COMPANIES | PAGE 4 BACK PAGE | PAGE 22 Culture gaps drive India’s quiet quitting: Study INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Grasim set to cross `2 L-cr revenue in FY27, says Birla MUMBAI, SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2026 Samsung plans $80 bn in dividends, buybacks FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXVI NO. 199, 22 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 77,540.83 ▲ 3.11 NIFTY: 24,252.00 ▲ 20.15 NIKKEI 225: 66,016.36 ▼ 200.43 HANG SENG: 26,009.46 ▲ 310.97 `/$: 95.71 ▲ 0.01 `/€: 111.98 ▲ 0.06 BRENT: $94.06 ▲ $0.28 GOLD: `1,59,802 ▲ `3,199 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 2 EASING BORDER RULES: `4,895-CR FDI FLOWS IN INDIA’S DECISIONTO ease foreign direct investment norms for overseas firms with minor Chinese shareholding has unlocked 29 investment proposals worth `4,895.65 crore since coming into effect, a government official said, reports fe Bureau. The policy shift allows foreign companies with up to 10% shareholding from countries sharing a land border with India, including China, to invest through the automatic route without prior government clearance. MARKETS PAGE 6 ICICI OVERSEAS BORROWING CAP RAISED TO $5 BN ICICI BANK’S BOARD has approved doubling its offshore borrowing limit to $5 billion, joining a race among Indian lenders to capitalise on overseas fundraising after the RBI advanced closure of a concessional swap facility on FCNR(B) deposits by a month to August 31 instead of end-September, reports fe Bureau. The private lender had previously set its borrowing limit at $2.5 billion. » INSIDE « AHEDGETHATCAN SAVE OUR SKIES,WRITES VSHUNMUGAM PAGE 8 Sebi proposes norms to expand corp bond market MARKETS REGULATOR SEBI on Friday proposed a network of fixed income channel partners for expanding retail participation in corporate bonds, reports fe Bureau. FICPs will be enlisted with the bourses and appointed by online bond platform providers to distribute permitted fixed income securities. ■ PAGE 6 GOOGLE EXPECTEDTO SHIFTPARTOFPRODUCTION FROM CHINA Apple to expand beyond iPhonesinIndia:Vaishnaw OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, August 21 APPLE AND GOOGLE are set to deepen their manufacturing presence in India, with Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday signalling that Apple could make products beyond iPhones in the country and that the countrycould capture a significant share of Google’s export-oriented production currently based in China. The comments come as the government seeks to move domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem beyond smartphone assembly and position the country as an alternative production base for global technology companies. Asked whether Apple MANUFACTURING PUSH ■ India's smartphone exports surpassed $31 billion in FY26, accounting for 60% of electronic shipments ■ India is now the world's second largest mobile phone manufacturer, with nearly 28-fold rise in production since 2014-15 ASHWINI VAISHNAW, ELECTRONICS AND IT MINISTER We have multiple advantages. One advantage is, of course, the policy certainty. Second advantage is the design capabilities could manufacture products such as iPads and Macs in India, Vaishnaw said “yes”, indicating that the government expects the company to widen its manufacturing footprint beyond iPhones. He did not specify which products Apple could manufacture in India. “We have multiple advantages. One advantage is of course the policy certainty. Second advantage is the design capabilities,”Vaishnaw said. He also pointed to the design talent available across the country’s global capability centres, technology centres and engineering centres. Continued on Page 7 NewPLIputsIndianmobilebrandsinfocus FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 21 THREE INDIAN COMPANIES could launch indigenously designed mobile phones in the next 10-14 months as the government seeks to create a domesticmobilebrandecosystem alongside the large-scale manufacturing base built by globalsmartphonecompanies. Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday that three players had the potential to bring products to market in about 10-14 months under the `62,500-crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), which was notified during the day. The government,hesaid,wouldbestrictin screening companies seeking support as Indian brands and would not allow copycats to qualify.