ECONOMY, P3 COMPANIES, P4 BACK PAGE, P16 BIG FIVE MOST AFFECTED NO FLEXIBILITY TO REVISE PRICES THE BIG PICTURE Talent crunch hits top audit firms as CAs opt for safer avenues Why some sellers are miffed at Flipkart’s new rate card policy Two-wheeler makers target firmer foothold in overseas markets KOLKATA, MONDAY, JULY 15, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 33 NO. 217, 16 PAGES, `12.00 (NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN `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 INCENTIVES MAY BE SIMILAR TO PLI SCHEMES Wage subsidies, tax relief for job creation ● TRUMP SURVIVES BID ON LIFE KISHOR KADAM New Delhi, July 14 Employment-linked MOVE TO COUNTER JOB CRISIS ■ The labour ministry is learnt to have incentive scheme recommended the employment-linked under consideration incentive scheme (ELIS) to the finance ministry earlier this month RUN-UP TO THE ■ The government BUDGET 2024-25 PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, July 14 THE GOVERNMENT MAY introduce an employment-linked incentive scheme (ELIS) forcompanies in Budget 2024-25 in a bid to promote job creation.The provisions of the ELIS would be similar to that of the production-linkedincentive(PLI)scheme and it would be applicable to a few labour-intensivesectors,sourcessaid. The labour ministry is learnt to have recommended the scheme to ■ The scheme will likely apply to sectors such as toys, textiles & apparels, furniture, tourism, logistics etc is facing criticism for a “job crisis” in the economy, with several reports suggesting that India’s growth in recent years has been a "jobless" one the finance ministry earlier this month. According to sources, the schemewouldapplytosectorssuchas toys, textiles & apparels, furniture, tourism,logisticsetc. Continued on Page 14 ■ Experts say the proposed incentive scheme can bring about a paradigm shift in the employment scenario and result in increased production INSIDE Steps likely to aid crop diversification PAGE 2 Tax relief for skilling units sought in Budget PAGE 2 Push for reforms Tractor sales off to Softbank nominee under ‘safe harbour’ a poor start in FY25 set for OYO board CAPITAL MARKET PARTICIPANTS have made a strong case for reforms tothe'safeharbour'clauseunderSection 9Aof the IncomeTaxAct,which has hindered fund managers from relocating offshore funds to India, reports AkshataGorde. ■ Page 6 HEATWAVESANDtheensuingpoor rainfall has led to a disappointing start for the tractor segment in the new financial year with retail sales falling 12% in the June quarter, reports Swaraj Baggonkar. ■ Page 4 IPO-BOUND UNICORN OYO's parentfirmOravelStaysissettoappoint SumerJuneja,ManagingPartnerand Head of EMEA & India Investing at SoftBankVisionFund,asanon-executive director on its board, sources said,reportsPTI. ■ Page 4 India Inc’s FY24 cash flow up 18% Former US President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an attempted assassination bid during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. "I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my REPORT, PAGE 5 right ear," Trump said later. FLUSH WITH CASH Operating cash flow INDIAINC GENERATED strongcash flows in FY24, with cash and bank balances shooting up 18% to nearly `10 trillion, the fastest pace in four years.Agroup of 1,350 large companies, for which comparative data is available, generated operating cash flows of nearly`15 trillion. This is in sync with the strong increaseincorporateprofitslastyear, driven partly by a jump in other income.For a sample of 2,345 companies (excluding banks and financials), net profits were up a sharp 32%. Amongthesectors thatgenerated high operating cash flows last year were refineries, power generation&distribution,softwareservices and telecom services. However, the high cash levels ` trillion FY22 FY23 FY24 % growth, y-o-y 11.87 11.93 14.94 2.9 0.4 25.3 Cash & bank balances ` trillion FY22 FY23 FY24 % growth, y-o-y 7.56 8.34 9.85 14.2 10.4 18.1 OCF: Operating cash flow, common sample of 1,350 companies Source: Capitaline has not translated into any meaningful pick-up in capital investment by the companies. Continued on Page 14 `100 cr FMCG brand list widens VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, July 14 MORE BRANDS FROM organised players in the domestic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space are joiningthe`100crore-clubeachyear, as the shift towards consumption of branded products gains traction.As manyas eight brands joined the club inFY24–allfromtheDaburstable. The latest joinees include three toothpaste brands -- Dabur Herb'l, BaboolandMeswak.Odomos,Dabur Lal Tail, Dabur Lal Dant Manjan, Dabur Gulabari and Dabur Anmol BIG GOES BIGGER ■ Eight brands joined the club in FY24 – all from the Dabur stable ■ HUL has 19 brands that reported sales in excess of `1,000 cr in FY24 Brands already in the club are becoming bigger Coconut Oil are the others."We have atotalof20brandsof`100croreand aboveinFY24,"saysMohitMalhotra, CEO,DaburIndia. Malhotrasaysthatwhiledigitalis ■ Rival ITC, on the other hand, has also strengthened its brands list becoming a big medium to connect withconsumers,Dabur'sdigital-first brands have cumulatively grossed a turnoverofover`100croreinFY24. Theyareexpectedtogetbiggerinthe comingyears,he says. Meanwhile,thebrandsalreadyin the club are becoming bigger.In just a year, Hindustan Unilever's (HUL's) three brands – Boost, Sunsilk and Vaseline – are nearing `1,000 crore in turnover, according to its latest annualreportwhileClinicPlus'ssales doubled from `1,000 crore to `2,000croreinFY24.Inall,HULhas 19 brands that reported sales in excess of `1,000 crore in FY24, the same as in FY23, but more than the 16 brands on that list in FY22. Continued on Page 14 Kolkata