www.business-standard.com SUNDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2020 12 pages in 1 section WORLD P8 WORLD P9 MUMBAI (CITY) ~10.00 THE BILLIONAIRE’S BIG JOB VOLUME XIII NUMBER 47 BEZOS UNLOADS $4 BN OF AMAZON STOCK IN A WEEK OF RESTORING ASTON MARTIN PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM BENGALURU, KOLKATA, MUMBAI AND NEW DELHI M&M Q3 PBT SLUMPS CAPITAL DECIDES 55% TO ~867 CRORE Govt working towards 8% Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M’s) consolidated earnings before interest, depreciation and tax fell 4.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to growth rate: Sitharaman ~4,020 crore, in line with the 4.5 per cent Exit polls predict YoY fall in net sales to ~25,020 crore. Profit before tax (PBT) fell a sharp 54.7 per cent to FM says country’s ~867.7 crore due to a surge in interest macroeconomic outgo and depreciation, compared to the year-ago period. 3 > AAP landslide in parameters are sound T E NARASIMHAN COMPANIES P2 Chennai, 8 February CRISIL lowers Indiabulls Delhi elections Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Housing long-term rating said on Saturday that key macroeco- Rating agency CRISIL has downgraded nomic parameters of the country were Indiabulls Housing Finance’s long-term Cong may draw a blank; “sound” and the government was rating from “AA+” to “AA”, citing continued BJP could improve tally working towards the goal of reaching challenges on funding access diversity an 8 per cent growth rate. faced by the firm. CRISIL also revised the ARCHIS MOHAN “The economy is strong, foreign outlook on the long-term ratings to ‘stable’ New Delhi, 8 February exchange reserves are at its highest, from ‘negative’. and investments from abroad con- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with secretaries of her ministry at an ll the exit polls released after the tinue steadily,” Sitharaman said while interactive session on the Union Budget in Chennai on Saturday PHOTO:PTI end of polling for the 70-member interacting with economists, traders, ECONOMY P4 Delhi Assembly elections on and industry associations at an event “THOUGH THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS ON WHETHER ECONOMIC GROWTH India, Sri Lanka discuss A Saturday evening predicted a in Chennai. HAS COME DOWN TO 5 (PER CENT) OR 6 (PER CENT) FROM 8 PER CENT, comprehensive win for the incumbent “We are sound in macroeconom- ways to boost trade Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The counting of ics. Even though there are discussions OUR BASE IS AS STRONG AS IT WAS WHEN THERE WAS votes will take place on Tuesday. on whether the economic growth has PHOTO: DALIP KUMAR 8 PER CENT GROWTH” NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, Finance minister The Election Commission (EC) said vot- come down to 5 (per cent) or 6 (per er turnout until 9 pm was recorded at 59.91 cent) from 8 per cent, our base is as good intend to improve performance, before. “When international markets per cent, a decline of about 7 per cent over strong as it was when there was 8 per it is good. We will return to 8 per cent are fluctuating, and coronavirus and the 2015 Assembly polls’ 67.5 per cent. cent growth. If not, will foreign growth,” she said. the US-China trade war are impact- The India Today-Axis exit poll, which exchange reserves be at the current She said people who blamed ing the markets, if one Budget has has had relatively better accuracy com- level? They are higher than ever. Prime Minister Narendra Modi for been able to maintain all the three pared with most other such polls in the Similarly, foreign direct investment growth falling from 8 per cent to 5 markets at good levels, it is the Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) recent past, predicted a sweep for AAP and WHICH WAY TOTAL SEATS is the highest ever. If it (the govern- per cent should consider that indus- Narendra Modi government’s with Sri Lankan Prime Minister a rout for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). DELHI VOTERS ment’s work) is being criticised with a tries were coming to India like never Budget,” she said. Turn to Page 4 > Mahinda Rajapaksa in New Delhi PHOTO:PTI It forecast 59 to 68 seats for AAP and 2 to 11 70 seats for the BJP. According to the poll, MIGHT GO India and Sri Lanka agreed on Saturday to AAP may bag a vote share of 56 per cent, the AAP BJP Cong strengthen cooperation in trade and BJP 35 per cent, the Congress 5 per cent, India Today-Axis 59 - 68 2 - 11 0 investment. New lines of credits announced and others 4 per cent. Other exit polls pre- Cipla acquires TV9 Bharatvarsha- in November will deepen development and dicted somewhat better numbers for the 54 15 1 Govt considers urea cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi BJP, but none put it anywhere