CHENNAI/KOCHI, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE VOL NO. XLV 80, 32 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 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD SENSEX: 79,468 ▲ 874.93 NIFTY: 24297.50 ▲ 304.95 NIKKEI 225: 35,089.62 ▲ 414.16 HANG SENG: 16,877.86 ▲ 230.52 `/$: 83.95 ▲ 0.01 `/€: 91.62 ▲ 0.01 BRENT: $77.67 ▲ $1.19 GOLD: `68,639 ▲ `357 IN THE NEWS HOURS BEFORE FINAL, PHOGAT DISQUALIFIED IN A HEARTBREAKING twist of fate, wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the 50-kg gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics after failing the weigh-in because she was 100 grams overweight, reports Mihir Vasavda. ■ PAGE 22 NEW GOVERNMENT IN BANGLADESH TO BE SWORN IN TODAY NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE Muhammad Yunus tapped to lead an interim government in Bangladesh called for calm and boarded a flight on Wednesday to return home, a day before his new government is expected to be sworn in to replace ousted PM Sheikh Hasina, reports Reuters. ■ PAGE 7 SEBI ASKS NSE TO SHORE UP F&O FUND TO `10.5K CR SEBI HAS ADVISED NSE to increase the core settlement guarantee fund (SGF) of National Clearing Ltd to `10,500 crore for equity derivatives within six months, reports Vivek Kumar M. ■ PAGE 6 TALKS ON WITH ABU DHABI, QATAR FIRMS Centre sounds out sovereign funds for Vi stake dilution Move follows telco’s recent fundraise of `20,000 crore Vi SHAREHOLDING PATTERN (%) Promoter groups including Aditya Birla Group 37.17 PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, August 7 WITH VODAFONE IDEA infusing `20,000 croreviaafollow-onpublicofferingandequity contribution by one of the promoter entity, Aditya Birla Group, the government is now exploring whether sovereign wealth funds would be interested in picking up its stake in the company. Sources said that since the promoter group has shown sufficient interest in raising funds and running the company,and the government is fully backing the efforts, it makes sense for sovereign wealth funds to acquire Centre’s current 23.15% stake in the company. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Qatar Investment Authority and Singapore’s Temasek are some of the funds which have been sounded out, sources said, adding that the efforts are at a very initial stage. “Since the government and the company have displayed more than sufficient intent that Vodafone Idea is a long-term telecom player and the country will have three strong players in the sector, investment by such funds will be profitable,” sources said. The funds have been assured that post the current moratorium,which ends in September 2025,the government will extend all Government of India 2 23.15 For Foreign portfolio inv investors 12.78 1 Mut Mutual funds 6 6.12 Other public investors 20.78 possible help – like further deferral of payments such as adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues – so that the company's business case becomes viable.This assurance is significant because once the moratorium on payment of AGR and spectrum dues ends, the company will need to pay `29,100 crore by the end of March 2026 to the government and `43,000 crore annually from FY27 onwards till FY31. Continued on Page 20 FM: LTCG tax on realty revenue-neutral now Bank liquidity surplus tops `2.5 trillion THANKS TO THE AMENDMENTS added to the FinanceBill2024beforeitwaspassedbytheLok Sabha on Wednesday,the new regime for taxation of long-term capital gains (LTCG) from property transactions won’t result in any additionalburdenonthetaxpayers,financeminister Nirmala Sitharaman said onWednesday. The government eased the LTCG tax regime for sale of properties proposed in the Budget 2024-25 by allowing the taxpayer to select between two options – 12.5% without indexation and 20% with it – to lower the outgo, in regard to transfer of properties acquired before July23,2024. Sitharaman also EXPLAINER clarifiedthattherollover Will realty get benefit will be available its mojo back? to taxpayers who buy ■ PAGE 9 new immovable propertyutilising the capital gainsonthesaleofoldproperty.PosttheBudget announcement,anumberof“hypotheticalcases” werecited,whichdepictedanincreaseintax-burdenforsuchtransactions,saidtheminister.