OPINION, P10 WORDS WORTH FE LINES ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM A metabolic thriller that acts as a wake-up call against lifestyle diseases Page 4 Popularity of apps that can play with women’s images Page 6 THE PANCREAS DOESN’T LIE US audacity, not reciprocity The blind spot of nudity apps WELL BEING Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL.NO.XVI SL.NO.55 SMOKERS’ MYTH: HERBAL = SAFE BENGALURU 30 Pages, `12 FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2026 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 , READ TO LEAD H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A T A , 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 CBC 06124/13/0010/2526 P U B L I S H E D No tobacco, but they still contain harmful chemicals Page 9 Cinema to OTT,Indian audiences slayed byanime WHAT'S INSIDE ● Platforms ramp GROWING GENRE up content as fandom increases min SUGANDHA MUKHERJEE New Delhi, February 14 ■ SPOTLIGHT, P5 In the fast lane From just 93 km in 2014 to 3,052 km at present—with plans to increase the network to 26,000 km by 2033—how expressways and high-speed corridors are going to rewrite the next chapter of India’s infra story Am I human? Amid evolving technologies, artists are reimagining what it means to be alive today IrelandbeatsSingapore inIndianequityholdings equity assets of Ireland’s foreign portfolio investors declined 2.25% from December, Singapore recorded a sharper fall of 4.54%. In fact, barring France, all countries among the top 10 recorded a decline in their FPI equity assets during the month. holdings of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from Ireland stood at `4.66 lakh crore as of January 2026, overtaking Singapore, whose FPI equity assets under custody (AUC) stood at `4.58 lakh crore, NSDL data showed. While the Rank 4.58 ` lakh crore 2.88 5.23 Singapore Mauritius Luxembourg 2.79 3.19 Norway United 4.66 Kingdom Ireland 10.76 Other 1.9 France 2.12 1.86 2.25 4.54 6.31 7 8 9 10 4.08 5 4.73 6 3.37 4 4.04 3 3.92 2 Canada 4.66 1 4.04 Japan 4.72 US Compiled by KishorKadam Top 10 countries by FPI AUCs in January 2026 31.30 Average time spent by Indian viewers watching anime every day Japanese anime, which offers over 800 anime titles in the country and adds fresh content every quarter.“Over 65% 65 % 800 titles offered by Sony’s anime streaming service Crunchyroll in the country of total anime viewership in India comes from Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs of total anime viewership in India comes from Hindi,Tamil and Telugu dubs,” said Raúl González Bernal, vice-presi- 40-50 new titles premiered globally each anime season by Crunchyroll dent of regional marketing at Crunchyroll, underscoring how deeply the genre has moved beyond a subtitled, % change* *over December; source: NSDL ● `4 lakh cr to be CABINET invested in cities DECISIONS over five years ■ For Urban Challenge FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 14 THE UNION CABINET has approved the launch of the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) with a total central assistance of `1 lakh crore, expected to leverage `4 lakh crore in investments across India’s cities over five years under a market-linked programme. It also cleared the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with a corpus of `10,000 crore, and approved the extension of the metro corridor from Fund, central aid to cover 25% cost 50% from markets in shift from grant-based funding to market-linked programme ■ Metro expansion in Noida (11.56 km) 5 transport projects 4-lane corridor from Gohpur to Numaligarh, Assam Upgrade of Ghoti-Palghar section of NH-160A in Maharashtra ■ Widening of NH-167 from Gudebellur to Mahabubnagar in Telangana Ourinterests foremost in foreign policy: Rahman SHUBHAJIT ROY Dhaka, February 14 IN HIS FIRST remarks since winning the elections with a landslide majority, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman, who is tipped to become the Prime Minister, underlined Saturday that he would keep in mindthe“interestsof Bangladesh” and “protecting the interests of the people of the country” while deciding his foreign policy. Responding to a question about former PM Sheikh Hasina’s extradition request fromDhaka,Rahmansaiditwill “depend on the legal process”. Rahman chose his words carefully and responded in a measuredmannerinhisfirstmedia interaction at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka, which was packed with local and foreign journalists along with the BNP top brass and activists. Continued on Page 2 ■ Major industrial assistance will cover 25% of project costs, provided at least 50% is mobilised from market sources, signalling a shift from grant-based fund- OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, February 14 cities with over 1 lakh population Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi Dhamasiya-Bitada & Nasarpore-Malotha sections of NH-56 ing to market-linked,reformdriven, outcome-oriented urban infrastructure. Continued on Page 2 ● INDIA-PAKFACE-OFFINCOLOMBO Groundsmen cover the pitch ahead of the T20 World Cup match at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Saturday Nvidia CEO cancels visit NVIDIA CEO JENSEN Huang will not be travelling to India for the India AI Impact Summit, the company said on Saturday. A senior government official confirmed the news, saying: “Nvidia has cancelled his visit due to some unavoidable circumstances.” The