Business Standard Podcast

Innovative solutions by fintech companies are essential to the financial services sector, Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. But in the same breath, the finance minister also said that they must ensure strict compliance with regulations. The FM's statement came during her meeting with fintech leaders, which was called against the backdrop of RBI's strict action against fintech giant Paytm. So, will the FM's reassurance soothe the nerves of fintechs and ensure a sustainable path ahead?  Clearly, fintech firms have to strike a delicate balance between growth and compliance. Moving on, a lot of people are currently trying to strike a balance between their earning and outgo. And for those living on rent, it's a tightrope walk. Recent government data revealed that today our rent commitments occupy more of our budgets than what was the case ten, or even twenty years ago.  Let us now turn our gaze towards the sky. The recent relaxation in space FDI norms by the government has provided a boost to related stocks in the defence and aerospace industry. As these shares remain upbeat, should you also join the rally or can valuations play spoilsport? And in this race to unravel the mysteries of space, companies and startups are increasingly taking help from Artificial Intelligence. In fact, AI is marking its presence in almost every sphere. But there are worries too. Like the effect of AI-generated fake videos on voters during elections. Against this backdrop, major tech companies have signed an AI accord in Munich committing to tackle deep fakes and AI generated content that could influence elections and misguide voters. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

India's paint industry is on the cusp of a churn. Entry of three new players, which includes Aditya Birla Group, is set to intensify competition in the sector - where top five players have cornered 90% of the organised market. But exactly what is drawing big players to the paint industry?  Stock of Asian Paints fell by over 5% on Monday after Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA downgraded it, saying that stiff competition may take a toll on the paint maker's near-term growth and margin. Moving on, like India's paints industry, its space sector too is painting a promising picture. The government recently amended the FDI rules, allowing up to 100 per cent investment through three categories. So will it make India a space superpower?  After space, let us now see what is happening in the world of cryptocurrencies. World's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has jumped over 20% so far this year to 52,000 dollars. Its market value has also breached the 1 trillion dollar-mark for the first time since late 2021. However, the crypto community is abuzz with two questions: Has the market already adjusted itself to factor in the halving's impact? And, where is the price headed in the next 3 - 6 months?  Do you want to know more about Bitcoin ‘halving'? Well in our explainer segment, Shivam Tyagi breaks it down for you. What is this event all about? How does it work? Find everything about this event and more in this episode of the podcast.  

Trade ministers from over 100 countries are set to meet in Abu Dhabi for the 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation. The three-day meeting beginning today is likely to be stormy as India will oppose adoption of a China-led proposal on investment facilitation. But why is India opposed to this initiative? And why does it want the investment agenda kept out of WTO?    India will also oppose the European Union's proposed carbon tax on imports of steel, iron ore and cement at the upcoming WTO meeting. New Delhi believes that it would be akin to a new trade barrier. Moving on, Indian roads are witnessing a big change. More and more electric cars are rubbing shoulders with traditional ICE run vehicles. But there is more to it than meets the eye. A recent report has indicated that hybrid cars seem to be outpacing EVs in the race towards the future. Despite the steeper price tag and limited variants, hybrids are gaining traction among consumers. But why? Will this trend sustain? And will it push automakers to diverge from their EV goals?  Let us now shift our focus to financial markets. While the markets consolidated with the benchmarks declining over 1 per cent initially in February, they have rallied around 4 per cent from their monthly lows since then. The Nifty, in fact, has registered a fresh life-time high in the second half of the current month. In our next report, find out the five key factors that could impact the market trajectory this week. Meanwhile, the United States has announced to impose another round of sanctions on Russia as the world marks the second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war. But ever wondered what economic sanctions are? And how do they work? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

The Reserve Bank of India recently urged the private sector to step up and take over the responsibility of driving capital expenditure, thereby relieving the government. An article authored by a team led by RBI Deputy Governor Michael D Patra said, expectation of a fresh round of capex by the corporate sector is likely to fuel the next leg of growth. Will private capex be able to offset the slowing momentum of government capex in FY25?  While the government is expected to pull back on capex in FY25 due to concerns about fiscal consolidation, economists believe it's time for the private sector to pick up the ‘baton'. Speaking of investment, India's Artificial Intelligence landscape is set for significant growth. SoftBank Group, known for its substantial investments in tech companies worldwide, has recently confirmed a strategic shift towards investing heavily in artificial intelligence. The Japanese investor has now set its attention on India's expanding AI market. But what does this move signify?  Amidst the global race to harness artificial intelligence, Softbank has also targeted expanding its investment portfolio with next-gen technologies. Meanwhile, in the equity markets, aluminium player Hindalco is taking its key subsidiary Novelis public in the US by likely selling a partial or complete stake in the company. As investors await key details of the IPO, what could the monetisation of Novelis mean for Hindalco and its investors?  Moving on, the city of dreams Mumbai has recently unveiled its ‘digital twin' called the Mumbai Megapolis Metaverse, at a tech event in Mumbai. The project offers an immersive experience of the city's future where people can explore the proposed transformation of Mumbai by 2025. But what exactly is Mumbai Megapolis Metaverse? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

The general election is round the corner, and internet users are increasingly facing the risk of misleading content online. They are often circulated with the intent to influence voters. But tech giant Meta has recently found a way to crack down on the problem. It will soon introduce a dedicated chatbot on Whatsapp to identify deepfakes.  Meta's collaboration with MCA includes partnerships with 11 independent fact-checking organisations that will help users to identify, review and verify potential misinformation on its platforms.Moving on, popping dietary supplement pills has become a routine for many around us. And they are flying off chemists' shelves. The increasing demand for dietary supplements has prompted the centre to consider stricter regulations for the nutraceutical industry. The government wants nutraceuticals to be of the same standards as pharmaceuticals, citing concerns over their unsupervised usage. Find out if India requires tighter nutraceutical regulations? Meanwhile, the equity markets have been steadily edging higher over the past few days, with the Nifty50 index hitting a fresh all-time high recently. So, is it time to get cautious? How comfortable are analysts with the market valuations, and what should be your investment strategy in this backdrop?  Recently, the Indian Highways Management Company advised highway users to buy FASTags from 32 authorised banks and not Paytm Payments Bank. The company is the toll-collecting arm of the state-owned National Highways Authority of India. But what if you own a FASTag by Paytm Payments Bank? Find out how you can deactivate that and buy a new one in this episode of the podcast. 

The aviation landscape is rife with stories of turbulence. Amid news of mergers and acquisitions, the aviation industry also grapples with challenges like weather-induced delays and the collapse of major airlines. The close encounters on the runway are another escalating challenge the sector is facing, amid the rising number of operational aircraft in the skies. This was exemplified by a recent incident involving two Indigo planes narrowly avoiding collision at Delhi airport. What is leading to this recurrence and how can these incidents be minimised?  Amid the increasing number of aircraft in Indian skies, it is essential to develop more airports equipped with sufficient passenger and aircraft handling facilities. This should be accompanied by a stringent regulatory framework to address the emerging challenges effectively.Moving on, the Union government recently served another blow to the online gaming industry. It rejected the self-regulatory organisation proposals of the industry associations. It argued that self-regulation proposals lacked neutrality. This comes at a time when online gaming firms are grappling with cost-cutting measures due to heavy taxation. As the air around online gaming remains uncertain, find out what's next for the industry after SRO failure. Let us now move on to financial markets. Shares of Central Public Sector Enterprises have been on a roll in the past four months, with eight out of 11 Nifty CPSE stocks delivering over 55 per cent returns during the period.However, so far in February, the rally seems to be narrower with just one stock doing the heavy lifting. What does this mean for the future prospect? Does this signal caution or will the rally continue unabated?  Moving on, Air Canada recently made headlines following a dispute over the ‘refund policy' offered by its chatbot to a customer. Despite the airline's argument that it should not be held liable for anything its chatbot says, the country's Civil Resolution Tribunal upheld the validity of the bereavement travel offer. In this segment, find you through Air Canada's bereavement policy and a context to the recent developments. 

