer the questions? ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM VOL XXIII NO. 38 AI helps spot copper bonanza SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM STOLEN HERITAGE FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2024, 16 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, Raipur `12) 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 , VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, July 13 glomerate InterGlobe Enterprises recently announced the launch of a new lifestyle hotel brand, Miiro, at various locations in Europe. In June,global hospitalitytechnology company Oyo launched its first luxury hotel in Dubai—Palette Royal Reflections Hotel and Spa—to strengthen its premium property portfolio in the Gulf region.Signum Hotels & Resorts,in a jointventure with property management solutions brand 360 M U M B A I , ■ Royal Orchid Hotels operates sub-segment brand Regenta in Sri Lanka, Nepal and India luxury hotel in Dubai— Palette Royal Reflections Hotel and Spa ■ Lemon Tree has hotels in ■ InterGlobe Enterprises announces launch of new lifestyle hotel brand Miiro in Europe Dubai, Nepal and Thimphu Resorts to add 250 serviced apartments in Dubai & UK, besides three hotels in UK, one in Dubai Stays, has a portfolio of serviced apartments that include over 700 units across 39 locations in the UK and 45 units in the Middle East. The brand recently unveiled an office establishment in Dubai too, with plans to add another 250 serviced apartments in both Dubai and the UK,besides three hotels in the UK and one in Dubai. Not just the big fish,even small Indian hotel chains are eyeing Data decoded WITH THE SOUTH peninsula and A roadmap to understand the transformative potential of data in the modern world AVENUE SUPERMARTS, which operates the DMart chain of stores, on Saturday reported a 17.5% year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit to `774 crore for Q1FY25, which was below street estimates of `849 crore for the period, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. ■ PAGE 3 80 MILLION JOBS CREATED IN LAST 3-4 YEARS: PM MODI PM NARENDRA Modi on Saturday said as per a report by RBI, 80 million new jobs were made available in the country in the last three to four years. He was speaking at an event in Mumbai's Goregaon after launching and laying the foundation stone for `29,000-crore projects. ■ PAGE 3 Midcap, smallcap shares continue outperformance stocks outperformed the BSE Midcap Index. Out of 999 smallcaps, 378 gave higher returns than the BSE Smallcap Index, with 48 smallcaps logging returns of over 100%. Compiled by Kishor Kadam 2022 11.5 12.7 29.0 26.6 45.5 47.5 18.7 20.0 4.4 4.3 1.4 -1.8 2021 2023 Top smallcap gainers in YTD2024* (% gain) Top midcap gainers in YTD2024* (% gain) Oracle Financial 150.7 Waaree Renewable Oil India 148.8 Cochin Shipyard 317.8 303.4 118.8 Shakti Pumps Cummins India 101.4 Rail Vikas Nigam 92.9 GE T&D India 245.2 232 *up to July 12 IRFC 382.3 Rainfall for June 1 – July 13 ALL INDIA AREA WEIGHTED RAINFALL investors that the search and seizure operation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) last monthwasnotpartofregularprocess butwasacourt-approvedactionwith respect to an ongoing investigation. Thisisforthefirsttimethatthefund house has acknowledged that the action was not routine.The market regulator is probing the fund house foralleged front-running activities. In its email to investors,the fund house said it has not received any communication from the Sebi after theinitialinquiries.QuantMFadded that its offices are currently func- Actual Normal % departure 269.9 275.7 (mm) -2 State wise rainfall (%) against benchmark J&K -26 Punjab Ladakh 94 N E W D E L H I , P U N E Haryana -30 Rajasthan 14 -2 9 Nagaland -21 Manipur -42 Odisha -30 Jharkhand -47 Goa 28 -27 46 Karnataka 5 Mizoram -33 Tripura 9 Gangetic West Bengal -1 Telangana 7 Tamil Nadu Lakshadweep -7 Chhattisgarh AP 91 Kerala -27 Source: IMD. Benchmark: long period average 7% and 4%, respectively, below benchmarktillSaturday,theremaining regions—south peninsula (10%) and north-west on a parwith bench- BLOOMBERG July 13 Continued on Page 2 Assam -5 7 Adani gets approval to build port in Vietnam Continued on Page 2 Arunachal Pradesh -2 MP Maharashtra Continued