OPINION, P10 WELL BEING FE LINES ACROSS THE AISLE, P CHIDAMBARAM How to prevent the transmission of the contagious liver infection amid the rainy season Page 8 Internet access & information safety bringing VPNs into spotlight Page 6 KEEPING HEPATITIS A AT BAY THIS MONSOON 5 trends will determine future India Are VPNs really a necessary tool? WORDS WORTH Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM VOL XXI NO. 4 DOWN ELECTRIC LANE AHMEDABAD 14 Pages, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , Tamilnad Mercantile Bank DEPOSIT SCHEME Tenor: 567 Days MORE RETURNS. MORE REASONS TO SMILE. WITH TMB'S 567 DAYS DEPOSIT SCHEME *T&C Apply FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2026 7.75% * www.tmb.bank.in | Toll-free: 180 0425 0426 tmb bank in B E N G A L U R U , Anthropicsetto releaseMythosto ‘trusted’USorgs ANTHROPIC said that the US government has allowed it to release its Claude Mythos 5 AI model to ‘trusted’ US organisations, partially reversing an order two weeks ago over national security risks. ■ PAGE 14 WHAT'S INSIDE C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , How EVs were introduced in India even before Tesla rolled out its first car Page 4 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 , ● Billions engaging DIGITAL GOALS with the game via ■ FIFA Super Soccer ■ FIFA Rivals on Roblox crosses surpasses gaming, e-sports ■ EPL’s Fantasy Premier League has 11 mn managers globally, including about 180,000 to 200,000 from India 1 bn plays, 2.5 mn attracts 10 mn active monthly users SUGANDHA MUKHERJEE New Delhi, June 27 AS THE FIFA Club World Cup unfolds, football’s biggest battle is no longer confined to the ground; increasingly,it is being fought across fantasy leagues, mobile games, esports tournaments,creatorstreams andvirtual worlds, where fans don’t just watch matches but play, downloads since launch last year ■ EA Sports FC Mobile crosses 500 mn downloads, eFootball Mobile surpasses 100 mn ■ FIFAe competitions draw 16 mn players, generate more than 1.1 bn views predict, compete and socialise around them. Recognising this shift in engagement globally, FIFA has rapidly expanded its gaming ecosystem. Beyond its official FIFAFantasygame,whereusers assemble 15-player squads to KotakBank’sVaswani choosestostepdown Working with pride Corporates are picking up the baton for the LGBTQIA+ community in India, but are the policies really translating into practice when it comes to workplace inclusion? A soiree for all seasons How choral music is striking a chord with aficionados even outside traditional church services Power stocks outshine benchmark Sensex 140 130 123.69 Relative performance Base: Dec 31, 2025 = 100 Sensex BSEPower Index 120 110 90.47 100 90 80 Dec 31, 2025 POWER STOCKS HAVE delivered returns of up to 85.32% in the year-to-date (YTD) 2026 period, driven by robust electricity demand and sustained capital expenditure on infrastructure.The BSE Power Index has rallied 23.69% in YTD 2026, significantly outperforming the benchmark Sensex, which has declined 9.53% during the same period.All the constituents of the BSE Power Index turned gainers in 2026 so far. — Compiled by Kishor Kadam ● Bank hopes to TERM SHEET appoint successor ■ Replacing Uday Kotak, Vaswani was within deadline seen as outsider who could shed bank’s conservative growth model FE BUREAU Mumbai, June 27 ■ LEISURE, P9 June 26, 2026 Top gainers YTD2026 % gain Hitachi Energy India 85.32 GE Vernova T&D 60.95 Adani Power 60.31 Thermax 59.84 Adani Green Energy 50.43 competeglobally,thegoverning body has rolled out FIFA Play Zone, featuring prediction games, trivia and bracket chal- IN A SURPRISING development, Kotak Mahindra Bank managing director and CEO Ashok Vaswani has chosen not to seek a re-appointment after his three-year term ends on December 31, citing ‘personal reasons’. Kotak Mahindra Bank said Saturday that it has initiated theprocessforappointmentof a new MD and CEO,which will be completed within applicable regulatory timelines. Replacing founder Uday Kotak,Vaswaniwas seen as the outsider who could overcome the bank’s conservative growth model. He was keen thatsizebegainedthroughthe inorganic route, but ended up ■ Assuming charge on Jan 1, 2024, Vaswani faced several hurdles in senior-level exits, RBI bans ■ Was keen on gaining size via inorganic route, got mixed results Ex-chairman saysHDFC reviewreport ‘superfluous’ FE BUREAU New Delhi, June 27 eral hurdles early in his innings. Technology issues arose when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2024 barred the private lender from onboarding new clients digitally and issuing fresh credit cards.Ittook10monthsforthe newCEO towork on the bank’s IT infrastructure and get the regulatorto lift the ban in February 2025. The bank now spends 13% of its operating expenses on technology. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 to be third-largest private lender with mixed results. The chase to acquire IDBI Bank had to be abandoned due to high valuations.But lastyear,he acquired Standard Chartered’s personal loan portfolio in India,and has been in discussions to buy out Deutsche Bank’s India retail business. Just a few days earlier, Vaswani had talked of his ambition to lead Kotak Mahindra Bank to become the third-largest private lender, ahead of Axis Bank. Assuming charge on January1,2024,Vaswani faced sev- Atanu Chakraborty THE THREE-MONTH GOVERNANCE storm at HDFC Bank took yet another turn on Saturday, with former Chairman Atanu Chakrabortydismissing the legal review report as a ‘compliance exercise’ and questioning its legal basis. He also termed the legal review a 'superfluous'exercise. The independent legal review commissioned by the bank’s board had cleared the lender of any wrongdoing on the ground that the ‘contemporaneous evidence’ was “inconsistent with Chakraborty’s statement”. ■ Has talked of ambition to lead bank ● 80AND STILLGOING STRONG Persistent to acquire Nagarro Pune: In its largest-ever overseasacquisition,PersistentSystemsonSaturdayannounceda takeoverofoutstandingshares of Nagarro Group, a global AIled digital engineering company, reports Geeta Nair. The shareswillbeacquiredatacash consideration of €81 ($92) per share. Persistent has already secured a 21% stake in Nagarro,withNagarro’slargest shareholder committing its entire stake under a binding agreement. Revenues of the combined entity would be $2.9billion. ■ FULLSTORYON P3 Vespa enthusiasts ride in front of the Colosseum in Rome on Saturday to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the iconic scooter. Launched in 1946 by Piaggio, the Vespa has since become one of Italy's most recognisable design exports. Today, it is sold in approximately 100 countries, and is manufactured in three production plants in Italy, Vietnam and India AP SIERRA MAY NOT have been able to match the sales of its closest competitor, the allnew Kia Seltos, so far, but experts said Tata Motors expects to close the gap once the Sierra EV, which launches on June 30,gives the brand incremental sales numbers (the Seltos isn’t available as an EV model yet), and Tata clears its backlog HOW THEY STACK UP Jan 2026 Feb 2026 Mar 2026 massive 70,000 bookings within 24 hours, which increased to more than 100,000 byFebruarythisyear. Customer deliveries, however, Apr 2026 6,606 10,597 7,316 10,566 9,003 Sierra 11,041 7,100 Seltos 10,308 7,003 Sales (in units) 10,639 VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, June 27 around the festive season. Last five months’sales data shows that Sierra’s ICE variants havelaggedbehindinsalesofits closest competitor, the all-new Kia Seltos. Both these midsize SUV heavyweights were launchedaroundthesametime, but data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) shows that the Seltos (53,151 units) has sold almost 1.5 times the Sierra (37,319 units). Industry experts, however, argued that it isn’t about slowing demand for the Sierra, but more about Tata facing production constraints. When prices of the Sierra were announced in November last year, the SUV recorded a D E L H I , P U N E May 2026 were muted — 291 units in December, 7,003 in January, and 7,100 in February. The Seltos, on the other hand, took off the day deliver- ies started (January 2), and it sold 10,639 units in January, 10,308 in February, and 11,041 units in March. Inthenexttwomonths,Sel- lenges. It has partnered with Roblox, Netflix, Konami, Epic Games,SEGASportsInteractive and others to create football experiencesacrossgenres,from arcade games and simulations to esports