MARKETS, P6 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P13 Not in a hurry to cut interest rates: Powell Tata plant fire: Apple may turn to China Samsung set to cut thousands of jobs CHENNAI/KOCHI, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLV 127, 20 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 SENSEX: 84,266.29 ▼ 33.49 NIFTY: 25,796.90 ▼ 13.95 NIKKEI 225: 38,651.97 ▲ 732.42 HANG SENG: 21,133.68 ▲ 501.38 `/$: 83.82 ▼ 0.02 `/€: 93.03 ▲ 0.74 BRENT: $71.51 ▼ $0.19 GOLD: `75,213 ▲ `162 IN THE NEWS SWIGGY INDEMNITY TO SOFTBANK,ACCEL & PROSUS DIRECTORS AHEAD OF ITS initial public offering (IPO), food-tech unicorn Swiggy has granted special indemnity to the directors on its board who were appointed by its major investors — Accel, Prosus and Softbank, the company’s IPO documents showed. ■ PAGE 4 ANGEL ONE TO DISCONTINUE ZERO BROKERAGE MODEL WITH SEBI’S ‘TRUE to label’ rules and the exchanges’ revised transaction rates taking effect on Tuesday, most brokerage houses have started adjusting transaction charges while keeping brokerage fee unchanged, reports Akshata Gorde. However, discount broker Angel One has decided to implement a new structure for brokerage charges from Nov 1. ■ PAGE 6 WAR TAKES A TOLL ON EXPORTS TO WEST ASIA INDIA’S TRADE WITH countries directly involved in the West Asia conflict has seen sharp fall and as the hostilities enter another phase, the country must remain vigilant and adapt to the fast-changing geopolitical and trade landscape, according to a trade policy think-tank. ■ PAGE 2 ABOVE-NORMAL RAINS LIKELY IN OCT-DEC: IMD THE MET DEPARTMENT expects above-normal rainfall in several parts of central, southern peninsular, and north-east India in the OctoberDecember period, the IMD said on Tuesday, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 3 FE S P E C I A L To scare or not to scare Ad industry experts discuss ways to improve anti-tobacco ads ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 PHASED ROLLOUT OF SIX NORMS Sebi tightens rules to check F&O frenzy Minimum contract value STRICTER FRAMEWORK Measures Effective from raised to `15 lakh Upfront collection of options premium from buyers Removal of calendar spread treatment on expiry day IN A MOVE expected to curtail retail participation in the futures and options (F&O) segment, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday introduced six regulations. These include a higher minimum contract value of `15 lakh, upfront options premium payment,limit on weekly expiry to just one per exchange and a rise in margins closer to expiry. INSIDE The new rules come into effect in a EDIT: TIMELY phased manner with ACTION BY onlythree changes — REGULATOR higher contract size, ■ PAGE 8 rationalisation of weeklyexpiries,anda 2% increase in extraordinary loss margin on all short options contracts on expiry day — starting November 20. Other measures include the upfront collection of options premium from buyers,and removal of calendarspread benefit to traders on the dayof expiry– taking effect from February1.Thefinal ruleof mandating intra-day monitoring of position limits will be in place from April 1,2025. The circular comes a day after the Sebi board surprised traders by deferring the Feb 1, 2025 Intra-day monitoring of position limits AKSHATA GORDE Mumbai, October 1 Feb 1, 2025 Apr 1, 2025 Contract size for index derivatives Nov 20, 2024 Rationalisation of weekly index derivatives products Nov 20, 2024 Increase in tail risk coverage on day of options expiry Nov 20, 2024 announcement. The board was widely expected to approve the slew of measures proposed by the regulator in July, aimed at curbing the increased retail investor frenzy and speculation in the `500-trillion F&O market. Continued on Page 7 Capex pace picks up after polls `5.5L-cr new projects announced in Sept quarter, up 43% y-o-y DATA MONITOR New projects announced Total (` lakh crore) % chg, y-o-y 13.8 16.6 SAIKAT NEOGI & PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, October 1 THE VALUE OF new investment projects announced grew 43% on-year to `5.5 lakh crore in the just concluded July-September quarter of the current fiscal, after contracting for the previous four quarters,indicating a prompt capex revival after elections. Sequentially, new projects grew 193% after contracting 86% in the previous quarter. The value of new investment projects by the (larger) private sector grew 42% to `4.1 lakh crore, not far behind the growth shown by the government sector (44% to `1.4 lakh crore), data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) show. Economists are of the view that the data reflect a quick rebound in investments after the lull caused by the elections.They,however,also cite the low base (-37%), which boosted the Q2FY25 8.3 7.0 3.9 62.5 21.5 Mar ‘23 Jun 37.3 Sep 5.5 1.9 33 16.8 77.4 Dec Mar ‘24 Jun Share of private 85.9 sector in new projects (%) Mar ‘23 42.6 Sep 77.4 74.9 79.2 85.1 53.4 74.6 Jun Sep Dec Mar ‘24 Jun Sep Source: Economic Outlook number.What is to be seen is if the postelection momentum will be sustained and accelerated. The share of the private sector in new investment projects rose to 75% in Q2FY25 after slipping to 53% in the previous quarter, when companies adopted a guarded approach due to the general election. Manufacturing PMI GST mop-up falls a tad to `1.73L cr at 8-month low INDIA’S MANUFACTURING ACTIVITYinSeptemberwasthe slowestineightmonthsasrates of expansion in factoryproduction and sales receded, according to a survey by HSBC Holdings. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 57.5 in August to 56.5 in September.That meant the sectorwas still decisively in the expansion zone, nonetheless the weakest since January. ■ Page 2 THE GROSS GST collections for September, reflecting the transactions in August, stood at `1.73 lakh crore, slightly lower than the mop-up of `1.74 lakh crore in the previous month, official data released on Tuesday showed, reports Priyansh Verma. The y-o-y growth recorded in Septembercollections was 6.5%, the lowest in 39 months, denoting consumption activityhas taken a beating. ■ Page 2 The share was at an all-time high of 86% in the three months to March last year. New projects announced had touched an all-time high of `16.6 lakh crore in Q4 FY23 on the back of robust private sector projects of `14.3 trillion. Continued on Page 7 Sept PV sales in the slow lane THE WHOLESALE DESPATCHES of passengervehicles (PVs) stood around 355,000360,000 units in September, up just 0.5% year-on-year, reports Swaraj Baggonkar.With inventorylevels already high, automakers continue to cut supplies of new cars ahead of the festive season.Maruti Suzuki saw its total PV volume slide by 4% y-o-y to 144,962 units, while Hyundai Motor India saw despatches decline by 6%. ■ Page 4 Centre appoints 3 new external MPC members FE BUREAU New Delhi, October 1 THE GOVERNMENT ON Tuesday appointed three new external members—Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya and Nagesh Kumar—to theReserveBankofIndia’s(RBI) monetarypolicycommittee,a move just in time forthe next meetingoftherate-settingpanelonOctober7. The new members of the MPC would hold office for“a period of fouryears,with immediate effect or until further orders,whichever is earlier”,thegovernmentsaid.Withthis,thecurrentexternalmembersofMPC—AshimaGoyal, JRVarmaandShashankaBhide—ceasetobeon the panel.Theirtenurewas to end on Friday. Among the new members, Singh holds a doctorate in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a post-doctoral degree fromHarvard University.His areas of expertise include public economics, taxes and public finance, law and economics, banking and financial regulations and Indian economy. Singh has over 20 years of experience in teaching,research and publishing. Bhattacharyaisaneconomistwithover30 yearsofexperienceineconomicandfinancial markets analysis,policyadvocacy,infrastructureandprojectfinance,consumerbehaviour and analytics. A regular writer of columns including for FE, he is currently a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. Before joining CPR, he was the chief economist and executive vice-president at Axis Bank. Kumar,whoholdsadoctorateineconomics from Delhi School of Economics,is known for his expertise in international trade policies. Continued on Page 7 (Left to right) Ram Singh, Delhi School of Economics director; economist Saugata Bhattacharya; Nagesh Kumar, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development director NO NEW CASE AFTER APR 1; TRIBUNAL TO TAKE UP PENDING ONES Govt brings the curtains down on GST anti-profiteering law PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, October 1 STARTING APRIL 1, 2025, tax authorities willnotregisteranyfreshcaseof“profiteering”undertheGoodsandServicesTax(GST) regime,the Central Board of IndirectTaxes and Customs (CBIC) has said. This would mark the end of the 2017-born anti-profiteering regime under the GST framework, whichhasremainedcontroversialduetoits incompatibilitywithfreemarketprinciples. The anti-profiteering mechanism examinesifinputtaxcredit(ITC)availedbyany registeredpersonorthereductionintaxrate have actually resulted in a“commensurate reduction in the price of the goods or servicesorboth”suppliedbythat person. The CBIC, in a notification dated September 30,said from April 1 next year,the authority designated to look into cases of profiteering will not accept any request for examination.Additionally,through a separate order, it transferred the mandate of COMING TO AN END ■ From next fiscal, authority designated to look into profiteering cases will not accept any request, a CBIC notification said ■ CBIC also transferred mandate of adjudicating complaints of profiteering from CCI to principal bench of GSTAppellate Tribunal, effective Tuesday ■ GSTAT to hear past profiteering cases, and new ones registered till March 31, 2025 adjudicating complaints of profiteering fromtheCompetitionCommissionofIndia (CCI) to the principal bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT),effective Tuesday.The GSTATwill hearthe past profiteering cases, and the new ones registered till March 31,2025. According to Abhishek A Rastogi, founder at Rastogi Chambers, this shift (from CCI to GSTAT) would expedite the legal process and help resolve long-standing cases concerning the computation of the quantum of profiteering,which have been delayed foran extended period. Continued on Page 7 CHENNAI/KOCHI