on Page 2 mark—have received‘above normal’ to normal rainfall. Excess (20 to 59%) Large excess (60% or more) -8 Gujarat international markets by expanding operations overseas.And,their focus is markets that are frequented by Indian travellers. Mandeep S Lamba, president and CEO (South Asia) of hospitality consulting firm HVS Anarock, said: “Outbound travel has recovered post-pandemic, and with per capita income levels expected to grow significantly over the next few years, discretionary spending on travel will be a major beneficiary of enhanced disposable incomes.” GAUTAMADANIPLANS tobuildaport inVietnamastheIndianconglomerate seeks to develop infrastructure overseas to tap opportunities from increasingtrade.AdaniPortsandSpecial Economic Zone has secured an “in-principleapprovalfromtheVietnamesegovernment”foragreenfield development in Da Nang, Karan Adani,managingdirectorofthecompany,saidinaninterview.Theproject, which will have container terminals and multipurpose berths to handle various types of cargo, is at an early stageofplanningandthetotalinvestment required hasn’t been finalised yet,he said. This will be the fourth international port asset fortheAdanigroup after Haifa in Israel,Colombo in Sri Lanka and the Port of Dares Salaam in Tanzania.On Friday,Adani’s new mega port in Kerala saw the arrival of its maiden mother ship and the company wants to accelerate the expansion of the facility in a bid to grab a bigger share of the international maritime trade that’s currently dominated by China. “Theideaistomake Indiaa maritime hub,” Karan, the elder son of Gautam Adani,said. Deficient (-59% to -20%) Normal (-19% to 19%) Himachal Pradesh -30 Meghalaya 29 Uttarakhand 5 Sikkim 53 UP 17 Bihar -28 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 21 ● PM MODI BLESSES NEWLY-WEDS Sebi search operation was court-approved: Quant MF tioningnormallyandatfullcapacity, and that there are no Sebi officials stationedat the offices. In a separate statement,the fund house said in the past three weeks since the Sebi action, it has seen net equityoutflowsof`877crore,which islessthan1%ofitsAUMof`94,000 crore. “Our liquidity situation remains extremelyhealthy(as) more than 54% assets are very liquid, whichincludeslarge-capstocks,treasurybills,governmentsecurities,gold and silver,” it said.Further assuaging investorconcernaroundliquidity,the fundhousehighlightedthatitsAUM at `94,000 crore as of July12was an all-time high. Prime Minister Narendra Modi blessing newly-wed couple Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai on Saturday. Anant, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika, a pharmaceutical heiress, were married on Friday in a star-studded wedding that was attended by global celebrities, business tycoons and politicians Continued on Page 2 Riding on new models, premium bike sales almost double VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, July 13 2024* nextfewweekstoacceleratethepace of sowing,”Aditi Nayar,chief economist,ICRA,said. This to the largest extent would dispel fears of a spurt in food inflation in coming months, which has been stickier than the headline inflation recently. Madhavan Rajeevan,former secretary, ministry of earth sciences, said,“Monsoonwillbeinactivephase inthenext10-12dayswithmonsoon system forming over Bay of Bengal and heavy rains expected over Odisha,Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra and Gujarat.” The water table at 150 major reservoirs in the country increased forthesecondtimeinarowthisweek because of normalmonsoonrains. IMDonSaturdaypredictedheavy rainfall over Maharashtra, coastal and south interior Karnataka, Gujarat,Saurashtra, Kutch, coastal AndhraPradesh,Telangana,Marathwada,Vidarbha,eastUP,Chhattisgarh and Odisha in the next five days.The ‘active’phase of monsoon progress, which commenced since the third weekoflastmonth,hasalreadywiped out the 10% deficit witnessed in June. Till Saturday in the current monsoonseason,therainsstoodjust 2% below the benchmark long period average or in normal range. Monsoon rains between 96% and 104%ofLPAareconsiderednormal. With the exception of central India and east and north-eastern regions,where rainfall received was FRONT-RUNNING CASE QUANTMUTUALFUND hasinformed 15.8 14.9 19.9 -3.0 -6.8 2020 northwest India receiving surplus to normal rainfall,overallprecipitation since the onset of monsoon stood in ‘normal’ range at 2% below the benchmarklongperiodaverage(LPA) on Saturday. Of the 36 subdivisions in the country,69%received rainfallinthe range of surplus to normal so far. However, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha,Kerala,Punjab and Haryana remain rain-deficient.Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted ‘above normal’ rainfall in the current month at 106% of LPA. Active monsoon since the third week of June has boosted sowing of kharif crops such as paddy, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane. At 37.87 million hectare (MH) or 35% of the normal sown area, the combinedsownareaofkeycrops—paddy, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton—wasup14%onyearonJuly5,as per data released by the agriculture ministry.“Withnearly50%ofkharif sowing usually taking place in the month of July, adequate rainfall acrossregionswillbecriticaloverthe VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, July 13 32.1 22.0 24.1 39.2 62.8 AMID TALKS OF frothier valuations and slow earnings momentum, midcap and smallcap shares have continued their outperformance in 2024 so far. The BSE Midcap Index and BSE Smallcap Index have recorded gains of 29% and 26.6%, respectively, in 2024, compared to the benchmark Sensex and Nifty's gains of 11.5% and 12.7%, respectively. In 2023, while benchmarks rose up to 20%, the broader indices clocked gains of up to 47.5%. Out of 127 midcaps, nearly 50 ● Will check food inflation in coming months SANDIP DAS New Delhi, July 13 ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 DMART'S Q1 NET PROFIT RISES 17.5% TO `774 CRORE Active rains spur kharif sowing THANKSTOSIX newmodellaunches, the premium motorcycle segment (350-500 cc) grew a whopping 73% during the April-June quarter. Data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday shows that the segment expanded from 16,296 units in Q1FY24 to 28,202 units in Q1FY25, onthebackofsixnewbikes—HarleyDavidson X 440,Hero Mavrick 440, Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X, the all-new Royal Enfield HimalayanandBajajPulsarNS400Z. Of these,four (X 440,Speed 400, New launches in premium bike segment (350-500 cc) ■ Harley-Davidson X 440 ROBUST SALES Motorcycles (overall) Q1FY24 Q1FY25 % change 2,737,348 16.8 Premium motorcycles Q1FY24 Q1FY25 3,197,922 73 16,296 28,202 Scrambler 400 X and Himalayan) werelaunchedin2023,andtheother two (Mavrick 440 and Pulsar NS400Z) earlierthisyear. 500-800 cc From the Buddhist stupas and caves of Bihar to some of the holiest shrines of Jainism in Maharashtra, there’s a rush to visit sites with strong historical and cultural significance extending across faiths 14.4 12.0 L U C K N O W , ■ Signum Hotels & 350-500 cc On a spiritual journey Samvardhana Motherson K O L K A T A , IMD PREDICTS ABOVE NORMAL MONSOON IN JULY ■ LEISURE, P7 2019 K O C H I , ■ Oyo launches first GOING GLOBAL AVIATION AND HOSPITALITY con- Sensex Nifty BSE Midcap BSE Smallcap READ TO LEAD Small Indian hotels dream big with foreign locales WHAT'S INSIDE Return in % Long list of missing artefacts & resources required or lacking thereof to bring them back don’t paint a rosy picture Page 5 6,838 12,408 ■ Hero Mavrick 440 ■ Triumph Speed 400 ■ Triumph Scrambler 400 X ■ Royal Enfield Himalayan ■ Bajaj Pulsar NS400Z Soon-to-be launched 81.5 The overall motorcycle segment grew16.8%duringtheperiod—from 2,737,348 units to 3,197,922 units. In2020-21,Harley-Davidsonhad ■ Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 tiedupwithHeroMotoCorp,andTriumph with Bajaj,to develop midsize motorcycles both for global and Indian markets.The four bikes from New Delhi that partnership are the X 440 and Mavrick440,andtheSpeed400and Scrambler400X,respectively. An automotive analyst told FE that there is a clear move towards purchase of premium motorcycles. “We have seen that as soon as one startsworking,thereisadesiretoown a big motorcycle—one that stands out. Banks and NBFCs provide the nudge by offering easy credit facilities,” he said.“With ESOPs and high levelsofsalaries,especiallyintheBFSI industry and the services sector, young people nowadays have high purchasing power.” Continued on Page 2