OPINION, P10 LOKSATTA ANNUAL LECTURE ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM ‘Federalism should be evaluated based on ability to foster democracy… equality, liberty’ Page 15 It is too early to tell MIND & GAMES CJI CALLS FOR BROADER AMBIT FOR FEDERALISM Ancient cities found in mountains of C Asia Discovery suggests trade routes along Silk Road were very complex Page 11 FOOTLOOSE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXIII NO. 53 A DISNEY CRUISE IN ASIAN WATERS FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY NEW DELHI SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024, 22 Pages, `12 (Patna `12, Raipur `12) 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 , Diwali dressing ■ P5 Gaming on the cards Card parties happening on the screens, oldschool games being reinvented in their online avatars ■ P6 Apollo Hospitals 1.45 Hindalco Inds 1.40 Cipla 0.97 NTPC 0.93 18.2 20.6 43.9 45.4 27.2 28.6 27.8 28.7 17.7 18.6 L U C K N O W , ■ Fortifino has seen 25-30% rise in demand in past 3 years for intricate designs ■ Malabar Gold and Diamonds has created sub-segments in lightweight jewellery ■ New 9-carat category will be game-changer, as per India Bullion and JewellersAssociation ■ PPJewellers by Pawan Gupta has seen surge for 14- & 18-carat options Major players like Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Kalyan Jewellers, Mia by Tanishq and others are betting on lightweight jewellery this festive sea- got many queries for 9-carat pieces son. Mia by Tanishq has launched a new festive Disco collection that is lightweightandversatile,havingroped in Zeenat Aman for the campaign. Shyamala Ramanan, business head, MiabyTanishq,said,“Wehaveaslewof modular jewellery like earrings that transformintopendantsorplayfulfid- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Washington, October 26 NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, FM A SOFT-LANDING OF the global economy, which has experienced tremendous stress over the past several years, is increasingly a possibility,Union finance ministerNirmala Sitharaman said Friday. Observing that better days are ahead primarily because of the coordinated action between countries and multilateral financial institutions,the financeministerat the same time sounded a note of caution that economies are not really picking up that much yet. “The largest sense which pre- THE SENSE IS WE CAN ONLY HAVE BETTER DAYS THAN WHATWE HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST FEWYEARS vailed in the two-daydiscussions, both of the (International Monetary)Fundand also of the World Bank,is that there will be a soft landing.The efforts by the Fund, the central banks and all institutions,governmentshavekept the inflation down for some meaningfulperiod.Therefore,softlanding is increasingly a possibility,” Sitharaman told a Washington DC-based global think-tank. “Then that reasonable growth numbers will come from even the advanced economies, certainly not in the negative area.And then the coordinated action between countries to manage any supply chain shocks that have been the character of the global economy in the last,let us say,at least twoyears, are being faced by countries with a lot more preparedness, and, therefore, the sense is we can only have better days than what we have seen in the last few years,” Sitharaman said during her appearance at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank. “But with that said, all of us had to sound a note of caution because economies are not reallypicking up that much yet,”she said. Continued on Page 2 Das rejects idea to cut food from inflation target AGENCIES Washington, October 26 week said a cut would be“very, veryrisky”rightnow,andreiteratedFridaythathewantedtosee RESERVE BANK OF India gov- price growth on a “durable ernor Shaktikanta Das said on descent”to the 4% target. Friday that eliminating food The prescription for inflaprices, which accounts for tion-minus-foodwas floated in nearlyhalfofIndia'sconsumer JulybychiefeconomicadviserV inflationbasket,frominflation Anantha Nageswaran, who targets would amount to “not argued that since interest rates having a target”. Speaking at a can’t control the prices of food, Peterson Institute forInterna- deployingshort-termmonetary tional Economics forum in policy tools“to deal with inflaWashington, durtioncausedbysuping the annual ply constraints SHAKTIKANTA DAS, meetings of the may be counterRBI GOVERNOR International productive”. Monetary Fund That proposal COMMON (IMF) and World has divided econBank, Das said omists. Jayanth PERSON such a move Rama Varma, a UNDERSTANDS would make no former member HEADLINE sense to normal of the RBI’s rate INFLATION AND consumers.