AI@WORK | PAGE 7 EXPLAINER | PAGE 2 Machinesshiftfromthinking to real-world performance INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 8 How India is preparing for the next oil shock Musk pledges a SpaceX share for every kid in US NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2026 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 200, 30 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) 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: 73,852.90 ▼ 876.37 NIFTY: 22,888.95 ▼ 257.20 NIKKEI 225: 64,916.70 ▼ 407.59 HANG SENG: 24,186.83 ▲ 124.11 `/$: 94.93 ▲ 0.03 `/€: 106.39 ▲ 0.47 BRENT: $108.14 ▼ $1.72 GOLD: `1,45,353 ▼ `541 IN THE NEWS COMPANIES PAGE 4 SDTT FILES REPLY TO COMPLAINTS BYVENU, SINGH THE SIR DORABJI Tata Trust (SDTT) on Monday evening filed its reply to complaints lodged by trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh with the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra, reports Urvi Malvania. The trust had until October 19 to file its reply. » INSIDE « TATA’S TEST OF STEWARDSHIP PAGE 6 Air India, SpiceJet cut capacity; Akasa’s rises 36% DOMESTIC AIRLINE CAPACITY is set to contract 2.3% year-on-year in October, with Air India and SpiceJet sharply reducing scheduled seats even as IndiGo largely held its ground while Akasa Air expanded its capacity by 35.6%, reports Nitin Kumar. ■ PAGE 4 UltraTech Q2 net profit rises 21% to `1,494 crore ULTRATECH CEMENT REPORTED a 21.3% y-o-y increase in net profit to `1,494 crore for the quarter ended September 30, attributable to the parent, driven by higher sales volumes and improved operating performance, reports Urvi Malvania. ■ PAGE 4 India shelves coal import plan to tackle stockpiles INDIAHAS SHELVED a proposal to mandate coal imports in order to boost dwindling stockpiles at the country’s power plants, as rising seaborne prices and a weaker rupee inflate the costs of incoming shipments, reports Bloomberg. ■ PAGE 11 RECORD `2.5L-CR BETON `8.1K-CR OFFERING InvestorsqueueupforJio’s anchorbookwith31xbids URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, October 19 VALUE UNLOCKING JIO PLATFORMS’ (JPL) anchor bookattractedbidswortharound `2.5lakhcroreonMonday,translatinginto30.8timesthe`8,110crore allocation at the upper end pricing of `1,119 per share and markingthehighestinstitutional demand for an Indian IPO.The responsecameaheadoftheissue opening for public subscription onOctober21. Thescaleofdemandwassignificantly higher than that for recent large offerings. The National Stock Exchange’s anchorbookwassubscribed17.8 times,attractingbidsworth`1.2 lakh crore, while Paytm’s was subscribed 10 times, with Company the sanctity of contractual terms.By providing greater certainty,itshouldsupportinvestor confidenceandaidthedevelopment of India’s bond market,” said Shruti Kanodia,managing partneratSagusLegal. Continued on Page 8 Jio Platforms NSE LIC 8,465 1.02 82,350 10.0 250,000 30.8 120,000 17.8 7,000 1.2 Source: Prime Database, media reports demand of `82,350 crore.The `2.5-lakh-croredemandforJiois the first time an Indian IPO anchor book has attracted institutional bids of this magnitude, accordingtobankingsources. The anchor book attracted morethan200investors,reflecting broad-based institutional interestandparticipationacross multiple schemes of leading fundhouses.Someoftheworld's largestassetmanagers,sovereign wealthfunds,globaltechnology- focused investors, domestic mutual funds,insurers,pension funds and prominent Indian familyofficesparticipatedinthe bidding. Continued on Page 8 SC ruling mayspurAT1 bond repricing CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, October 19 AFTER EFFECT THE SUPREME COURT’S decision to strike down the `8,415-crore write-off of YES Bank’s additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds could reshape the pricing of these instruments, as greater clarity on bondholder rights is expected to boost investor confidence, narrow risk premiums and ease capital-raising for banks. Market experts say the rul- ■ There have ■ AT1 bonds like YES Bank’s are perpetual debt instruments to strengthen their capital buffers under Basel III norms ■ Currently, they offer 7.5-9% yield ing could have implications beyond YES Bank, potentially encouraging fresh issuances of AT1 bonds by reducing uncer- been 62AT1 bond issues since 2020, aggregating `1.18 lakh cr taintyovertheenforceabilityof contractual terms. “Thejudgmentispositivefor thebondmarket,asitreinforces Oilsurgederails D-St’sreliefrally ● `4.7Lcrwiped off as crude hovers around $110 Continued on Page 8 Bids received Subscription (` crore) in times 8,315 8,235 8,110 6,746 5,627 Paytm FE BUREAU New Delhi, October 19 FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALASitharamanhasrejected the view that persistent weakness in the Indian rupee is driving portfolio outflows,maintaining that India’s economic fundamentals remain strong. She, however, added that India’s capital markets are amongtheworld’smostliquid, allowing global investors to enter and exit positions with relative ease. “Iwouldsaythefundamentals of the Indian economy are fine,”SitharamantoldCNBCon