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India quashed the non-transparent and much-debated electoral funding system involving Electoral Bonds. It sent shockwaves through India's political landscape. Advocates of transparency argue that this move may expose all those engaged in this contentious form of political financing just before the General Elections. Find out what lies ahead after the electoral bond. According to an analysis, around 94 per cent of the total value of bonds purchased between March 2018 to October 2023 were in the denomination of 1 crore rupees. This shows that most electoral bonds were being purchased by corporates rather than individuals. Let's now delve into the developments shaping India's startup landscape. Indian startups are rekindling their IPO aspirations after a break – this time with a renewed emphasis on improving profitability before going public. Several of them also reported robust earnings in the December quarter. This has made people wonder if India's listed startups are on the brink of a turnaround.  Let us now move on to financial markets. Dalal Street has been betting on IT stocks, reflected in their sharp gains recently on bets of global monetary policy easing. But with the US Fed rate cut timeline remaining uncertain, can the IT segment still extend its strength and emerge as the dark horse in 2024?  Moving on, the creator of ChatGPT, OpenAI introduced a new advancement in generative artificial intelligence — a tool capable of generating short-videos instantly based on written commands. OpenAI's latest innovation Sora makes instant videos from written prompts. Find out what is Sora AI and potential impact in this episode of the podcast.  

Top executives of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have been in a huddle for a while now. Contours of a big deal are being thrashed out, and all the eyes are now on the final outcomes. If all goes as reported, Reliance will merge its media business with Walt Disney's India business -- giving birth to the country's largest media and entertainment business. And on the other hand, the conglomerate would also acquire Disney's entire 30% stake in satellite TV provider Tata Play. But can Reliance replicate the success of Jio in the media industry too?    Clearly, the Indian media and entertainment landscape is seeing quite a churn. But even if Reliance seals both the deals, it wouldn't be a smooth sailing ahead. Let us now turn our gaze towards skies where turbulence is brewing for Indian airlines. The season of fog is long gone, but passengers are still facing flight delays. But why?  Meanwhile, Dalal Street saw a tug-of-war between the bulls and the bears last week. Eventually the bulls had their way, as the market ended with weekly gains. Will this recovery be sustainable or is there more pain ahead?   Money, whether earned from the stocks or after a hard day's work in the office, keeps us going. But what drags us down are the calls and emails beyond the working hours. When we are with families or friends. Australia has now come out with a Bill that will put in place a “right to disconnect”. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Despite concerns about Paytm Payments Bank being a ‘red flag', certain banks have reportedly shown interest in collaborating with it, subject to RBI approval. But, industry observers have questioned the sustainability of the payments bank if it is acquired by another entity, due to compliance issues.    Moving on, the Indian electric passenger car market is witnessing price cuts by automakers. Tata Motors recently slashed the prices of two of its popular EV models by up to 1.2 lakh rupees. MG Motor India also joined in, reducing the Comet's price by 1 lakh rupees. Additionally, it lowered the base price of its SUV ZS EV to 19.98 lakh rupees, from its previous price of 22.8 lakh rupees. Find out whether these price cuts could propel the electric car market forward.   Let us now move on to financial markets. Shares of Life Insurance Corporation, which were once synonymous with worst market debutants, have had a dramatic turnaround. From lows of about 550 rupees a year ago, the shares are quoting above 1,000 rupees mark now. What has been driving this rally in LIC's stock? And will the momentum sustain?    We have all experienced moments of crisis at some time in our lives. The world, too, has weathered its share of crises, ranging from wars and pandemics to economic turmoil and climate change. While many crises eventually come to an end, some seem to persist, shifting from one form to another. This ongoing state of crisis is referred to as ‘Permacrises'. This episode of the podcast explains the term that found its way to the Collins dictionary in 2022.

The tussle between the Centre and some opposition-ruled states over devolution of taxes recently came to fore when chief ministers of Kerala and Karnataka openly alleged discrimination. Karnataka leaders even went a step ahead and staged a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar after giving full-page advertisements in national dailies alleging loss of 1.8 trillion rupees. Some are calling it the “south tax movement”. These states have alleged that the Centre's policies have shrunk their share of the divisible pool of taxes. So do states have a case against the Centre on fiscal transfers? And, what will this mean for the 16th Finance Commission?  Clearly, the Centre has to strike a delicate balance on tax devolution. Meanwhile, it is trying hard to do a balancing act on another front. Production Linked Scheme has been keeping it busy. So far, it has turned out to be a mixed bag. While it has given expected results in some sectors, in others it is yet to take off. A recent review of the three-year-old scheme threw a contrasting picture. So how can India rejig the PLI scheme?  A rejig in PLI would indeed help India realise its manufacturing dream. Moving on, market volatility with sharp swings between losses and gains has continued into the current month. While benchmark indices are flat so far in February, it has mostly been a one-way street for small-cap stocks that have taken it on their chin with sharp cuts. So will this downtrend continue going ahead?  Very soon, India's financial capital will be connected to Ahmedabad with bullet trains. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to platform X to share an animated video explaining the special features of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad train corridor. Find out more about the key features of this project in this episode of the podcast.

After a two-day discussion, Uttarakhand Assembly has passed the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand Bill, 2024. It will subsume personal laws of all the religions. Marriage, divorce, inheritance of property, etc. will come under one common umbrella. So what will this proposed law change? After the personal laws, let us now see what is happening in India's insurance sector. Insurance penetration in the country is likely to reach 4.5 percent by 2034, up from the current 3.8%. But it is still very low when compared to the developed nations. And even greater adoption of technology has not been able to increase the penetration. Insurtech platforms have been around for a while now, but the idea has not taken off as expected.  Meanwhile, in a piece of good news for the sector, a Parliamentary panel has recommended reducing the GST on health insurance products for senior citizens below 18 percent to make it more affordable. Moving on, markets regulator Sebi has sought granular ownership details from foreign portfolio investors with concentrated holdings in a single corporate entity. Failing this, such FPIs will need to liquidate their positions in the next 6-7 months. In this report, find out how much of an impact the new norms could have on foreign inflows into Indian equities in the months ahead. After the markets, let us now turn our focus to a new technology which is giving a big hope to those fighting cancer. CAR-T cell therapy successfully pulled three people out of cancer. Find out more about the new treatment in this episode of the podcast.

The rate setting panel of the Reserve Bank of India has kept lending rate unchanged at 6.5 percent, signalling that its battle against inflation is not over yet. This was the sixth consecutive time that the central bank has left the repo rate unchanged. The Monetary Policy Committee has also decided to stay focused on the “withdrawal of accommodation” stance.  After banking, let us now turn our gaze to the glamorous world of advertising. What is going on there? A recent attempt by a model-turned-actor to pull herself out of obscurity has shocked many. Poonam Pandey is once again in the news. But at what cost? Shockvertising, a marketing ploy that aims to grab attention through controversial or shocking ways, is not new. Some recent episodes have again triggered a debate around it. So how much shockvertising is too much?  In 2013, US carmaker Ford had apologised over a poster showing  three gagged and bound women in the boot of a car. It had come against the backdrop of the brutal Nirbhaya incident. Let us now move on to markets. Shares of public sector banks have delivered up to 3x returns over the past six months as investors increasingly turn bullish on government-backed lenders. Their private peers, on the other hand, have had mixed performances on the bourses during the period. In our next report, find out what is keeping the stocks in demand, and if this outperformance will continue. No indications of an interest rate cut by the RBI in the near future spooked the markets on Thursday. But it's most likely a blip. The recent interim Budget has affirmed that India's economy is on firm footing. One of the Budget announcements that was praised in several quarters was the government's Rs 1 lakh crore corpus to boost private sector research in “sunrise domains” like biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

The Karnataka government has announced fixed fares for taxis. Now both app-based and non-app based cab aggregators will have to follow a uniform rate chart. One of the triggers of this move was overcharging. But has the state government gone too far by setting cab fares?  Interestingly, the licences of Ola and Uber had expired in 2021, but both the cab aggregators have been operating cabs and autos in Karnataka. The state has refused to renew them alleging non-compliance of regulations. Moving on, Bajaj Auto is going to launch an entry-level motorcycle which will be powered by CNG. Something the world has never seen before. Honda had tried its luck on its Activa model, but couldn't succeed. So how will CNG bikes change the two-wheeler industry if Bajaj succeeds in its mission?  Staying with the automobile theme, India's largest auto-maker Maruti has lost the tag of the most-valued auto stock to its competitor Tata Motors, which has been at the forefront on the bourses among other peers. While strong JLR sales has been lending support to Tata Motors, why is Maruti trailing?  India's financial markets and economy are set to get a leg up after the country's inclusion into JP Morgan's emerging market debt index. But it will also keep the regulator on its toes because of the so-called “hot money”.  But what is it? Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more.  

