Business Standard Podcast

India has reopened the window for applying to its ambitious chip-making plan after the three aspirants failed to qualify for the financial incentives. And it has also tweaked the old scheme -- extending incentives for wafers of all sizes. So what forced the government to tweak its semiconductor policy? And, how can India's chip making dream be realised?  While India’s chip making plan is still waiting in the wings, its bid to become a phone exporting country has finally taken off. Driven by Apple’s bumper shipments, India’s overall smartphone exports crossed the 40,000-crore-rupee mark for the first time in FY 23. Meanwhile, the iPhone maker’s first two stores in India have grossed sales of about 50 crores in less than 45 days of their opening.  In India, this is a record as far as sales for any electronics store are concerned. So, has Tim Cook’s India bet paid off? And what are the challenges ahead as Apple's competitor Samsung also plans to open its own stores here?    Over 6 to 7000 fans had thronged the opening of Apple’s retail stores in Delhi and Mumbai. Tim Cook was overwhelmed with the reception he got in the country. Moving on, let us turn our gaze to Mint Street. The RBI’s monetary policy committee will meet between June 6th and 8th this week. While investors expect the central bank to hold the repo rate for a second straight meeting at 6.5%, it would be RBI governor Shaktikanta Das' commentary that would trigger the next directional move in the markets. Will the governor's address help markets move out of the consolidation phase? And how do rate sensitive sectors look on the charts ahead of the policy?  Well, in these times of high-frequency trading, a millisecond can make a lot of difference. Information travels at the speed of light now. Thanks to the Internet. And do you know that for most big corporates, data centres play a crucial role. They are also called Internet exchange points - or colloquially “carrier hotels” where the internet lives. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.   

Indian banks are on a roll. The cumulative profit of government banks has soared 57% in FY 23 from the last fiscal to breach the one trillion-rupee mark. And the net profit of private lenders shot up by 23% YoY. The bad loan burden -- which had kept them down for nearly a decade - too has lightened. But, amid all this, the regulator is advising caution. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has warned banks against hiding stress and pointed to gaps in governance at certain banks. So, why is the Governor worried?  While Indian banks are on a roll, the startups, it seems, have run out of steam. Their run of bad luck -- which started in the second half of 2022 -- still continues. Funding for domestic startups fell 75% YoY in the first quarter of calendar year 2023. So why are foreign investors circumspect? And what can startups do to convince them to loosen the purse string and release the dry powder?  The shares of several new age companies, which include startups like Zomato and Paytm are, it seems, on a recovery path. They have gained 10-34% so far in 2023. Moving on, the Q4 earnings season has wrapped with no major surprises for investors. But as the outlook for some pockets, especially non-banks, remains weak, will India Inc. continue to grapple with an earnings downgrade ahead?    After the markets, let us turn our focus to the banking sector – which was the theme of our first story. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has cautioned banks against aggressive growth strategies and the evergreening of loans. But what exactly is this evergreening of loans? Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more.  

Indian economy grew by 6.1% in the final quarter of financial year 2023 -- nudging the overall growth rate to breach the 7 per cent mark. But what led to this surprise buoyancy in the GDP numbers during the March quarter? And what are the key factors which made this possible?  A positive consumer sentiment is indeed a good news for players in the FMCG sector -- where margin is thin, and competition stiff. And a player with deep pockets is continuously heating up the competition. Reliance Retail is now consolidating its business-to-business vertical. A few months after starting a price war in the grocery B2B space with large discounts, JioMart is now trying to improve margins. It fired over 1,000 workers in May and has plans to lay off many more soon. So what does the company plan to achieve? And, how will it shape its future?  Now that we’ve looked at what’s happening at the country’s largest conglomerate, let’s see how the new age companies are performing. Their operational performance remained positive in the March quarter. The stocks, too, have shown recovery from their lows. So should investors add these to their portfolios?  The key benchmark indices wilted under selling pressure on the last day of May, as traders chose to take home some gains after the four-day rally. Moving on, a WTO panel has ruled that India’s import duties on some information and technology products are inconsistent with global trade norms. India is now mulling approaching the WTO’s appellate body against this ruling. But ever wondered what is WTO? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

