OPINION, P10 WELL BEING Although needed in small amounts, certain vitamins and minerals are crucial for our overall well being Page 9 The Trump effect on India FE LINES Why alternatives to the Musk-owned platform keep springing up time and time again Page 6 HOW TO GET ESSENTIAL MICRONUTRIENTS ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM Yet another X-odus LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL 17 NO. 50 ARTFAIRS GAIN GROUND FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY LUCKNOW SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2024, 18 Pages, `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 , C H A N D I G A R H , ZEESHAN SHAIKH & SANDEEP SINGH Mumbai, November 23 Cost of a crisis As the air around us thickens with smog, the pollution economy is also swelling, both as an opportunity and as a cost When tech meets national insecurity India leads among Asian nations in FPI outflows FPIs net equity investments in India (in $ mn) 483 3,111 3,347 1,393 5,944 Japan -8 Sri Lanka -252 Philippines -605 Malaysia Vietnam 21,715 ^Up to November 21; source: NSDL -904 -1,116 Thailand Indonesia -1,514 Taiwan -4,327 MAJORITY: 145 JHARKHAND MVA 236 48 MAJORITY: 41 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 81 Others 4 I.N.D.I.A 56 NDA 24 Others 1 Mahayuti alliance leaders are all smiles at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday ■ SEE ALSO PAGE 18 PHOTO BY SANKHADEEP BANERJEE FPIs net equity investments* (in $ million) *Between October 1 and November 21; source: Bloomberg FE BUREAU Mumbai, November 23 According to an indictment in a NewYorkcourtonWednesday,Adani Green allegedly agreed to pay about $265 million (over `2,000 crore) in bribestoIndiangovernmentofficials between 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contractsontermsthatwereexpectedto yield$2billionofprofitover20years. ADANIGROUP’SCHIEF financialoffi- Continued on Page 2 ● Says charges against only one contract of green energy arm cer(CFO) Jugeshinder(Robbie) Singh came out strongly in defence of the group with a post on microblogging siteX,statingthatthebriberyaccusations by US prosecutors only applied to one contract of Adani Green Energy,“whichisroughly10%ofthe overall business ofAdani Green”. He said none ofAdani Group’s 11 portfolio companies have been accused of any wrongdoing, adding thatthegroupwouldmakeadetailed statement on the US indictment when it gets counsel approval. Adani Group founderand chairperson Gautam Adani and seven other individuals have been charged with bribing Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts in an indictment filed by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In a five-count indictment, the prosecutors also accused the billionaire’s nephew Sagar R Adani and Adani Green Energy MD and CEO Vneet S Jaain of breaking US laws. INSIDE JUGESHINDER (ROBBIE) SINGH, ADANI GROUP CFO WE WILL MAKE A MORE DETAILED COMMENT ONCE WE GET COUNSEL APPROVALS NO PACT OVER AIRPORT IN KENYA: ADANI ■ PAGE 15 US SEC summons Adani, nephew to explain stand ADANI GROUP FOUNDER and chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar have been summoned to explain their stand on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegation of paying $265 million in bribes to secure lucrative solar power contracts. Summons have been sent to Adani’s Shantivan Farm residence in Ahmedabad and his nephew Sagar’s Bodakdev residenceinthesamecity.“Within21 daysafterserviceofthissummons COP29: US, EU AGREE TO RAISE CLIMATE FUNDING TO $300 BN THE EUROPEAN Union, US and other wealthy countries at the COP29 summit have agreed to raise their offer of climate funding to $300 billion per year by 2035 to help developing nations grapple with climate change, sources said on Saturday. ■ PAGE 2 In Jharkhand, Soren’s JMM powers INDIA to victory ABHISHEK ANGAD Ranchi, November 23 Total seats No portfolio company facing legal case: Adani When a $300 device navigates better than a $30-mn fighter jet, you know where the future of war lies South Korea K O L K A T A , GROUP REACTS TO BRIBERY ACCUSATIONS ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 -5,144 K O C H I , Total seats Mahayuti Continued on Page 2 India MAHARASHTRA 288 AFTER BEING REDUCED to single digits in the Lok Sabha elections just five months ago, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance staged a resounding comeback winning 236 of the total 288 seats in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra,the state with the highest GDP in the country. Coming as it does on the back of a surprise victory in Haryana just the previous month,itwas the scale of the BJP victory that surprised many even within the alliance. ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 -13,578 H Y D E R A B A D , Ruling alliance blows awayOppn in Maharashtra ● BJP back with massive mandate, Fadnavis may be CM Jan ‘24 -3,141 Feb ‘24 Mar ‘24 3,733 Apr ‘24 -815 May ‘24 -3,023 Jun ‘24 Jul ‘24 Aug ‘24 Sep ‘24 Oct ‘24 -10,945 Nov ‘24^ -2,633 READ TO LEAD NO SHIFT IN POWER IN ASSEMBLY POLLS WHAT'S INSIDE FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS (FPIs) have offloaded Indian equities worth $13.6 billion since October 1, marking the largest outflows amongAsian countries.They have been net sellers for 36 consecutive sessions since September 30.Astrengthening dollar and rising USTreasury yields are driving FPIs away from risky emerging markets. Excluding Japan, FPIs have offloaded equities in all major Asian countries. Data for China's FPI activity is not available for this period.While FPIs sold shares worth $5.1 billion in South Korea and $4.3 billion inTaiwan, they were net buyers of $21.7 billion in Japan, as per Bloomberg data. Compiled by Kishor Kadam C H E N N A I , How art events are changing the landscape of the industry Page 7 on you (not counting the dayyou receivedit)...youmustserveonthe plaintiff (SEC) an answer to the attached complaint or a motion underRule12oftheFederalRules ofCivilProcedure,” saidaNovember 21 notice sent through the New York Eastern District Court. “If you fail to respond,judgment by default will be entered against youforthereliefdemandedinthe complaint.Youalsomustfileyour answerormotionwiththecourt,” it added. — PTI INDIA, ASEAN INCH TOWARDS TALKS ONTARIFFS IN FTAREVIEW INDIAAND Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are inching towards initiating discussions on having a relook at tariffs or import duties on merchandise traded under the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement, a key part of the review of the pact. ■ PAGE 15 HEMANT SOREN IS set to return as Jharkhand chief minister after the INDIA bloc, powered by his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM),won 56 of 81 constituencies. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won21seats—fourlessthanthelast assembly election. With a vote share of 33.26% in the 68 seats it contested, it managed to win only one tribal reserved seat. With its allies AJSU winning in one seat out of the 10 it contested, and the LJP (Ramvilas) winning in the only seat where it fought, the NDA has won 24 seats. CM Hemant Soren shares a light moment with his sons PTI INSIDE SOREN INTERVIEW ■ PAGE 18 Continued on Page 2 Once a bestseller, Maruti’s Alto fast riding into oblivion ● Model now close to being out of carmaker’s top 10 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, November 23 CHANGING CUSTOMER PREFERENCES withregardtoentry-levelcars can perhaps be best gauged byAlto’s journey.Afterdropping out from the country’s top-10 bestselling car list last year,the once popular car model is now close to being out of the company’s top-10 selling brands. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) data,duringJanuary-Octoberperiod, Altosold91,045units,andjustabout managed to be at the 10th position within Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio. Analystssaidthatwithinthenextfew monthsatthemost,itspeckingorder willfallbelowthisanditwillnolonger figure in the list. Maruti’s Wagon R, Ertiga, Brezza, Swift, Baleno, Dzire, Fronx, Eeco, and Grand Vitara sold more thanAlto.In 2023,Altowas at the sixth position within the Maruti Suzuki portfolio. From its launch in 2000 to 2022, the Alto was the largestselling single model in India for 17 years, and among the top 10 till as recently as 2022. In 2023, however, sales dropped by 21.77% anditwasrelegatedtothe12thspot. According to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda, as soonasonestartsworking,thereisa desire to own a big car—a vehicle that stands out, a vehicle to show off—and not a small car merely for travelling from point A to B.