Byju Raveendran has been in a fire fighting mode for a while now. Even as he was planning to raise funds for his struggling ed-tech start-up Byju's by slashing its valuation to less than two billion dollars, a group of shareholders are now demanding his ouster. While no one knows what fate holds for Raveendran, some lessons can certainly be drawn from his travails. So what can start-up founders learn from Byju's case?  Let us now move on to a story of contrast. Bhavish Aggarwal's story has many takers. And unlike Byju Raveendran, he doesn't fret about lack of investment options. Last year, when most Indian startups were grappling with fund shortage, the Ola founder was busy giving final touches to his third startup. We are talking about ‘Krutrim' AI. It is the first unicorn of 2024. So like Raveendran, lessons can also be drawn from Aggarwal's story. So has Agaarwal's third startup cemented his startup success?  But there are challenges too. The US investment firm Vanguard recently slashed Ola's valuation by 29% to 1.88 billion dollars. And it's in sharp contrast to the 2021 valuation of 7.3 billion dollars. Moving on, the Reserve Bank of India's last monetary policy meeting for the current financial year is underway in Mumbai. Find out what all are the markets factoring in, and what could be the key triggers to watch out in the policy statement.  After the financial markets, let us now turn our focus to the environment. Now, you can access updated details on environmental impact assessments, forest and wildlife clearances for proposed projects in a more efficient manner as the government has revamped the existing Parivesh portal and launched a 2.0 version. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know what the new portal brings to the table and more. 

Come March, and most Paytm soundboxes might fall silent. It is a void which will be difficult to fill. But the RBI has given a decent window, and merchants are slowly porting their accounts to rivals like Phonepay and Google Pay. While Paytm is trying hard to put its house in order, its Wallet and FASTag services will come to a halt after February 29. So what does it mean for you?  The market value of Paytm has crashed by over 20,500 crore rupees in three straight market sessions. And its circuit filter has been reduced to 10% to stop the bleeding. On its part, Paytm has denied any wrongdoing. Moving on, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer HeroMotoCorp is planning to increase its pace in the electric vehicle market. It is rolling out three new two-wheeler EV models. Clearly, the company is eyeing a big pie in India's growing EV two-wheeler segment. But what are the challenges?  The government too is doing its bit to boost EV infrastructure in the country. The interim Budget for 24-25 has placed a special focus on supporting EV manufacturing and charging infrastructure. The budget has also given a fresh momentum to the markets. The NSE Nifty 50 scaled a fresh life-time high a day after the Interim Budget. Experts believe that the government's stance towards fiscal prudence even in an election year was commendable. Given the positive domestic cues in the backdrop of an uncertain geopolitical situation, what should be your investment strategy?  The interim budget has also offered a roadmap for empowerment of rural women. The number of ‘Lakhpati Didis' will now be increased to 30 million. But who are they? What is this scheme all about? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Over eight months after Go First grounded its entire fleet and filed for bankruptcy, a fresh development has given some hope to its anxious lenders. They are reportedly seeking an extension of the insolvency process by another 60 days after three potential buyers have expressed interest in the airline. SpiceJet's founder Ajay Singh is one among them. But does Ajay Singh have the wherewithal to catapult Go First back in the air?  But it seems Spice Jet is trying hard to turn the corner. It reported profit in the first quarter of FY24, and narrowed losses by about half in the second quarter year-on-year. It is also planning to raise a fresh capital of 2,250 crore rupees. Moving on, the number of Indian students taking flight to Canada is set to drop considerably. The country has announced two-year restrictions on new international student visas. But who will gain from it?  The United States, meanwhile, remained the top choice for Indian students. India was the largest source of international graduate students in the United States in 2022-23. Let us now move on to financial markets. Paytm is in a slump, having been locked in the 20% upper circuit for 2 straight days as RBI has mandated to halt nearly all banking services of its payments bank unit. With this, fintech's timeline to profitability has clearly been delayed. So, what lies ahead for the stock and the company?  Clearly Paytm boss Vijay Shekhar Sharma has his task cut out. A few months ago he had predicted artificial intelligence-led “mass industrialisation” of human jobs in the next five years. Things clearly are moving in that direction. Now a compact AI assistant device is taking the tech world by storm. It has been named Rabbit r1? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman almost stuck to her promise of keeping the interim Budget free of any “spectacular announcement”. But, at the same time, she tried to strike a fine balance between welfare and fiscal prudence. The budget speech was peppered with a number of people-friendly announcements, like the housing scheme for the middle class. And it also promised to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP in FY25. So is this Budget more than interim? Find out in the first episode of today's special show on interim Budget.  This is what experts have to say about the interim Budget. Now let us see what Business Standard's own crack team thinks. They offer us sector-wise analysis of this Budget statement. Let us see if it ticks all the right buttons. The government's aggressive fiscal targets set bond markets on fire. Yields on 10-year government securities fell as much as 10 basis points after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced lower-than-expected fiscal deficit and borrowing numbers. So, will the government's fiscal gliding path provide the necessary balm to bond, and in turn equity markets? Salaried class, meanwhile, was a bit disappointed as the FM kept the rates unchanged. But they can now pin their hopes to the full Budget which will be tabled in July. And at about 58 minutes, it was perhaps the shortest budget speech by Nirmala Sitharaman. But it certainly carried a punch. Listen to this episode of the podcast for a few important numbers which got newsmakers attention and more. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will equal the feat of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai today when she rises to present her sixth consecutive budget in the Parliament. But will she stick to the old tradition of keeping the interim budget free of pre-election sops or big schemes? What clue could the history of the interim budget offer us?  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has an impressive record of keeping promises. Just a fortnight after she had said that the government was going through the process of direct listing of stocks in GIFT IFSC in a “very systematic manner”, the rules were finally notified last week. Indian companies can now list on foreign exchanges. But how will it benefit India Inc.?  Cleary GIFT city will open a window of opportunity for Indian companies. But today, India Inc. and investors will be glued to TV sets. Today's ‘disha-nirdeshak' Budget, as PM Modi called it on January 31, will be keenly watched as investors expect the government to paint a picture of commitment to growth and sustainability ahead of the General Elections. But, kick-starting demand in rural and urban landscapes would come at a cost. Will the markets be able to digest that? Let's gauge which fiscal estimates may play spoilsport for the markets? The ruling government cannot present the Economic Survey with the interim budget. This time it came out with an economic review telling about India's journey over the last ten years. But ever wondered exactly what is an interim budget? We explain it in this episode of the podcast. 

The Union Finance Ministry on Monday exuded confidence in a report that the Indian economy will expand at 7% or more in FY25, and that the country will become the third largest economy in the next three years. This economic review report has set the tone for tabling of the interim budget tomorrow. But what are the expectations? Which areas are likely to get more attention? Business Standard team breaks it down for you Clearly, expectations from the interim budget are running high. The government will indeed have to do a tough balancing act. Moving on, the government recently came out with a set of guidelines for the coaching industry. It bars coaching centres from enrolling students below 16 years of age. It also calls for appointment of trained counselors, and warns coaching centres against making misleading promises. So what will be the future of the coaching industry after new guidelines?  After the coaching industry, let us now turn our focus back to the budget theme. While market participants may not be expecting any major policy announcements in the tomorrow's interim budget, they are still keenly awaiting the budgetary support across various sectors to gauge the expected opportunities that will arise for related companies. So, which sectors are expected to derive most government support in the interim budget and how should you position your portfolio?  Meanwhile, the government's economic review report talks about a common concern. That is the rising geo-political risk. Markets too is keeping an eye on the rising escalations in various parts. The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict is one of them. Several European nations have now decided to halt financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees or UNRWA. But why? Because some agency members were allegedly involved in the October 7 terrorist attack. But what exactly is UNRWA? What does it do? Listen to this episode of the podcasts for answers. 

