BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 ECONOMY | PAGE 2 India in ‘extremely high’ doping risk bracket INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 9 IRFC targets `3-lakh-cr loan sanctions by 2030 LUCKNOW, TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026 Fed pickWarsh to face Senate hearing today FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 19 NO. 115, 26 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: 78,520.30 ▲ 26.76 NIFTY: 24,364.85 ▲ 11.30 NIKKEI 225: 58,824.89 ▲ 348.99 HANG SENG: 26,361.07 ▲ 200.74 `/$: 93.12 ▼ 0.20 `/€: 109.55 ▲ 0.03 BRENT: $93.53 ▲ $3.15 GOLD: `1,51,582 ▲ `485 IN THE NEWS ECONOMY PAGE 2 MARCH CORE SECTOR OUTPUT AT 19-MTH LOW GROWTH IN THE output of infrastructure sectors contracted to a 19-month low of 0.4% year-on-year in March, mainly due to a sharp decline in fertiliser production amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, reports fe Bureau. COMPANIES PAGE 4 APPLE HOLDS BACK DATA IN ANTITRUST CASE APPLE HAS NOT submitted data sought by antitrust body CCI after a probe found the US firm abused its dominant position in the iPhone apps market, prompting the watchdog to fasttrack a decision on penalties to a final hearing next month, an order shows, reports Reuters. » INSIDE « ADDITIONAL2.5 MTWHEAT EXPORTSALLOWED PAGE 14 FMS DELHIAVERAGE SALARY ATOVER `32 LAKH PAGE 5 Vedanta fixes May 1 as record date for business split Mixedsignalsbeforeceasefireexpiry $100-MN OPEN POSITION CAPREMAINS RBI partially rolls back forex curbs ● Fewer guardrails to support hedging activity ● Iran official says may rejoin talks; US seizes ship PARISA HAFEZI, JANA CHOUKEIR & GRAM SLATTERY Dubai/Washington, April 20 SOME RELAXATION CHRISTINATITUS Mumbai, April 20 THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) on Monday partially rolled back some of the restrictions imposed on trades in the offshore non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market. Inanotification,thecentral bank said it has withdrawn its earlier circular that barred banks from offering certain derivative contracts to resident and non-resident users. Banks are now also permitted to rebook or cancel such contracts,with immediate effect. Restrictions, however, remain in place for relatedparty transactions. Banks will not be allowed to offer derivativecontractstorelatedparties, except for the cancellation or rolloverof existing contracts. “The intent appears to be a restoration of normal hedging activitywithout reopening the door to excessive speculative positioning. Accordingly, the ‘related parties’clause has also been amended,” said Kunal Sodhani, treasury head at Shinhan Bank. He added that the rollback hints at the RBI’s comfort in allowing genuine risk management flows to ■ Banks can again offer certain offshore derivative contracts (NDF-linked) ■ They can cancel and rebook contracts, which is critical for real-world trade flows ■ No derivatives for related parties (to curb circular/ speculative trades) ■ Rollback hints at RBI’s comfort in allowing genuine risk management flows to resume, particularly from importers and exporters resume, particularly from importers and exporters. Despite the easing, the $100-millioncaponopenpositions remains, reflecting the apexbank’scalibratedapproach to preventing a buildup of speculative positions. A treasury official at a private sector bank said that the relaxation was driven by practical challenges. “There are many situations where a forward contract is booked, but the settlement date shifts due to delayed shipments or payments. The earlier restric- tions constrained genuine hedging activity as well,” the official said. On March 27, the RBI had directed banks to cap net open rupee positions in the onshore deliverable forex market at $100 million daily by April 10. In a subsequent circular onApril 1,it extended these curbs and barred lenders from offering certain offshore forex derivative contracts to both resident and non-resident clients. Continued on Page 9 ● INDIA, S KOREAVOWTO DOUBLETRADE ■ A two-week ceasefire announced on April 7 is set to expire soon ■ Uncertainty remains over whether Vice-President JDVance was already on his way to Islamabad ■ Pakistan said key negotiator Asim Munir had told Trump the blockade was an obstacle to talks ■ Asenior Iranian official saidTehran was 'positively reviewing' participation but no final decision was made ■ It claimed the US president had promised to consider the advice Indian crude basket spikes as freight, insurance costs go up SAURAVANAND New Delhi, April 20 THE COMBINED HIKES in freightandinsurancecostshave pushedupIndia’slandedenergy costs sharply, with the average cost of the Indian crude basket spiking from$69perbarrelinFebruary to$113inMarch.Energyshort- ages are also driving up costs. As as onApril 20,the Indian crude basket averaged $118.17 per barrel. Freight rates have surged— from $4.60 perbarrel to nearly $15, while war-risk insurance premiums have risen up to 3% of vessel value costs, even as crude flows from West Asia have dropped nearly 60% and cargo availability tightens across oil,LNG and LPG. Freight costs on key longhaulroutes,too,havespiked.The US Gulf-China route rose from $4.60 per barrel in January to around $15 by early March, more than tripling logistics costs fortransported crude. Continued on Page 7 Bai Hirabai: Mehli fires fresh salvo ● Challenges move to change deed URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, April 20 FORMER TATA TRUSTS trustee Mehli Mistry has challenged Tata Trusts’ decision to seek changes to the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution (BHJTNCI) trust deed,arguing that the move itself amounts to an admission that the existing document restricts trusteeship to practisingZoroastrians residing in Mumbai or Navsari. In a statement issued on Monday, Mistry said the 1923 Continued on Page 5 VEDANTA HAS FIXED May 1, 2026, as the effective and record date for its longplanned corporate reorganisation that will split the diversified natural resources group into four sectorfocused businesses, according to a company filing, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 5 MEHLI MISTRY, FORMER TRUSTEE, TATA TRUSTS Any attempt to amend a trust deed of such antiquity is highly unlikely to succeed in law trust deed was “clear and unambiguous” in limiting eligibilityand did not permit any alternate interpretation.