COMPANIES, P4 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P3 Apple revenue from India hits all-time high: Cook Hughes CEO expects to maintain 15-20% growth Trump condemns violence against Hindus in Bangladesh NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L NO. 209, 18 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: 79,724.13 ▲ 335.07 NIFTY: 24,304.35 ▲ 99.00 NIKKEI 225: 38,053.67 ▼ 1,027.58 HANG SENG: 20,506.43 ▲ 189.10 `/$*: 84.08 < > 0.00 `/€*: 91.39 ▼ 0.23 BRENT: $74.42 ▲ $1.61 GOLD*: `79,181 ▼ `93 *Prv close — IN THE NEWS AFCONS TAPS HSBC, OTHERS FOR DEBT FOR ITS EQUIPMENT AFCONS INFRASTRUCTURE IS raising debt from overseas lenders HSBC and others for its equipment across its business segments, reports Raghavendra Kamath. It has raised over 50 million euro (`457 crore) from HSBC via green bonds. ■ PAGE 4 SAUDI ARABIAAND INDIA SIGN PACTS TO BOOSTTRADE INDIAAND SAUDI Arabia on Friday signed a series of "actionable agreements" aimed at enhancing trade volumes and facilitating a smooth flow of investments between the two counties, according to an official statement. The deals emphasise cooperation in energy transition and digital transformation, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 2 FASHION DESIGNER ROHIT BAL PASSES AWAYAT 63 October sees second best GST collections FUNDRAISE ESTIMATED AT `1.3 LAKH CRORE Samvat 2081 set to be biggest IPO year AKSHATA GORDE Mumbai, November 1 BUOYANT MARKET COLLECTIONS FROM INITIAL public offerings (IPOs) could hit an estimated `1.3 lakh crore in Samvat 2081, topping the record mop-up of `1.13 lakh crore in Samvat 2080.Available information from Prime Database reveals the IPO pipeline is a big one. While 29 companies have already received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise around `48,425 crore,another59 companies are awaiting the regulator’s nod to tap the primarymarket forapproximately `80,408 crore. Among the first IPOs in Samvat 2081 will be that of food-delivery and quick commerce player Swiggy,which is scheduled to open on November 6. Othersthatareexpectedtohitthemarket during the course of the year include National Stock Exchange (NSE), National Securities Depository(NSDL),VishalMega Mart, NTPC Green Energy, ONGC Green Energy,andSatlujJalVidyutNigam(SJVN). Samvat 2080, which ended on Thurs- Samvat IPO funds raised (` crore) 2071 11,372 2072 27,246 46,569 2073 53,378 2074 2075 10,706 2076 26,618 2077 81,811 2078 82,648 48,935 2079 1,13,484 2080 day, saw 83 companies raise funds from the primary market. Thanks to a strong secondary market, the sentiment in the IPO market too was bullish as investors reapedhugelistinggains.Theyearmarked the country’s biggest-ever primary fund- raise as Korean carmakerHyundai Motors picked up `27,000 crore. Continued on Page 5 ■ NLC, SJVN green IPOs to hit the market in 2025, PAGE 5 Markets begin Samvat 2081 on a positive note ● NEXT GEN YELLEN RENOWNED FASHION DESIGNER Rohit Bal passed away on Friday. He was 63. He had been battling heart ailment for a while and was rushed to a hospital on Friday, Fashion Design Council of India chairman Sunil Sethi said. Last month, Bal showcased his collection in Delhi. ■ PAGE 18 VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, November 1 EQUITY MARKETS BEGAN Samvat 2081 on a positive note on Friday with benchmark indices Niftyand Sensex rising 0.4% eachtoclosethespecialone-hourMuhurat trading session at 24,304.35 points and 79,724.12 points,respectively. Maintaining the trend seen in the past fewyears,thebroadermarketoutperformed the benchmarks.The BSE Smallcap index ended the special trading session 1.2% higherandtheBSEMidcapindexrose0.7%. Theinvestorwealthroseby`3.21lakhcrore in the one-hour session, rising to `447.95 lakh crore,with 3,026 stocks ending in the green on the BSE as against 549 losers. The gains in the market were largely similartohistoricalreturnsseenintheprevious Muhurat trading sessions. The key indices have given returns in the range of 0.3%to0.9%inthepreviousfiveMuhurat trading sessions. Stock exchanges hold a specialMuhurattradingsessionforanhour on Diwali.It is believed to be an auspicious time to buy assets,including stocks. Allthesectoralindices,barringtheNifty IT index, ended in the green in the latest Muhurat trading session. GMP ENFORCEMENT TO HIT SMALLER PHARMA UNITS AN ESTIMATED 40% of the medium and small pharma units are at a high risk of shutting down with the new good manufacturing practices (GMP) norms set to come into effect from December-end, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 2 FE S P E C I A L S Continued on Page 5 United States treasury secretary Janet Yellen greets a girl who dressed up as her for Halloween. Yellen shared this picture on her X account Royal Enfield to ride in the Bear 650 bike next week Why some motorcycle companies are focusing on the 650-cc segment. ■ MOTOBAHN, P7 MUHURAT TRADING Sensex IIM Calcutta sees 100% placement IIM Calcutta