OPINION, P10 MIND & GAMES WELL BEING Vision or division Hearing a signal towards future COSMETIC WITH CAUTION While beauty procedures have become popular, it's important to be aware of the emerging risks stemming from ill-equipped salons, spas or tattoo parlours. Know how to take care Page 6 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM VOL. XXI, NO. 1 That sneaky feeling that we are not alone in the universe Page 11 SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM KOTA IN CRISIS B E N G A L U R U , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O L K A T A , owned Bulgari recently collaborated with Hyderabad Duty Free to introduce Allegra fragrance collection Bookstores are offering new experiences that may include coffee, performances, tarot or even pottery PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, August 24 THE UNION CABINET on Saturday RAJNATH MEETS US ZYDUS TO ACQUIRE NSA; DISCUSSES ‘KEY’ 50% STAKE IN STRATEGIC MATTERS STERLING BIOTECH ZYDUS LIFESCIENCES on Saturday said it has inked a pact with Perfect Day to acquire 50% stake in Sterling Biotech. As part of the deal, Perfect Day, a Temasek portfolio company, will sell its 50% shareholding in Sterling Biotech for an undisclosed amount. Post the transaction, Sterling Biotech will become a 50:50 JV with equal representation on the board, Zydus Lifesciences said. ■ PAGE 3 approved major changes to the way pension isto beprovided to thecentral government staff by reintroducing the concept of assured pension,which was done away with for new recruits two decades ago. The new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), to be effective from April 1, 2025,will have most of the features of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).Itwillprovideassuredpension of50%oflastdrawnsalary(average basic pay of last 12 months of service) upon superannuation for all employees completing minimum 25 years of service, with value of such deferred compensation fully indexed to inflation. Besides, there will be assured payouts to spouse of the pensioner after his/ her demise at 60% of the last pension drawn. pay drawn over last 12 months prior to superannuation for minimum qualifying service of 25 years ■ Lumpsum employee ■ Assured minimum pension of `10,000/ month for those with minimum 10 years of service payment at superannuation in addition to gratuity which will be 1/10th of monthly emolument ■ Additional outgo of `6,250 crore in FY26, the year of UPS’ launch Also, all employees with minimum 10 years of service will get assured pension of `10,000 per month. To fund the estimated shortfall in proceeds required for assured pension,theUniongovernmentwill enhanceits contribution from14% of basic paynowto 18.5%.Employees’ contribution, however, would remain unchanged at 10%. The decision would entail addi- tional outgo of `6,250 crore in FY26, the year of UPS’ launch, but the cost of the scheme would keep on changing over the coming years according to multiple variables, including the staff strength, life longevity of the pensioners/ their spouses,inflation and returns from pension corpus. Gold ETF inflows jump 10x in Jan-July period INTHE FIRST seven months of 2024, gold ETF inflows saw a massive jump of 897%, reaching `4,523 cr, up from `453.55 cr during the corresponding period of the previous year, according to AMFI data.The average assets under management (AAUM) of gold ETFs rose by 28.8%, from `26,893 cr in December 2023 to `34,644 cr in July 2024. Over the past year, theAAUM of gold ETFs soared by 52.4%. Experts attributed this surge to persistent uncertainty surrounding interest rate cuts, which have bolstered gold's appeal as a safe haven and a hedge against inflation, thereby attracting more investors. — Compiled by Kishor Kadam Gold ETF average AUM Awoman visits a makeshift memorial with Ukrainian flags, with the names of fallen service members, at the Independence Square in Kyiv on Saturday. Ukraine celebrates August 24 as its Independence Day in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence of 1991 MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, August 24 SHARP CUT THE GOVERNMENT HAS slashed Drawback rate brought down to `335.5 from `704.1 per gm of net gold content in article ■ Gold jewellery: the drawback rates on exports of gold and silver jewellery and articles of silver by more than half to adjust for the sharp cut in import duties on gold and silver metal in this year’s budget. On export of gold jewellery the drawback rate has been brought down to `335.5 from `704.1 per gram of net gold content in the article. The rate of silver jewellery and articles of silver have been cut to `4,468 per kilogram of net gold content in an article. REUTERS ■ Silver jewellery: Drawback rate cut down to `4,468 per kg of net gold content in article Duty drawback scheme refunds import duties and internal taxes which are paid while importing goodsthatareinturnusedformanufacturing products for exports. 