It was just over a year ago, on the morning of 24th of January, 2023, when Indian stock markets woke up to a US short seller's report -- which accused mighty Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. While the benchmark indices soon recovered from the shock handed over by Hindenburg Research, the conglomerate had a tough time navigating the challenges. So has Adani Group recovered from the Hindenburg accusations? And what the future looks like for the group?  Adani Green's consolidated net profit, meanwhile, more than doubled for the quarter ending December 2023. The Q3 result was announced on Monday. Clearly, things are looking up for the group. Moving on, things are looking up for India's education sector too. The government is restructuring the CBSE board exams for Class 10th and 12th. As per the latest framework, board exams will be conducted twice a year. The aim is to reduce the stress caused by the fear of a single opportunity, allowing students the flexibility to decide based on their preparedness. So, can biannual boards reduce student stress?  The ruling party at the Centre, too, will face a crucial test soon as general elections are approaching. But before that, the government led by it will table an interim budget on February 1. So will upcoming polls, in any way, influence the proposals of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman? Which sectors are likely to get priority? And what should be your market strategy pre-and post the interim Budget announcements? Andrew Holland, CEO, Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies shares his expectations from the upcoming interim Budget Budget, at times, also affects the prices of electronic items like TVs or mobile phones. But the prices of television sets are set to increase for a different reason now. It is because the cost of open cells, an essential component in LED TVs, has been on the rise for a while. But what are these tiny cells? How do they determine TV prices? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Byju's, it seems, has been reduced to a pale shadow of its former self. Once the world's most valuable education tech firm, it is now mired in a host of financial and legal troubles. Its just released but delayed financial statement for fiscal year 2021-22 paints a grim picture. Losses had more than doubled in the pandemic-hit year - a period which was considered the best for ed-tech platforms. The firm is now focussing on Generative Artificial Intelligence to lift its fortunes. Will it help?  Byju's was once the poster boy of Indian startups. While some of its actions have knocked it off from the high pedestal, the country's overall startup ecosystem continues to flourish. In the next five years, it is expected to contribute close to 5% to the country's GDP. Speaking of the economy, the government is all set to table an interim budget on February 1. In the fourth episode of Business Standard's interim Budget series, explore if Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will try to lift the rural economy by offering sops?  Investors in financial markets too keenly watch every budget announcement. Meanwhile, key benchmark indices are going through some volatility. From a record high of 22,124, the Nifty has slipped nearly 4 per cent amid frequent bouts of profit-taking owing to Q3 earnings. Technically, the Nifty is seen quoting below its 20-day moving average for the first time since early November 2023. With the Union Budget drawing close, will the markets bounce back and see a pre-Budget rally?  India's stock market has overtaken Hong Kong's to become fourth-biggest equity market globally for the first time. Moving on, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ‘Pradhanmantri Surydaya Yojana,' under which the government will provide rooftop solar power systems to one crore households across the country. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.   

Till a few days ago, they were busy in hectic parleys to form a formidable 10 billion- dollar media empire in India. And now, broadcaster Zee and Sony are fighting a pitched battle in courts. While the court proceedings will follow its own course, how will the collapse of this proposed merger affect Zee - whose revenue and profit growth have been muted over the past two years. Has Zee run out of options?  Reliance-Disney merger, on the other hand, is on track. Both the companies have recently appointed law firms and started antitrust due diligence of their planned merger. Moving on, the world's most popular browser Google Chrome will soon be phasing out a very essential tool that brands swear by for tracking users. We're talking about third-party cookies. Now, while this is good news for user privacy, businesses may not be equally happy. They are apprehensive. So are businesses in India prepared for a cookieless market?  But for now, businesses are more keen on seeing what is in the store for them in the upcoming interim budget. It will be tabled on February 1. The current budgeting exercise is confronted by economic headwinds such as the deceleration in the global economy, and strains on the rural economy. Against this backdrop, find out what markets are expecting from the interim budget. Markets regulator, Sebi, meanwhile, is busy strengthening guardrails. It is planning to comprehensively stress-test equity mutual fund schemes and come out with measures to handle potentially dangerous situations. But what is stress testing? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

With the rising wealth, more and more Indians are choosing exotic foreign destinations to get married. From humble Phuket to exquisite Italy, their favourite holiday spots are now doubling up as wedding destinations. But this trend is hitting the local wedding industry hard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly appealed to affluent Indians to ‘Wed in India'. So what will it take for ‘Wed in India' to succeed?  Meanwhile, an altogether different kind of marriage or tie up is promising to make our lives better. Google India and NPCI have joined hands to expand UPI for international payments. Reports suggest that Google Pay makes 26% of all online transactions in the world, and is among the top five mobile payment services. This initiative may therefore give a major push to India's UPI to emerge as an alternative to the western international payment systems.  NPCI has recently launched UPI for secondary markets. The aim is to streamline trading and increase security. Speaking of trading, Indian equities are stuck in high volatility as their sharp gains from last year face resistance in the first month of 2024. With foreign selling resuming and geopolitical tensions on a rise, how should you navigate the wild swings in the current market. Should you sell the rallies or buy the dips?  Last week, Indian stocks saw the biggest outflow of foreign funds in 19 months. Clearly, after a record-breaking rally, investors were booking some profit. After the financial markets, let us now talk about socialism. About 35 years after his death, the government has now decided to honour prominent socialist leader Karpoori Thakur with Bharat Ratna -- the country's highest civilian award. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

India's youngest airline, it seems, is striking the right notes. Last year, Akasa Air was the best on-time-performing airline in five out of 12 months. It has just ordered 150 aircraft for around 20 billion dollars. And its CEO Vinay Dubey wants to put Akasa on the path to be one of the world's top 30 biggest airlines by the turn of the decade. But there are challenges too. So is Akasa Air ready to fly higher?  While most airlines are trying hard to retain pilots and other crew members, the situation is quite different in other sectors. Over 16,000 tech employees lost their jobs in 2023. It was a 15% jump from 2022. And within the first three weeks of January 2024, more than 7,500 employees got laid off globally with tech giants such as Google and Amazon announcing layoffs in select teams. It certainly doesn't bode well for India too. So, what will 2024 hold for layoffs in India?  Benchmark indices meanwhile crashed on Tuesday after some early gains. But rail-related stocks have been trading at record highs ahead of the interim Budget. The stocks have witnessed a phenomenal run in the last 10 months, gaining up to 600 per cent during the period. But, does such a steep rally leave further upside in these stocks? What should be your investment strategy?  IT stocks too have extended gains on better than expected Q3 results. Meanwhile, IT giant HCL recently inked a pact with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to set up an outsourced assembly and testing facility in India. But what is outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing? Listen to this episode of the podcast for all the answers. 

The IPO of Walmart-owned Flipkart has been in the works for a while now. In 2022, the e-commerce firm had internally raised its IPO valuation target to 60 to 70 billion dollars. Before that, it was 50 billion dollars. Two years on -- while the IPO is still elusive-- the company has now raised 600 million dollars from Walmart. But its current valuation is still below its 2021 peak of 38-billion-dollar. So is a 60-billion-dollar target realistic? While Flipkart and Amazon struggle to turn profitable, there is no denying that consumers have gained a lot. They never had so many options. And such a wide price range to pick from. The digital revolution has taken the retail sector by storm. It has tremendously helped students in learning too. In cities, smartboards have replaced the traditional blackboards. But in rural areas, the digital divide appears stark. The Annual Status of Education Report 2023 has come out with a worrying report. It says that about 25% of rural youth in the age group of 14-18 cannot read a Class 2 level text “fluently”, or calculate basic math.  After the country's education, let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. Shares of India's most valuable company, Reliance Industries, have been slow movers at the bourses. The stock performed in-line with the markets in 2023, but picked momentum over the last few weeks. Going ahead, will the December quarter results help the stock sustain its uptrend? Or will the stock turn an underperformer again?  Soaring indices are not the only indicators of India's impressive economic growth. There are other metrics too. One of them is poverty. The number of people who are being pulled out of poverty every year. A recent NITI Ayog report said that India's multidimensional poverty has decreased from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23.  But what is multidimensional poverty? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

All eyes are on Ayodhya today. The Ram Temple is all decked up, waiting for the consecration ceremony by a battery of priests led by an elderly Kashi Acharya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the ‘Jajman' or chief guest at the event -- which will be witnessed by millions. And many of them will soon embark on a journey to seek blessings from the deity. The tiny temple city will soon turn into a mega pilgrimage spot. But what does it mean for the future of religious tourism?  After the temple inauguration, the next big event that will be keenly watched is the tabling of the interim budget. General elections are near, and there are expectations that the government may loosen its purse strings for welfare schemes. Even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has ruled out any such “spectacular announcements”. In the third edition of our special series on interim budget, Bhaswar Kumar speaks to experts to find out if welfarism will indeed get a further boost? And if yes, will it impact fiscal discipline?  Financial market too is eagerly waiting for the interim budget. It has its wish list ready. But right now, it looks like all the roads are leading to Ayodhya. Hopes of a tourism-led economic boom have also seen stocks of travel and hospitality companies shoot up in recent weeks. So, should you join this rally or wait as valuations may test the optimism?  An IMD forecast says that Ayodhya is likely to be sunny today, during the inauguration of the temple. But rest of the north India is still reeling under fog and cold wave. Hundreds of flights have either been cancelled, or are being delayed at the Delhi airport -- which will soon open its second CAT III- B runway. But what is this landing system? How does it help aircraft land during foggy conditions? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.  