has secured 100% placement — 564 offers — for 475 students of its flagship MBA programme during the summer internship placements, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ Page 18 Storage crunch hits paddy purchase A STORAGE CRUNCH caused by surplus rice held in the central pool, especially in Punjab,hasadverselyimpactedthegovernment's paddy procurement drive this season,reports SandipDas. ■ Page 2 Previous close 79,389.06 Nov 1 (close) 79,724.12 335.06 points (0.42%) Nifty Previous close 24,205.35 Nov 1 (close) 24,304.35 99 points (0.41%) But concerns over slowing consumer spending remain PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, November 1 GROSS GOODS AND Services Tax (GST) collections in October (largely September transactions) came in at `1.87 lakh crore,up 8.9% on year, the finance ministry said on Friday. This was the second-highest monthly GST mop-upever,butstillwasn’tsufficienttoallay the fears of a potential plateauing of the revenues from this largest head of indirect taxes. Analysts pointed out that monthly gross GST mop-up growth has stayed below 10% for two consecutive months now. In September, the gross collections at `1.73 lakh crore were just 6.5% up on year, the lowest growth in 40 months. This seems to indicate a potential slowdown in consumer spending in India, which surged in the previous fiscalyear.“The singledigit growth signals a cooling-off period,” noted Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY. RefundsinOctoberstoodat`19,306crore,up 18.2% on year,and thus the net GST revenue stoodat`1.68lakhcrore,7.9%higheronyear. In April-October,the net GST mop-up has risen by 9% on year,and net Central GST collections by9.9%.The gross collections,on the other hand, in April-October have grown 9.4%, which is lower than 11.4% growth recordedinthecorrespondingperiodofFY24. The underwhelming collections so far ECONOMIC SIGNAL GST collections 2024 2.1 1.87 1.73 1.74 1.82 1.74 1.73 Apr May 12.4 Growth (%, y-o-y) ` trillion Jun Aug 8 10 Jul 10.3 Sep Oct 10 6.5 8.9 indicate that the mop-up forthe fullfinancial year may be lower than what has been estimated in the Budget,sayanalysts.The Budget has pegged the full year’s growth in Central GST (CGST) collections at 11%.To match the fullyear’sCGSTprojectionof`9.11lakhcrore, collections in the remaining months of FY25 will have to grow by 11.4% year-on-year. Continued on Page 5 Festive demand drives up retail carsales by 20% RAGHAVAGGARWAL New Delhi, November 1 INVENTORYCORRECTION SAW dispatches (wholesales) of passenger vehicles by manufacturers to dealers grow by a marginal 1.7% year-on-yearin October,at 401,000 units.Of the country’s top four PV manufacturers — MarutiSuzuki,HyundaiMotor,Mahindraand Mahindra, and Tata Motors — three posted muted numbers, with M&M being the only one to registera double-digit growth of 25%. Maruti’s domestic sales declined by 5%, Hyundai saw a marginal growth of 0.7%, while Tata Motors saw its wholesales dip by 0.4%. However, industry sources said that retail sales bythese companies fared betterat around 480,000-490,000 units, registering a year-on-year growth of 20%. For instance,while Maruti reported a 5% dip in wholesales at 159,591 units, the company said it witnessed a 22.4% growth in retail sales at 202,000 units. The company said that thiswas its all-time highest October sales. It said that festival sales contributed 15% of overall sales this fiscal between Shraddh to Diwali. Maruti said it has done more than 40% inventory correction and its stocks with dealers now stand at 30 days, which is seen as normal.“We are optimistic abouthealthyretailsalesinNovemberasafew lakh marriages are there within a span of 1112 days,”the company said. Hyundai Motor India, which saw its domesticsalesmarginallyriseto55,568units as compared to 55,128 units in October last year, said it registered the highest-ever monthly SUV sales during the month. “We witnessed a strong demand forourSUVportfolio during festive period, leading to our highest-ever monthly SUV sales at 37,902 WHOLESALES MUTEDAT1.7% Domestic PV wholesales Oct 2024 Oct 2023 % change Maruti Suzuki 1,68,047 1,59,591 -5 Tata Motors 48,337 48,131 -0.4 Hyundai Motor India 55,128 55,568 0.7 Mahindra & Mahindra 25 43,708 54,504 Source: Company filings INSIDE ELECTRIC 2-WHEELERS SALES SURGE 85% ■ PAGE 4 units, including the highest-ever monthly domesticsalesoftheHyundaiCretaat17,497 units,” Hyundai Motor India chief operating officer Tarun Garg said. SUVs remain a cornerstone of the company’s lineup,representing68%ofthetotalmonthlysalesinOctober, with similar penetration in urban as well as rural markets,he added. Continued on Page 5 FOUR DAYS BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY ON FRIDAY, BIBEK DEBROY SENT THIS COLUMN TO FE AND HEADLINED IT: UNUSUAL COLUMN: SHORT OF A REQUIEM ‘There is a world outside that exists. What if I am not there?’ AFTER MORETHAN a month in the cardiac care centre (CCU) and a privateroominAIIMS,Iamdischarged. My wife, Suparna, has performed a modern-daySavitri-Satyavan,aided by the skills of the doctors.As time goes, a month is fleeting. But being virtually wiped off the face of the earthisnot.Imanagetogetthedaily limericks going from hospital. So people don’t necessarily notice. My frequent co-author, Aditya Sinha, keeps some of the columns going. More people don’t notice. For me, the external world is restricted to a thinsliverofawindow(intheroom). I can see a pipe in the building outside.Amonkey religiously clambers up every morning. It is restricted to counting the IV drops as they pass through the cannula.Drip,drip.It is restricted to requesting Harish to bringtheurinalorcommode.Sometimes, the bed gets soiled. Just a lumpoffleshstretchedout,stripped of normal norms of shame and modesty. Sometimes, in a wheel- chairorahospitaltrolley,Iamcarted from one building to another,passing through the melee,through the sun shining, through the birds chirping on the green trees.There is a world outside that exists.What if I am not there?What indeed? “A new book has arrived.Would you like to read it?” asks Suparna. The book happens to be“100 places toseeafteryoudie,”byKenJennings. We smile at each other. How singularly inappropriate! I don’t feel like reading,evenwhenIcan.Idon’tfeel like watching TV, even when I can. The same boring news, the same boring high-decibel debates. It all seems so transient and puerile. But so am I, transient and puerile, a dot that might have been wiped off. In that event, what would have happened? A few condolences, perhaps even from important people. “Irreparableloss.” Perhapsaposthumous Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan. A few obituaries. What will they mention? Trade work of BIBEK DEBROY 1955-2024 1980s, law reform of 1990s, State work of 2000s, railway reforms of 2015, even resignation from Rajiv Gandhi Institute in 2005? Who remembers? Nothingseminalabout suchwork. Hadaroleintheratrace, was temporarily read and passed into oblivion, buried in journal archives. Perhaps the Purana Project, left incomplete. Manmatha Nath Dutt was reborn, to finish the Purana work. I will be reborn. But I hope not forthis. Irreparable loss at the age of seventy, when life’s pro- ductivity is as good as over? In another ten years,what social value will I bring? Can it be measured, quantified, imputed for. I give up thethought,toocomplicated. There are lives my life has touched, improved, even bruised. If they get to know, they may remember,with fondness and bitterness. Such people don’t write obituaries. No social loss,not much. Private loss is possible. To whom? My sons have been abroad after passing out of school,moreAmerican nowthan Indian. “Will I hop onto a plane?” For what? You know precious little aboutIndia. Youwillbelessofahelp and more of a hindrance.There will be a time to hop onto the plane. Not yet,not now. Not in time forthe last hug,butintimeforthefuneralrites. At best, send money, if needed. It was no different formyparents and me. However, that was spread across different cities in India. This is transcontinental. Thatwas physical photographs. I will leave a digi- tal imprint. Where is that old black and white photograph of my parents? Haven’t seen it for a while. Once in a while, they will look at those digital imprints. Some remembrance, some childhood memories,some nostalgia. No permanent loss. None to friends and colleagues either. A few drop in. However, a month is a long time. People get bored and forget.Whydo theydrop in andwant to hearabout what happened and when? Weak and withering, why am I supposed to repeat every trivia? Genuine interest, or a vicarious pleasure in death and disease? I want to put everything down on a piece of paper.I can offer it to them to read. Suparna vetoes the idea. Very rude. In the event, the only personal loss will be Suparna’s. It matters nothing to anyone else. I think of Yayati. I have been unfair to him, interpreting it as desire for sensual pleasures. It is deeper.It is hankering aftercontrol New Delhi over the physical body,the craving. Will I trade my life for that of Harish? Will he? Was “prayopavesa” such a terrible idea? Some animals still practice it. I spend my time with such conversations in solitude, thinking about Salman Rushdie’s “Knife” and “Ashtavakra Gita,” recently co-authored with Hindol Sengupta. “O Janaka! Give up attachment.”That’s easy,easier. “O Janaka! Disassociate yourself from your body.” Impossible. Except when, under local anaesthesia, some surgical process is going on.The sub-conscious mind or hallucination? For a fleeting moment, amidst a blaze of lights, you seem to be whirled around the stellar system, separate from the body.Adelirious moment of bliss.A moment you would like to recreate and replicate, but can’t. It is not time forerasure. The bodywill heal in due course. I am not sure about the beating the mind has taken, I think for the better.