IPL 2023 finally came to an end on May 29, with the Chennai Super Kings clinching its fifth win. The latest edition was remarkable for several records broken and milestones established on field. But off the field too, the massive viewership numbers for IPL 2023 seems to have given its OTT broadcaster — Jio Cinema — a big push in its race for a place among the leaders of India’s OTT-space. But, is the Reliance-owned streaming platform ready to take on giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime?    JioCinema didn’t break new ground with its free IPL streaming. But its entry will make a big dent on the ARPUs of other OTT platforms – just like it did for the telecom players in 2016 and 2017. On the other side of the globe, the world’s fourth largest economy meanwhile is facing a technical recession. Germany, recorded a 0.3% contraction in GDP in the first quarter of this year. Among various reasons, a prime trigger is the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that has disrupted the supply of natural gas. Germany is also one of the prime destinations for India’s exports. So, will the Indian economy take a hit because of the recession in Deutschland?    So, the good news is, recession in Germany alone will not significantly impact India’s merchandise exports. Back in India, shares of Gautam Adani’s conglomerate are clawing back from an epic rout, after a Supreme Court panel found no evidence of regulatory failure or market manipulation in stock prices. Can the billionaire now convince investors and lenders to infuse fresh capital in the Group? Besides, how does the road ahead looks like for group stocks?  Summer is here. Notwithstanding some rain relief in Northern India, the country is reeling under scorching heat. Meanwhile, a heat dome phenomenon has been reportedly occurring in the United States since the past month. The unique weather condition is also common in north-western India and some parts of China and Bangladesh during the summers. So, what is a heat dome? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

It had hit a boundary on the very first ball. The Indian Premier League (IPL) became the country’s first unicorn in 2008 -- the year it was formed. And in its 15th year, just before the beginning of this year’s season, it became a decacorn, with its business value crossing the $10 billion mark. IPL has indeed brought unprecedented windfall to cricket. Its huge popularity has brought lucrative media and sponsorship deals over the years. So in today’s first story we explore if the IPL has become what Super Bowl is in the USA?  Did unwanted messages irk you while you were enjoying the nail- biting IPL match? And do you also get annoying calls? Then you are not the only one who is complaining about it. An increased number of people are reporting about such unwanted calls and messages. And the government is working to address it. Last week, it asked retailers not to insist on phone numbers of customers. So what are the regulations around sharing of phone numbers? Which authority monitors it? And finally, how will the upcoming Digital Personal Data Protection Bill protect your data?  Talking about data, Meta was slapped with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine last week. The reason? It was accused of transferring data to the US agencies. Moving on, the US leaders reached a tentative deal to raise the government’s 31.4 trillion dollar debt ceiling for two years. This measure brought a relief rally in equity markets across the globe on Monday, May 29. Going ahead, will this uptrend sustain or fizzle out soon? Moreover, will the expanded US debt limit make emerging markets a favourable bet?  It is not just lifting of the debt ceiling. The US took another big decision last week which may also have far reaching consequences. The country’s Food and Drug Administration finally gave a nod to Elon Musk’s brain-implant startup Neuralink to go ahead with the first human clinical study. The company plans to use its microchips to treat conditions such as paralysis. Listen to this episode of the podcast for more.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday, May 28 - two days after completing nine years in office and just months before he faces general elections. So as the seat of power shifts from the iconic Parliament building to the new one a couple of blocks away, Tushar Verma offers a peek into exactly how it was built. Who built it? And why was it needed?  From the seat of power for the world’s largest democracy, let us turn our gaze to the world’s highest peak. But it is no longer lonely out there. During the season, Mount Everest is brimming with climbers brushing past each other to reach the summit. The peak is also a pillar for Nepal’s economy. So if you are also planning to hit the mountain trail, Thareek Ahmed’s report will for sure come handy. It tells how much money and time you will need, apart from a sound health, to climb Everest. This is the month when weather is clear in the Himalayas for climbers trying to reach Everest peak. Moving on, this time, the month of May has proved to be volatile for the Indian equity markets. So how long will the range-bound movement continue amid volatility? Puneet Wadhwa caught up with Nilesh Shah, Group President & MD, Kotak Mahindra AMC on how he sees the markets playing out over the next few weeks and his interpretation of the recent Sebi norms for the mutual fund industry. February saw one of the sharpest market capitalisation declines in the history of Indian stock markets. While markets have recovered from the shock delivered by Hindenburg Research, Adani group stocks haven’t. One of the main allegations leveled by the short seller against the Adani group was that it indulged in price rigging. But what is it? Listen to this episode of the podcast to know.    