Fog has sent flight schedules into a tailspin. Hundreds of flights have either been cancelled, or are running hours behind the schedule across most cities. And the fliers they cater to are at the wit's end. Situation is dire at the country's largest and busiest airport in Delhi, which has just one CAT 3 runway operational. So is there a solution to flight delays in fog season?  An international study, led by IIT Madras, has found that industrial processes and the burning of plastic waste were creating the high particulate matter. And these high particulate matter were the leading cause of reduced visibility during fog season. Clearly, technology can unravel a lot of mysteries. And no wonder, a large number of youngsters are attracted by engineering courses. But off late, engineering colleges are seeing a declining interest from students due to a host of reasons. Slowdown in the IT sector is one of them. Find out if engineering courses have lost their charm. Rally in IT sector pushed Dalal Street to a new high a few days ago. But sub-par results of HDFC Bank triggered an unexpected correction in the markets. Benchmarks clocked their worst one-day selling in 18 months on January 17. The stock of India's biggest private bank, too, has crashed around 11% in two days. As bears flex their muscles at the counter, what lies ahead for the stock?    But buoyed by a rush of interest in AI, IT stocks are likely to keep benchmark indices in good health in the days to come. And it seems, there is no field where AI is not making a difference. It is being used in Ayodhya too. Artificial intelligence surveillance will be implemented for the first time to detect suspicious activities in the temple city. But, how will AI help in Ayodhya's surveillance? Listen to this episode of the podcast for more.  

India blocked access to nine foreign cryptocurrency exchanges on 12th of January. The government believed that these offshore platforms were not complying with the country's anti-money laundering law. And investors were also using them to circumvent TDS costs. Some of them -- like Binance -- were quite popular among domestic investors. But now, crypto investors are reportedly flocking to domestic exchanges. There is a surge in registration. So will this crackdown on offshore exchanges help desi crypto platforms?  Clearly, there are signs of thaw in the ongoing crypto winter. It started with the collapse of the famous foreign exchange FTX. But for many, winter means a season of earnings. The longer it is, the better. But, even as north India is reeling under a prolonged spell of winter, its famous skiing resorts are without snow. Locals in Uttarakhand's Auli and Kashmir's Gulmarg -- whose livelihood depends on tourists -- are looking towards the sky for some divine help, as tourists are cancelling bookings. But why are hills in these regions facing a snowless winter?  After the hills, let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. The government's ‘Make in India' push and indigenisation in the defence space opened floodgates for order flows for most PSUs in 2023. Nearly 30% of the stocks doubled investors' wealth last year, while 27 stocks hit record highs. The rally has extended thus far in 2024 with the Nifty PSE index touching its all-time high level on January 16. But the rally has taken valuation multiples to multi-year highs. So, will the pack be able to defend its gains? Or is a sharp correction waiting around the corner?  After stocks, let us now see what is happening in the world of cryptocurrencies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission last week approved applications for exchange-traded funds or ETF, that are primarily based on bitcoin. Supporters hope it will attract new investors to the token and boost its price in the long term. But what is the Bitcoin Spot ETF? Find out about it in this episode of the podcast. 

Gujarat's Dholera is finally getting a large semiconductor fabrication plant. While Vedanta's plans are still hanging fire, Tata Group may start churning out chips by the end of this year. And the salt-to-software conglomerate is also building a 20-gigawatt lithium-ion storage battery factory in Sanand -- just 95-km from Dholera. Clearly, the company is rapidly cementing its footing in new-age technology. We find out more about how the conglomerate is reinventing itself.   Tata's chip making facility in Dholera will certainly be a shot in the arm for India's ambition to become a manufacturing powerhouse. Meanwhile, the government has set yet another ambitious target. It wants to export agriculture products worth around 100 billion dollars a year by 2030 -- almost double from the current export figure of about 50 billion dollars. But it also comes against the backdrop of a slew of export curbs on various agricultural items. So is this target achievable?  Moving on, Tata Motors became the third Tata group firm to cross Rs 3-trillion market cap on 16th of January. On the bourses too, its stock price hit a new high. Tata Motors was a stellar outperformer on the bourses in 2023, being the only large-cap stock that doubled its price. Record domestic sales and a pick-up in volumes of its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover have led to this rally. So will the counter hold its strength or hit a speed breaker ahead?  After the capital markets, let us now turn our gaze to world politics. France has got a new prime minister. He is 34. Which makes him the youngest PM in the country's post-war history. And he is openly gay. We tell you more about Gabriel Attal in this episode of the podcast.  

Come July and Australia's Deakin University will start admitting students. This piece of news might not be of interest to many. But what if we tell you that these admissions will take place in India, and at the university's local campus in Gujarat? Well, you heard it right. Foreign universities are finally coming to India. The National Education Policy, 2020 had laid down the framework. And UGC came out with a final set of regulations about two months ago. But will students warm up to foreign universities in India?   While foreign universities may take some time to gain a foothold in India, footwear made on foreign shores have already made inroads here. Leather shoes and sandals have almost become invisible, replaced by cheaper non-leather stuff.  The industry, it looks like, is on an inflection point as it is moving from the skill-based labour intensive leather footwear to scale-based machine-led non- leather footwear. Clearly it is a challenging time for Indian manufacturers. So, how can India scale up operations in non-leather footwear?   Let us now see what is happening in financial markets. IT stocks have been firing up recently on strong Q3 earnings, sparking a rally in the overall market as well. The Sensex index has surged nearly 1,800 points in just 4 sessions to cross a new peak of 73,000 on January 14. So, will the rally in IT stocks and the benchmark indices sustain?   Meanwhile, India's financial capital got a big gift last week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the country's largest bridge on the sea. This six-lane Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will reduce the travel time between South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai to just about 20 minutes, from the earlier over two hours. Listen to this episode of the podcast for more. 

A number of C-level executives switched sides and joined rival organisations in 2023. While the move possibly put their career on a higher growth trajectory, it left some void in their previous organisations. And with talent in such a short supply, companies struggled to find replacements. IT giants Wipro took two of its former employees to court for allegedly violating agreements. But are such agreements, like the non-poaching pact, the right fix to retain talent at the top level?  A buoyant IT sector is also crucial to the country's economic growth. The sector now contributes about 9% to the national GDP. Moving on, the government is going to table the interim Budget on February 1. Our first part of the special budget series had discussed the likely stance that the Budget might take. Find out if it will revive demand and investment or both. IT stocks, meanwhile, rallied about 5% on Friday after TCS and Infosys came out with results which were not as bad as feared by the street initially. Moving on, India's largest private bank, HDFC Bank, is set to roll out the carpet for the banking pack's Q3 earnings. Analysts forecast a muted growth in profits amid marginal increase in net interest income.  Margins may continue to compress as deposit rates catch up. Finf out more about the sector's December quarter earnings, and lists the top 3 things to watch out. Meanwhile, in good news, UPI is set to change the way we buy stocks in the secondary market. After the primary market, the UPI-enabled ASBA facility is set to be launched in the secondary market. It is at the testing stage right now. Listen to this episode of the podcast for more. 

