After a bruising week that wiped out more than Rs 6,000 from gold prices, commodity markets are heading into September with traders bracing for another bout of volatility as US jobs data and geopolitical tensions take centrestage, analysts said.

Investors will focus on manufacturing and services PMI data from major economies, including India. Inflation figures from Eurozone and Germany, and US non-farm payroll data due towards the end of the week will also be closely tracked, they added.

“The coming week is likely to remain highly volatile, with market participants attempting to price in the probability of a September Federal Reserve policy change,” Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said.

Gold futures for October delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) tumbled Rs 6,157, or 3.8 per cent, last week to Rs 1.56 lakh per 10 grams, while silver futures for September contract plunged Rs 9,893, or 4 per cent, to Rs 2.36 lakh per kilogram.

“MCX Gold witnessed a sharp correction last week, falling from around Rs 1.63 lakh to Rs 1.56 lakh per 10 grams, resulting in a decline of nearly over Rs 6,000 from the weekly peak and a negative weekly closing of more than 3 per cent,” Trivedi said.

Pranav Mer, Senior Vice President, EBG – Commodity & Currency Research, JM Financial Services Ltd, said selling pressure intensified on Friday following Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech, with his commentary on inflation and monetary policy triggering profit booking across bullion markets.
In international markets, Comex gold futures for December delivery declined USD 150.7, or 3.2 per cent, to settle the week at USD 4,680.6 per ounce. Silver futures fell USD 2.56, or 3.64 per cent, to USD 67.78 per ounce.Going into the new month, markets will closely track US labour-market indicators, including non-farm payrolls, unemployment data, and ADP non-farm employment change, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision-making ahead of its September meeting, Mer said.

Geopolitical developments could add another layer of uncertainty. Traders will continue to monitor the US-Iran conflict, while developments around the Strait of Hormuz remain important for oil prices and inflation expectations.

Despite the correction, silver outperformed gold in August, gaining around 21 per cent against yellow metal’s 15.7 per cent, Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at Lemonn Markets Desk, said.

Trivedi said, “The combination of dollar movement, labour-market data, Fed expectations and geopolitical headlines is likely to determine whether gold stabilises after the recent correction or enters another phase of profit booking.”

After slipping around 1% in August and failing to reclaim its 200-day moving average, Nifty may be undergoing accumulation rather than entering a deeper correction, as long as the crucial 24,000 support holds, according to Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments.

James sees a breakout above 24,500 opening the door to 24,900–25,100 and eventually 25,500, while a breach of 24,000 could drag the index towards 23,700. For the week ahead, he has picked Ather Energy and Nazara Technologies as his top buy ideas. Edited excerpts from a chat:

Nifty has fallen around 1% in August and retreated from its early-month high of 24,774. Does the chart indicate routine consolidation, accumulation or the beginning of a deeper correction?

After a clean breakdown below the 200-day SMA in late February, Nifty took multiple months to get back to and retest this key long-term moving average. The attempt in early August was unsuccessful, but after a nearly 3% pullback from the 200-day SMA, the downside stalled. We prefer to mark this as an accumulation phase unless a breakdown below 24,000 unfolds.

Nifty has repeatedly struggled to sustain recoveries despite receiving support near 24,000. What are the decisive breakout and breakdown levels that could determine its September trajectory?

Nifty remains stuck in a broad consolidation range, with buying interest emerging near 24,000 but lacking the strength to sustain a meaningful recovery. The daily chart shows the index holding above a rising trendline support around 24,000-24,050, while repeated failures near 24,450-24,500 highlight strong overhead resistance.
A decisive breakout above 24,500 would signal renewed bullish momentum and could pave the way for an advance towards 24,900-25,100, followed by 25,500. However, momentum indicators remain cautious, with the RSI hovering near the neutral zone and the MACD staying in negative territory. On the downside, 24,000 remains a critical support level. A sustained break below this zone and the rising trendline would indicate a weakening market structure, potentially triggering a decline towards 23,700, with further downside risk extending to 23,400-23,200.Therefore, 24,500 on the upside and 24,000 on the downside are the key levels that could determine Nifty’s directional bias and trajectory in September.

