OPINION, P10 WELL BEING ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM For people who have lived through a disaster, the trauma of losing their home or loved ones may translate into anxiety, depression, PTSD, or even losing sanity maybe Page 9 Mahayuti’s campaign: Trick,not treat FE LINES SURVIVING A NATURAL TRAGEDY VOL.NO.XIII SL.NO.102 When picture is worth a thousand words Some image tools for search and creation Page 6 LEISURE Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM STROKES & STORIES FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY CHENNAI/KOCHI SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2024, 14 Pages, `12 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 , ● Biz hits new high for gyms,fitness items in pollution season AS THE AIR thickens with smog in north India,fitness enthusiasts are ditching the outdoors for indoor gyms. The gyms, on their part, are filled to capacity,with many enterprising ones offering purified air as well. At the same time, exercise equipment makers are laughing theirwaytothe bankaschokedrun- Cashing in on golden age ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 Flying first class with Sheelavathi ● 50% ETF proceeds to be put back into Bharat 22,CPSE funds Excerpts from Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India by Karan Madhok PRIYANSH VERMA New Delhi, November 30 THE CENTRAL BOARD of Trustees NSE cash: Retail investor participation jumps 6x Retail investors’ net turnvover in NSE's secondary market 25,116 F&O 76,300 1,39,250 Jan-Oct 2024 1,21,075 Retail investors’ net turnvover in NSE's secondary market Apr May Jul MAHARASHTRA GOVTTO TAKE OATH ON DECEMBER 5 THE NEW Mahayuti government will be sworn in on December 5 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, state BJP unit said. "The oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti Government in Maharashtra will be held in the presence of Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 5 PM at Azad Maidan, Mumbai," state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule stated on X on Saturday evening. The Mahayuti comprises BJP, Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and NCP headed by Ajit Pawar. ■ PAGE 14 Aug 29,594 32,281 Jun 2024 14,236 12,260 -4,731 2,868 13,769 12,540 10,504 26,372 -8,862 1,601 Mar (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has approved a redemption policy for exchange traded fund (ETF) investments to generate higher income for its subscribers, the labour ministry said on Saturday. Sources said the CBT has approved reinvestment of the 50% redemption proceeds from ETFs backintocentralpublicsectorenterprises (CPSE) and Bharat 22 funds. The policy mandates a minimum five-year holding of the funds. The remaining proceeds will be invested into other financial instruments, such as government securities and corporate bonds, sources said. TheCBTapprovedtheguidelines for investment in units issued by L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , ■ Health & fitness app FITPASS has seen revenue growth 1.75x higher in Nov than last year ■ Ozone chain of gyms has seen 20-25% ■ Amazon India has seen 25% ■ Anytime Fitness surpassed y-o-y growth in demand for yoga equipment last year’s monthly count of new memberships (8,000) by mid-Nov ners place orders fortreadmills and exer-cycles to workout at home. “Festive binges and party season arereasonsforpeopletotaketofitness ■ At Flipkart, demand for home gym combos up 3x; treadmills up 2x routinesmoreaggressively.Butasthe air quality worsens, especially in northern parts,we are seeing memberships rise,” said Richa Mishra,VP- Sep Oct Source: NSE OTHER DECISIONS ■ Central Board ofTrustees approves full rollout of centralised pension payment system from Jan 1, 2025 ■ Set to be implemented as part of EPFO’s IT modernisation project, to benefit over 7.8 mn EPS pensioners ■ Includes ■ Limit for streamlined pension disbursement across India; access from any bank or branch public sector undertaking-sponsored infrastructure investment trusts(InvITs)/realestateinvestment trusts (REITs) regulated bythe Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI),the ministryrelease said. The board also approved a significant amendment to the EPF Scheme, 1952.As per existing provisions, for claims settled till every 24th of a month, interest is paid auto claim settlement facility extended to `1 lakh from `50,000 earlier FE BUREAU Mumbai, November 30 ENTERPRISES HAS received warning letters from stock exchangesfordelayingthedisclosure of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) refusal for appointment of Rakesh Asthaana as additional director.The company had received a letter dated May15fromthecentralbank,advising its refusal for appointment of RakeshAsthaanaasadditionaldirector on the board, but the company disclosed it only on October 24 after the intervention of stock exchanges. The NSE and BSE observed that delay in the disclosure was “beyond the timeline prescribed in the aforesaid provisions”.Warning letters to ■ Nod to amnesty scheme for employers to allow delayed PF deposit sans penalty only up to the end of the preceding month. Now, the interest will be paid to the member up to the date of settlement. This will result in financial benefit to members and reduce grievances,the release said. Moreover, the CBT has recommendedtheEPFOAmnestyScheme 2024 to the central government. operationsofgymchainAnytimeFitness.“Last November,ournewmembershipswere sold out and the count reached around 8,000.This year,we N E W D E L H I , P U N E surpassed last year’s count by midNovember.” With 137 gyms across India,including117outletsinnorth Indiaand70inDelhi-NCR,Anytime Fitness’ 90% gyms are equipped withaductsystemtoensureclean airtomaintainoptimalindoorair quality,sharedMishra. Rohit Marya, CEO of Ozone chain of gyms with seven outlets across north India, has seen a 2025% average rise in gym memberships and walk-ins this November. “Pollution is one big concern for many fitness enthusiasts. From November to January,we see many new members,”he said. Continued on Page 2 BREAKS SILENCE ON US INDICTMENT Everyattack makes us stronger:Adani Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Adani, 62, said everyattackmadethegroupstronger and every obstacle was a stepping stone for more resilience.