near the Cicero four women's said, adding that Sri Lanka’s stability, halfway mark of 35 seats. Sudarshan News 41-45 24-28 1-2 security and prosperity was a matter of In the 2015 elections, AAP had won 67 of ABP-CVoter 49-63 5-19 0-4 price rationalisation interest for the entire Indian Ocean region. the 70 seats with a vote share of 54.3 per health brands Times Now- cent, while the BJP won three seats with a 44 26 0 32 per cent vote share. The Congress could Ipsos The proposed move seeks to promote balance ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS P3 not win any seats though it had a vote share News X-Neta App 53-57 11-17 0-2 from Wanbury Early-stage funding of 9.6 per cent. Republic TV- between chemical and organic fertilisers SOHINI DAS Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari Jan ki Baat 48-61 9-21 0-1 Mumbai, 8 February rounds double in value tweeted that all exit polls would be proven RAJESH BHAYANI Start-ups have seen the size of early-stage wrong on the counting day. “Please save VOTER TURNOUT 59.9% Mumbai, 8 February Drug major Cipla has acquired the funding rounds almost double in the past this tweet. The BJP will form the govern- nutrition products portfolio from two years because of increased foreign ment in Delhi with 48 seats. Please don’t BJP Fertiliser reforms are likely to Mumbai-based Wanbury for an capital in the system, growing traction of blame EVMs (electronic voting machines) AAP 3 be announced soon, according undisclosed sum. established entrepreneurs, and evolved then,” Tiwari said. There could be implica- 2015 67 to a person in the know, and The acquisition, aimed at technology being used across sectors. tions on his continuance as the Delhi unit will focus on shifting the strengthening Cipla’s women’s BJP chief if the party performs poorly. RESULTS subsidy regime from direct health segment, comprises four Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish credit to manufacturing com- brands — CPink, CDense, BACK PAGE P12 Sisodia thanked all party workers and sup- VOTER TURNOUT in % panies to farmers, and ensur- Productiv, and Folinine. CPink is Cairn, Voda eligible for porters. “We are on course to secure a mas- 1993 61.8 ing balanced use of chemical used to treat anaemia, CDense is sive win,” he tweeted. At its press confer- 1998 49.0 and organic fertilisers. used for calcium deficiency, tax amnesty: Official ence, the EC said the Delhi polls had 2003 53.4 For direct transfer to farm- Productiv is used to treat infertility, Vodafone Group and Cairn Energy are recorded one of the lowest EVM replace- ers (by crediting subsidy to and Folinine is a folic acid tablet. eligible to settle a tax dispute with India’s ment figures. It said a meagre 0.3 per cent 2008 57.6 their accounts instead of pay- According to IQVIA (December government under a new amnesty EVM machines were replaced and 0.9 per 2013 66.0 ing companies, as is the cur- Moving Annual Turnover), the four program, Pramod Chandra Mody, chairman cent VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit 2015 67.5 rent practice), rationalising or molecules have a market size of of the Central Board of Direct Taxes said. The trail) were replaced. Turn to Page 4 > 2020 59.9 decontrolling the price of urea ~3,100 crore in India. At present, firms will need to pay their taxes by March and disincentivising the use of these brands clock a sales value of to benefit from the interest and penalty chemical fertilisers are under ~59.6 crore for Wanbury. waivers under the program, he added . consideration. Cipla said the nutraceutical Though discussions on products, to be sold under the four these measures have been umbrella brands, would address IN DEPTH going on for the past two SUBSIDY ALLOCATION various health needs for conditions DOMESTIC STEEL PRICES ON THE RISE months, “alternative mecha- ~ crore arising due to nutritional deficien- The day terror struck nisms are not easy to imple- Category FY20 FY21 YoY cies or insufficiencies. These The domestic steel industry has been raising ment and, hence, the decision (RE) (BE) chg (%) include supplements such as mul- Parliament House product prices since November despite the absence is getting delayed,” explained tivitamins, multi-mineral and of green shoots. It has raised product prices by about UREA the source. Imported 14,049 12,050 -14.2 antioxidants for adolescent girls, ~2,000 per tonne for February. Currently, hot-rolled The recent Union Budget pregnant and lactating women, prices are ruling at ~40,000 per tonne in the domestic hinted at some measures, such Indigenous 43,050 38,375 -10.9 women going through menopause, market, up from the 15-month low of ~33,500 per as a reduction in allocation for Directbenefittransfer 10 10 0.0 and for male and female reproduc- tonne rate noted in mid-2019.