Despite a high interest rate regime, India's real estate sector continued to expand at a fast clip in 2023. A growth which was primarily driven by home buyers. While sales of budget homes jumped, luxury apartments sold like hot cakes -- with many disappearing within hours of opening of bookings. And a big chunk of them were bought by deep-pocketed Non-Resident Indians. But there is a worry in some quarters. That NRIs' increased investment may be pushing the prices of homes, making them unaffordable for many.  For most of us, home means a place to slow down. A place where we find warmth of family, and, of course, a hot cup of tea or coffee in this cold winter. Traditionally, we have been a nation of tea drinkers, barring pockets in the south where coffee has long been relished. But, with a rise in people's income and increased exposure to the west, coffee has slowly but steadily been making inroads in our daily routine. Coffee shops, run by both foreign as well as domestic brands, are dotting markets and shopping centres like never before. So have we matured as a coffee drinking nation?  Let us now see what is brewing on Dalal Street. Vodafone Idea has been unable to arrest the market share loss to its rivals. But, the stock of the debt-ridden telco has far outperformed its listed peers, with a 100% rally in the last one year. So, is the strength sustainable or are the gains overdone?  Analysts, meanwhile, believe that due to customer losses, Vodafone Idea's revenue is likely to remain stagnant in the December quarter. Moving on, the trade between India and Russia increased by over 200% year-on-year in the first two quarters of FY24. And just last month, both the countries agreed to establish the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor. Find out more about this new route and how will it help both the countries in this episode of the podcast.   

Indian aviation sector not just shrugged-off the pandemic blues, but it also broke all the previous records in 2023. The country's domestic air passenger traffic soared past 150 million last year-- despite the grounding of a big carrier in May. But it also meant that airlines were stretched like never before. And pilots were operating under extreme pressure. At least three of them reportedly died due to heart attack last year. So now, the civil aviation regulator has come up with a set of new rules. Will it ease the burden on pilots? How will it affect the airlines?  And thanks to holidays, last December saw the highest ever air passenger traffic in any month in the history of aviation. And like skies, records were set on the ground too. Sales of passenger vehicles crossed the four-million mark for the first time in 2023. Even a year before, in 2022, car sales had broken the previous record. But now, India's auto industry is facing a peculiar challenge. Car dealers have reported a 75% jump in unsold inventory at the beginning of this year, as compared to January of 2023. So what explains this dichotomy?  Let us now turn our focus to the financial markets. Shares of real estate firms have been firing from all cylinders, outperforming the markets over the past one year. The Nifty Realty index has doubled investors' wealth in one year, while some stocks have generated 3x returns during the period. Going ahead, are there more legs in this rally? Or are the stock prices over heated?    Staying with the financial markets theme, FMCG giant Nestle India recently announced that it will split its shares and give 10 shares for every 1 its shareholders hold. Currently, Maggi-maker has one of the most highly-priced shares in the Indian stock market. But what is a stock split, why do companies do it and what changes after that? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Maldives' new government has sacked its three ministers. And it is trying hard to douse flames erupted due to their comments against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Their controversial remarks had come in response to PM Modi's posts in which he was promoting Lakshadweep as a tourist destination. So how can we make Indian tourist spots more attractive?  Government meanwhile is trying to project Ayodhya as a global religious tourist destination. The city is going through a massive facelift. With Ram Temple inauguration drawing close, it seems all roads are leading to the temple city. And just 150-km away, UP's capital city Lucknow too is being spruced up, but in a different way. The state government is developing an Artificial Intelligence City there. The idea is to make it an IT hotspot like Bangalore. So what will be the significance of India's first AI city?  A recent report said that about 70% startups are investing in AI to boost their efficiency. Moving on, global and domestic equities alike have remained unfazed by the geopolitical crises in the year gone by. The ongoing war in Gaza, however, risks roping in world powers as tensions brew in the Red Sea, while upcoming Taiwanese elections are keeping the mood in East Asia sour. So, are markets ignoring the geopolitical risk in 2024?  Meanwhile, broad indexes in Bangladesh surged to two-month high after results of national elections were declared. Sheikh Hasina has won a fourth straight term amid a boycott by the main opposition party. But who is Sheikh Hasina? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Antibiotics are given to neutralize harmful bacteria, and to halt their reproduction. But their overuse is fast turning into some sort of epidemic. It is turning these germs into 'super bugs' - which are antibiotic resistant. And India has one of the highest mortality rates due to this antimicrobial resistance. So how can India stop popping antibiotics?  Kerala, meanwhile, has launched a state-wide operation to check abuse of antibiotics. It will also deploy covert squads to monitor sale of these drugs. Well, it looks like a step in the right direction. Let us now turn our focus to another threat, which is giving sleepless nights to people in various parts of the country. Incidents of leopards straying into human habitats have been on a rise for a while now. From posh NCR colonies like Gurgaon and Noida to villages in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, leopards are increasingly making their presence felt. But why?  But on Monday, bears made their presence felt on Dalal Street. Key benchmark indices tumbled amid weakness in global indices. But IT stocks shone amid this rout. Stocks of IT majors have been in the spotlight after a sharp recovery seen last year. The excitement has been led by hopes of improvement in IT spending as global rates begin to decline. But can the December quarter earnings test this optimism?  Many experts believe that IT stocks would see increased volatility in the coming weeks. Moving on, another disturbing trend has emerged in the evolving landscape of cybercrimes. It is being called “Cyber Kidnapping.” Find out more on it in this episode of the podcast. 

Tech companies reportedly fired over 220,000 employees in 2023. It was a jump of 40% from the previous year. And a record too. But take this contrast. Demand for tech talent still outstrips supply. So why is it so? Does India IT have a talent management problem? Or there is more to it than meets the eye?  Next six months are likely to be crucial as IT firms will compete with their domestic as well as global peers to get a pie in the upcoming 16 billion-dollar worth of IT deals. Well, it's good news as deal wins will help boost the IT sector's prospects, and in a way, contribute to the country's growth. The government on its part is getting its expenditure scorecard ready. Interim budget will be tabled in Parliament on February 1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has ruled out any “spectacular announcements”. But foreign brokerage Jefferies has said the government will boost welfare spending in the interim Budget. So what stance will the interim budget 2024 adopt?  Dalal Street too will keep a close eye on the interim budget announcements. And it will express its pleasure, or displeasure, through stock movements. Moving on, markets are set to kick off the December quarter earnings this week with IT majors, including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services slated to report their numbers. Here's a curtain raiser on the Q3 earnings season. After the earnings preview, let us now turn our gaze to Indian roads which see over 150,00 deaths every year. Government recently introduced new penal provisions in hit and run cases. But unions representing truck and taxi drivers have hit the streets against it. The government, which is now on the back foot, has assured them that its enforcement will happen only after wider consultations. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more about this new provision. 

There is absolutely no room for complacency in Reliance, its chairman Mukesh Ambani told his employees last week. The statement, in a way, explained why the conglomerate is going big on adoption of Artificial Intelligence now. The company is also making a big shift towards green energy. But what will these new forays mean for Reliance?  The world too is bracing for a big shift. Over 50 countries across the world with a combined population of 4.2 billion will go to polls this year. India will be one of them. The outcome may shape the trajectory of international trade ties. Find out how this year's major elections may affect global trade. But amid the changing global order, and the uncertainty that it brings with it, India appears to be an oasis of stability. Its economy is expected to grow at 6.5% in the ongoing financial year. Its equity markets dazzled with stupendous gains in 2023. And gold as an asset class too, quietly and steadily, delivered over 13% returns in 2023 on rising bets of rate cuts and weakening of dollar. So, what's in store for the precious metal in 2024?  Moving on, political parties are gearing up for this year's general elections. And they are trying to outdo each other in wooing electorates. Opposition Congress has now promised women at least 60 to 70 thousand rupees annually under its NYAY scheme. Find out more about Congress' NYAY promise in this episode of the podcast.  

