BACK PAGE | PAGE 22 BIG IDEA | PAGE 22 BRANDWAGON | PAGE 9 T20WC:Indiathrash Pak,qualifyforSuper8 StableMoneyturnsFDs intofintechproducts MUMBAI, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2026 Nike-Nykaapact:India needsitsownplaybook FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXVI NO. 39, 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 MAKINGSOVEREIGNAI PROJECTSFAIL-PROOFPAGE10 MODERN BIKE MEETS ANCIENT HISTORY PAGE 9 Religaredemerger settounlock shareholdervalue RELIGARE ENTERPRISES has approved a plan to demerge its financial services and insurance businesses into two separately listed entities to unlock shareholder value, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 6 RBIexpectedto maintainnear-term liquiditysupport MARKET PARTICIPANTS do not expect the RBI to drain excess liquidity in the shortterm despite levels above 1% of net demand and time liabilities and standing deposit facility nearing its all-time high, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 5 Modi also said this year’s Union Budget reflects India’s desire to become a “developed nation.”“Budgetisnota‘nowor never’ moment born out of compulsionbuta‘weareready’ moment born out of preparation,inspiration,"he said. Speaking on India’s trade deals,the Prime Minister said political stability and predictability have restored investor confidence. He added that stronger manufacturing, services, and MSMEs have allowed India to negotiate trade pacts from a position of strength. Continued on Page 5 Valuations moderate but markets still expensive PRICEY EQUITIES KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, February 15 THE SHARP SLIDE in equities, triggered by the meltdown in software services stocks, has made Indian markets marginallycheaperthantheywerelast November. Yet, valuations remain elevated relative to most peer economies. India currently trades at a one-year forward price-earnings (PE) multiple of 20.09, down from 21.2 in November. Even so, it is pricier than markets such as South Korea, China,Taiwan and Indonesia. That premium is one reason foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been trimming exposure and reallocating capital to markets such as China, which have delivered superior returns over the past six to eight months. FPIs have sold Nov 20, 2025 113.64 South K th Korea Feb 13, 2026 1 year $ return in % 29.2 47.79 T i Taiwan China Chi nearly $19 billion worth of Indian equities in 2025 so far. Over the past year,Chinese equities have generated dollar returns of over 29%, com- 6.07 I di India 20.67 Indonesia d i pared with about 6% for India, where a weakening rupee has eroded gains. Continued on Page 11 India’sfuelbasketreshaped Petroltriplesshareinadecade,LPG surges,kerosenenearlydisappears SAURAVANAND New Delhi, February 15 ENERGY SHIFT INDIA’SOILDEMANDmayhead towards 400 million tonne a year by 2050 from about 250 million tonne currently,but the country’s fuel consumption storyis no longerjust about rising volumes — it is about a dramaticreshapingofwhatIndians burn,drive and cookwith. Over the past two decades, petrolhasnearlytripleditsshare oftheoilbasketto18%,LPGhas emerged as a major household fuel,and industrial petcoke has surged into the top ranks,while once-dominant kerosene has collapsed to just 0.2% of total demand,accordingtodatafrom the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). Diesel continues to dominate India’s oil economy, holding a share of over 35% consistently since the early 2000s. In 50 Share (in %) 40 30 20 10 0 LPG 41.94 11.52 10.8 10.87 MS HSD D 38.74 4 17.53 3 13 13.87 13.87 2014-15 2025-26 6 Source: Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell 2013, its share peaked at more than 44%, driven by a retail price gap of nearly `30 per litre between diesel and petrol that triggered a wave of diesel car purchases.Today,even with the price gap narrowed to `7-10, dieselremainsthesinglelargest product,accountingforroughly 91 million tonne of consumption annually. India to script itsAI playbook as global tech elite converge today TEAM FE New Delhi, February 15 WHEN THE FOURTH edition of the AI Impact Summit opens at Bharat Mandapam on Monday — its first outing in the Global South — it