OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES POP GUMMIES? THERE’S SOMETHING TO CHEW ON No unemployment in India! Tracking mood Wearable devices extend reach into mental health, tracking your mood & emotional stress Page 7 From sleep issues to anxiety, there seems to be a squishy, tasty solution for them all. But doctors sound note of caution Page 9 ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL.NO.XVI SL.NO.51 INDIA’S NEW TASTEMAKERS FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY BENGALURU SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026 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 , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , ● Major titles lined up, to cash in on Dhurandhar trend Once a childhood staple tucked away in cupboards for summer holidays, tabletop play is back at the centre of adult lives, community spaces, corporate cultures and wellness routines Pathaan (2023) 1,050 Tiger 3 (2023) 470 Courage is not the preserve of heroes alone, but the discipline of ordinary people willing to act with conviction URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, January 18 Metal stocks shine global commodity prices saw gold, silver, copper and tin touch record highs. Of the 15 constituents of the Nifty Metal Index, 12 delivered positive returns. Compiled by Kishor Kadam Top gainers 1-month % gain Nifty NALCO 110 metal index Vedanta 108 104 19.9 15.2 Hind Zinc 12.3 APL Apollo Tubes 12.0 110.85 102 99.36 Hindalco Inds 11.7 Tata Steel 10.8 100 98 52.0 30.6 SAIL Nifty JSW Steel 9.7 NMDC Base: Jan16, 2026 = 100 Dec 16, ‘25 Jan 16, ‘26 debut,is attempting to build on the momentum set by Dhurandhar, which has already crossed `900 crore at the 7.3 ANOTHER SETBACK THE PROPOSED INDUCTION of Neville Tata to the board of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust has been pushed back after a scheduled meeting of the Trust, slated for Saturday, was cancelled, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting was expected to consider, among other things, Neville Tata’s appointment as a trustee,they added. The meeting of the SRTT board was the only one to be cancelledwhiletheboardmeetings of otherTata Trust entities scheduled for Saturday,including the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Tata Education and DevelopmentTrust,wentahead as scheduled. Thisisnotthefirsttimethat Neville Tata, has encountered delays in joining the Sir Ratan TataTrust.Thelatestsetbackfollows an earlier round of appointments in November, whenbothheandBhaskarBhat, a long-servingTata group executive and former Titan chief, Raazi (2018) 196 Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) 565 Worldwide collection (` crore) NevilleTata’s induction into SRTTdelayed The everyday heroes 106 IT'S THE SEASON of spy thrillers in Bollywood. After Dhurandhar’s mega success, Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos, anotherfilmbasedonthegenre, markeditstheatricalreleasethis week. The quirky spy comedy, whichalsohappenstobecomedian-actor Vir Das’ directorial War (2019) 475 BOX OFFICE REPORT BOARD MEETING CANCELLED ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 Hind Copper ■ Not the first time Neville Tata has faced delays in joining SRTT ■ Earlier in November, he was cleared by SRTT but not inducted ■ Latest Baby (2015) 143 domesticboxofficeand`1,300 croreworldwide,and cash in on a genre that has become a reliablecrowd-pullerinBollywood. This year’s lineup includes severalmajortitlesinthegenre. Alpha,thefemale-ledfilminthe YRF Spy Universe, starring Alia FE BUREAU Mumbai, January 18 THE DIRECTORATE General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday imposed penalties totalling `22.2 crore on IndiGo. It also initiated disciplinary action against several senior executives after a probe found that aggressive operational optimisation,weak reg- 2020 2022 Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers shows that compact SUVs,typicallypriced between `6 lakh and `15 lakh (exshowroom), declined 3.1% in 2025 to 1,222,837 units, HDFC BANK, THE country’s largest private sector lender, reportedan11.5%year-on-year increaseinnetprofitto`18,654 