Car showrooms were never so busy and bustling with curious buyers. A record four million passenger vehicles rolled out of these swanky outlets in 2023-- notwithstanding an average 10% jump in car prices. But will this feverish demand continue this year? Or will rising loan rates dampen the sentiments?  While the impressive car sales numbers may reflect the prosperity of any nation, there is a flip side to it too. More cars also mean more air pollution. A recent study claimed that 30% of total Greenhouse Gas Emission in Delhi was due to vehicular emissions. And it was 8% for the country -- which is witnessing increased instances of extreme weather conditions like flood, drought and severe heat wave. So is it time that India has a dedicated climate change resilience authority?  Let us now turn focus to financial markets. 2023 marked a remarkable turnaround for FPI inflows into the Indian equities. From net selling of 1.2 trillion rupees, FPIs pumped 1.7 trillion rupees into the market during the year. Going into 2024, the trend is expected to remain steady, but which equity pockets will FPIs keep on their radar in the new year?  After big foreign investments, let us now move on to small lending. People who have fallen through the cracks, those who don't have the access to banks and NBFCs, often turn to microfinance institutions for help. Our tiny neighbour Bangladesh has built a well-oiled network of such institutions, which has lifted millions out of poverty. But the man behind it is in trouble it seems. Muhammad Yunus was recently convicted for violating labour laws. Listen to this episode of the podcast for more about this Nobel laureate. 

2023 made a dent in Apple's global business. The company not just ceded the top spot to its rival Samsung, but also posted its fourth straight quarter of revenue decline on a yearly basis. It was the longest slump for the US firm in two decades. And not just this, the tech giant also faced the wrath of regulators in China, in the US and in the European Union. So will 2024 give some breather to Apple?  And it wasn't just tech giant Apple. India was also a big draw for foreign investors last year. And thanks to the rising wealth, Indian investors too are increasingly investing in foreign shores. In the first half of 2023, FDI outflow to Dubai saw an increase of 65% compared to the same period last year. So what is driving increased Indian FDI into Dubai?  Let us now see what is happening in India's mutual fund industry. In the first 11 months of 2023, fund assets soared by 19%. These gains were largely driven by mid and small-cap equity mutual funds, where the former category saw inflows worth over 36,000 crore rupees during the period. By comparison, the large-cap equity mutual fund category saw net outflow of about 2,700 crore rupees. But, as valuations turn frothy in the broader markets, will the large-cap MFs find their mojo back this year?  After the mutual funds, let us now turn our gaze to foreign affairs. Iran is now part of a free-trade zone spread across a vast Eurasian region. This trade pact is called Eurasian Economic Union and is being led by Russia. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Mirroring global trend, the Indian IT industry showed muted growth in 2023. The slowdown -- that set in somewhere in the midst of 2022 -- continues to haunt the sector. Offshores deals are being called off, and hiring has shrunk for the first time in the last 25 years. But experts see some silver linings as the global economy is recovering. So will Indian IT continue to face deal ramp downs in 2024?  Over-the-top platforms, meanwhile, continued to entertain viewers in 2023. An SBI report in August last year said that OTT platforms would soon dethrone multiplexes as India's go-to entertainment option. So what is in the store for OTTs this year?  And it's not just OTT media services, the march of Indian equities too continued last year. They gave stellar returns of up to 20% in 2023. And most of these gains came in November and December itself. This fast paced rally has also sent the India VIX or volatility index to multi month highs during this time. The rising gauge means markets expect high volatility ahead. So are equities ripe for a correction in the new month?  Like the financial markets, India's space sector too has been scaling new heights. ISRO rang in the new year by launching the XPoSat mission. The aim is to study black holes and neutron stars. Listen to this episode of the podcast for more about this interesting project. 

India Inc. showed remarkable resilience in 2023, despite global and domestic headwinds. Its net profit share in GDP is now just shy of 5%. And as we welcome the new year, what do the Indian CEOs think 2024 will be like for corporations. Here is the results of a Business Standard poll conducted for CEOs on their 2024 outlook. Clearly, industry leaders are upbeat about the Indian economy. And just like us, they are also eagerly waiting to know the outcome of upcoming General Elections. And before that, just a few days from now, the country will witness the inauguration of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya. So what are the other important events that may shape 2024?  The year 2023, meanwhile, was the eighth straight year when the Indian stock markets hit record highs on the back of solid macroeconomic fundamentals and retail interest. As we kick start 2024, we take a deep dive into the top events that investors should watch out, and the key levels on the indices this year. Last year, we also saw Hamas fighters entering Israeli territory and killing at least 1,000 unarmed people. The Israeli response was fierce. At least 20,000 people have lost their lives in Palestine so far. The clash is finding echo in the Red Sea too, where Iran-aligned Houthi rebels are targeting cargo ships-- which they claim have some Israeli links. Now the US has formed a coalition to safeguard commerce in the region. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Glasses will finally clink in Gujarat's GIFT City at the end of a hard week. The dry state has given the special economic zone freedom to serve alcohol to employees and authorized visitors. So will it lift the spirit of GIFT City, which some believe turns into a ghost town after working hours?  Some news reports, meanwhile, suggested that Tesla's plan to set up a factory in India is likely to be announced during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit. This brings us to the Tesla boss, Elon Musk. Musk hogged the limelight after his 2022 takeover of twitter, which was renamed as X this year. Apart from Musk, there are four other personalities which have kept newspersons busy, and people hooked in 2023.  Let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. Weaker-than-expected festive demand, rainfall deficit, unseasonal rains, and higher commodity prices cooked a difficult-to-digest market recipe this year for the FMCG sector. In fact, it posted less than 5% year-on-year growth in net sales in the September quarter of FY24, which was the slowest growth reported by them in the post-pandemic period. But, will the sector be able to turn the corner in 2024?  Experts anticipate that the last week of 2023 could be sluggish as many FIIs will be in a holiday mode. Meanwhile, the government is all set to handover a New Year's gift to the country's common man. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Amrit Bharat Express on December 3o. Most likely from Ayodhya. But how is it a gift for the common man? And how different is this train from others? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Paytm's parent company, One 97 Communications, has reportedly laid off over 1,000 employees over the last few days. It is realigning its various businesses to cut costs and turn profitable again. These layoffs also come on the heels of Paytm withdrawing from small-ticket consumer lending after RBI's clampdown on unsecured loans. Find out why Paytm is pivoting away from lending. When asked about the recent lay-offs, Paytm said that it was aiming to save 10 to 15% in employee costs with Artificial Intelligence-led transformations. And that it would result in a slight reduction in the workforce. Well, 2023 will be remembered as a year when people and companies started taking AI seriously. Listen to the key milestones in the AI industry and finds out what it may reveals about AI's future. This year also saw equity markets staging a handsome recovery with benchmarks eyeing to close the year with double-digit gains. But pockets like private banks, metals, and oil have lagged behind. Listen to the reasons and the 2024 outlook for these segments. After the financial markets, let us now turn our gaze to Europe -- which has recently agreed to a major overhaul of the bloc's laws on handling asylum-seekers and migrants. This episode of the podcast explains more. 

After months of build-up, Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have reportedly entered into a non-binding agreement. The plan is to merge Indian operations which will, in turn, create India's largest media and entertainment empire -- challenging the might of Sony, Zee, Amazon Prime and Netflix. But this merger, in a way, also suggests that Disney failed to crack the Indian market. But why?  Both the firms are reportedly expecting to wrap-up the deal at the beginning of next year. Moving on, this year was good for Indian sports too. And we are not talking about cricket here. Other sports too had their day in the sun. With notable performances in the Asian Games, Fide Chess Championship and some other events, new talents continued to attract the attention of the country. And that of the brand too.  This year turned out to be good for the equity markets too. It delivered strong performance in 2023 as they recovered from the recession fears that fed into the October 2022 trough. This gave way for developed markets, such as the US, to deliver up to 43% returns this year! However, as we enter 2024, will developed markets continue to attract investors' money? Or will emerging markets stage an outperformance?  OLA Electric IPO is also going to hit the primary market next year. Its CEO Bhavish Aggarwal is upbeat about it. Meanwhile, Ola is also excited about a new AI initiative called Krutrim. It is a home-grown large language model. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