What do rollover data, open-interest shifts, implied volatility and the put-call ratio after monthly expiry indicate about positioning in the September series?

The weekly options data for the September series suggests a cautiously positive undertone, though traders remain wary of strong resistance levels ahead.

The key takeaway is the sharp build-up in put open interest at the 24,000, 24,050 and 24,100 strikes. The 24,100 Put holds the highest open interest, followed by the 24,000 Put, highlighting these levels as an important support zone. Notably, the rise in both put open interest and premiums points to fresh put accumulation and hedging activity, reflecting caution among participants rather than outright bullishness.

On the call side, the largest open interest is concentrated at the 24,200, 24,300 and 24,500 strikes. Fresh call additions across these strikes indicate that traders expect rallies to face resistance unless Nifty stages a decisive breakout.

Implied volatility has firmed up after expiry, suggesting expectations of higher market swings in the new series. The put-call open interest structure shows strong support around 24,000–24,100 and resistance in the 24,200–24,500 zone.

Overall, the September series begins with positioning suggesting a likely range between 24,000 and 24,300 in the near term. A decisive move above 24,300–24,500 could trigger short covering, paving the way for a rally towards 24,900–25,100. Conversely, a break below 24,000 would weaken the bullish setup and could invite fresh downside pressure towards 23,800–23,700 levels, where traders have added shorts in puts.

Welspun Corp and Ather Energy were among the biggest winners in August. What are the odds of the uptrend continuing?

Both are poised for further upside, but volume oscillators suggest that Ather has momentum in its favour at the moment, while Welspun needs a period of consolidation to mature before the next breakout unfolds.

Give us your top ideas of the week

ATHERNERG (LTP: 1,616)

View: Buy

Target: 1,700

SL: 1,560

Ather Energy continues to exhibit a strong bullish structure, maintaining a steady uptrend since March. The stock has recently witnessed a break of structure on the daily chart, indicating a resumption of upward momentum following a brief consolidation phase. Friday’s strong bullish Marubozu candle reflects aggressive buying interest and reinforces the positive price action.

Momentum indicators are also turning supportive. The MACD is on the verge of a bullish signal crossover, which could further strengthen the ongoing upmove. Meanwhile, the RSI remains elevated around 70, highlighting strong momentum and sustained demand. Despite the sharp rise, the stock has managed to maintain its higher-high and higher-low formation, suggesting that the prevailing trend remains intact.

As long as ATHERNERG sustains above 1,560, the bullish setup is likely to remain valid. The recent breakout and improving momentum indicators support the possibility of an advance towards 1,700 in the near term.

NAZARA (LTP: 374)

View: Buy

Target: 405

SL: 364

Nazara Technologies continues to maintain a positive trend after being in a sustained uptrend since March. The stock witnessed a fresh break of structure on Friday after being in a narrow range for most of this month, indicating a continuation of the prevailing bullish momentum and signalling the potential for further upside. The move is backed by a notable multi-week volume breakout, highlighting strong market participation and adding credibility to the breakout.

Momentum indicators are also turning supportive. The daily MACD has delivered a bullish signal crossover, suggesting strengthening momentum after a period of consolidation. Additionally, the RSI has moved above its moving average, reflecting improving buying strength and a positive shift in sentiment. The stock is currently trading above key support levels and sustaining its higher-high, higher-low structure.

As long as NAZARA holds above 364, the bullish setup remains intact. The combination of a structural breakout, improving momentum indicators and strong volume participation favours a move towards 405 in the near term.

MONTCLAIR, Calif. — A truck loaded with roughly 40,000 pounds of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the equivalent of more than 50,000 cans, was stolen from a Southern California distribution center in what the company and multiple outlets have described as potentially the largest beer heist ever recorded.

The Montclair Police Department said it is investigating two cargo thefts that occurred about an hour apart on Aug. 17 at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center on Brooks Street. In the first incident, a shipment worth roughly 45,000 dollars bound for Tucson, Arizona, was picked up for delivery around 10 a.m. but never arrived at its destination. About an hour later, a company claiming to be a subcontractor used fraudulent paperwork to arrange the pickup of an additional shipment worth roughly 25,000 dollars in Anheuser-Busch and Pabst Blue Ribbon products, according to police. The combined value of the two thefts totals roughly 70,000 dollars.