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completed nine years in office. Between bowing down at the steps of Parliament to stepping into a new Parliament building, these nine years were marked with several challenges-- including the once-in-a-century pandemic. But how do we judge the performance of any government? One of the ways is to find out how the predecessor performed. We analyse how the governments led by Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh performed on select economic and social indicators across applicable periods.  What may also go down as one of the hallmarks of the Modi government is its proposed privacy law. The reworked Digital Personal Data Protection Bill is likely to be tabled in the Monsoon session of Parliament. Meanwhile, in Europe, Facebook owner Meta Platforms has been slapped with a record $1.3 billion fine for failing to protect users’ personal information from the US security services. It has been told to stop transferring users’ data to the US. So how will this action by the European Union privacy regulator influence India’s plans to regulate big techs?  Meta, meanwhile, has started the third and last round of layoffs. Several top Indian executives have also found their names in the list. Moving on, India’s largest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation, had hit the bourses a year ago. But the stock proved to be a wealth destroyer for investors, crashing nearly 40% during the period. The management had to deal with the decline in the value of its investments in Adani group, along with higher tax rate on insurance premium above five lakh rupees. Going ahead, what does the road look like for LIC stock? Will it finally reward its investors or should you stay on the sidelines?  From Dalal Street, let us shift focus to the corridors of the newly-built Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the building this Sunday, on May 28. He will also install a historic sceptre from Tamil Nadu next to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s seat. It is called Sengol. Listen to thjs episode of the podcast for answers. 

After the Galwan Valley clash about three year ago, ties between India and China had hit a new low in decades. But trade between the two countries touched an all-time high last year. In our first story, we talk about how trade between India and China is shaping up amid strained ties. Chinese suppliers of Apple have reportedly been given preliminary clearance to form joint ventures with Indian companies. China’s popular fashion brand, Shein, is also re-entering the country. So are Chinese firms back in business in India?  Opposition parties, meanwhile, accuse the government of giving opaque statements on the border situation with China. Talking of politics, Congress recently swept the Karnataka polls. While people hailed Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders for the victory, those working tirelessly behind the scene remained behind the scenes. They prepare election strategies and play a vital role in any party’s victory. Like Prashant Kishore is credited with BJP’s rise. And Sunil Kanugolu for Congress’ recent win. But how do these poll strategists help parties?  One of the BJP’s poll plank has been its ‘Make in India’ drive. And it is showing results too. India’s domestic defence production soared past 1 trillion rupees in FY 23. And share of defence companies have surged up to 160 per cent in the past one year, as against a 14 per cent jump in the S&P BSE Sensex. With India’s indigenisation theme gaining momentum, will this dream run continue in related-stocks or a correction is likely in the near-term? Soft drinks industry too is gung-ho. It is raising a toast to a good season of sales -- thanks to the rising temperature. But should you be wary of opening those bottles and cans full of sweet drinks. Or think twice before relishing your favourite ice cream or even cookies? WHO believes so. But why? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

The Supreme Court has granted Sebi time till August 14th to complete its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group. So how is the Sebi probe likely to proceed and what will be the challenges along the way?  Looks like the stocks of Adani group companies are back on the track. After hitting a rough patch, they now seem to be on the onward journey. Well, Delhi metro just completed 20 years of its journey. For millions of people of the national capital and its satellite towns, it has become a lifeline of sorts. But, of late, it has been in the news for a different reason: indecency in public places. Cops in civil clothes will now travel with you to ensure that it doesn’t happen. So how will it change your travelling experience?  Metro is also shielding travelers from this scorching heat. Temperature in Delhi has been hovering above 46 degrees Celsius for a while now. But crude oil-linked companies are keeping their cool. Due to easing commodity costs, they have reported strong March quarter results. And related-stocks have gained up to 84 per cent in the past one year, as against a 14 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. But will this rally continue? Instead of a prized asset, 2000-rupee note has suddenly turned into a liability. While people like us can easily exchange it, those dealing in Hawala transactions are in a soup. But what is a Hawala? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers. 

The 2000-rupee note has had quite a journey. It came into being seven years ago, with Narendra Modi's out-of-the-blue demonetisation move in 2016. And now, this ‘pink note’ is set to sail off into the sunset. On that note, we have a special show for you today. We talk about the myriad possible impacts of the RBI’s move to strip the 2000-rupee currency of its status as a legal tender. We start by explaining how you should exchange these notes. We take you through the best possible ways as well as the challenges you might face in the process.    But what about the move’s impact on our economy? Will it affect borrowing rates for the government and the companies? What do experts have to say?    The RBI move was also expected to boost liquidity in the banking system.  The sentiment, however, didn't reflect on the bourses as most banking shares remained weak on Monday. So why didn't investors cheer the move? And what's the road ahead for bank stocks?    And now to the central question: why did RBI decide to do away with the 2000 rupee note? In RBI governor Shaktikanta Das’s words, the step was taken under the central bank’s ‘clean note policy’. But what is this policy? We decoded it for you in this episode of the podcast.