MARKETS, P6 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P3 MPC: Inflation trending down, but pace slow, says RBI guv Audi eyes half of total sales from EVs by 2030 Meta shares soar high as Zuckerberg sells AI vision NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L NO. 149, 48 PAGES, `12.00 (PATNA & RAIPUR `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: 81,053.19 ▲ 147.89 NIFTY: 24,811.50 ▲ 41.30 NIKKEI 225: 38,211.01 ▲ 259.21 HANG SENG: 17,641.00 ▲ 249.99 `/$: 83.95 ▼ 0.02 `/€: 93.52 ▼ 0.21 BRENT: $76.32 ▲ $0.27 GOLD: `71,379 ▼ `38 IN THE NEWS GOYAL SAYS NOT AGAINST E-COMM, WANTS FAIR PLAY A DAY AFTER slamming e-commerce companies over their business practices and the harm they are causing to small retailers, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal softended his stance on Thursday and said the government wants to invite them to invest in India, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 ONDC FORAYS INTO CREDIT SPACE WITH 6-MIN LOAN SERVICE THE OPEN NETWORK for Digital Commerce (ONDC) on Thursday launched a credit facility that enables customers to access fully digital and paperless loans in just 6 minutes, reports Sachin Kumar. It also plans to launch insurance and mutual fund offerings in the next two months. ■ PAGE 6 KOLKATA CASE IN SC: SCENE OF OFFENCE ALTERED, SAYS CBI THE CBI, WHICH is probing the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that “our investigation itself is a challenge… because the scene of offence” has been “altered”, reports Ananthakrishnan G. ■ PAGE 7 FE S P E C I A L ‘We used the Covid lull to invest in new platforms’ Co-founder & group CEO of MakeMyTrip shares the company's expansion plans ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 Infy, some global firms likely to get GST relief TAXING TIMES PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, August 22 INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY(IT)GIANT Infosys and some foreign airlines and shipping companies are likely to receive some relief from the government on their massiveGSTliabilities, INSIDE official sources told FE on Thursday.The GST Four GST Councilislikelytotake slabs to stay uptheissuefordiscusfor now sion on September 9 and may deliberate ■ PAGE 2 on issuing guidelines regarding the same, Bajaj Auto seeks GST cut the sources said. “The fitment comon CNG 2Ws mittee is examining ■ PAGE 5 the issue related to taxing import of services underthe reverse charge mechanism (RCM). In case, there is a requirement to issue some clarification for some cases where taxes should not be levied, we will issue a circular,”an official told FE. On July 30, the Directorate General of No changes expected CHECKPOINTS ■ Proposals from Sebi draft ■ Sebi issued THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is expected to issue the final guidelines for derivatives trading by September-end, two sources in the know told FE, adding thatthenormsarelikelytobethesame as proposed in the draft circular. The markets regulator has received thousands of suggestions from interested parties on the draft circulartillAugust 20 — the deadline for sending comments. However, while the suggestions to the consultation paper are being reviewed, the sourcessaidtheproposalsincludedin thedraftcircularwillnotbemodified. “Sebi is likely to go through the suggestions in the next 10 days, call forameetingandimplementthenew guidelines,” one of the sources said. The suggestions will first go to the SecondaryMarketAdvisoryCommittee and then to Sebi board,whichwill likely meet in September. The sources also said that there is a likelihood that on October 1,when onJuly 30 a consultation paper, aimed at curbing hyperactive trading activity in options include increasing minimumvalue ofderivatives contract to `15-20L immediately and to `20-30L after six months ■ The finance minister and RBI have alsovoiced concerns over the issue the higher securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options trading takes effect, Sebi’s regulations will also come into force. The regulatorhadissued a consultation paper on July 30 with seven proposals aimed at curbing the hyperactive trading activity in the options segment on expiry day and increasing the minimum contract size requirement. Continued on Page 7 Adani family offices to get a post-Hindenburg makeover INDUSTRIALIST GAUTAM ADANI plans to appoint auditors from a top global firm and hire a chief executive officer (CEO) for his family offices to bringalevelofdisclosureoftenassociated with listed companies, people familiarwith the mattersaid. The founders of the mining-tomediaconglomeratearetalkingtotwo ofthebigsixaccountingfirmstoaudit the family offices’accounts,said people familiarwith the discussions. The moves aim to bring transparency in how INSIDE the wealth of