Paul Myers, Pabst’s senior director of integrated marketing operations, told CBS Los Angeles that the missing truck had been carrying about 1,400 cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon and roughly 200 cases of non-alcoholic Old Milwaukee, and had been scheduled for delivery in San Diego. “And what we discovered was it was just a bad actor essentially who came in and pretended to be the person who was supposed to pick up the beer,” Myers said. “It wasn’t the person who was supposed to pick up the beer, and then they drove off with it.”

Investigators said the trucking company information, driver identity and vehicle details connected to the pickups contained discrepancies, and police are working to determine whether the two thefts were carried out as part of the same fraudulent cargo-theft operation. No suspects have been publicly identified, and authorities have not disclosed any leads on the truck’s current location or whether its cargo remains intact.

Pabst Blue Ribbon addressed the theft directly through a series of social media posts, adopting a lighthearted tone even as the company pressed for the truck’s return. “STOLEN — 40,000lbs of beer,” the company wrote on Instagram, adding, “To the thief: we don’t fault you for wanting to brag to your friends how much PBR you have, we just wish you obtained it the honorable way.” The company gave the person responsible a specific window to return the vehicle without facing questions, writing, “Pabst is officially starting the clock now — you have exactly 18 days and 44 minutes to return our truck, no questions asked.” The company has not explained the unusual countdown, though the choice of 18 days and 44 minutes appears to reference 1844, the year Pabst was founded.

Pabst also said it would offer a reward equivalent to half the value of the stolen beer if the truck and its cargo are safely returned, according to CBS Los Angeles, though the company has not disclosed a specific dollar figure for the reward tied to information leading to an arrest. As the deadline has ticked down, the company has continued posting updates, writing in one message, “Beer is getting warmer, trail is getting colder. Clock’s still ticking,” and asking anyone who believes they have spotted the truck to photograph it and tag or message the company directly.

The company later issued an additional post seeking to dispel suggestions that the theft was a publicity stunt. “To clear up the confusion, this story is real,” Pabst wrote, again urging anyone with relevant information to reach out. A company spokesperson separately told Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC that Pabst is “working with the local authorities to try and recover the stolen truck and are grateful for all their hard work,” adding, “We hope that whoever managed to steal our truck also knows the importance of keeping beer cold.”

The theft has drawn wide attention online, with commenters offering theories ranging from serious to satirical about what may have happened to the missing shipment. One social media user joked that the haul “would’ve only been 20,000 lbs if it was Pabst Light,” while another speculated that “somebody’s about to have a huge house party.” Kit Kat’s verified social media account also weighed in, referencing an unrelated March incident in which a truck carrying limited-edition Formula 1-themed Kit Kat bars was stolen in Italy.

The Montclair Police Department has asked anyone with information about the thefts, including details on the vehicles, driver, delivery company or the missing cargo’s whereabouts, to contact investigators at 909-621-4771. Fox News Digital said it reached out to both Pabst Blue Ribbon and the Montclair Police Department for additional comment. The investigation remains active, and as of this weekend, the stolen truck and its cargo had not been recovered.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s newest space telescope launched successfully Sunday morning, beginning a million-mile journey that scientists say will help unravel some of the biggest mysteries in the universe, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off at 7:26 a.m. Eastern time aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, according to NASA. The rocket’s 27 Merlin engines generated more than 5 million pounds of thrust as they pushed the vehicle away from Florida’s spaceport, with the roughly 18,000-pound spacecraft now beginning a journey of about three months to reach its permanent home in space, roughly a million miles from Earth.

LIVE: Today’s the day!@NASARoman is getting ready to head to its new home 1 million miles from Earth, where it will change how we view the universe. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 7:26am ET (1126 UTC). https://t.co/fJi2wd5ztm

— NASA (@NASA) August 30, 2026

Roman is named for Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer, who died in 2018 at age 93 and was known as the “Mother of Hubble” for her role in championing that observatory decades earlier. The new telescope, about the size of a tour bus, will settle into orbit at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, known as L2, the same gravitationally stable location where the James Webb Space Telescope currently operates. At that point, the competing gravitational pulls of the Earth and the sun allow a spacecraft to maintain a steady orbit while using minimal fuel, giving Roman an unobstructed view of deep space.