The domestic housing market in 2023 has seen one of the strongest performances in recent years. The robust growth in the segment is driven by strong demand in the residential market, complemented by supply of new inventories. The year is expected to see a 20 per cent rise in apartment sales in seven major Indian cities. That's around 2.6 lakh units. But what's behind this rush to own flats, and who are the buyers?   Industry analysts expect residential real estate sales in India to touch three lakh units in 2024, on the back of robust demand and quality launches. Meanwhile, the masala in Hindi film industry, which was missing for the past few years, is back in 2023 – minting big bucks for multiplexes nationwide. The resurgence of Bollywood movies is evident in this year's box office collections that have surpassed pre-pandemic figures for the first time. What, then, were the key ingredients that contributed to this spectacular comeback?  Following a dream run in 2023, Bollywood's prospects for the coming year depend on how the industry preps its scripts to outpace competition from OTTs and the appeal of world cinemas. Let us now turn to the outlook for oil markets in 2024. Can the geopolitical developments set the oil prices ablaze and take them past the 100 dollars a barrel mark in the year ahead? Or, will the slowdown in China keep the oil demand and prices in check? Pulkit Agarwal, head of India content, S&P Global Commodity Insights shares his interpretation of the current developments, and how he sees crude oil and gas prices play out in 2024. According to the Nasscom-Zinnov Report, 18 Global Capability Centres or GCCs were set up in India in the first half of 2023. As of June 2023, there are more than 1,580 in India and more than 1.6 million works in them. This number shows India's position as a prime destination for setting up Global Capability Centres. So what are Global Capability Centers? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

India never had so many vehicles with green number plates on its roads. Registration of electric vehicles crossed the one million mark in 2023. From .67% in 2020, the share of EVs in total vehicles sold rose to 6% this year. And Tata Motors last week said that the electric passenger cars segment is expected to grow at 30 to 40% in 2024. Find out what the road ahead looks like for EVs. Will 2024 be the year of EVs? Financial markets too had a good run this year. If someone had told you, the Sensex would rise over 10,000 points in a year, would you have believed it? But, this miraculous milestone was indeed achieved in 2023 despite the various challenges that markets faced. Taking ahead our year-ender series, find out the factors that led to the massive rise of stock markets in 2023. Staying with the financial markets theme, investors took home some gains last week as they decided to book profit in the markets post the Sensex and Nifty indices' 13% surge in the past seven weeks. In fact, the indices are up 6% so far in December. So, what should be your trading strategy at this juncture?  Sceptics often ask if markets have run too far too fast. But backed by strong fundamentals and better global outlook, benchmark indices are routinely pulling up surprises. Moving on, one of the world's wealthiest persons, Jeff Bezos, had also pulled up a surprise in 2021 by announcing his resignation as the CEO of Amazon. He had his eyes fixed on space tourism. His company Blue Origin successfully launched a rocket on an un-crewed mission last week. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

The Lok Sabha passed Telecom Bill, 2023 on Wednesday, 20th of December, after a brief discussion. In our previous episode, we explored its likely implications on over-the-top platforms, like WhatsApp and Telegram. Today we will find out about another key aspect of the proposed bill. That is the proposal to assign spectrum for satellite internet services through administrative allocation … without an auction. So is allocation better than auction?    The world is better connected than ever today, thanks to evolving communication technology. It also helped us tide over the pandemic crisis as homes doubled up as offices. But as the travel restrictions eased and the world returned to normalcy, employers were forced to do a reality check. Most of them called employees back to the office. In our year-ender series, which starts today, Ayush Mishra looks if 2023 was the year work from home ended.  Let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. Shares of IndiGo and SpiceJet have been buzzing on the bourses amid a slew of positive news flow. While IndiGo achieved the milestone of carrying 100 million passengers in a year, SpiceJet has finalized its fundraising plans. Add to it, the industry dynamics are on a mend with travel demand holding up amid falling crude oil prices. Does this mean airline stocks are set to fly higher in the skies? Or are there potential turbulences that investors are ignoring?  Key benchmark indices recovered on Thursday after crashing a day earlier amid concerns of elevated valuation, and a surge in Covid cases. Over 600 fresh cases of Covid-19 were registered in the country on Thursday morning. Of them, 21 were of the new JN.1 sub-variant – which is fuelling the global uptick. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

After over 138 years, the government is rewriting India's telecommunication laws. Interestingly, the Bill text doesn't have OTT in the definition of telecom services. But, the way it defines telecommunication opens the possibility of its later inclusion.  Telecom Bill will indeed be one of the hallmarks of this year. Well, this year also took India to the Moon. With the remarkable success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the country's capabilities in space exploration and technology shone bright this year. And with the introduction of the New Space Policy 2023, and an increase in public-private partnership in the space sector, India's vision of dominating the higher orbits appears well set to take off.  Find out the country's evolving landscape of space exploration. For India's bond markets, 2023 was quite a bumpy year. Surging US yields and a volatile inflation trajectory kept investors on the edge. But the much-anticipated rate pauses have provided relief to investors. Find out the outlook for bonds next year and how investors should position themselves in fixed-income assets. Whether it is trading in financial markets or a banking transaction, artificial intelligence is soon going to make your experience even better and enjoyable. It is also helping us bridge the language barrier. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently used language AI tool ‘Bhashini' to communicate with his Tamil audience. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Engine troubles and financial crisis have pushed Go First airline to a point-of-no-return. Its sole potential buyer, Jindal Powers Ltd, has backed out of bidding for the grounded airline. The budget carrier looks all set to follow 12 other airlines which have flown into obscurity in the last ten years. Foreign shores too are no less ominous for airlines. But why do so many promising airlines go bust?  Notwithstanding some airline busts, India has become the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world. Boeing recently announced that it will set up its largest facility outside the US in Bengaluru. Another US giant, Apple, too has emerged as the face for foreign manufacturing in India. Clearly, India is aggressively pitching itself as an Asian alternative to Chinese manufacturing. But while it has come a long way, India clearly has a long road to cover?  Let us now see what is happening in the world of digital currencies. Bitcoin has more-than-doubled investor money so far in 2023. However, it is expected to witness the famous ‘Halving Event' in April 2024, where the value of the currency nearly halves but sees multi-fold rise in months ahead. So, will Bitcoin be able to hold on to its dream run in 2024?  After plowing billions of dollars into the cryptocurrency market, venture capitalists are believed to be sitting on dry powder, waiting for the right time. They have turned circumspect on startups too. But exactly what is dry powder? Listen to this episode of the podcast for more. 

Engine troubles and financial crisis have pushed Go First airline to a point-of-no-return. Its sole potential buyer, Jindal Powers Ltd, has backed out of bidding for the grounded airline. The budget carrier looks all set to follow 12 other airlines which have flown into obscurity in the last ten years. Foreign shores too are no less ominous for airlines. But why do so many promising airlines go bust?  Notwithstanding some airline busts, India has become the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world. Boeing recently announced that it will set up its largest facility outside the US in Bengaluru. Another US giant, Apple, too has emerged as the face for foreign manufacturing in India. Clearly, India is aggressively pitching itself as an Asian alternative to Chinese manufacturing. But while it has come a long way, India clearly has a long road to cover?  Let us now see what is happening in the world of digital currencies. Bitcoin has more-than-doubled investor money so far in 2023. However, it is expected to witness the famous ‘Halving Event' in April 2024, where the value of the currency nearly halves but sees multi-fold rise in months ahead. So, will Bitcoin be able to hold on to its dream run in 2024?  After plowing billions of dollars into the cryptocurrency market, venture capitalists are believed to be sitting on dry powder, waiting for the right time. They have turned circumspect on startups too. But exactly what is dry powder? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

Infosys saw yet another top-level exit last week after its Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy decided to step down to explore external opportunities. If we include Roy, the last 12 months have seen eight seniors leaving Infosys. But why? Find out what could be behind this unusual churn in the IT major. Like Infosys, Indian Premier League or IPL too is seeing a churn. We may see a generational shift in the auction starting tomorrow in Dubai. Here's a peak into this mega event. IPL is also a decacorn now. Its valuation has jumped about 28% in 2023. Moving on, Dalal Street bulls got a shot in their arm last week after the US Federal Reserve signaled a pivot and three rate cuts in 2024. This led to euphoric buying in the markets in the last two sessions, taking indices to record high levels. So will the Sensex and Nifty extend their rally into this week, making it an eighth straight weekly win?   After the financial markets, let us now move on to a scam which is turning big with each passing day. The Maharashtra government has now set up an SIT to probe if Mahadev betting app's owners are linked to wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more.