crore for the quarter ended December, slightly above the Bloomberg estimate of `18,367 crore. Improved margins, loan growth and stable asset quality helped the lender’s bottomline. Continued on Page 2 Net interest income Operating profit Net profit 6.4 8.4 25,000 27,098 16,736 18,654 11.5 2023 development could indicate conflict brewing once again within trustees ■ Son of Noel Tata, Neville is credited with scaling Tata's fast-fashion brand Zudio were cleared for induction by theSirDorabjiTataTrustbutdid notmakeittotheboardofSRTT. Neville, the son of Tata Trusts chairman NoelTata,has workedwithin theTata Group, primarily in retail and consumer-facing businesses. Continued on Page 2 ulatory preparedness and systemic management failures led to large-scale flight disruptions in early December 2025, reports Nitin Kumar. Beyond financial penalties, the regulator has ordered IndiGo to furnish a `50-crore bank guarantee. ■ PAGE 3 2024 4,489,717 27.2 1,222,837 4,274,793 29.5 2025 down from 1,261,903 units in 2024. This came even as the overall passengervehicle market grew 5% to 4,489,717 units and the broaderSUVcategory expanded 7.4% to 2,954,279 units. With only a ICICI BANK’S DECEMBERquarterprofittookahitafterthe RBI directed the lenderto make a one-time standard asset provision of `1,283 crore on its agricultural prioritysectorloan book,dragging net profit down 4% year-on-year to `11,317 croreandbelowBloombergestimates of `12,392 crore. Continued on Page 2 Sh Share (%) 1,261,903 4,101,600 26.5 1,088,973 706,310 3,082,421 2021 3,792,356 23.9 904,880 17.2 418,672 Passenger vehicles Bhatt and Sharvari Wagh with BobbyDeol as the antagonist,is all set for an April 17 release. Pathaan 2,a sequel to the 2023 KSHIPRA PETKAR Mumbai, January 18 Q3FY25 Q3FY26 (` crore) ▲ y-o-y % growth DGCAimposes `22.2-cr penalty on IndiGo over Dec disruptions Compact SUVs 22.9 D E L H I , P U N E blockbuster, featuring Shah Rukh Khan,Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, is also reportedly on track for a 2026 release. Similarly, G2, a Telugu spy thriller and a sequel to the 2018 hit Goodachari, starring AdiviSesh,EmraanHashmi,and WamiqaGabbi,willbeopenedto the public on May1. For exhibitors and distributors, spy movies are a win-win. Aamer Bijli, lead specialist for innovation and film marketing at PVR INOX, said spy films remain consistent theatrical performerswhenexecutedwell. Continued on Page 2 HDFCBanknetrises ICICI Bank PATslips 11.5%to`18,654cr 4% to `11,317 cr LOST MOMENTUM 2,427,883 NEW LAUNCHES AND facelifts in the under-4 metre SUV segment are expected to remain limited this calendar year, suggesting that the category’s recent slowdown could extend into 2026 even as overall passenger vehicle demand stays firm. Industry executives and analysts said the compact SUV segment,which drove much of the growth in the years immediately after the pandemic, is entering a phase of consolidation. While buyers will see some new options in hybrids, electricvehicles and more premium offerings,the pipeline is not large enough to deliver a sharp rebound in volumes in the near term. N E W RESULTS CORNER Compact SUV slowdown likely to persist into 2026 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, January 18 M U M B A I , handful of launches and refreshes expected in 2026, analysts said the segment may struggle to regain momentum immediately. Continued on Page 2 BENGALURU Q3FY25 Q3FY26 (` crore) ▲ y-o-y % growth Net interest income 20,371 21,932 Bonding over board games 112 L U C K N O W , 3,06,500 3,26,200 ■ LEISURE, P6 Relative performance K O L K A T A , Dhurandhar (2025) 1,300 VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, January 18 Nifty vs Nifty Metal K O C H I , Why Bollywood remains thrilled to spy films WHAT'S INSIDE SOARING METALPRICES fuelled a sharp rally in metal stocks,with share prices gaining by up to 52% over the past one month.The Nifty Metal Index advanced 10.85%, outperforming the benchmark Nifty,which declined 0.64%. Recent strength in READ TO LEAD ▲ 7.7 Operating profit ▲ 2.8 16,887 17,356 Net profit 11,792 11,318 ▲ P U B L I S H E D The condiment market is having a flavourful renaissance Page 5 -4