Promoters of Asia’s secondAmbuja to sell richest person, valuedat$105.4 2.84% stake billion, is man■ PAGE 4 aged and underscores the lessons from last year’s short seller attack.The first-generation entrepreneur faced intense scrutiny and criticism from Hindenburg Research on multiple issues,including the opacity in how the group operates and controls its listed entities. Hiring is underway for a team of about five people, led by a CEO and a chief investment officer,that will initially report to group chief financial IMPROVING IMAGE Adani family portfolio: Founder’s stakes in listed Adani Group firms Adani Enterprises Adani Green Energy Adani Power Adani EnergySolutions Adani Total Gas Adani Ports & SEZ Adani Wilmar Adani Cement NDTV ■ Notice said the IT firm has not paid GST under 'reverse charge mechanism' on import of services, received from overseas branches, between July 2017 and 2021-22 GSTIntelligence(DGGI)issueda`32,403crore ‘pre-show-cause’ notice to Infosys, stating that the company has not paid GST under the reverse charge mechanism on import of services, received from its overseas branches,for the period between July 2017 and 2021-22. However, it later withdrew the notices, amounting to `3,989 crore for 2017-18, after the IT New F&O norms likely by October VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, August 22 as British Airways, Lufthansa & Singapore Airlines, and some shipping firms also got similar notices `32,403-cr notice from Directorate General of GST Intelligence on July 30 74.7 57.5 72.7 74.9 37.4 65.9 43.9 70.3 64.7 FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 22 ■ Foreign airlines such ■ Infosys had received a INDUSTRIALIST TO HIRE TOP AUDITORS, CEO TO BRING TRANSPARENCY PR SANJAI & SAIKAT DAS August 22 Consumer confidence down: Finmin report GST COUNCIL MAY TAKE UP ISSUE ON SEPTEMBER 9 ■ GST fitment committee examining issue related to taxing import of services under reverse charge mechanism major submitted its documents of the transactions made during that period. An official said that Infosys needs to submit its documents for the remaining years against the tax demand by November 30 — the deadline for the companies to file their annual return. Continued on Page 7 Gold, silver: Govt ‘forgets’ to cut drawback rates RAJESH BHAYANI Mumbai, August 22 THE JEWELLERY INDUSTRY has been on a high eversincetheUnionBudgetslashedtheimportduty on gold and silver from 15% to just 6%. However, what has surprised the industry is that the government has “forgotten” to correct the duty drawback rates,which are still at 15%. Due to this anomaly,exporters could potentially end up earning more than the customs duty that they pay. Surendra Mehta, national secretary, IndianBullion and JewellersAssociation(IBJA),said, "We have requested the ministry to immediately align the duty drawback in line with the current reduced rate of import dutyto avoid loss of revenue to the government." The IBJA also alerted the government through a tweet on X on Thursday. Typically,exportersarecompensatedbythegovernment at pre-determined rates for taxes paid on raw material (such as gold and silver) through the drawback route since this leads to higherexports of value-added goods. The DutyEntitlement Passbook (DEPB) Scheme is an export incentive scheme that allows a refund of duties paid by exporters on importing input materials. Drawback is paid in cash while DEPB benefits are paid as scrips which can be used to pay import duty. Usually,wheneverdutychanges on rawmaterial are announced,drawback rates are also changed in linewithdutychanges.However,thedrawbacknotification has not been updated so far. Continued on Page 7 CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN the current economic situation,employment,price level, and income has declined, the finance ministry’s economists said on Thursday, citing the Current Situation Index of the RBI’s Consumer Confidence Survey. However, they said the projection of real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.57%forFY25,madeintheEconomicSurveyfor 2023-24,seemedappropriate as of now. Households’optimismabouteconomicconditionsfortheyearaheadhasdeclinedfromthe previousRBIsurveyround.Further,loweroptimism on the general economic situation, employment and prices led to a moderation in thefutureexpectationsindexoftheConsumer Confidence Surveyin July2024. The industrial outlook surveyof the manufacturing sector,also conducted by the central bank, showed a decline in both the current assessment and the expectations indices of business sentiment in August. Production, order books, employment and export sentimentsmoderated.