the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank meetings in Bangkok on Friday when asked whether portfolio outflows were due to the persistent weakness in the rupee. “India is probably the second-largest liquid market available, and because of the ease of liquidity and availability, investors can also exit easily. There is no fundamental weakness,”she asserted. Strong domestic inflows, particularly through mutual funds, have helped absorb heavy foreign selling and provided a cushion to market volatility. The T+1 settlement cycle enables faster trade settlement,while a busyIPO market offers investors additional exit opportunities. Anchor issue size (`crore) Hyundai Motor India FMsaysdeep mktliquidity allowingeasy investorexits »INSIDE« EVALUATING ALL OPTIONS AFTER RULING: YES BANK PAGE 5 KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, October 19 THE RELIEF RALLY on Dalal Streetprovedshort-livedassoaring crude oil prices and weak global cues sent benchmark indices tumbling on Monday. Heavysellinginprivatebanks,IT and FMCG stocks added to the pressure, snapping a two-day winningstreak. The Sensex plunged 876.37 points, or 1.17%, to close at 73,852.90,while the Nifty shed 257.20 points,or 1.11%,to settle at 22,888.95. The reversal came after both indices posted THE INDIA-NEW ZEALAND free trade agreement (FTA) cameintoforceMondaymidnight,givingIndianexporters zero-dutyaccessacrossalltariff lines in the island nation whileopeningIndia'svastconsumermarkettoNewZealand businesses through preferentialconcessions. The pact also provides for New Zealand to facilitate $20 billioninvestmentinIndiaand expandsopportunitiesforservices,professionals,students andagriculturalcooperation. The agreement aims to increase bilateral trade in Brent crude Sensex (intra-day, Oct 19, 2026) 1.57% 74,729.27 Top sectoral losers -1.85 -1.58 -1.44 -1.28 goods and services from about $2.4 billion to around New Zealand $7 billion (`35,000 crore) by 2030, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said, adding that the target reflected the ambition of both countries to deepen economicties. What India gains The immediate benefit is duty-free access across 100% of New Zealand's tariff lines, particularly for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel,leather,footwearand carpets, where tariffs previouslyreached10%. Continued on Page 8 THETARIFF ODDS – II PHARMA MANU KAUSHIK New Delhi, October 19 EARLY LAST MONTH, a midsized Mumbai pharmaceutical companywaspreparingtoship its first consignment of highvalue nutraceutical products to the US. But as it readied the shipment for Customs clearance, fears mounted that the Trump administration could extend a 100% tariff imposed in July on branded and proprietarymedicines from 17 drugmakers to some Indian firms too. The threat never materialised, but the company deferred its much-anticipated US foray, which was meant to open a new growth avenue. Indianmedicineshavesofar escaped additional US tariffs. However, Trump intends to keep generic drugs tariff-free for only two years from August India's pharma exports ($ bn) US share (%) Indian firms with manufacturing units in the US Number of plants 30.4 30.5 FY25 FY26 Q1 FY27 2026, and plans to impose a 100% tariff on them from August2028forayear,followed by a prohibitive 200% duty. If implemented, the plan could squeeze margins in Indian drugmakers’ largest export market. The industry has so far weathered steep price cuts, including reductions of 3080%inprescriptiondrugprices announced by Trump in May, 2 Cipla 8.1 2 Lupin 31.1 30.9 4 Aurobindo Pharma Dr.Reddy's Laboratories 2 Alkem Laboratories 34.5 Sun Pharma 1 2 1 US FDA approved plants in India: ~500 Biocon Source: Companies, HDFC Securities with limited loss of volumes. But the prospect of tariffs adds anotherlayerof uncertainty. Still, the Indian industry is resilient and combative. “We have over a decade of experienceineffervescenttechnology and a presence in around 30 countries. The US remains an important market for our planned expansion. Continued on Page 8 New Delhi -1.20 73,852.90 (Close) 1.17% % (Previous close) »INSIDE« VERYCLOSETO FINALISING INDIADEAL: RUBIO PAGE 2 BIZ DIAGNOSIS 108.1* *at 8:30 IST Indiadrugmakersredraw theirglobalroadmap DEFYING Continued on Page 8 SELLERS RETURN India-New Zealand FTAcomes into force MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, October 19 theirstrongestweeklygainsinsix months last week,raising hopes of a sustained recovery. Retail investorslost`4.7lakhcroreduringthesession. With Brent crude hovering near$110abarrel,concernsover imported inflation, corporate marginsandIndia'sexternalbalances resurfaced.Persistent foreigninvestorsellingandelevated US bond yields further dampenedsentiment. “While markets witnessed resiliencelastweekduetofalling crudepricesandastrengthening rupee, selling returned amid weak global cues and persistent FIIoutflowsfromdomesticequities,” said Ankur Punj, MD, EquirusWealth. (% loss) Private banks Top Sensex losers -3.85 Financial services -2.82 FMCG -2.72 (% loss) Axis Bank UltraTech Cement Infosys IT -2.54 Bajaj Finance Realty -2.43 Trent