POLITICS, P7 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P10 Enough is enough: Murmu on Kolkata incident Order value key to q-comm’s profitability Apple cuts about 100 digital services jobs NEW DELHI, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2024 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE READ TO LEAD VOL. L NO. 154, 32 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: 81,785.56 ▲ 73.80 NIFTY: 25,052.35 ▲ 34.60 NIKKEI 225: 38,371.76 ▲ 83.14 HANG SENG: 17,692.45 ▼ 182.22 `/$: 83.96 ▼ 0.04 `/€: 93.50 ▲ 0.23 BRENT: $78.67 ▼ $0.88 GOLD: `71,420 ▼ `13 Nod to 12 industrial smart cities with `28K-cr outlay NEWS IN THE MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, August 28 JAN DHAN TO BOOST VIKSIT BHARAT MISSION: MODI THE GOVERNMENT WILL continue to build on the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and initiate even more steps to build a Viksit Bharat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday. Modi said over 530 million poor people have opened bank accounts with deposit balances of over `2.3 lakh crore. ■ PAGE 2 RILAGM TODAY: FOCUS ON CLUES TO RETAIL, JIO IPOS WHEN MUKESH AMBANI, Reliance Industries’ chairman, steps up to deliver his much-anticipated once-a-year public address on Thursday, shareholders will be parsing his words for any details on listing its telecom and retail giants, reports Bloomberg. ■ PAGE 4 THE CABINET COMMITTEE on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved 12 new industrial smart cities in 10 states to boost domestic manufacturing with an estimated outlay of `28,602 crore. These cities, to be built under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, will have an investment potential of `1.5 lakh crore, will create 1 million direct jobs, and hold the potential to generate indirect employment of 3 million, com- UNLOCKING POTENTIAL ■ These cities will have an investment potential of `1.5 lakh crore AIRTEL SET TO BE INDUS’ LARGEST SHAREHOLDER BHARTI AIRTEL IS set to become the single largest shareholder in Indus Towers after the completion of the buyback initiated by the tower company on August 14. ■ PAGE 5 ZOMATO LATEST: FOOD EXPENSE MANAGEMENT ZOMATO HAS LAUNCHED ‘Zomato for Enterprise’, a new platform designed to simplify corporate food expense management, reports Anees Hussain. CEO Deepinder Goyal announced the initiative, which marks another step in the company's diversification strategy. ■ PAGE 5 FE S P E C I A L S ‘Banks increasingly adopting AI to offer more to customers’? Interview with Dennis Gada, executive VP & global head of banking and financial services, Infosys ■ They will create 1 million direct jobs and 3 million indirect jobs merce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. The new smart cities are largely modelled on the current ones, but all of them would come up in tier- 2 cities, helping decongest the metros and capital cities. These are principally aimed at developing futuristic industrial cities with the capacity and effi- ROAD CLEAR FOR $8.5-BN ENTITY Reliance-Disney merger gets CCI greenlight Clearance subject to IMPORT DUTIES ON ‘voluntary modifications' EDIBLE OILS MAY BE RAISED SOON MANU KAUSHIK THE GOVERNMENT IS considering a proposal to raise import duties on crude and refined edible oils, with the domestic mandi prices of most oil seeds ruling below the minimum support prices for several months now, reports Sandip Das. A final decision on how to raise the import duties on edible oils is likely to be taken soon, sources said.■ PAGE 2 PIYUSH GOYAL, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY MINISTER New Delhi, August 28 THE COMPETITION COMMISSION of India (CCI) has approved the merger of Reliance Industries (RIL) and the Indian media operations ofWalt DisneyCompany,paving theway for the creation of an $8.5-billion giant.The regulatory nod comes a day before RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani is set to address shareholders at its annual general meeting. The deal to merge the media assets of Reliance,Viacom18Media,Digital18Mediaand other Disney-linked firms are“subject to the compliance of voluntary modifications,” CCI said on Wednesday,without elaborating what these voluntary modifications were.A detailed orderisexpectedtobeissuedshortly. Reliance had signed a binding agreement with Disney in February this year to merge theirmedia operations in India — a move that notonlycementedtheirdominantpositionin the sector but also gave them a lion’s share of the cricket broadcast rights. Relianceissettocontrolover60%ofthenew combinedunit—16%directlyand47%viathe Viacom18 Media business it largely owns — while37%goestoDisney.Additionally,Reliance has agreed to invest `11,500 crore into the JV for its growth strategy.Viacom18 Media and Digital18areownedbyReliance,StarIndiaand