NEWS POINT | PAGE 24 COMPANIES | PAGE 5 Adar Poonawalla to make strong bid for RCB IPLteam INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 From Blinkit turnaround to Eternal corner office NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026 At4.4%,USGDPgrows atfastestpacein2years FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. L1 NO. 279, 34 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: 82,307.37 ▲ 397.74 NIFTY: 25,289.90 ▲ 132.40 NIKKEI 225: 53,688.89 ▲ 914.25 HANG SENG: 26,629.96 ▲ 44.90 `/$: 91.63 ▲ 0.08 `/€: 107.14 ▲ 0.19 BRENT: $64.35 ▼ $0.89 GOLD: `1,50,671 ▼ `2,991 Turbulence in the sky 6,162 FY26E E: Estimates Source: Bloomberg/Icra IndiGo Q3 profit falls AirIndia loss in FY26 78% on Dec trouble maycross `15,000 cr NITIN KUMAR New Delhi, January 22 INTERGLOBE AVIATION, WHICH operates IndiGo, on Thursday reported a sharp fall inits October-Decemberprofit after one-time charges linked to widespread flight disruptions in December dragged earnings well below market expectations, even as revenue grew at a modest pace. The country’s largest airline posted a consolidated net profit of `550 crore for the three months ended December, down 77.5% from a year earlier.The figure was sharply IN THE NEWS MARKETS PAGE 6 BANKS MOVE RBI FOR RELIEF AMID TIGHT LIQUIDITY BANKS HAVE RAISED concerns over higher certificate of deposit (CD) rates with the RBI, and sought steps such as term variable rate repo (VRR) amid tighter liquidity, reports Christina Titus. SAT asks Sathe to deposit `100 cr in case against Sebi THE SECURITIES APPELLATE Tribunal has asked Avadhut Sathe and his trading academy to deposit `100 crore, granting partial relief in a `546-crore impounding order from Sebi, reports Anjana Therese Antony. ■ PAGE 7 lower than Bloomberg’s estimate of `1,997 crore,reflecting the financial impact of large-scale cancellations and regulatory action during what is typically a strong quarter for the carriers. “The months of October and November started very well and disruption in December changed some of our numbers,” CEO Pieter Elbers said on a post-earnings call. He added that the airline had taken steps to stabilise operations following the December episode. Continued on Page 10 MIHIR MISHRA & P R SANJAI January 22 AIR INDIA IS set to report a record annual loss after last year’s deadly crash and airspace shutdowns wiped out progress towards a turnaround, according to people familiarwith the matter. The carrier — a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines — is on track to post a loss of at least `15,000 crore for the year ending March 31, said the people. Earnings were further hit by Pakistan’s closure of its air- BalajiWafers sells `2,500-crstake ● GeneralAtlantic takes 7% in firm VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, January 22 US-BASED PRIVATE EQUITY firm General Atlantic has acquired a minority stake in snackfoodmanufacturerBalaji Wafers, the companies said on Thursday. While the deal size wasnotdisclosed,sourcesinthe knowsaidthatGeneralAtlantic picked up an around 7% stake for`2,500crore,valuingthe companyat `35,000 crore. The investment comes after rival Haldiram’s saw four investors put in around `20,000 crore for about 2021% stake, experts said.These investors included Temasek (whichpickedupa10%stakein March),Alpha Wave Global and the UAE’s IHC, which jointly pickeduparound6%stake,and LCatterton,whichissaidtohave picked up around 5% in the companyinDecemberlastyear. DEAL STREET ■ Balaji Wafers closed FY25 with sales of `6,500 cr and a net profit of `1,000 cr ● Centre maytrim timeline by6 mths GEETIKA SRIVASTAVA New Delhi, January 22 -15,000 to `17,000-18,000 cr FY25 -7,290 -615 FY24 -13,990 -6,368 FY23 -9,440 3x Air India FY22 Indian aviation industry's net loss in FY26 is likely to rise over IndiGo -10,860 Net profit (` cr) 5,218 7,524 BURNING CASH NovdeadlineforDPDPcompliance ■ It is a leading player in many states in India and exports its products to around 25 countries “General Atlantic’s deep understanding of consumer businesses,trackrecordofworking with founder families and long-term approach to value creation, align well with our vision for Balaji Wafers,” said Chandubhai Virani, founder & chairman,BalajiWafers. Continued on Page 10 space for Indian airlines following a military clash between the two countries, forcing carriers to fly longer routes at higher costs to Europe andthe US,theyadded. The reversal is especially stark because Air India had been edging back towards profitability before the June Dreamliner crash — which killed more than 240 people — undid years of progress. The founders had targeted operational break-even this fiscal year, but profitability is now out of reach,the people said. THE GOVERNMENT IS set to significantly compress the implementation timeline of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, with companiesacrosssectorslikely toberequiredtocomplywithin 12 months of the notification, insteadoftheearlier18-month window, according to people familiarwith the discussions. The shift would mean that full compliance with the DPDP framework would be expected byNovember2026,ayearafter the rules were notified. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has sought stakeholder DIGITAL SHIELD ■ Firms across the board may have to comply with DPDP Rules within 12 months of notification ■ Government also intends to bring into force cross-border data transfer provision feedback on the proposed changebyFebruary4,signalling thattheshortertimelineisnow being actively considered for industry-wide adoption. When the draft rules were issued last year, the government had indicated that the 12-month compliance period would apply only to consent managers forregistration purposes, while companies pro- ■ Govt plans to fast-track provisions such as Rule 8(3) on data retention for lawful needs without user consent cessing personal data would have up to 18 months to align their systems and processes. MeitYhadalsoindicated informally then that large firms already compliant with global standards such as the EU’s GeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)couldbeaskedto transition faster. However, people aware of the latest deliberations said Continued on Page 10 Systematic Investment AYANTI BERA Bengaluru, January 22 Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 10 Begin with Walmarttosell `9,173-crstake inPhonePeIPO; Microsofttoexit FINTECH MAJOR PHONEPE’S upcoming initial public offering(IPO)willseeitsparentWalmart partially offloading its stake, while investors Tiger Global and Microsoft Global Finance will look to sell their entire holdings. As per the updated draft red herring prospectus, these three investors will together look to sellstakesworth`10,115crore. The issue onlycomprises an offer-for-sale of up to 50.7 millionequityshares,andwilllikely open in March-end or April. Among the three sellers,Walmart — which has invested through WM Digital Commerce Holdings — will look to sell 45.9 million shares, reducing its holding byup to 9%. the ministry is now considering applying the 12-month timeline across the board, without distinguishing between large and smaller entities.The proposal was discussed at a meeting chaired by MeitY Secretary S Krishnan and attended by industry representatives on Thursday. Plan (SIP). The key to harnessing the power of compounding is to remain invested for a longer tenure, allowing the Investment to compound. The longer you stay invested, the greater the compounding effect can be. Starting early and consistently adding to your investments may further amplifies the benefits of compounding. »INSIDE« Algorithms do leadership searches but the final call stays human AIgetsaseatatthe C-suitehiringtable S SHANTHI Bengaluru, January 22 ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE is rapidly moving into India’s most rarefied hiring rooms — the C-suite and boardroom — as companies lean on algorithms to speed up leadership searches, sharpen succession planning and map scarce talent,even as the final hiring call remains firmly human. HR technology firms say adoption of AI in senior-level hiring has risen 20-30% yearon-year over the past two years, led by large enterprises, global capability centres and digital-first companies. Tools that were once confined to junior and mid-level recruitment are now being deployed for leadership market mapping, talent intelligence and early-stage assessment. “In 2024,only two to three out of 10 organisations TAPPING TECH ■ Adoption of AI in DAVOS 2026 EDIT: DAVOS WITHOUT DELUSIONS P8 ROBOTS WILL OUTNUMBER HUMANS: MUSK P24 TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE OFF TO A ROCKY START P24 Mutual Fund investors need to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, which can be done by submitting completed KYC Form along with the required documents at any AMC's branch Office or Official Points of Acceptance. Please refer https://www.licmf.com/kyc-redressal to know about KYC documentary requirement, procedure for change of address, phone number, bank details etc. The investors are cautioned to invest only with SEBI registered Mutual Funds, the details of which can be verified on SEBI's website under 'Intermediaries/Market Infrastructure Institutions’(https://www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html.) For any complaints and grievance redressal, investors can contact the Investor Relations Officer of the respective AMC and if not satisfied with the resolution given by the AMC, he/she can approach SEBI by registering the complaint on SEBI SCORES Portal (https://scores.sebi.gov.in/) and/or escalate the compliant through Online Dispute Resolution Portal (https://smartodr.in/login). senior-level hiring has increased 20-30% year-on-year over the past two years, industry players say 75% of recruiters in India now allocate up to 70% of their hiring budgets to AI-driven tools, according to a June 2025 study ■ Nearly experimented withAI in leadership hiring. In 2025, that number has climbed to six or seven,”said Yashraj Bhardwaj, co-founder and COO of Petonic AI.The uptake is most visible, he said, among large firms where leadership hiring cycles are tightening and roles are becoming more complex. The shift reflects mounting pressure on companies to identify transformation-ready leaders as technology adoption accelerates and business models evolve. Continued on Page 10 New Delhi