COMPANIES | PAGE 4 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 How his mother inspired Dhindsa to launch Blinkit INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Air India asks promoters for funds after `22,000-cr loss MUMBAI, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026 Trump threatens to fire Powell if he doesn’t exit Fed FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXVI NO. 89, 20 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: 78,111.24 ▲ 1,263.67 NIFTY: 24,231.30 ▲ 388.65 NIKKEI 225: 58,134.24 ▲ 256.85 HANG SENG: 25,947.32 ▲ 75.00 `/$: 93.38 ▼ 0.01 `/€: 110.02 ▲ 0.89 BRENT: $94.80 ▲ $0.01 GOLD: `1,52,228 ▲ `2,734 THE BBC SAID on Wednesday that it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs to save 10% of its annual budget — 500 million pounds ($677 million) — over the next two years. The layoffs announced during a call with staff are the biggest in more than a decade, reports AP. ED arrests Amitabh Jhunjhunwala in laundering case THE ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE has arrested Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, a former executive of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), in bank loan fraud case, reports PTI. India will now seek better terms in US trade negotiations AN INDIAN TEAM will travel to the US on April 20-22 to finalise the legal agreement on a trade pact while seeking to preserve India's comparative tariff advantage in the US, reports Mukesh Jagota. ■ PAGE 2 Mehliallegesserious governancelapses atDorabjiTatatrust URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, April 15 THE INTERNAL RIFT within theTataTrusts has sharpened, with former trustee Mehli MistryapproachingtheMaharashtra charity commissioner seeking the appointment of an administrator to run the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), while simultaneouslyflagging a series of governance lapses, disputed board decisions and alleged conflicts of interest. The latest filing follows Mistry’s earlier challenge to trustee appointments at Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution. In his petition, Mistry has challenged the validity of the current board, arguing that certaintrusteesmaybeineligible under the trust deed, including on grounds such as religious background and residency. He has contended that decisions taken by such a board — including those relating to governance and trustee appointments — are legally questionable. SDTT is the single largest shareholder in Tata Sons with 28% stake, followed by Sir Ratan Tata Trusts (24%). The other trusts together hold another 14%. The plea for an MISTRY’S KEY ALLEGATIONS ■ Decisions were taken by an improperly constituted board ■ Term was not renewed despite a resolution for uniform extension of trustees ■ Trustee appointments and changes were not properly reported to the charity commissioner ■ Validity of resolutions, including lifetime trusteeship and voting eligibility of certain members, questionable ■ Conflict of interest: Trustees earned commissions from Tata Group companies Trump: Iranwar‘veryclose to over’ ● Pakistan army Venu Srinivasan administratoreffectivelyseeks regulatory intervention to oversee the functioning of one of the principal trusts within the Tata philanthropic structure until governance concerns are resolved. The SDTT, along with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and others, holds about 66% in Tata Sons, the holding company of Vijay Singh the Tata Group, making the dispute significant for the wider conglomerate. In a fresh objection before the charity commissioner, Mistryhasbroadened his challengetoincludedecision-makingprocessesandtrusteereappointments within SDTT. Continued on Page 7 PRESIDENT, US Chinaisveryhappy thatIampermanently openingtheStraitof Hormuz.Iamdoingit forthem,alsoAndtheWorld TALA RAMADAN, ELWELY ELWELLY & HUMEYRA PAMUK Dubai/Washington, April 15 US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said the war with Iran was close to over, as the army chief of mediator Pakistan arrived in Tehran in a bid to prevent a renewed conflict. The diplomatic push came as US and Iranian officials »INSIDE« weighedareturntoPakistanfor further talks after negotiations thereendedonSundaywithout a breakthrough.A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Pakistani Field Marshal Asim INDICES RISE OVER 1.5% ON PEACE CUE PAGE 6 MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, PRESIDENT, IRAN Iranisnotseekingwaror instabilityandhasalways emphasiseddialogueand constructiveengagement withvarious countries Munir was in Iran “to narrow gaps”between the two sides. “I think it’s close to over, yeah. I mean I view it as very close to over,”Trump said in an interview on Fox Business Net- RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY BUYING BY NRIs FROM WESTASIA DOWN 50-75% PAGE 5 March goods exports fall 7.4%; shipments toWAsia tank 58% MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, April 15 NoelTata DONALD TRUMP, chief in Tehran ‘to narrow gaps’ THE US-ISRAELWARwith Iran and the resultant blockade of theStraitofHormuz,akeyshipping route,caused India’s merchandise exports to fall 7.4% year-on-yearto$38.92billionin March,with shipments to West Asia dropping by 58%. With imports also declining by 6.5% to$59.59billion,India’soverall foreign trade in goods compressed,resulting in a relatively lowtradedeficitof$20.7billion. Goods exports contracted for the first time since October 2025, though shipments have been tepid in recent months. “Our exports to West Asia in GOODS EXPORTS UP 0.9% IN FY26 Growth (%) Export Import Trade deficit ($ bn) 30 (LHS) (RHS) 45 40 25 0.66 35 20 11.4 30 15 25 10 20 5 15 0 -6.5 10 -5 5 -10 -7.4 0 -15 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2025 2026 20.7 BBC PLANS TO CUT 2,000 JOBS TO SLASH COSTS FORMERTRUSTEE SEEKSADMINISTRATOR 21.5 IN THE NEWS March went down by $3.5 billion.Normally,monthlyexports to the region are around $6 billion but this March only $2.5 billionworthofexportswent.In percentage terms,it has been a decline of 57.9%,” said CommerceSecretaryRajeshAgrawal. Continued on Page 7 workconductedonTuesdayand broadcastonWednesday.“We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a dealverybadly.” Continued on Page 7 RUSSIAN CRUDE IMPORTS DOUBLE IN MARCH PAGE 3 It’s easiernow forfirmstocut IPOsizeby50% THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will allowcompanies to cut the size of IPOs byas much as 50% withoutfiling additionalonerous paperwork as the war in West Asia has made it hard to follow through with initial plans, according to an email the regulator sent to the Association of Investment Bankers of India,reports Reuters.Current rules stipulate that initial public offering (IPO) documents need to be refiled if the planned fundraising amount increases or decreases by 20% ormore.The reliefwill applyto firms planning to raise fresh funds before September 30, the regulator said. ■ PAGE 13