ECONOMY | PAGE 2 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 CEAflags limits of interest rate hikes to tame inflation BACK PAGE | PAGE 20 BYD expands luxury car play with Denza launch IOCflagspollmessasIndia bracesfor2036Gamesbid BENGALURU, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2026 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XXXIX 177, 38 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: 81,592.45 ▼ 318.56 NIFTY: 25,144.30 ▼ 155.05 NIKKEI 225: 61,142.35 ▲ 322.99 HANG SENG: 23,637.60 ▼ 370.95 `/$: 94.25 ▼ 0.21 `/€: 104.23 ▲ 0.11 BRENT: $96.74 ▲ $0.92 GOLD: `1,35,797 ▼ `1,511 YES BANK ON Friday said it has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the court judgment that set aside the write-off of `8,415 crore of its additional tier-1 bonds, reports Reuters. The move comes days after Axis Trustee Services filed a contempt petition in the apex court alleging the lender's failure to provide a "concrete roadmap" for restoring the bonds and implementing the court's judgment. ECONOMY PAGE 2 TRADE DEAL: US ASSURES INDIA OF TARIFF EDGE THE US HAS assured India of a comparative tariff advantage over competing countries under the proposed bilateral trade agreement, with both sides working to conclude the first tranche of the deal by the end of the current financial year, sources said, reports fe Bureau. » INSIDE « BANK CREDITGROWSTO 30-MONTH HIGH PAGE 7 VODAFONE IDEASTEPS UP CAPEX PUSH PAGE 4 Govt makes pulses stock declaration mandatory AMID A RISING threat of pulses prices spiralling out of control despite adequate buffer stocks and imports, the Department of Consumer Affairs on Friday made stock declaration mandatory for traders, millers, wholesalers, and retailers, reports ■ PAGE 16 Sandip Das. Paytm gets RBI's in-principle nod to revive wallet biz THE RESERVE BANK of India has granted an inprinciple authorisation to Paytm Payments Services to issue and operate prepaid payment instruments, including digital wallets, the company said in an exchange filing on Friday, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 7 Power concentration real threattoTata:Venu, Singh URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, November 13 THE REALTHREAT to the Tata model lies not in the listing of TataSonsbutintheweakening of collective governance, concentrationofauthorityinafew individuals and erosion of institutional independence, Tata Trusts Vice Chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have said in a strongly wordedlettertoformertrustee DariusKhambata,questioning whether the current leadership of the Trusts is seeking to protect the Tata model or preserveitscontroloverTataSons. IntheirNovember11letter, responding to Khambata's account of the developments at Tata Sons, the two trustees challenged his position on listing, the handling of chairman N Chandrasekaran's reappointment and changes in the compositionofSirDorabjiTata Trust (SDTT). “Areasonedpathtopreserv- THE KEY FLASHPOINTS AS MANY AS 10 petroleum productshipmentsfromIndia’s Jamnagarrefinerywere flagged as “high-risk” after arriving at European Union ports in October,underthebloc'srestrictions on fuels derived from Russian crude.The development comes amid a 22% increase in the refinery's imports of Russian crude during the month, accordingtoareportbytheCentre for Research on Energy and CleanAir(CREA). The shipments originated from the Jamnagar refining complex, operated by Reliance Industries (RIL),where Russian crude accounted for 30% of total oil imports between August and October.The complexalsoregaineditspositionas thelargestimporterofseaborne RussiancrudeinOctober,CREA said in its monthly assessment released onThursday. Queries sent to RIL remained unanswered until press time. The 10 shipments constituted the bulk of the 12 cargoes unloaded at European Union ports during October from refineries processing Russian crude. The figure marked an increase from seven such car- ■ Allege changes ■ Challenge use ■ Argue that reappointment. They pointed out that trustees of SDTT and SirRatanTataTrust(SRTT)had unanimously recommended a five-year extension for him on July 28, 2025, a resolution Khambata had supported and, by his own account,drafted. Continued on Page 6 Continued on Page 12 to SDTT's composition undermined collective governance weak governance, not listing, threatens the Tata model ■ The letter comes amid growing rifts at Tata Trusts over Tata Sons’ governance (Left to right) Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh MOVING NCLTAN OPTION FOR NOEL: LEGAL EXPERTS PAGE 4 »INSIDE« ing the Tata model within the law would have been of real assistance. In its absence, we ask, with respect, whether the realconcernisthepreservation oftheTatamodel,orthepreservationofcontroloverTataSons by the present leadership of TataTrusts?”theywrote. The letter comes amid Tradedeficithitsone-year highof$40bninOctober ● Goods exports OIL SCRUTINY ■ Jamnagar