company will, however, send a delegation of senior officials led by its Executive V-P Jay Puri. — PTI INDIA'S DIGITAL PUBLIC infrastructure, including the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), can be used by foreign delegatesattheIndiaAIImpact summit in New Delhi. The DigiYatra-based system and app-linked delivery through darkstoreswillalsobeavailable tothoseattendingthesummit. A senior Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) official said the systems are being integrated to handle high delegate volumes and reduce friction in access, payments, and onground logistics. “We are enabling a fully digital flow, from QR-based entry and appbased navigation to UPI payments forinternationalvisitors andon-demandserviceswithin thevenue,” the official said. Foreigndelegateswillbeable Continued on Page 2 India hikes climate action funding: FM ■ Upgrade of ■ Noida Sector 142 to Botanical Garden (Noida), spanning 11.56 kilometre with eight stations. Under the UCF, central ● UPI, DigiYatra, dark stores to anchor operations ■ State capitals, UTs not covered ■ 3 rly projects across Continued on Page 2 Global honchos to get a taste of desi technology Coverage of Urban Challenge Fund ■ Cities with 10 lakh population or more ■ niche audience. Competing platforms are reporting similar momentum. A spokesperson for Jio- Hotstar said anime is seeing “strong and sustained growth”, driven by global franchises and“deep localisation for Indian audiences”, with the 15-25 age group emerging as the core engine of discovery and engagement. In cinemas, exhibitors are seeing similar signals. Anime films, once treated as experimental programming, are increasingly being positioned as event releases, drawing committed audiences across age groups and city tiers. COUNTDOWN TO AI SUMMIT GOVT’S INFRA PUSH Nod to `1 Lcr urban fund, `10,000-cr startup boost ■ LEISURE, P7 THE COMBINED EQUITY ANIME’S RISE IN India is no longer being measured only in online buzz or cult followings, but in hard data. Indian viewers now spend more than 60 minutes a day on average watching anime, according to Crunchyroll, a leading global streaming service dedicated to 60 15-25 age group emerging as core engine of discovery and engagement, according to JioHotstar India backs UNSC reform: Jaishankar to onboard onto UPI at the airport by linking their international cards, allowing them to transactlocallywithoutcash.At the venue, entry will be managed through QR codes issued viatheeventapplication,which will also provide schedules and navigationacrossmultiplehalls. PTI SURYAKUMAR YADAV, INDIA CAPTAIN SALMAN ALI AGHA, PAKISTAN CAPTAIN Pakistan may have little advantage being here early but we have our plans in place We’ll see about handshake, but cricket should be played in right spirit FM NIRMALA Sitharaman said India has hiked spending on climate action in six years to 5.6% of GDP, showing India’s pursuit of meeting nationally determined goals. ■ PAGE 3 EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Minister S Jaishankar met his counterparts from G7 nations as he reiterated India's support for reform of the UN Security Council in Munich. ■ PAGE 22 Motorcycle powerhouse Hero’s scooter push picks up speed 1.6 Honda Apr-Dec 2024 26.1 TVS 12.2 Suzuki BENGALURU Apr-Dec 2025 Growth (%) 45.5 Hero 3.0 Yamaha 12.9 5,205,745 5,876,209 Vida 172.3 % 341,916 415,254 (units) Overall scooters 237,161 229,984 Continued on Page 2 SALES REPORT 279,436 406,500 expansion. Updated versions of the Destini andXoom scooters,launched in January2025, saw momentum build from the middle of the year as allIndiacustomerdeliveriescommenced.“The refreshed Destini and Xoom successfully targeted both the family-commuter and the youth segments, revitalising the automaker’s petrol scooter portfolio,”an analyst said. 763,456 856,535 cost from the vehicle price, bringing the upfront cost of the entry-level VX2 down to less than `50,000—effectivelyplacing a high-tech,premium-looking electric scooter at a price point lower than even basic entry-level petrol scooters,” they said. “Vida’s isn’t just incremental growth; it is a market-share-grabbing pivot that has caught the industry leaders by surprise.” Hero’s petrol scooter portfolio also contributed to the 1,330,260 1,677,313 AS THE INDUSTRY heads into 2026,HeroMotoCorpisemergingasaseriouschallengerinthe scootermarket,asegmentithas historically lagged despite its to5.88millionunits.ThestandoutcontributorwasVida,whose sales surged 172.3% to 103,213 units, compared with 37,901 units ayearearlier. Automotive analysts said Vida, which had struggled to gain traction after its initial launch in 2022, found a clear product-market fit with the VX2. “What also helped the company was the launch of the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) scheme with the VX2, which de-linked the battery 2,290,623 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, February 14 dominance in motorcycles.The shift has been driven largely by the strong performance of its electric scooter brand Vida, led by the success of the Vida VX2 launched in July2025. Hero’s scooter sales grew 45.5% year-on-year in AprilDecember FY26, rising from 279,436unitsto406,500units. This was sharply ahead of the overallscootermarketgrowthof 12.9% during the same period, when industry volumes increasedfrom5.2millionunits 2,253,516 ● Vida VX2-led electric strategy lifts market share Apr-Dec 2024 21.4 Others 103,213 37,901 Apr-Dec 2025