Mint Primer

Worries of a recession in the West, and a prolonged lockdown in China, have begun impacting India’s exports. Official data shows exports in August fell from July and remained little changed from a year ago. Mint explains.

The Indian economy grew 13.5% in the June quarter, much lower than the central bank’s forecast of 16.2%. While a low base has made interpreting the data difficult, another factor may have led to a distortion: the government’s deflation method. Mint explains.

The ease of doing business in India remains low, dragged down by the way contracts are enforced in the country. Recent reforms have improved the business climate somewhat, but there is a long way to go. Mint's Jagadish Shettigar and Pooja Misra dig deeper into the issue. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

The demolition of Supertech Ltd’s twin towers in Noida was a visual spectacle and may act as a deterrent for errant developers in some ways. However, it may take a long time to clean up the excesses of the past, particularly in the NCR. Mint's Madhurima Nandy explains. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Several new artificial intelligence (AI) driven services are letting anyone create art, and even sell them as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) online. Mint's Shouvik Das and Prasid Banerjee explain how they work, the scope of such services, and possible misuse. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Did NDTV disclose the possibility that it could lose ownership of the shares? Mint's Jayshree P. Upadhyay takes a look in her report. This episode is being hosted by Alisha Sachdev.

Are the sunny days of multiple offers and big hikes over for employees as the tech sector faces a margin crunch? Mint's Devina Sengupta explains in her report. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Marketing practices of pharma firms are under scrutiny after tax officials searched the premises of a drugmaker, and an association of medical representatives moved the Supreme Court alleging unethical marketing practices by drugmakers. Mint's Priyanka Sharma and Gireesh Chandra Prasad examine the issue in their report. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

India and the UK recently concluded the fifth round of talks for a free trade agreement (FTA), designed to encourage trade and investment relations. Expectations are that an FTA will be signed by October 2022. Mint's Jagadish Shettigar and Pooja Misra explores in their report the ambit and potential of the India-UK FTA. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Milk prices are rising, as producers and marketers pass on higher costs to consumers. Amul and Mother Dairy raised milk prices by ₹2 each this week, the second such hike this year. Mint's Suneera explores in her report. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Worries of a sustained slowdown in China as a result of its zero-covid strategy are troubling policymakers and trade experts worldwide. Mint's Ravi & Dilasha Seth explores in her report. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

The Reserve Bank of India’s latest Industrial Outlook Survey shows that despite input cost pressures, businesses are optimistic about demand, and business sentiments are positive. Why does RBI conduct this survey and how does it help policymaking? Mint explains.

Air travel is facing a new crisis of delays, cancellations, and lost or delayed baggage, prompting Emirates to term the situation an ‘airmageddon’. The reason: A severe staff shortage at airlines and airports. This Mint Primer is written by Alisha Sachdev and presented by Prasid Banerjee explaining, what should you know before packing bags?

India is hoping to become a gold price-setter with the International Indian Bullion Exchange (IIBX), now open at the Gujarat International Finance Tech City (GIFT) - International Financial Services Centre. Mint's Jayshree P. Upadhyay explains in her report the challenges and opportunities before IIBX. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Money laundering is one of the key charges made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against crypto exchange WazirX. The ED isn’t the first agency to level such allegations against a crypto platform, despite blockchain’s inherent property of traceability. Tune in with Mint's Prasid Banerjee to know more.

The RBI has been tightening liquidity conditions to check inflation, which has driven call money rate above the repo rate. Mint's Jagadish Shettigar and Pooja Misra analyses the impact in their report. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Rising friction between the US and China over Taiwan offers threats as well as opportunities. Mint's Dilasha Seth explores in her report. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by another 75 basis points to cool scorching inflation. This was its second 75 bps hike in a row, and the fourth increase this year. Mint looks at what this rate hike means and its impact on the Indian economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sharply lowered India’s growth forecast for FY23 to 7.4%, in its World Economic Outlook update titled ‘Gloomy and More Uncertain.’ This Mint Primer is written by Dilsha Seth and hosted by Prasid Banerjee explaining the implications of slower trade growth.

A chess-playing robot that fractured a boy’s finger was apparently irked when the seven-year-old began playing without waiting for the machine to complete its move. While such incidents are rare, they only exacerbate our fear of robots. Mint examines the issue. This edition of Mint Primer is being written by Leslie D'Monte & hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Last week, federal think tank NITI Aayog released a report on digital banks, offering a template for their licensing in India. It said India already has a technology stack to facilitate digital banks. What purpose will these new banks serve, and are we ready for them? This Mint Primer is written by Gopika Gopakumar and hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

A robust agriculture infrastructure is crucial to reduce post-harvest wastage that remains high in India. The new Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) has got investment proposals worth ₹23,000 crore, accelerating change in this direction. Mint decodes its benefits. This Mint Primer, is written by Jagadish Shettigar and Pooja Misra, and hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

On Tuesday, the cooling mechanisms of data centres used by Google and Oracle in London failed to withstand the heat wave. As climate gets warmer, data centres need to up their game. This Mint Primer is written by Leslie D'Monte, and hosted by Alisha Sachdev!

Tech giants serve content owned by publishers and directly or indirectly monetise the resulting traffic while the publisher gets a little or inadequate share. The government is now examining this. Mint's Prasid Banerjee explains in this episode.

Ola Electric, the poster boy for India’s electric vehicle (EV) dreams, is going to spend $500 million in a research and development (R&D) facility for batteries. The question is whether R&D investments alone can mitigate the EV industry’s problems. Mint's Prasid Banerjee explains in this episode.