“It takes us a good three-plus months to get out there, and we’re spending that time checking everything out and doing a whole bunch of calibrations and making sure everything is working the way we know it can,” said NASA integration and test scientist Jeremy Perkins, according to NPR. “It’s basically like our time to kick the tires and just make sure that the focus is right, the pointing is right.”

Roman’s central design advantage over Hubble is scale. According to NASA, the new telescope will match Hubble’s image sharpness while offering a field of view at least 100 times larger, allowing it to capture vast swaths of the sky in a single observation rather than the comparatively narrow images Hubble has produced over more than three decades in orbit. Roman senior scientist Julie McEnery highlighted the scope of that capability during NASA’s live launch commentary, saying, “The scope is extraordinary. We will do a survey of our own Milky Way galaxy and find 20 billion stars. That would make it the largest catalog of astronomical objects that’s ever been produced,” according to Space.com.

Much of Roman’s science mission will focus on two of astrophysics’ most persistent puzzles: dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter refers to the mysterious, invisible material whose gravitational influence appears to hold galaxies together, while dark energy is the poorly understood force believed to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Roman will study dark matter by observing how gravity subtly bends the path of light traveling across vast cosmic distances, a technique that will help scientists map both ordinary and dark matter throughout large regions of the sky. To probe dark energy, the telescope will catalog a specific type of exploding star known as a Type Ia supernova, objects that shine with a known and predictable brightness and are sometimes called “standard candles” because of how reliably astronomers can use them to measure cosmic distances.

The telescope is also expected to dramatically expand the number of known planets beyond our solar system. Since astronomers first confirmed the existence of exoplanets in the 1990s, more than 6,000 have been identified. NASA expects Roman to identify more than 100,000 additional exoplanets by detecting the slight dips in starlight that occur when a planet passes in front of its host star, along with roughly 1,000 more through a separate technique called microlensing, which detects tiny changes in background starlight caused by the gravitational pull of a distant, otherwise invisible planet. The spacecraft will also demonstrate technology capable of directly blocking a star’s light in order to photograph planets orbiting it.

Roman’s origin traces back to a very different purpose. The spacecraft’s design was originally developed as a spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office before it was ultimately donated to NASA and repurposed for astrophysics research, giving the mission what NPR described as an unusual history compared with most scientific space telescopes.

Once operational, Roman is expected to generate an enormous volume of data, beaming back roughly 1.4 terabytes of raw science information each day through a refrigerator-sized high-gain antenna. That data will be made publicly available almost immediately through a cloud-based system called Roman Nexus, allowing scientists and members of the public alike to search the raw observations for new discoveries. “Roman’s database at the end of its prime mission after five years is going to be bigger than your standard music streaming platform,” Perkins said. He added that the scale of the dataset is part of what makes the mission distinctive. “It’s all the things that we are not expecting to see,” he said. “It’s all these one-in-a-million things that we’re going to be able to see with Roman that really excites me.”

Sunday’s launch had been targeted for months, with NASA and SpaceX conducting a formal Launch Readiness Review on Friday to confirm the mission was cleared to proceed. The launch marks the completion of years of development for the observatory, positioning Roman to begin science operations sometime after it reaches its L2 orbit and completes its initial checkout and calibration period this winter.

JOINVILLE, Brazil — A Brazilian court has convicted a 37-year-old woman of fraud after prosecutors said she spent 14 months posing as an abused 12-year-old girl to be taken in by a family in southern Brazil, a case that authorities say was part of a pattern of similar deceptions dating back more than a decade.

Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was convicted Thursday of fraud and using a false identity by the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina. She was sentenced to roughly one year, six months and 10 days in prison, followed by an additional period of detention under a semi-open regime, according to a release from the court cited by Fox News.