StarTelevisionarecontrolledbyDisney. ThecombinewillcompetewithSony,Netflix and Amazon, with 120 TV channels and two streamingservices. The CCI recently raised several queries on the merger,with the main concern being the DONE DEAL ■ Reliance is ■ The new board will have 10 members, with RIL nominating five, Disney three, and two independent directors set to control over 60% ofthe new combined unit — 16% directly & 47% via the Viacom18 Media business ■ NitaAmbani will assume the role ofchairperson of the merged entity,with formerWalt Disney executive Uday Shankar, joining as vice chairperson ■ RIL has agreed to invest at `11,500 crore into the JV for its growth strategy mergedentity’stightcontrolovercricketrights forTVand streaming in India,and its abilityto hurt advertisers.The companies have reportedlypledgednottobundleandselladvertising slotsfordifferentcrickettournamentsandkeep subscriptionratesfortheirofferingsunderregulatorylimits,the source added. Continued on Page 7 ciency to compete with the best manufacturing and investment destinations of the world. SEBI ON WEDNESDAY cautioned investors about a pattern of stock manipulation in the SME market where promoters paint unrealistic picture of the business to elevate stock prices and offload their stake,reports Vivek Kumar M.Sebiurgedinvestorstobecarefulandwatchfulofthesepatternsandexercisecautionwhile investinginsuchstocks.Thiscomesamidrising concernsoverthequalityofissuescomingtothe SME market and unrelenting interest from individualinvestorsintheseissue.■ Page 6 THE UNION government’sapproval for 12 industrial smart cities could have a‘multiplier effect’ on the real estate and allied segments, reports Raghavendra Kamath. “It would lead to more development andmoreGDPgrowth.Anythingthat leads to higher GDP growth will cre- Plan needs to be linked to timelines atemorejobs,morehousesandmore spending.Therewouldbeamultiplier effect,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of Hiranandani Group.He said the industrial cities would fuel higher real estate development in terms ofwarehouses,hotels,housing complexes,mallsandsoon. ■ Page 2 15-GW NE hydro projects cleared PAGE 3 Agri-infra fund scope widened PAGE 2 RBI governor for innovation with prudence in fintech $6-bn investment in last two years reflects growing confidence in the sector, says Das FE BUREAU Mumbai, August 28 RESERVE BANK OFIndia (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said onWednesdaythat the preferred approach forachieving balance between innovation and prudent regulation involves self-regulation within the fintech sector. Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest,he highlighted that the number of fintechs founded in India stood at 11,000 and the sector has received investments of $6 billion in the last two years alone, noting that these investments reflect growing confidence in India'sfintechsector, which has seen remarkableadvancements in areas such as digital payments, lending, and financial inclusion. 2024 To achieve selfregulation within the fintech sector, Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) would be the route to take sincetheycompriseindustryparticipants andhaveagoodunderstandingofthesector’suniquechallengesandopportunities. He also said that out of three industry bodieswhoappliedforrecognitionasSRO, RBI has alreadygranted approval to one. GLOBAL FINTECH FEST Continued on Page 7 SHAKTIKANTA DAS, GOVERNOR, RESERVE BANK OF INDIA FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & FINTECH STARTUPS ALIKE MUST, THEREFORE, ADAPT SWIFTLY, TO CAPITALISE ON THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES WHILE MITIGATING THE RISKS Nilekani pitches Finternet as the future of finance SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, August 28 INFOSYS CO-FOUNDER AND chairman Nandan Nilekani gave a glimpse into the future of finance with his address on Finternet at the Global Fintech Fest on Wednesday. In his keynote address on ‘Finternet: Transforming Financial Services through Digital Innovation’, he said that the Finternet is a network of multiple financial ecosystems interconnected with each other, much like the internet. The new system will enable individual to bring different assets and documents such as bank deposits,real estate,financialassets,bonds,artworksandtokenise them. Once tokenised, these assets can beusedbybusinessesandindividualsto get loans from financial institutions. “The Finternet is a new approach to global finance which is defined by the three ‘U’s’ – it is user centric, unified, and universal – that is keeping the user at the centre and it has to be universal,that is it has to cut through asset classes of all types,”said Nilekani. “The Finternet combines the best of the regulated world with the best that tokenisation technology can offer us,” he said. Continued on Page 7 GIFT City halts local family