2024 (Jan-July) 9,707 30,722 22,200 27,934 17,708 29,267 21,831 8,167 Mahindra Scorpio 2023 31,509 22,631 31,009 12,742 Mahindra XUV700 2022 62,756 68,000 36,894 65,371 74,434 45,202 2021 Per-month sales 18,358 22,192 18,514 14,485 new sub-segment has emerged within the Indianpassengervehicle space—midsize 6- and 7-seater SUVs, in the `15-25 lakh segment. The monthly average sales of such familySUVshavegrownfrom9,707 units in 2021 to 30,722 units this year, and the launch of the new Hyundai Alcazar next month will further boost this segment. Units 36,945 64,179 1,21,420 97,563 POST THE COVID-19 lockdown, a ROBUST SALES 11,964 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, August 24 These vehicles have the seating arrangement of an MPVlikeToyota Innova or Maruti Suzuki Ertiga (three rows with 2+2+2 seats, or 2+3+2 seats),but the body shape of an SUV. The first such SUV was Tata Safari—in 6- and 7-seat options— but based on the 5-seater Harrier. Launched in February 2021, Tata Motors has sold 73,549 units of the Safari,as of July 31. It was closely followed by Hyundai Alcazar—in 6- and 7-seat options—but based on the 5-seater Creta. Launched in June 2021, Hyundai has sold 76,973 units of theAlcazar,and next month the allnewAlcazarwill be launched. August 2021 saw the launch of Mahindra XUV700—in 5-7 seat Tata Safari Kia Carens MG Hector (Plus) Hyundai Alcazar Note: XUV700 and Hector have 5-7 seats; Kia doesn't call Carens an SUV but a recreational vehicle (RV); Source: Companies options—of which 196,971 units have been sold. Kia launched the Carens in February 2022. Branded as an RV (recreational vehicle), 167,650 units of the Carens have been sold. The biggest boost to the 6- and 7-seater SUVs was provided by the all-new Scorpio (Scorpio-N and Classic) launched in June 2022,followed by MG Hector Plus (January 2023). 2024 2023 -199 657 165 -267 997 373 125 -396 103 827 70 726 456 Jan-July 454 1,337 4,523 57,929 Jul 3, ‘24 71,007 Aug 23, ‘24 Jul While the Union Budget presented on July 23 cut the import duties on goldand silverto6%from15%,the revenue department forgot to notify the cut in drawback rates for articles of gold and silver. Foramonthasituationprevailed where theoreticallyexporters could get higher refunds than the taxes they paid. However, no loss will be incurred by the government as claims filed since the Budget would still be in the processing stage.Duty drawback scheme is one of the 13 export promotion schemes being runbythegovernment.Lastyearthe government paid out `200 crore under the scheme. Source: AMFI, MCX, Bloomberg Hero Motors files draft papers for `900-cr IPO PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, August 24 AutomotiveanalyststoldFEthat even though 6- and 7-seater SUVs existed prior to Covid-19—such as Mahindra XUV500 and Tata Hexa, bothsincediscontinued—salesshot up 2021 onwards after the 2020 lockdown. “After months of not travelling together, people started desiringbigcarsforfamilytrips.But mostcouldn’tafford anInnova,and the Ertigawas too taxi-like,”an analyst told FE. “Enter the Alcazar, Safari, XUV700, Carens, all of which were launched when India was getting back on the road.Foreign countries were shut,so families explored new places within India. These SUVs served the purpose well.” HERO MOTORS, THE auto-components firm of the Hero Motors Company (HMC) Group, on Saturday filed preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise `900 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO is a combination of a fresh issue of equity shares worth `500 crore and an Offer-For-Sale (OFS) of shares valued at `400 crore by promoters, as per the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). The OFS includes `250 crore worth of shares by OP Munjal Holdings, and `75 crore each by Bhagyoday Investments and Hero Cycles. The company may consider a pre-IPO placement of `100 crore. If such placement is completed, the fresh issue size will be reduced. Proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of `202 crore will be used for debt payment, `124 crore for purchase of equipment required for expansion in capacity of the company’s facility in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. Hero Motors is India’s leading automotive technology company engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing and supplying high engineered powertrain solutions provider to automotive OEMs in the United States, Europe, India, and the ASEAN region. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 Midsize SUVs on a roll, ride on the back of ‘family-first’ customers ● Launch of new Hyundai Alcazar to further aid segment (` crore) (` per 10 gm) Drawback rates on export of gold, silver jewellery halved ● UKRAINE MARKS INDEPENDENCE DAY AMIDSTWAR Net inflows in gold ETFs MCX gold prices (` crore) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 Jan Assured pension back for government staff sanal pizzas inspired by London’s vibrant street food scene, gourmet burgers and meals. With a 22.5% year-on-year Feb Food To-Go at Mumbai airport. Set to open in collaboration with F&B operatorTravel Food Services (TFS), the first set of outletswill offerarti- ● Inflation-adjusted KEY FEATURES ■ Assured family 50% of last drawn 50% pension at 60% of assured pension salary guaranteed pension of of average basic Word, play P U N E growthininternationaltravelduring 2023-2024, and outbound passengersataround70millioninFY2024, capitalising on airports as a retail platform onlymakes sense. As Andy Wenlock, CEO, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, said, “Indian airportsarethenewstageforculinary journeys, and we are excited to see howtravellersembracethesevibrant, flavour-intense diningexperiences.” Varun Kapur, executive director, TFS,a company managing over 380 QSRs, bars and F&B outlets spread acrosstravelhubsin19citiesinIndia and operating 27 airport lounges globally,said:“Wearebuildingonthe food revolution at Indian airports.” May Apr Mar ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 D E L H I , Jun experience of Ramsay’s signature concept outlets Gordon Ramsay Plane Food, Street Pizza, Street Burger and Gordon Ramsay Plane ■ LVMH Group- CABINET NOD TO NEW SCHEME A new cartography exhibition maps the roller-coaster journey of the subcontinent over four critical centuries N E W Jul can soon have airportexclusive dining experience of celebrity chef Ramsay's signature concept outlets at Mumbai airport the first to bring Wolfgang Puck in India, besides James Martin Kitchen & PF Chang's ■ Ospree Duty Free at Mumbai airport's Terminal 2 exclusively launched Kylie Cosmetics in Asia in October last year 34,644 based Global Drinks has introduced travel retail-exclusive premium Japanese whisky Misaka at Delhi Duty Free 34,018 with cucumber salad or a baba ganoush from Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen,you definitely need a ticket out of India, but the quest ends at the airport,where the celebritychef is bringing his famed outlets soon. Inafirst-of-its-kind forayforthe celebritychefinIndia,travellerscan have an airport-exclusive dining ■ Bengaluru airport was ■ Hong Kong- ■ Travellers TO RELISH A sesame crusted tuna Mapping our history M U M B A I , 33,434 ONLY ATTHE AIRPORT VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, August 24 ■ LEISURE, P7 L U C K N O W , Stuck at the terminal? Brands are lovin’ it ● Airports to become retail magnets with exclusive offerings DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh met the US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan and shared perspectives on "key" strategic matters of mutual interest, a day after India and the US signed two key agreements to further boost their comprehensive global strategic partnership. Singh landed in Washington on Thursday on a four-day official visit to the US. ■ PAGE 20 K O C H I , 32,855 WHAT'S INSIDE C H A N D I G A R H , 30,032 F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , READ TO LEAD 27,925 P U B L I S H E D FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY 30,445 KOLKATA SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2024, 20 Pages, `12 (NE States & Andaman `13) A reality check on the ‘coaching capital’ that seems to be losing the perception battle Page 5 Kolkata