“Tarpanel, said there geting core inflaSHOULD REMAIN was no evidence tion without food that higher THATWAY inflation will food costs are make no sense to pushing up prithe average citices more broadly zen,”he said,adding,“It’s in the economy. the headline inflation that the common person Continued on Page 2 understands and should ■ RBI guv receives remain that way.” TheRBIgovaward forA+ ernor had last rating ■ P3 2024 2023 FPIs’ average holdings in Nifty 50 companies (%) Sep 22.89 Dec 23.07 Mar 22.88 Jun 22.36 22.32 Sep FPIs’ % stake Jun 2024 Sep 2024 35.4 IndusInd 31.5 Bank 3.93 Axis Bank 1.55 Maruti 1.30 Suzuki Trent 1.25 Eicher 1.19 Motors 51.0 49.4 19.0 17.7 27.9 26.6 28.8 27.6 Source: Capitaline Maruti, Honda race to revive sedans Mar While the new Dzire will be launched on November 11,the new Amaze is likely to be launchedattheBharatMobility Showduring January17-22. Analysts said that since new launches excite the market and May 2024 Jul 2,585 10,627 11,647 2,327 1,794 Jun Aug bringfootfallstocardealerships, it remains to be seen whether thesedansegmentgetsaleg-up with thesetwo products. Gaurav Vangaal, associate director,light vehicle forecasting, S&P Global Mobility, told 10,853 2,820 Maruti Suzuki Dzire 13,421 16,061 Apr 2,215 15,825 15,894 Feb 2,678 2,774 15,837 Jan 1,796 EVEN AS THE passengervehicle (PV) market has decisively moved towards compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Maruti Suzuki and Honda CarIndia are testing the market by coming out with new launches in the sub-4 metre sedan category. Sources said while Maruti is launching a new generation modelofDzire,Hondaiscoming outwithanewvariantofAmaze. 2,972 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, October 26 COMPACT SEDAN SALES 16,773 ● To launch new Dzire on Nov 11, new Amaze in Jan M U M B A I , Soft landing a possibility: FM FPIs hike stake in 28 Nifty firms in Q2 Tata Motors 2.38 K O L K A T A , GLOBAL ECONOMY How the festival means different things across the country ■ P8 Sep 2024 K O C H I , ■ Candere by KalyanJewellers has gm,andGenZspreferringlightweight jewellery, demand for low-carat gold is booming. No wonder, the government recently notified that 9-carat gold jewellerywill also be hallmarked byend of the year. Diwali and its avatars Jun 2024 has launched new Disco collection that is lightweight, versatile WITH GOLD PRICED at `78,490/10 Indian-inspired flavours give sweet lovers the best of both worlds ■ P7 FPIs’ % stake ■ Mia byTanishq VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, October 26 Mithai meets chocolate IN THE JULY-September quarter, FPIs increased their stake in 28 out of 50 Nifty companies, while they reduced their stake in 21 firms within the index. However, their average holdings in Nifty 50 companies fell slightly, from 22.36% in the June quarter to 22.32% in the September quarter. FPIs were net buyers of equity shares, purchasing $10.7 billion (`89,428 crore) worth of shares inJuly-September. — Compiled by Kishor Kadam H Y D E R A B A D , BETTING BIG ON LIGHTWEIGHT ● Demand for slim designs, low caratage due to high prices Know what's in trend to add some glamour & sparkle to your festive wardrobe ■ P4 Brands are making a business of delivering the Diwali experience C H E N N A I , READ TO LEAD N E W D E L H I , P U N E Jewellery buyers go gold lite this festive season THE FESTIVE ISSUE Diwali delivered C H A N D I G A R H , Disney cruise line will set sail in Singapore next year Page 9 Honda Amaze Sep FE that while both the Dzire and the Amaze are expected to sell well in the initial months, they won’t be able to shift the masses to sedans. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi get rings.We continue to see a marked acceptance of 14-carat,which means we are able to give a wider spread of high-quality products at attractive price points. This combination of accessibilityandaffordabilitynotonly allows customers to expand their collections but also encourages them to experimentwith different styles.” Added Ramanan:“With potential plans forentryinto quick commerce, the brand in the first half of the year has seen a growth of close to 50% compared to last year, both online and in-store.” Continued on Page 2 ICICI Bank Q2 net profit up 14.5% SACHIN KUMAR Mumbai, October 26 ICICI BANK ON Saturday announceda14.5%yearon-year increase in net profitto`11,746crorefor the September quarter, supported by strong loan growthandimprovement inassetquality.Thelender surpassed street expectations as Bloomberg estimates had pegged the profits at `10,952 crore. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid,rose 9.5% to `20,048 crore in the Septemberquarter of thecurrentfinancialyearfrom`18,308crore in the same quarterof the previous fiscal. Continued on Page 2