“Less than twoweeksback,wefacedasetofallegations from the US about compliVIVEAT SUSAN PINTO ance practices. This is not the first Mumbai, November 30 time we have faced such challenges. WhatIcantellyouisthateveryattack GAUTAM ADANI, CHAIRMAN of the makes us stronger,” he said. energy-to-infrastructure Adani “No one from theAdani side had Group, on Saturday held forth on been charged with violations of the challenges his conglomerate was FCPA or any conspiracy to obstruct facing amid allegations of bribery justice.Asweworkthroughthelegal and fraud pertaining to Adani process, I want to re-confirm our Green Energy. absolute commitment to worldIn his first public event since the class regulatory compliance,”Adani indictmentbytheUSDepartmentof said on the issue. The billionaire has been named along with seven others for allegedlygiving bribes GAUTAM ADANI to secure contracts. CHAIRMAN, ADANI GROUP The group has denied the allegations. Every obstacle Speaking at the becomes a 51st Gem & Jewellery Awards in Jaipur, stepping stone Adani also said that he for a more had come to accept resilient roadblocks as a price Adani Group for pioneering. ● Says no Adani staff accused of corruption under the FCPA Continued on Page 2 Religare warned for disclosure breach RELIGARE 8,306 17,369 Feb F&O 15,004 -26,909 Jan Cash 25,047 11,772 36,383 30,921 (in ` crore) FITNESS RUSH Higher returns likely for EPFO members Among startups, gerontechnology is young and growing, to cater to the country’s elderly population that is all set to double by 2050 Jan-Oct 2023 K O L K A T A , REDEMPTION TO GARNER MORE INCOME ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 Cash K O C H I , average rise in gym memberships, walk-ins VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, November 30 (in ` cr) H Y D E R A B A D , In smog-hit north, it’s the time to Zumba WHAT'S INSIDE RETAILINVESTORS' participation in NSE's cash segment surged sixfold,with turnover rising to `1.39 lakh crore duringJan–Oct 2024, compared to `25,116 crore during the same period a year ago.Their participation in October reached a nine-month high,with net investments of `29,594 crore. Retail investors were also active in F&O markets, where investments increased by 58.7% duringJan–Oct 2024, reaching `1.21 lakh crore, up from `76,300 crore in the same period a year ago. — Compiled by Kishor Kadam C H E N N A I , READ TO LEAD Continued on Page 2 ● WAITING FOR FENGAL the company read: “The aforesaid non-compliance on your part is viewed seriously. You are hereby warned and advised to be careful in future,exercise due caution and initiate corrective steps to avoid recurrence of such lapses.” The exchanges warned the company that any aberrations in the future will be viewed seriously and attractappropriateaction.InNovember2023,theboardofReligareEnterprises had appointed Asthaana, former police commissioner of Delhi and CBI special director, as an additional director (to be designated as a whole-timedirector)subjecttoshareholderand regulatoryapprovals. PTI Strong winds at the Marina beach in Chennai on Saturday ahead of Cyclone Fengal’s landfall. Houses were inundated and flights suspended following heavy downpour ■ Report on P14 Continued on Page 2 Maruti in driver's seat, pushing Toyota sales 37% y-o-y ● 51% of carmaker’s sales coming from cross-badged models VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, November 30 MARUTI SUZUKI IS driving the sales of Toyota Kirloskar, literally. During the January-October period, Toyota Kirloskar’s sales grew 37% year-on-year, but this jump was largely on the back of models which are supplied to it by Maruti under platform-sharing agreement between the two. Of the 10 models Toyota sells in India, four come from Maruti Suzuki—Glanza (based on Baleno), Urban Cruiser Hyryder (based on Grand Vitara), Rumion (based on Ertiga) and Urban Cruiser Taisor (based on Fronx). The share of these four Maruti Suzuki models within the Toyota portfolio has gone up from 43% during January-October2023,to as high as 51% during January-October this year. MarutiSuzuki’ssharewithinthe Toyota portfolio is expected to rise furtherwiththeincreasingdemand of the Fronx-based Taisor, whose deliveries started in May this year and sales have been growing PARTNERSHIP POWER Toyota HyRyder 34,801 53,329 Toyota Glanza January-October 2023 Toyota Taisor 42,499 42,634 January-October 2024 Toyota Rumion 2,365 16,588 14,521 Total Toyota sales 182,774 250,068 month-on-month. The Glanza, launched in June 2019 and the first model underthe partnership, is about to touch the 200,000-sale mark, while the Hyryder, launched in September 2022, has crossed the 100,000unit sales milestone. Source: SIAM and company data P U B L I S H E D A new show underlines MF Husain’s relevance to a fast-changing nation Page 7 According to analysts, Toyota wants to maximise the potential of these Maruti Suzuki models, and that’s why it launched special-edi- tion variants of the Glanza, Taisor, and Hyrdyer a couple of weeks ago. Apart from these special-edition variants,Toyotaisofferingyear-end benefits of above `1 lakh in the Glanza, Taisor and Rumion (all Maruti Suzuki-rebadged models) till December 31. MarutiSuzukihasalsobenefited from this partnership,with Toyota’s InnovaHycrossbeingsoldbyitasthe Invicto premium MPV.“The Invicto —pricedanaverageof`30lakh—has givenMarutiSuzukianewsetofcustomers, clearing doubts about the carmaker’sabilitytosellhigh-priced vehicles,”analysts said. Continued on Page 2 CHENNAI/KOCHI