According to court records, Oliveira approached an organization that assists vulnerable children in 2023, presenting herself as a 12-year-old named Gabriele who had fled an abusive household and was suffering from health problems. She was ultimately placed with a couple in Joinville, who took her in and treated her as their daughter for the following 14 months, according to the court, paying for her housing, food, medication and other needs.

Investigators said Oliveira maintained the deception using a high-pitched, childlike voice, along with props including toys, a pacifier and baby bottles. She also told the family she had autism and claimed her adult physical appearance was the result of hormones she said had been forcibly administered to her during childhood, according to reporting from the New Zealand Herald and the Washington Post.

The scheme began to unravel after a relative of the family grew suspicious of her age, and online research eventually surfaced an earlier report describing a similar case involving a woman using the name Amanda in Rio de Janeiro, according to The Mary Sue. Police arrested Oliveira at the family’s home on June 2, and her composure reportedly broke as officers entered her bedroom, with local police chief Rodrigo Gusso telling her, “The charade is over,” after which she dropped the childlike voice she had maintained for more than a year.

Oliveira gave her real name and date of birth to investigators after her arrest and said lying had become her way of life, according to the Washington Post’s reporting. She told police she had been adopted as an infant by a security guard and a nurse in Ceara, one of Brazil’s poorest states, and that she had suffered emotional neglect growing up, dropping out of school at age 12. Police said her statement to them was “extremely coherent.”

Through her attorney, Lucio Sousa, Oliveira acknowledged fabricating her identity but disputed that her conduct met the legal definition of fraud. “She admits that she invented an identity,” Sousa said ahead of the verdict, according to the Washington Post. “It was the way she found to survive. But she has been a vulnerable person for more than 20 years. She has lived on the streets, and there has been no allegation that she obtained any financial advantage, or committed robbery or theft, which, in theory, means the elements of fraud have not been established.”

Oliveira herself told police she never intended to defraud anyone. “Of course, I deceived people, I lied,” she said, according to police accounts cited by Fox News. “But I didn’t intend to scam anyone.” A separate attorney representing her, Sarita de Paiva, told reporters that Oliveira had described seeking the attention, affection and protection she felt she had missed during her own childhood, and that she believed revealing her true age would have meant losing the care she was receiving.

Authorities said the Joinville case was not an isolated incident. A social worker in Belo Horizonte said Oliveira stayed with her in 2017 under the name Karolina while presenting herself as a vulnerable teenager, describing her as having “the posture and behaviour of a teenager” at the time. A nutritionist in Rio de Janeiro said Oliveira used the name Duda in 2023 while claiming to be an autistic teenage abuse survivor, alleging that Oliveira had researched how autistic individuals behave in order to construct a convincing persona. A psychologist in Recife separately described encountering Oliveira in 2023 carrying a teddy bear and speaking in a childlike voice while claiming to have suffered sexual abuse, saying it was clear a performance was taking place. Authorities also said Oliveira had used at least two other identities in previous years, including one case in Jundiai, Sao Paulo, in 2022, in which she allegedly claimed to have escaped a situation involving sexual exploitation.

Oliveira’s legal team has announced plans to appeal the conviction to higher courts, according to Fox News. She remains in custody, and separate fraud allegations tied to her conduct in Brazil’s Parana state remain under investigation, according to earlier reporting from the New Zealand Herald.

Kirit Somaiya, former Member of the Lok Sabha and vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Maharashtra unit, has sought the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) attention over the sharp swings in the Sensex during the Closing Auction Session (CAS) on August 27.

The Sensex plunged more than 2,000 points within minutes during the CAS on Thursday, falling from around 77,200 at 3:17 pm to nearly 74,983 at 3:23 pm. The index subsequently recovered some of its losses but still ended the day 539 points, or 0.7%, lower at 76,934.

India changed how closing prices are determined from August 3. Instead of calculating the close using the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) during the final half-hour of trading, exchanges introduced a short Closing Auction Session, in which buy and sell orders are aggregated, and a single equilibrium price is discovered.

In a communication seeking attention to the August 27 movement, Somaiya asked whether the sharp intra-session swing pointed to a weakness in the CAS mechanism and called for an inquiry and action.