office approvals GIFT CITY HAS stopped allowing domestic familyoffices to set up investment funds in its finance hub due to concerns raised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said a senior official on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is worried that loosening capital controls for such instruments could result in loopholes that may be used to evade taxes and money laundering,according to recent media reports. The central bankisconcerned thatthemovementof large funds could disrupt exchange rate management and forex reserves. Sandip Shah,head of the IFSC Depart- ■ The decision on family officeswas taken due to concerns raised by RBI ■ The move may impact GIFTCity’s goal to be a global financial hub Full coverage, PAGE 6 mentatGujaratInternationalFinanceTeccity(GIFT)saidthatafterfeedbackfromthe RBI,theregulatorforGIFTCityhasstopped approvalsfordomesticfamilyinvestment funds. However, overseas family offices havehadnotroublewithapprovals,hesaid. AnotherCEO told FE that manyfamilyofficesareenquiringaboutthepotentialtoset-upofficeinGIFTcity.However, in the absence of regulatoryclarity,they are unable to do so. Last week, a debate had sparked on social media with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai sounding an alarm over the issue. Pai slammed the regulator’s decisionofhalting approvalssayingthat it would hamper global investments. Requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene,Pai said that the decision goes against what the Centre has been aspiring to do–“globalise,compete globally and build a developed India.” Continued on Page 7 ‘Our polity lacks capability for reforms to spur 9-11% growth’ ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU Mumbai, August 28 Why Paytm is in the dock again INDIA CAN CLOCK a GDP growth rate of 6-7% but its polity lacks the capability to carry out reforms that can spur growth in the range of 911%, said Ruchir Sharma, global investor,fund manager and author of best-selling books. AttheExpressAdda,organisedby The Indian Express in Mumbai on Tuesday,Sharmasaid,“Ithinkthatwe can growat 6 (%),ormaybe 7%with some help of foreign capital but the kind of growth rates that China did…9%,10%and11%,Idon’tthink ourpolity…andtheconsensusinthis countryisthere.Westilldon’tgiveour people enough economic freedom. ■ EXPLAINER, P9 Move to spur growth: Realtors GOVT STILL PLAYS A PRETTY INTERVENTIONIST ROLE: RUCHIR SHARMA ■ EFE, P9 Sebi guidelines state that stock options cannot be granted to an employee who is a promoter INSIDE PAGE 4 Continued on Page 7 AKSHATA GORDE Mumbai, August 28 Reddit registers Sebi cautions two India entities SME investors SOCIALMEDIAGIANTReddithas officiallyentered the Indian marketbyregisteringtwonewentities in the country, reports NarayananV. Accordingto sources,Reddit’s move into India is driven by its fast growing user base in the country and to complywith locallawsthatrequiresocialmediaplatforms toestablishaphysicalofficeinIndia.Records fromtheMinistryofCorporateAffairs(MCA) show that Reddit has registered two entities in Mumbai in July. ■ Page 4 THE LAND HAS BEEN ACQUIRED FOR ALLTHE INDUSTRIAL HUBS AND THE AIM IS TO GETTHEM FUNCTIONAL IN THE NEXTTHREE YEARS Ruchir Sharma, chairman of Rockefeller International and founder and chief investment officer of Breakout Capital, at the Express Adda event in Mumbai on Tuesday NARENDRAVASKAR Westillhaveamindsetofthefactthat weneedtoprotect…Governmentstill plays a pretty interventionist role in this country,” Sharmasaid. Hewas responding to a question when can India witness a situation whereitscurrencyisstrengthening, interest rates are lower and growth is accelerating, similar to what Japan experienced from 1970 to 1995,and China in 2000. “For 30 to 40 years, China was the world's biggest success story. It didn't happen naturally.The kind of reforms that China carried out in those years is something our polity... I don't think it is capable of carrying out,”Sharma said. He explained that China,which began as a very controlled communist state in the 1970s,gave its people a lot of economic freedom over time. Until the 1980s, Chinese peoplecouldn'tevenowntheirproperty butthenallthereformsbeganoneby one.Inthe 1990s,Chinafirednearly New Delhi 100 million people from its public sector enterprises and there was no welfare state. “…the kind of reforms that China and other Eastern European, East Asian countries carried out by really downsizing the public sector, I don’t think we (India) have the capacity or consensus to do that. Privatisation in this (India) country is dead on arrival for most things as we know.It only happens by malign neglect,which is that something is allowed to privatise on its own because the private sector takes on greater share… that’s what happened with the banking sector,” Sharma said. Continued on Page 7