will do so against a backdrop that is anything but placid. In recent months, artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered multibillion-dollar equity deals, piled fresh debt onto balance sheets, rattled global markets and sent IT services stocks into a tailspin after the launch of Anthropic’s Claude Cowork. Continued on Page 11 12.96 » INSIDE « Budgetisnota‘nowor never’momentborn outofcompulsionbut a‘weareready’ momentbornout ofpreparation, inspiration 13.06 THE MINISTRY of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has given additional powers to registrar of companies (RoCs) to adjudicate and impose penalties for statutory non-compliances, reports Manu Kaushik. PRIME MINISTER 20.09 MCAGIVESADDITIONAL POWERSTOROCsIN REGULATORYREVAMP PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi on Sunday said the private sector should focus less on protecting profit margins and invest more in research and development,adopt frontier technologies, supply chains,and quality. In an interviewwith PTI,he said the private sector is critical forthe next phase of India’s economic transformation and called fora“decisive response” from them. He added that the next leap to Viksit Bharat will depend on bold investment by businesses ininnovation,long-termcapacity,andglobalcompetitiveness. “Policy can only create the enabling framework. Incentives and tariff preferences can catalyse growth, but durable competitiveness must rest on innovation, efficiency and scale,”Modi said. 21.12 PAGE 2 NARENDRA MODI, 14.00 ECONOMY PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, February 15 13.74 PRIVATE EQUITY funds affiliated to Blackstone and coinvestors have entered into definitive pacts to invest $1.2 bn in Neysa, an AI cloud platform, reports FE Bureau. Timetoinvest,PM tellsprivatefirms 17.96 BLACKSTONE TO INVEST $1.2 BN IN AI STARTUP NEYSA 16.86 PAGE 4 9.85 COMPANIES FTAsDESIGNEDTOEXPANDMARKETACCESS:MODI 10.65 IN THE NEWS Diesel’s grip steadily being challenged Petrol,onceadistantsixthin the rankings in 2001 with barely 7% share, has surged to second place, commanding around 18% of India’s oil basket. Consumption has multiplied almost eight times over the period, touching nearly 40 million tonne in 2024-25.The petrol-to-diesel ratio,once 1:7, has narrowed sharply to about 1:2.3 — a shift that reflects changing vehicle preferences, improved petrol engine efficiencyandthegradualretreatby carmakers from dieselvariants. Ifcurrenttrendshold,industry observers say petrol could furthernarrowthe gap overthe next decade as urban mobility expands and diesel’s earlier price advantage fades. Stark transformation in household fuels LPG has emerged as one of the biggest structural winners. Fromabout7.7%sharein2001, LPG now accounts for roughly 13.7% of total petroleum consumption, rising from fifth to thirdplaceinthefuelhierarchy. Continued on Page 11 »INSIDE« TURNINGCAPABILITY INTOIMPACT,WRITES NANDANNILEKANI, CO-FOUNDER ANDNONEXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, INFOSYS CRAFTING A SUTRA FOR DIGITAL HUMANITY, SAYS RAMEESH KAILASAM , CEO, INDIATECH.ORG ● ASHWINI VAISHNAW, ELECTRONICS & IT MINISTER ‘Summit will position AI as a development tool’ The India AI Impact Summit will focus on AI’s role in healthcare, agriculture, public services, financial inclusion and productivity, while underlining India’s push for faster and more inclusive adoption built on digital public infrastructure and domestic capability across compute, models and hardware. Ahead of the summit, Electronics and IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw talks to Rishi Raj. Excerpts: How will the upcoming India AI Impact Summit be different from such summits in the past? This year’s summit will position AI as a development tool. It will emphasise using AI for better healthcare access, smarter agriculture,more efficient public services, financial inclusion and productivity gains for businesses. It will not be limited to any specific AI related challenge such as safety. It will be broader in scope than highlighting only the actions needed for using AI responsibly.The summit will revolve around the impact of AI in our lives. & EDIT: CODE AND CONSCIENCE PAGE 8 Continued on Page 11