“The design has to be yourown design.It cannot just beacopycat.Theyhavetocome up with the design and prove that the IP is their own,”Vaishnaw said. He added that the government had asked the three companies to develop designs that could compete with the best products in their respective segments. Continued on Page 7 LOCAL CALL ■ Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme has a budgetary outlay of `62,500 cr ■ Scheme will run for five years till FY31 Muskpitches Starlinkfor rurallinkage OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, August 21 ELON MUSK HAS pitched Starlink as a solution to India’s rural connectivity gap even as the satellite internet company awaits regulatory clearances to begin commercial operations in the country. “Starlink would help the least served in India, especially in rural areas,” the SpaceX founderposted on X on Friday. The Starlink founder was responding to a post by X account DogeDesigner,which highlighted the extent of India’s connectivity gap and called for faster approval of Starlink services for remote villages.According to the post, 11,256 villages on India’s official list still lacked 4G coverage as of May 2026. While India had 1.09 billion internet subscriptions in March, only 440.87 million were rural, translating into a rural subscription density of 48.31 per 100 people against 126.80 in urban areas. Continued on Page 7 Colgatepicksformerdirectorto replaceIndiaMDbeforetenure Fairfax mayget 2 years IDBI BANK STAKE SALE IN FINAL STAGES VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, August 21 COLGATE-PALMOLIVE INDIA ON Friday appointed former executive Manish Anandani as MD & CEO, succeeding Prabha Narasimhan who will take up a globalrole—thelatestinaseries of top-deck changes in the country’s FMCG landscape. The reshuffle comes as the oral and personal care giant seeks to strengthen its business performance after a sharp decline in its stock price from a record high twoyears ago. Narasimhan will step down as managing director and chief executiveofficeronSeptember27,ayearpriortotheend of her tenure, and take up theroleofexecutivevicepresident—marketing, »INSIDE« EDIT: REVOLVING DOOR PAGE 8 Asia Pacific, at parent ColgatePalmolive. Anandani will take overasMD&CEOforafive-year term beginning September28. Anandani’s appointment markshishomecoming,having previously spent more than a Manish Anandani (right) will succeed Prabha Narasimhan as Colgate-Palmolive India MD & CEO next month decadeatColgate.Hejoinedthe company in 2005 as a regional managerandsubsequentlyheld several positions across India, Indochina and the company’s corporate office.He left Colgate in 2018,after serving as worldwidedirectoringlobalcustomer development function. Anandani joins from Kenvue, formerly Johnson & JohnsonConsumerHealth,wherehe wasmanagingdirectorforIndia and South Asia. His experience across consumer businesses, along with his earlier stint at Colgate, could give him a relativelyshortlearningcurveashe takes charge of the company, sectoranalysts said. Anandani takes up the top job at a timewhen India’s fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG) market is undergoing a churn and has witnessed a number of toplevel changes in company management roles. Continued on Page 7 to put holdings in order GOPIKA GOPAKUMAR & IRA DUGAL August 21 CANADA’S FAIRFAX FINANCIAL,a frontrunner to acquire thegovernment’sstakeinIDBI Bank,is set to be allowed up to two years to consolidate its India bank holdings to smooth the acquisition, two sources familiar with the matter said. Under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, an entity cannot own and operate two separate banks. Fairfax owns about 40% of smaller lender CSB Bank. The Canadian investor is likely to be given up to two years to either sell its stake in CSB Bank or merge it with IDBI Bank, the two sources said. A third source, a government official,said it would be“spec- ulative” to say that Fairfax will be given two years to consolidate its bank holdings. A long-delayed sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank, held by the government and state insurer LIC, is in its final stages.The transaction,valued at more than $5 billion,would be the largest foreign investment in an Indian bank. It is alsoimportantfor the government at a time when the war in West Asia has strained finances and weaker foreign inflows have pressured the rupee. Last month, India received revised bids from Fairfax and Emirates for the IDBI stake after lowering the reserve price for the sale. Fairfax, the finance ministry and the RBI did not respond to requests for comment. —REUTERS CHARITY COMMISSIONER GETS REPRESENTATION SRTTtrusteesface freshcomplaint ● Plea seeks scrutiny of steps taken to limit financial loss TROUBLE MOUNTS URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, August 21 A COMPLAINT HAS been filed with the Maharashtra charity commissioner questioning whether the trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) are adequately discharging their fiduciary and statutory responsibilities amid the continuing restriction on the trust holding meetings. The representation,filed by Mumbai-based advocate and solicitor Kiran Doiphode, follows the adjournment of the TataSonsannualgeneralmeeting(AGM)scheduledforAugust 18 for want of quorum. The meeting was to consider, amongothermatters,thecompany’sfinancialstatementsand the declaration of a dividend. The complaint, a copy of which FE has reviewed,argues that the continuing impasse over SRTT’s functioning has delayed the receipt of a substantial dividend attributable to the Tata Trusts and caused potential investment income tobeforegone.Therepresentationhasaskedthecharitycom- ■ Fresh complaint filed by Mumbai-based advocate ■ SRTT trustees’ fiduciary duties questioned ■ Complaint