refinery increased Russian oil purchases by 22% m-o-m ■ Italy and Romania received three flagged shipments each ■ The high- risk classification does not establish a breach ■ Russian crude imports climbed 10% across India in October goesinSeptember.Theremaining two shipments originated fromTurkiye's STARrefinery. The EU’s ban on petroleum products made from Russian crude came into effect on January 21, 2026. Significantly, CREA's classification of these shipments as high-risk does not establish that the cargoes violated the restrictions. Continued on Page 6 deepening differences within Tata Trusts over the governance of Tata Sons. Khambata had described September 17, when the divisions played out ataTataSonsboardmeeting,as a daythatwould live in infamy. A central issue raised by Srinivasan and Singh was the handling of Chandrasekaran's POULOMI CHATTERJEE Bengaluru, November 13 ACCENTURE HAS BEGUN rolling out performance bonuses for employees in its India operations, with most payouts falling within 14% of fixed pay and top performers receiving up to 25%. However, the November cycle has seen no broad-based promotions, reflecting the consulting major’s shift towards a more centralised compensation structure that limits permanent increases in employee salaries. People familiar with the mattersaidthemaximumeligiblebonusstandsataround27% of fixed pay. Employees who joined the company earlier this yearandhaveonlyafewmonths oftenurewereplacedinthelowest payout band, receiving an average bonus of 6%. Employeesatlowersalarylevelsreceived a higher percentage of their fixed payas bonus. Singh question seven-month delay in Chandrasekaran's reappointment of Trust nominee directors to preserve a veto over listing EU flags 10 RIL fuel shipments as high-risk SAURAVANAND New Delhi, November 13 ■ Srinivasan, Accenture employees get bonuses ofup to 25% surge 45% to record $49.5 bn on trade revival MUKESH JAGOTA New Delhi, November 13 INDIA’S MERCHANDISE TRADEdeficitwidenedtoaoneyear high of $39.88 billion in October,exceeding forecasts as higher oil imports, electronic shipments for export production,and a festive-season surge ingoldpurchasesfromoverseas raised the foreign exchange outgo. The previous monthly high trade deficit was $42.58 billion in October2025. India’smerchandiseexports surged 45% year-on-year to a record $49.47 billion in October,driven by a more than doubling of petroleum shipments and strong growth in engineeringandelectronicsgoods.Still,a 16.5% growth in imports to $89.35 billion precipitated the high trade deficit. Petroleum exports jumped 140% to $8.89 billion, while electronics shipments rose 62.7% to $6.64 billion and engineering goods exports expanded 36% to $12.7 billion.Significantly,non-petroleum exports also grew35.4% to $40.58 billion, indicating that the record performance was not merely a reflection of EXPORT GROWTH BROAD-BASED Trade deficit ($ billion, LHS) 50 % growth y-o-y (RHS) Export Import 60 45.03 45 40 17.6 30 30 16.5 20 10 0 12.5 15 39 39.88 AT-1 ORDER: YES BANK’S REVIEW PETITION IN SC VICE CHAIRMEN QUESTION CHANDRAREAPPOINTMENTDELAY 42 42.6 IN THE NEWS Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 2025 2026 ■ Petroleum shipments recorded a sharp 140% jump to $8.89 billion »INSIDE« BOP SEES $8.8-BN SURPLUS IN SEPTEMBER PAGE 16 higher oil prices. “Overall, it has been a very good month.And we hope if we areabletocarryonthetrajectory thatweareonforthefirstseven months of this year,we will be towardsthelandmarkof$1trillion exports by the end of this financial year,”Commerce SecretaryRajeshAgrawal said. Cumulativeexportsofgoods and services duringApril-October rose 16.6% to $568.84 billion. Combined imports increased 16% to $662.2 bil- 0 -15 ■ Electronics shipments rose 62.7% to $6.64 bn, showing robust growth lion. The export momentum mirrorsstrongperformancesby several Asian economies. In October, China's exports grew 35.2%, South Korea's 93.7%, Taiwan's 58.9% and Malaysia's 34%, pointing to sustained globaldemanddespiteconcerns over inflation and geopolitical tensions. The sharp rise in petroleum exports reflected both higher international prices and increased demand for refined products amid supply disruptions.Crude oil prices averaged around$110perbarrelinOctober, more than 65% above the $64 level ayearearlier. Continued on Page 6 RAMAYANA CROSSES `1,000 CRORE, BUTMUSTBEATDANGALTO BECOME INDIA’S BIGGESTFILM NiteshTiwarivsNiteshTiwari:RamayanachasesDangal ALOKANANDA CHAKRABORTY New Delhi, November 13 DIRECTOR NITESH TIWARI’S toughest box office rival is Nitesh Tiwari himself. His Ramayana:Part1,starringRanbir Kapoor,Sai Pallavi andYash, has grossed about `1,039.26 croreworldwideinitsfirsteight days,accordingtoindustryestimates.The only film standing between it and the all-time record is Tiwari’s own Dangal, which has held the top spot for nearlya decade. According to box office trackerSacnilk,the2016Aamir Khan wrestling drama grossed `2,070.30 crore worldwide. China delivered most of that: `1,305.29 crore (about $203 million), or more than 63% of thetotal.Thatiswherethiscontest could be settled.Ramayana GLOBAL TOP GROSSERS DANGAL 2016 DHURANDHAR 2 2026 2,070 1,852 Source: Sacnilk, industry hasyet to open in China.Industrytalk points to late December or January 2027, pending government approval. Dangal has seen off a long line of challengers: Jawan (2023), the Pushpa duology (2021, 2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). BAAHUBALI 2 2017 1,810 The last came closest. It was one of the fastest Indian films to reach `1,000 crore and finished at `1,852.44 RAMAYANA 2026 1,039 Worldwide gross (` crore) PUSHPA 2 2024 RRR 2022 1,742 1,250 crore ($200 million), about `218 crore short, despite being banned in China and the GCC countries. Ramayana had help in its sprint past `1,000 crore. It has a bigger budgetthanPathaanorAnimal, morescreensandshows,andno competition.SalmanKhan’swar drama Maatrubhumi: MayWar Rest in Peace missed its Diwali slot and now opens on December 4. The film has also stirred up controversy.Audiences are flocking to the spectacle,while some viewers protest its departures from the popularly accepted text.Critic,editor and documentary screenwriter Saibal Chatterjee says that outrage is selling tickets. “It is pretty daring with its ‘woke’tweaks in the tale. It has ruffled many feathers and that is working to its advantage,”he says.“The trolls are only aiding in driving up ticket sales.That apart,forallitsflaws,Ramayana isn’t a bad film at all.” Continued on Page 12 BENGALURU Microsoftoutage hits businesses across the globe POULOMI CHATTERJEE Benagluru, November 13 AWIDESPREAD GLOBAL outage of Microsoft’s workplace services disrupted businesses, government agencies and consumers across 74 countries on Friday,withproblemspersisting for a second day as the technology major struggled to restore its systems. The disruption affected Outlook, Microsoft 365,Teams and Copilot,while also spilling over to artificial intelligence platforms OpenAI and Anthropic,whose services reported problems with their Microsoft 365 connectors. The outage,which began on Thursday, November 12, left users unable to access email accounts, send or receive messagesanduseseveralworkplace applications. Downdetector, which tracks service disruptions, recorded more than 138,000 reports of Outlook problemsatthepeakoftheoutage early Friday.Reports subsequently moderated but rose again in several regions,including India,as users attempted to access the services during business hours.The disruption was reported across the Americas, Europe andAsia-Pacific. In India, users began reporting problems around 11 pm on Thursday, with a fresh spike in complaints on Friday morning. “We regret the disruption Friday's outage has caused for many of our customers.Our global teams con- TECH DISRUPTIONS Cloudflare Nov 18, 2025 A major disruption blocked thousands of users from accessing Canva and X X Corp Dec 28, 2022 Twitter went down, leaving tens of thousands of users unable to access the platform Meta Oct 4, 2021 Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram went dark for six hours Alphabet Dec 14, 2020 YouTube, Gmail and Google Drive became inaccessible for about an hour »INSIDE« WHEN TRADERS WENT BACK TO PHONES & FAX PAGE 12 tinue to work with urgency to resolve the issue,” Puneet Chandok,president,Microsoft India and South Asia, said in a post on LinkedIn. Continued on Page 12 Nvidia embarks on tech’s biggest succession hunt MATTHEW BOYLE & JEFF GREEN November 13 WHILE NVIDIASPENTdecades becoming one of the world’s most influential technology companies, its board failed to keeppace.Now,governanceand recruitment experts say the 10 directorswho neglected to plan for Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang’s succession are ill-equipped to manage it. With Huang’s resignation Thursday and the elevation of CFO Colette Kress to interim CEO,the job of finding his fulltime replacement falls to a group that includes three early companybackerswhose Nvidia holdingseachsurpass$1billion, a former pro football marketer and the previous president of Taco Bell. Unlike the boards at fellow big tech firms like Microsoft and Meta, Nvidia’s has no current or former S&P 500 CEOs,and it lacked a chairman until thisweek. “This is a pathetic board,” said James Drury, whose firm ranks the effectiveness of big public company boards. In its 2026 ranking, Nvidia was »INSIDE« HUANG EXIT SETS UP USCHINA SHOWDOWN P20 SENATE SUMMONS HUANG, LUTNICK TO TESTIFY P20 609th among the 650 or so companiesrated.Themeasurement takes into account directors’ level of experience and accomplishment,andtheirrelevancy in the boardroom. “This is kind of a travesty. [Huang] obviously put together a board that was not based on being held accountable forperformance metrics.” Nvidia didn’t respond to a request for comment. Continued on Page 12