“Boththeconsumerandthe industrial outlook surveys need to be monitored for future trends,” the finance ministry said in its monthlyeconomic report forJuly. Barring two perception surveys by the RBI showing weakening sentiments, the report notedthatthe labourmarket indicators exhibited positive signs in recent months. The quarterly urban unemployment rate remained stable at 6.6% in Q1FY25 vis-a-vis Q1FY24.Year-on-yeargrowthinnetEPFOpayroll additions in Q1FY25 was followed by expansionary tendencies in the PMI employ- Projection of real GDP growth of 6.5-7% for FY25 made in the Economic Survey seem appropriate as of now RBI surveys paint a sobering picture of urban consumers’ perception of employment conditions and manufacturers’ hiring sentiment ment sub-indices in July.The Naukri Jobspeak indexis finallylooking up. “However,the RBI surveys paint a sobering picture of urban consumers’ perception of employment conditions and manufacturers’ hiring sentiments,both of which underwent a dip in recent rounds,” the report said. In this context,the report highlighted that the Budget 2024-25 prioritised job creation through a bouquet of five schemes and initiativesforemployment,skillingandotheropportunitiesfor41millionyouthovera5-yearperiod. Continued on Page 7 WiFi band: Telcos,tech firms at loggerheads DoT defers allocation till consensus emerges JATIN GROVER New Delhi, August 22 THE TUSSLE OVER the 6 GHz spectrum band betweenthetelecomoperatorsandtechnology firmshasledthedepartmentoftelecommunications(DoT)todelayitsallocationtoeither.The bandwillcontinuetostaywiththeIndianSpace Research Organisation (Isro) for satellite purposes till the time the government is able to resolvethetiffbetweenthetelcosandtechplayers like Microsoft,Google,Amazon,etc. The6GHzbandprovidesfasterspeedandis ideal for WiFi services.Telcos want that it be reserved for them for 5G services. However, technology firms want that it be used forWiFi services only.The telcos fear that if the band is provided to tech firms like Microsoft,Google, Amazon,orQualcomm,theywouldcannibalise the services offered bythe telecom operators. The DoT plans to hold widespread discussionswiththestakeholdersbeforetakingafinal decision on the allocationof this band. The6GHzbandincludesfrequenciesinthe Byju’s: SC refuses to stop CoC meeting Open market sale of wheat likely in Sept THE SUPREME COURT on Thursday refused to pass an interim order to ensure that the CoC does not hold anymeeting in pursuance of the insolvency proceedings against Byju’s. The SC, however, said it will accord the final hearing in the matteronAugust 27.It said the developments, which may take place in the meantime,can be negated if it finds therewas no merit in the appeal of the US-based creditorGlasTrust CompanyLLC against the order of the NCLAT. ■ Page 4 THE GOVERNMENT IS likely to commence open market sales of wheat to bulk buyers like flour millers from its buffer stock with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) next month, reports Sandip Das. The move is aimed at curbing any possibility of an increase in prices in the coming festive season. Last year, the FCI had commenced open market sale operations from June and had offloaded a record 10 MTofwheat for bulk purchasers. ■ Page 2 Shareholding (%) Note: Adani Cement includes 70.33% stake in Ambuja Cements as on June 30, which in turn owns 50.05% in ACC. Source: Company’s credit note/Bloomberg officerJugeshinderSingh,andeventuallytothebillionaire-founder,thepeople said. Adani family’s two wealth offices were until now run informally withthehelpofgroupfirms’CFOs.An Adani Group representative did not offeranyimmediate comments. Whilegettingprofessionalstolead the wealth offices is not uncommon WHAT THE REPORT SAYS especially for billionaires who are still actively running their businesses, efforts to appoint a global audit firm and bolsterdisclosures is a ratherrare initiativeandinsharpcontrasttomost of the familyoffices,where discretion and secrecyis preferred. Continued on Page 7 New Delhi WEAK SIGNAL ■ DoTworking on revised National Frequency Allocation Plan ■ To have informal discussions on 6 GHz band first ■ Telecom, tech firms at loggerheads over 6 GHz band allocation ■ Telcos want the band for 5G, tech firms want it forWiFi range of 5925-7125MHz. Sources said Reliance Jio has proposed to carry on with informal discussions with all the stakeholders, which include government representatives,telcos and tech firms. Continued on Page 7 Dabur to invest `400 cr in South India foray FMCG MAJOR DABUR India will invest `400 crore in Tamil Nadu to set up a new plant,marking its first manufacturingforayintothesouth, reportNarayananV&ViveatSusanPinto.On Thursday,thecompanysignedamemorandum ofunderstandingwiththeTamilNadugovernment to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the SIPCOT Food Park, located inTamil Nadu’sVillupuram district.Daburwill invest `135 crore in phase I, scaling up to `400croreoveraperiodoffiveyears. ■ Page 4