andvirtual reality. “Globally, fantasy football has evolved into a highly engaged and monetisable ecosystem, supported by platforms such as Fantasy Premier League,ESPN Fantasy Football, and Sleeper. These platforms benefit from mature football markets,deepfanengagement, andseason-longparticipation,” said Chandrashekhar Mantha, partner and media and entertainment sector leader at Deloitte India. Continued on Page 2 CONFIDENT OF DEAL SOON: GOR Tata bets on Sierra EV after ICE sales turn cold ● Variant unable to match figures of rival Seltos N E W Football’svirtual kick as addictive as real action CITES PERSONAL REASONS, TERM ENDS DEC 31 ■ SPOTLIGHT, P7 M U M B A I , tos maintained its sales trajectory (10,566 units in April,and 10,597 units in May),while the Sierra cooled off at 7,316 units inApril,and6,606unitsinMay. A spokesperson from Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, however, shared that the demand for the Sierra hasn’t cooled off.“The current volume trajectory of the Sierra is primarily a function of supply-side constraints rather than demand. Since launch, we have faced limitations in the availability of certain supplier components, which have impacted our ability to fully meet demand,”he said. Continued on Page 2 Trump could visit India next year,says Rubio ● H-1B curbs not targeted at India: US Ambassador DIVYAA New Delhi, June 27 US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump could travel to India earlynextyear,US Secretaryof State Marco Rubio said in an interviewto news agencyIANS in Washington on Friday. He added he would himself make another trip to India later this year to set the ground for the President’s visit. Rubio was in India last month for four days for bilateral talks as well as the Quad Foreign Ministers’meeting. If the visit comes through, thiswillbeTrump’sfirstvisitto India in his second term. Asked about Trump’s possible visit to India,Rubio said: “We’re hoping that’s what we’re working towards — sometime early next year to have the President come. I think it’s very positive. India is such a close partner and ally of the United States, and the relationship between the Prime Minister and the President couldn’t be closer, which I think is really important in diplomacy.” India was due to host the Quad leaders’ summit last year.Trump dropped his plans MARCO RUBIO, US SECRETARY OF STATE We’re hoping that’swhatwe’re working towards — sometime early nextyearto have the President come.I think it’s verypositive tovisit India,marking a period of strained diplomatic relations amid punitive tariffs, visa curbs,andTrump’s claims of resolving a border conflict with Pakistan. “We look forward to re-engaging again in another Quad meeting very soon, and I look forward to returning before the end of the year and setting up a presidential visit in the early parts of next year,”Rubio said. Earlier this month, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump held a bilateral meeting, marking theirfirst face-to-face interaction in 16 months. Continued on Page 2 Iran,US tradefresh attacks inworst escalationpost-deal REUTERS Dubai, June 27 A TANKER REPORTED being struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, Britain’s maritime security agency said, after the United States and Iran each launched strikes in the worst escalation since they signed an interim peace deal. The warring sides each accused the other of violating the agreement reached two weeks ago to end the fourmonth-old conflict. Washington said it hit Iranian targets overnight, while Iran said it had struck targets linked to US forcesonSaturdayinresponse. Saturday’s attack on a tanker in the strait followed another on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latestescalation.Iranhasmade a fresh bid to assert control over the world’s most important energy shipping route, which has begun to reopen FACE-OFF PERSISTS ■ Each side says the other is violating interim ceasefire ■ Bahrain condemns Iranian drone attack on its territory ■ Hezbollah rejects IsraelLebanon agreement as surrender over the past two weeks after months of disruption. Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker hit on Saturday had sustained damage to its bridge, with all crewreported safe. Continued on Page 2 Ahmedabad