“On 27 August, during the last 12 minutes of trading at NSE/BSE, the Sensex crashed over 2,200 points and then recovered 2,000 points,” Somaiya said, asking whether “it is a weakness in the CAS system”.

He also asked whether the move could have been linked to any deliberate attempt to undermine the implementation of CAS, while calling on SEBI to examine the matter.
“SEBI must not take this CASUALLY,” he said. “If it is a weakness, then the officials who drafted it should owe an explanation. If it is done knowingly, is it healthy? Is it sabotage to stop implementation of CAS?””Shockingly, such things happened during the process of having a healthy system,” Somaiya said, adding that he wanted “not only inquiry but action also.”

Liquidity concerns after 3:15 pm

Along with his communication, Somaiya shared an observation that attributed the sharp movement partly to a lack of liquidity after 3:15 pm.

“The fundamental problem is also – there is no depth due to lack of liquidity after 3.15. All now trade before 3.15 pm. Any person who wants to purchase/sale after 3.15 pm doesn’t find liquidity and hence volatility,” the observation said.

The accompanying note proposed temporarily suspending CAS and reintroducing it after a redesign, citing several concerns around liquidity, price discovery and the interaction between the cash and derivatives markets.

Under the present framework, continuous trading in CAS securities ends at 3:15 p.m., after which the market moves into a separate auction. Equity derivatives, however, continue to trade until 3:40 p.m.

The note argues that this structure removes continuous-market liquidity before the auction begins. At 3:15 p.m., the continuous price-discovery mechanism is stopped and replaced by the auction order book, which the note describes as materially shallower.

Separate auctions on NSE, BSE

The note also raises concerns about the fragmentation of closing liquidity between NSE and BSE. It points out that the same security can undergo separate closing auctions on the two exchanges, with separate order books, imbalances and potentially different equilibrium prices.

According to the note, on the first day of CAS, reported auction turnover was approximately Rs 1,276 crore on NSE compared with around Rs 10.8 crore on BSE, a difference of more than 100 times.

It argues that while the purpose of a closing auction is to concentrate liquidity, separate auctions on the two exchanges could instead fragment liquidity.

Questions over closing-price formation

The note also questions whether a relatively small amount of auction trading can provide a sufficiently robust price for a much larger pool of capital whose value is determined using the official closing price.

The closing price feeds into mutual fund NAVs, portfolio valuations, index closing levels, passive-fund tracking, mark-to-market valuations, derivative settlement economics and performance measurement, according to the note.

It therefore argues that the framework should consider minimum liquidity and market-quality conditions before an auction price automatically becomes the official close.

Another concern relates to the CAS’s ±3% auction band. The note argues that such a range could result in a significant change in the marked-to-market value of large companies even when the quantity actually matched in the auction represents only a small portion of the company’s outstanding shares.

For a company with a Rs 5 lakh crore market capitalisation, the note estimates that a 3% movement would change its marked market capitalisation by approximately Rs 15,000 crore.

It proposes a more conservative, dynamic collar that expands only when supported by substantial two-sided auction liquidity.

Cash and derivatives operate on different timelines

The note further highlights the different trading timelines for the cash and derivatives markets. While continuous cash trading for CAS securities stops at 3:15 p.m., equity derivatives continue trading beyond the auction.

According to the note, this means futures and options can continue to reflect changing information and expectations even after the underlying cash security has ceased continuous price discovery.

It argues that this weakens the normal cash-futures arbitrage mechanism at the point when the official closing benchmark is being established.

Concern over thin liquidity and expiry-day volatility

The note also argues that inadequate CAS liquidity could create a self-reinforcing cycle. If large institutions perceive liquidity in the auction as insufficient, they may execute before 3:15 p.m., further reducing auction liquidity. Lower liquidity could then increase price impact and execution uncertainty, discouraging participation further.

The note calls this a “negative liquidity flywheel”: low liquidity increases auction impact, weakens execution certainty, reduces participation and further drains liquidity.

“Participation is therefore partly an outcome of good market design, not merely a

prerequisite that can be assumed to emerge over time,” it said.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)