suggests trustees should place steps taken since adjourned AGM on record ■ Complaint flags possible impact on charitable funds missionerto urgentlyexamine the conduct and decisionmaking of the SRTT trustees, including whether they have taken adequate steps to protect the interests of the trust and its beneficiaries. Continued on Page 11 SpiceJet share Databreached, atdecade’slow saysCognizant SPICEJET’S DOMESTIC MARKETsharefellto1.6%inJuly,its lowestinmorethanadecade,as the financially stressed airline continued to grapple with constrained capacity and a significantly reduced fleet, reports NitinKumar.Thecarrier’smarketsharedeclinedfrom1.9%in June and 2.5% in May,according to DGCAdata. ■ PAGE 4 IT MAJOR COGNIZANT has notified customers about a databreachincidenttookplace on April 2. However, the New Jersey-based company said it foundnocredibleevidencethat the data had been misused, reportsfeBureau.Earlier, TCS, HCLTech and Hexaware flagged similar instances of data breaches. ■ PAGE 5 WEAPONISATION OFRESOURCES RAISING GROWTH CONCERNS GLOBALLY; NO COUNTRYCAN OPERATE IN ISOLATION INAN INTER-CONNECTEDWORLD: MODI ‘Permitted unless prohibited’unlike in the past,PM tells industry PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, August 21 Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Skyroot Aerospace Co-founders Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka and other space entrepreneurs in New Delhi on Friday. Modi assured them of government support and urged them to explore how space technology can be used in agriculture, environment and other areas that affect people's everyday lives PTI PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi asserted on Friday that reforms in all spheres are his government’s commitment to ensure continued growth momentum and said the approach is changing to “permitted unless prohibited” from the earlier “prohibitedunless-permitted” model. Addressing the Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Modi also said India has political stability and continuity in its policies,and the world sees the country as a bright spot of growth and hope. “India continues to take several steps to ensure continued growth momentum. India is pushing ahead with reforms across sectors and reforms are our commitment,” he said. The Prime Minister said the world has many concerns regarding growth as resources are getting weaponised, but India is being seen as a bright spot of growth. The NDA government has a clear road map for reforms, with a strong focus on governance, he said. “Our government is rewarding higher production with incentives,” he said. Modi alleged that it was the policy of the previous regimes to keep people in scarcity, so that they beg before the government for even basic needs. He said the licence raj of the previous governments used to add to the burden of unemployment, whereas his government’s productionlinked incentive model is creating opportunities. “We are not just changing regulations, we are changing the entire policy of regulations. Our government believes that there should be no regulation for doing some- NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER India has moved away from PLP (production-linked punishment) model of previous governments to PLI (productionlinked incentive) thing that has not been explicitly prohibited under law,” he said. The Prime Minister said his government is bringing next-generation reforms at the policy level and implementing reforms at the governance level and for ease of living. “We are moving from the ‘prohibited-unless-per- mitted’ approach to the ‘permitted-unless-prohibited’ model,” he said. Modi said India has moved away from the PLP (production-linked punishment) model of the previous governments to PLIs (production-linked incentives) now. He said even small reforms in the Indian Railways,the Delhi Metro and the Namo Rapid Rail show that the country is changing with times. The Prime Minister said that earlier no one could make India’s map without permission even though foreign satellites could map India,but his government has changed this system. He also said the government has decided that border infrastructure is India’s strength and not weakness. “We have changed the picture of our border infrastructure,” he said. Modi said the world’s cheapest data is available in India and the country is making the cheapest and best mobile phones. The Prime Minister said that the government has policies that are“pro-people,progrowth and pro-development”. The relationship between the government and citizens should be based on trust, not suspicion, he said. “The world has witnessed many ups and downs over the past few years, and these experiences have made one thing abundantly clear: whether one likes it or not,the futures of all nations are interconnected. Nothing is possible in isolation. ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ was India’s guiding mantra during its G20 presidency. This spirit of a shared future,along with the accompanying sense of responsibility,offers solutions to manyof the challenges facing the 21st-century world,” he said.