EFE, P10 BACK PAGE, P22 INTERNATIONAL, P3 Firms focus on budget phones with 5G chipsets For BB, it’s Now or never as q-comm gains speed High-level US delegation calls on Yunus in Dhaka CHENNAI/KOCHI, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 113, 22 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 IN THE NEWS REVISION OF CPI SERIES TO RELY ON 2022-23 INPUTS THE GOVERNMENT HAS completed the household consumption expenditure survey (HCES) for 2023-24, and a preliminary analysis shows that its results are largely similar to the one of 2022-23, a senior official said, reports Priyansh Verma. So, the 2022-23 survey results are most likely to be used for formulating the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series to avoid any further delay in its formulation. ■ PAGE 2 MEPABOLITION TO BOOST BASMATI RICE EXPORTS THE GOVERNMENT’S MOVE to abolish the minimum export price (MEP) of $ 950/tonne imposed a year ago is set to give a boost to exports of basmati rice and ensure parity with competitor Pakistan in global trade and ensure farmers get remunerative prices just ahead of commencement of harvesting of paddy, rice exporters said, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 2 COFFEE CHAIN STARTUPS DRAWING VCs & PEs AGAIN COFFEE CHAIN STARTUPS are seeing renewed interest from investors this year, reports S Shanthi. While speciality coffee chain Blue Tokai Coffee raised $35 million last month, Subko Coffee Roasters raised $10 million and abCoffee picked up $3.4 million, both in March this year. ■ PAGE 4 ZOMATO TO END AI-GENERATED IMAGES ON MENU ZOMATO HAS DECIDED to put an end to AI-generated images on restaurant partners' menus and marketing materials, making it the first among digital marketplaces to try and tackle the issue of real vs fake imagery, reports Anees Hussain. ■ PAGE 4 BANKS RAISE `50,000 CR VIA INFRA BONDS BANKS HAVE RAISED more than `50,000 crore in the first fiveand-a-half months of the current fiscal by issuing infrastructure bonds as deposit growth had remained slow amid firm credit demand, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 6 FE S P E C I A L S New twist to Kalyani India eyes $10-bn infra family dispute over push from London funds mother’s second will TEAM FROM UK WILL VISIT PROJECT SITES IN NOVEMBER Early investments will be in highway and rapid transport projects PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, September 15 INDIA IS LOOKING to attract investment commitments to the tune of $10 billion fromfundsparkedintheCityofLondonin marquee projects, including highway stretchesandtheNationalCapitalRegion’s rapid transport systems,by next year. These initial investments from London-based fund houses will herald largescale influx of “patient capital” in the country’s burgeoning infrastructure sector,official sources said. Earlier this month, a team led by Niti AayogCEOBVR Subrahmanyammetfund houses in London to discuss the “huge potential” in India. An agreement on the financing bridge was signed between the City of London Corporation and the Niti Aayog on September 11 last year to tap a part of the trillions of dollars managed by London-based asset managers. INFRA IN THE FAST LANE ■ Net FDI inflows to India declined to $26.5 bn ■ Majority of asset managers based in London, the world’s second-largest financial services centre, don’t invest in India ■ Officials cite information gaps behind lack of fund flows in FY24 from $42 bn in FY23 ■ India is currently in discussion with a host of countries to attract FDI In the initial phase, the London funds wouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinbids for the National Highways Authority of India’s8-10projectsandthreemultimodal hubs of National CapitalRegionTransport Corporation(NCRTC)atAnandVihar,Sarai KaleKhanandGhaziabad.Thenetworkhas been planned and spatially oriented to ensure seamless integration with the IndianRailways,Inter-StateBusTerminals (ISBTs),airports and the Delhi Metro. “Theaimistodeliver4-6marqueepro- Semicon 2.0 to cover large design firms too JATIN GROVER New Delhi, September 15 CHIPPING IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INCENTIVE scheme 2.0, which the government is expected to announce in the next threefourmonths,is likelyto provide subsidyto even large firms that are into chip designing. Not only this, the subsidy amount is alsolikelytoberaisedfromthecurrentcap. Thiswillbeamajorchangefromthecurrent scheme,which onlysupports startups byreimbursing50%oftheirdesign-related expenditure,withaceilingof`15crore.This ceiling is expected to be raised. If the governmentprovides50%subsidyontheproject cost to larger firms who are into chip designing, companies like L&T SemiconductorTechnologies,Qualcomm,MediaTek and NXPwill also stand to benefit. However, the government is likely to add a condition that to be eligible for the incentive, the firms concerned will have to ensure that the intellectual property (IP) of the chip should be in India. Chip design is the first step in the semiconductor journey, as without it the right product and the subsequent steps of designrelated expenditure, with a ceiling of `15 cr ■ In the proposed scheme, semiconductor intellectual property will have