“Any attempt to amend a trust deed of such antiquity, being over 103yearsold,ishighlyunlikely to succeed in law,”Mistry said. The remarks come a day after Tata Trusts said it would approach the appropriate authority to alter what it described as restrictive clauses in the deed, maintaining that suchconditionswerenotpartof Sir Ratan Jamsetji Tata’s 1916 codicil which provided for the composition of the trust’s board,andwere inserted later. Mistry further argued that the trust’s assets include, to the best of his knowledge, a Zoroastrian fire temple,whose religious character would complicate anymove to dilute or relax eligibility norms. He said any amendment would require proceedings beforetheMaharashtraCharity Commissioner, where all concerned parties would have the opportunity to be heard.Anyorder,ifpassed,could only operate prospectively and not retrospectively,he added. “Accordingly, the present board of trustees of Bai Hirabai,comprising individuals who are either non-practising or non-Zoroastrian, is not constituted in accordance with the trust deed,” Mistry said. Continued on Page 5 Uniform power pricing under consideration Pernod Ricard to begin IPO process for India unit PERNOD RICARD, THE maker of Absolut vodka and Chivas Regal whisky, has begun work on a potential initial public offering of its Indian business, reports Bloomberg. Pernod’s India unit has started initial preparation and is working closely with Goldman Sachs Group as well as the legal firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. ■ PAGE 6 IRAN IS CONSIDERING attending peace talks with the US in Pakistan,a senior Iranian officialtoldReutersonMonday, following moves by Islamabad to end a US blockade of Iran’s ports,a majorhurdle forIran to rejoin peace efforts. However, the official stressed that no decision had been made. Adding to the uncertainty, a source told Reuters that Vice-President JD Vance was still in the US,denying reports that he was already on his waytoPakistan’scapitalIslamabad for talks. With a two-week ceasefire set to expire,the seniorIranian official said Tehran was “positively reviewing”its participation but no final decision had been made. CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung plant a sapling at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Monday. India and South Korea said they aim to boost their economic ties by expanding cooperation in energy, critical minerals, shipbuilding, semiconductors and steel, as they seek to double their trade to $50 billion by 2030 ANI THE ELECTRICITY MARKET is setforastructuraloverhaulwith the CERC proposing a single, centrally-discovered power priceacrossexchanges,shifting pricing control to Grid Controller of India and redefining the role of trading platforms, reports Saurav Anand. The Draft (Power Market) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026,issued on April 17,introduces market coupling, under which bids from all power exchangeswillbeaggregatedto determine a uniform market clearing price. ■ PAGE 2 Services-led models continue to dominate mix Startuppivottodeeptechremainsacrawl POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, April 20 INDIA’S MUCH-TOUTED push to steer startups towards cutting-edge technologies is yet to translateintoadecisiveshifton the ground.Even as total recognitions under the Startup India programme crossed 55,200 in FY26,theshareofartificialintelligence (AI) and deeptech ventures in the mix has inched up onlymarginally—underscoring the continued dominance of services-led models. An analysis of startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) shows that deeptechventures— spanning coreAI,robotics and semiconductor design—accounted for just 5-7% of total recognitions in FY26, against about 45%ayearearlier.AI-linkedstartups, largely grouped under IT TECH-ING IT SLOW ■ The increase of one to three percentage points across categories indicates only an incremental shift, say experts ■ Deeptech startups, including those in core AI, robotics and semiconductor design, accounted for only 5-7% of total recognitions in FY26 against around 4-5% in FY25 ■ AI-linked startups, largely classified within ITservices and software, rose to 15-18% from 12-14% a year ago services and software, rose to 15-18%from12-14%inFY25. The incremental rise of one to three percentage points suggests a gradual, rather than structural,shiftinthecomposition of newventures. This comes despite strong policy signalling. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyalhadlastyearflaggedconcerns over the ecosystem’s bias towards consumer-facing businessessuchasfooddeliveryand quick commerce, urging founders to focus on frontier areas like semiconductors, robotics and machine learning. Yet, the data indicates that such a pivot remains elusive.A ■ The limited change comes despite sustained policy signalling to steer startups towards advanced technology segments keylimitation is classification: AI is not a separate category in DPIIT disclosures, with most suchstartupssubsumedunder IT services. Even so, the broad trend is clear — sectors such as commerce, healthcare, education and agriculture continue to account for the bulk of new recognitions. Industry observers point to structural hurdles. Deeptech ventures typically involve longergestationperiods,higher capital intensity and greater technological risk, while domestic pools of patient capital remain limited. In contrast, consumerinternetandservices startups scale faster, demand lower upfront investment and offer quicker returns —continuing to draw a larger share of founders and funding. The result is a startup landscape where the shift towards high-technology segments remains more rhetorical than real. Without a meaningful changeinfundingpatterns,risk appetite and market depth, analysts say the ecosystem is likelyto staytilted towards services in the near term— with deeptech’s rise continuing at a measured, incremental pace ratherthan a breakout surge. Lucknow