“Banks and NBFCs provide the nudge by offering easy credit facilities.With ESOPs and high levels of salaries, ALTO SALES (units) 2023 2024 21,411 12,395 Jan 18,114 11,723 Feb Mar 9,139 9,332 Apr 11,548 9,043 May 9,368 7,675 June 11,323 7,775 July 7,099 7,353 Aug Sept Oct 9,603 8,546 7,791 8,655 11,200 8,548 especially in the BFSI industry and the services sector, young people have high purchasing power, and that’sgettingreflectedinrisingsales of premium cars and SUVs,”he said. The Alto is a perfect example of that trend.OnAugust 18,2022,the all-new Alto was launched. Sales shot up due to the novelty factor and the push provided by the carmaker, but started dropping as the newness faded away. Made-in-India video games casting a world-wide web ● Homegrown firms offering high-quality, heavy-budget titles KUNAL DOLEY New Delhi, November 23 THE INDIAN GAMING industry is on anewhighasmoreandmorehomegrown companies are now creating high-quality, heavy-budget and globally-competitive games. The development marks a big shift in thefocusareaofIndiangamedevelopers and studios that had mostly offered casual games foryears. Last month itself saw the launch of two high-profile, heavy-budget (technically called AAA) games— Indus Battle Royale and Rage Effect: Mobile. While the former, a battle royale game,has seen close to 5 million downloads on the Android and iOS platforms since its release on October 16, the latter—an AAA shootergame—crossed120,000preregistrationsinitsopenbetaversion. “As an Indian studio,we’re proud to be creating a game that resonates withlocalaudienceswhilealsocompeting globally. In addition to the strong download numbers, we’ve announcedayear-longesportstour- IT’S SHOWTIME, FOLKS! RECENT RELEASES Indus Battle Royale The battle royale game has seen close to 5 mn downloads since its release on Oct 16 Rage Effect: Mobile The AAA shooter game crossed 120,000 pre-registrations in its open beta version namentwitha`2.5-croreprizepool. This is designed to support upcoming gaming talent in India and give them a platform to showcase their UPCOMING TITLES Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G): Domination The first-person shooter game is all set for release early next year Mukti : The first-person story exploration game won Sony's new incubator programme, India Hero Project, earlier this year skills,” said Roby John, co-founder and CEO of SuperGaming, a Punebasedgamedeveloperandcreatorof Indus Battle Royale. Indus Battle Royale has been developedbyateamof160peopleat SuperGaming. The project has attracted significant investment from leading investors such as Bandai Namco,Akatsuki Entertainment,Skycatcher,and1UpVentures. “Their support underscores the increasing confidence in the Indian gaming industry and its capacity to deliver an innovative battle royale experience,”added John. “Just like Indian movies act as cultural soft power, Indian games, too, can rise to that level. It’s something that the government is aware of and is encouraging,”said Deepak Ail, co-founder and CEO of Dot9 Games, whose Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G): Domination—a made-in-India first-person shooter (FPS) game—is all set for release early next year. There is already a lot of buzz aroundFAU-Gevenbeforeitslaunch. Atitsrecently-heldplaytestsinGurugram,MumbaiandtheIndianGame DeveloperConferenceinHyderabad, almost 90% of the audience resonated with the Indian military themes of the game while around 70% felt the gameplay exceeded theirexpectations,as perAil. The emergence of high-budget titles from India marks a positive shift in the industry, said Roland Landers, spokesperson of All India Game Developers’Forum (AIGDF). Continued on Page 2 Lucknow