to be in India for firms to be eligible for incentives such as semiconductor manufacturing, assembly,packaging,etc,are not possible. The design-linked incentive scheme is part of the government’s `76,000-crore semiconductor scheme. Under this, `1,000crorehasbeenearmarkedforstartups that are into chip design. Continued on Page 17 Oil India,TotalEnergies in talks for offshore projects ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ New Delhi, September 15 STATE-OWNED OIL INDIA Ltd (OIL) is in discussion with French energy companyTotalEnergiesforexplorationof hydrocarbonblocksoffIndia’scoast, eitherasatechnicalpartnerora“participatinginterest”(equity)partner,a seniorcompanyexecutive told FE. The firm is looking to bid aggressively underthe next open acreage licensing policy biddingroundswhereinoffshoreblocks are expected to go underthe hammer. “WehavehelddiscussionswithTotalEn- jects with the participation of a few big international players. Then they will become demonstration projects,”a senior official said, adding that these same project financing modelswould be replicated in other projects. Currently, India largely finances its infrastructure projects through domestically available funds including government budgets. Continued on Page 17 FPIs invest `27,856 cr in equities in a fortnight RUN-INS INAFRESH twist to the Kalyani familybattle, a dispute has emerged over the group matriarch Sulochana Kalyani’s will. Both her sons, Baba Kalyani and GaurishankarKalyani,have staked their claim to their mother’s wealth through two different wills. Gaurishankar, brother of Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, has contested the will dated January 2012 that has been moved for probate by executors,MadanUmakantTakaleandShrikrishna Kiran Adivarekar.This was done on February8,2024.Thehearingforthiscaseisscheduled for October 9, 2024. Sulochana passed away in February 2023. Gaurishankar’s affidavit on July 15, 2024 had claimed that his motherhadmadeanotherwillonDecember9, 2022. Subsequently, on August 3, 2024,Viraj Kalyani,Gaurishankar’ssonmovedforprobate of Sulochana’s will in a Pune court.This case comes up forhearing on September23,2024. Gaurishankar’s affidavit says Sulochana accused Baba Kalyani of taking away most of the family wealth, leaving his parents with a smallportion.“Between1992and1994,Baba took away the control of several companies, including BFL(Bharat Forge) and KSL(Kalyani Steels),frommyhusband.After1994,myhusband and Iwere leftwith onlya small portion of the wealth generated by my husband,” the affidavit said. The affidavit was signed three CMD of Bharat Forge, claims that everything he owns is self-created and not ancestral ■ Baba Kalyani, ■ Baba has been contesting suits by kin seeking their share in family wealth ■ According to his brother Gaurishankar, Baba Kalyani has been accused by their mother Sulochana of taking away most of the family wealth months before Sulochana passed away. In the affidavit, Sulochana states that around 2007, she and her husband, Neelkanth Kalyani,wished to see that Gaurishankar and his familywere secured during their lifetime and theydecided to giftwhateverwealth remained with them to Gaurishankar and took steps to gift the wealth to him. Continued on Page 15 ● KEJRIWAL SAYS WILL RESIGN AS CM ANI PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, September 15 ■ Currently, government supports chip design startups by reimbursing 50% ■ India largely finances its infra projects through locally available funds GEETA NAIR Pune, September 15 ergies and are now framing the memorandum of understanding on whether they want to come on board as a technical partner or if theyare interested to be a participating interest partner,” the company executivesaid.Thecompanyisalsoin discussion with other international companies, including PTT Exploration and Production Public Company in Thailand, Malaysian stateowned oil and gas company Petronas, and Vietnamesestate-ownedPetrovietnam,for exploration of offshore blocks. Continued on Page 15 FOREIGN INVESTORS HAVE infused `27,856 crore in domestic equities in the first fortnight of this month,owing to the resilience of the Indian market and growing optimism around the potential interest rate cut in the US. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been consistently buying equities since June.Before that,theypulled out `34,252 crore in April-May. WiththefocusshiftingtotheUSFederal Reserve’s decision on interest rates in its policymeeting nextweek,its outcomewill likely play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectoryoffutureFPI investmentsinIndian equities, Himanshu Srivastava, associate director-manager research, Morningstar Investment Research India,said. According to data with the depositories, FPIs put in a net investment of `27,856 crore into equities this month (till September 13). With this, FPIs’ investment in equities reached `70,737 crore so far this year. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist,Geojit Financial Services, has attributed two major reasons for the strong buying by FPIs. First,there is a consensus nowthat the US Fed will start cutting rates from this month, pushing the US yields down. RecentdatashowingUSinflationcooling for the fifth consecutive month, hittinga43-monthlowof2.5%year-on-year in August,has strengthened expectations that the US Federal Reserve may proceed with a rate cut at its upcoming policy meeting. This will facilitate fund flows from the US to emerging markets. Secondly, the Indian market is extremely resilient with strong momentum and missing out on the Indian market would be a bad strategy for FPIs, he added.High valuations in India,however, continue to be a concern. Also, a series of regulatoryreforms aimed at streamlining the process for FPI investments has further uplifted investor sentiment. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addresses AAPworkers in New Delhi on Sunday. Days after being released on bail in an excise policy case, he announced that he would resign as CM in the next two days and sought early assembly elections in Delhi ■ PAGE 17 Adani to supply 6,600 MW power to Maharashtra THE ADANI GROUP has won a bid to supply 6,600 MW of bundled renewable and thermal power to Maharashtraforthelongtermafter itsquoteof`4.08perunitbeatthelikesofJSW Energy and Torrent Power.Adani Power’s bid forthebundledrenewableandthermalenergy supply for 25 years was almost a rupee lower than the cost at which Maharashtra currently procures electricity and will help meet future electricity requirements of the state, sources said. Supplies are to start in 48 months from the date of award of the letterof intent. —PTI US lenders counter Byju's founder’s claim on debt US LENDERS REPRESENTED by Glas Trust have countered Byju’s founderByjuRaveendran’sclaimon verifieddebtonthecompanybeing merely around `20 crore, and have said that the beleaguered edtech firm will have to pay the entire $1.2 billionTerm Loan B alongwith interest,reportsPTI. GlasTrusthassuedByju’s fortherecoveryof$1.2billionTLBinUSaswell as in India.The financial trouble of once the most-valuedIndianedtechfirmByju’sstarted after US-based lenders started legal action against the company. ■ Page 4 ENTRY-LEVEL CATEGORIES REMAIN MUTED, SAY TOP EXECUTIVES ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 Rewriting the script Will JioCinema pull off another coup, this time in the OTT market? ■ EXPLAINER, P6 Why e-Shram is still a work in progress Online aggregators who employ gig workers have to take the lead in getting them registered Onam sets festive tone as premium durables drive sales VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, September 15 THE PREMIUMISATION TREND in consumerdurablesisconsolidating astheneedtoupgradetobiggerand better products,led by easy financing and rapid technological changes, is driving sales more than last year,top executives at durables firms have told FE. Onam,which was celebrated on Sunday and signals the start of the two-month festive season in India, has borne out this trend,executives say. The premiumisation trend is pronounced in urban areas, where demandhasbeenstable.Ruralmarkets, while showing signs of recovery,will begin to pick up with a lag, but largely for entry-level durable SHOPPING CELEBRATIONS ■ The two-month festive season gives consumer durable companies a third of their annual sales ■ Companies have seen up to 35% growth in consumer durable sales this Onam over last year ■ According to Crisil, domestic consumer durable makers will see revenue growth of 9-10% in FY25 Malayali women celebrate Onam with 'pookalam' (flower rangoli) in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, on Sunday PTI products,said executives. “Onam this year is certainly better than last year,when the market saw a de-growth of 5-6%.This was due to the mass segmentwhichwas weak; traction for premium products wasn’t as high either.This year, thesalestractionforpremiumprod- ucts, largely in washing machines andairconditioners,hasbeenbetter than last year. We have seen a 1520% year-on-year growth, led by premium products during Onam this year,” Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice-president, GodrejAppliances,said. Typically, India’s festive season gives consumerdurable companies a third of their annual sales. Firms do everything from launching new products, driving consumer offers, discounts and cashbacks and putting out aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns to draw the attention of shoppers during the period. “Onam gives an earlyindication of how the festive season will look like. We have seen an almost 3035% growth this Onam over last year, led by our high-end LED television sets, top-load washing machines and smart refrigerators with artificial intelligence. This is mainlyin the urban areas.However, entry-level products, while muted now, could pick up closer to Diwali as pent-up demand maydrive rural purchases during the period,” said NS Satish, president, Haier Appliances India. Avneet Singh Marwah, director and CEOof SuperPlastronics,aconsumerdurable manufacturerbased out of Noida, said that production lines for categories such as television sets,washing machines and air conditioners were running at full capacity in anticipation of strong demand during Dussehra-Diwali this year, which is considered the peak of the festive season. Continued on Page 15 CHENNAI/KOCHI