“The current amendment ensures that even in such hypotheticalcases,therewillbenoadditionaltax burden,” she said,while adding the government doesn’t intend to gain any additional revenue fromcapitalgainstaxratechangesforrealestate. THE LIQUIDITYIN the banking system has crossed the `2.5-trillion mark, driven by an increase in government spending. The liquidity surplus hit `2.78 trillion onAugust 6, prompting the Reserve Bank of India(RBI)toconductmultiplevariable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions to absorb the excess liquidity. “Prolonged tightness in the banking system liquidity seems to have eased starting second quarter. This will provide the necessary breathing space to the banking system and money market in the secondquarter,”saidSoumyajitNiyogi, director,coreanalyticalgroup,India Ratings and Research.“Sustenance of the easy liquidity condition depends upon the government spending pattern and base money creation,”he said. The second quarter will remain inthemoderatesurplusmodeonan average basis and the government spending pattern will be the key to ensure easing of liquidity on a sustainablebasis,especiallythirdquarter onwards,he added. FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 7 Continued on Page 20 The FM said the government doesn’t intend to gain any additional revenue from capital gains tax rate changes for real estate No relief for NRIs LONG-TERM CAPITAL gains from unlisted shares held by non-residents will now be taxed at 12.5% without indexation or any benefit for exchange rate fluctuations, reports Priyansh Verma.The Finance Bill 2024 was modified to make this clear.The initial version of the Bill was silent on forex gains.Thisledtoaninterpretationthatwhile thetaxratewasraisedfrom10%to12.5%in the Budget 2024-25, the forex gains could nowbedeductedwhilecomputingthecapital appreciation. The finance ministry’s move to clarify this would mean that the omissionwas inadvertent. ■ PAGE 2 SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, August 7 Continued on Page 20 IN SYNC WITH GOVT’S TARGET TO ACHIEVE ENERGY SECURITY Private firms mull thermal capacity addition to keep pace with demand RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH Mumbai, August 7 AS THE GOVERNMENT looks at thermal power actively to mitigate the rising demand , private sector companies such as Adani Power, JSW Energy and Tata Power are looking at adding thermal capacities and launching new projects. Interestingly, some companies like Tata Power and JSW Energy, who have renewable energy as the main focus of their business, are now actively looking at the opportunities in thermal energy space.The Adani Group is also looking at adding new thermal capacities. Power companies refocusing on thermal capacity is not without a reason.The Union government is looking at over 80 gigawatt of new capacity additions in thermal by 2032 to meet the growing electricity demand.In the Union Budget, the FM proposed new thermal plants to be set up in the country to augment power supply. The All India thermal PLF (plant load factor) has improved to 76.4% in Q1FY25 as compared to 70% in the corresponding quarter last year driven by 6% growth in demand. THERMAL BOOSTER ■ The government is looking at over 80 gigawatt of new thermal capacity addition by 2032 ■ Adani Power, India's largest private thermal power producer, is looking to double its capacity from 15GW now to 30GWby 2030 The 2023-24 Economic Survey stated India will target a diversified set of sources for energy security with a significant place for thermal power, including coal, to minimise risks associated with systems while pursuing low-emission pathways in line with national commitments. Adani Power, India’s largest private thermal power producer, is looking to double its capacity from 15GW now to 30GW by 2030, chief executive S B Khyalia said in a Q1 earnings call with ■ Tata Power,which was not keen on adding new capacities in thermal energy,will look at new projects depending on the opportunities and returns ■ JSWEnergy is also looking at adding greenfield capacity analysts recently. The company acquired Lanco Amarkantak Power in Chhattisgarh, which has a total capacity of 1.93 GW. The acquisition of Coastal Energen (1.2 GW capacity) is underway.It is also looking at further acquisitions worth 1.1 GW capacity, it said in a presentation. Adani Power is exploring bids worth 6,400 MW by states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Khyalia said. Continued on Page 20 CHENNAI/KOCHI