Mint Primer

Placements at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are a barometer for how the hiring market shapes up in any given year. The battlegrounds of IITs t,his year are calm, indicating weak appetite among companies across sectors. Listen full episode here

Cyclone Michaung has brought India’s fourth largest city, Chennai, to its knees. Its recent efforts to prepare for such extreme weather events have been found to be wanting. Mint explains why the city, which prides itself as an ideal investment destination, needs to do a lot more.

On 14 July, India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves stood at $609 billion. On 20 October, it hit a recent low of $583.5 billion before rising again slightly to $597.9 billion on 24 November. What explains this yo-yo-like behavior? Mint examines the ups and downs of the rupee:

While the result of the state assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh has surprised many, it will calm the markets. Fears of fiscal profligacy or a rickety coalition government at the Centre in 2024 have eased.

Off-budget borrowings by states rose sharply in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Worried (they widen the fiscal deficit), the Centre cracked down on the habit in March 2022 and they have decreased. Mint looks at off-budget borrowings and their implications.

After vegetables and cereals, it’s the turn of pulses now. Prices of commonly used dals are soaring. But unlike other food crops, taming pulse prices is harder, as India is both the largest producer and consumer. Mint explains the background.

A Dubai-bound business jet from Europe flew into Iranian airspace with no clearance in September—due to a false signal on the aircraft navigation system. After about 20 planes faced similar issues, the Indian aviation regulator issued an advisory last week Listen to the full episode here...

E-SIMs or embedded SIMs will soon replace those fiddly physical SIMs in smartphones and other devices. Airtel’s top boss Gopal Vittal has urged subscribers to move to e-SIMs. But what exactly are they, how do they work, and what does it mean for us?

Retail investors have been at it. Futures and options (F&O) average daily turnover (ADT) has surged 34.5 times from FY19-24, while cash volumes only doubled, prompting deep concern from the Sebi chairperson. Brokers now expect more curbs to rein in the frenzy:

The government wants to replace the ‘use-and-throw’ design philosophy of products with a ‘right to repair’ framework. Benefits are many. Mint explains the concept, its need and how this move may disrupt the way businesses operate.

OpenAI chief executive and founding team member Sam Altman was last week fired from the company he helped make famous. Many startup founders have been made to leave their companies. What’s behind this trend?

Domestic pump prices of petrol and diesel have remained unchanged since May 2022, the longest freeze in India. With the Centre netting buoyant tax revenue and global crude prices benign, can consumers hope for a cut in the run-up to the elections next year?

India’s weightage on the MSCI emerging markets (EM) index is tipped to rise to 16.3% from the current 15.88% with nine fresh stock inclusions in the gauge. The addition, effective 30 November, will take India’s representation to an all-time high of 131 stocks.

On 10 November, India’s currency touched an all-time low of ₹83.5 against the dollar. It has now recovered a little, closing at ₹83.1 on 15 November. Mint explains the reasons behind the rupee’s slide in the recent past and gives a peek into the future.

A mix of solutions has helped sharply reduce crop stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana. But some still resort to the polluting practice because of a shortage of machines to manage crop residues, causing the air quality index (AQI) to worsen

The growth of India’s labour productivity—output per person per hour—has been tepid. And working longer hours is not a solution. Mint looks at the reasons for the low productivity growth and what needs to be done to improve it.

With AI tools becoming more accessible, deepfakes are a rising threat in audio, video, and photo formats. But, catching the actual perpetrators is next to impossible, thanks to how cyber tools allow people to obfuscate the traces of origin.

India’s co-working sector, also called the flex workspace sector, modelled itself on WeWork Inc., the SoftBank-backed startup that filed for bankruptcy in the US this week. How does this development impact WeWork India and other companies?

Home sales in October-December are expected to clock the best-ever festive period sales. October was already a blockbuster month in some cities, triggered by Navaratri. Now, developers expect Diwali to catapult the real estate industry to a new high.

With elections looming, the prime minister has extended the free foodgrain scheme, which was due to end after December, by 5 years. The announcement, made at an election rally, is being viewed as a political move. What does it entail?

The central government last week notified a regulation to allow unlisted Indian companies to be listed on foreign exchanges. Until now, only companies already listed in India were eligible for a secondary listing. In this context, Mint provides a detailed explanation of this recent development and its potential ramifications.

The US Federal Reserve has decided to hold the federal funds rate steady at 5.25-5%. This is the second meeting in a row the Fed has maintained the status quo on the funds rate. Why did the Fed do this and what are the implications of this decision?

The government has asked Apple to join its investigation into allegations that the iPhones of some opposition leaders and journalists could have been compromised by “state-sponsored” hackers. Is your phone hacked? What can you do about it?

Demand for smartphones dropped in 2022, with the market shrinking 10%. In the first six months of 2023, it dropped another 10%. Premium phones, priced at $400 or more, are bucking the trend—shipments grew 75% in H1 this year. Are premium phones more affordable now?

Domestic overall two-wheeler sales increased 4% in the first half of FY24, and estimates suggest they will easily top 17 million units by the year-end. Yet, sales would be significantly below the peak levels of the pre-covid era.