Mint Primer

The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell has set the price of domestic natural gas for May at $8.27 per metric million British thermal units. It was $7.92 in April. The revision follows the new domestic gas pricing formula introduced last month. Rituraj Baruah explains its likely impact. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

They say no password is a good password. With Microsoft and Apple taking the step in the last few years, Google announced its plan to kill passwords online last week, with something called Passkeys. Firms call these a step towards a password-less future. Mint's Prasid Banerjee explains in this episode.

One of the oldest private airlines in India has decided to file for bankruptcy citing persistent issues with Pratt & Whitney engines that power its fleet of 54 Airbus A320 aircraft. Mint's Anu Sharma explains what lies at the core of Go First’s troubled flight path. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Goods and services tax (GST) collections hit a record ₹1.87 trillion in April. Ever since its introduction, GST data has become a barometer of how well the economy is performing. But is the April data really so straightforward? Pragya Srivastava explains This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

A pandemic-induced global shortage of semiconductor chips drove down global auto volumes by a quarter in 2021. The pandemic is over now, and India recorded its best passenger vehicle sales in FY23. So why do shortages continue to niggle? Mint's Alisha Sachdev explains. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Employee costs in leading IT services companies have shot up over the last four fiscals, according to a Mint analysis. In uncertain times, companies are likely to cut costs, which has implications on both hiring and salary hikes. Mint's Manjul Paul and Devina Sengupta explain in this episode. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism calls for tariffs on goods from countries that are not part of the Emission Trading System, which allows companies to trade carbon credits or allowances. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

After almost a year of a downturn, the crypto markets seem to be rising once again. Analysts are predicting sky-high prices too and Bitcoin is once again the poster boy for the resurgence.

The success of the ISRO has spawned a number of private players, making the recently announced Indian Space Policy 2023 critical. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

On Wednesday, the union cabinet gave its nod to a ₹6,000 crore National Quantum Mission to develop quantum computers and scale up research and development in quantum technologies. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

RBI’s Consumer Confidence Survey, a measure of consumers’ perception of the prevailing economic situation, was conducted in the first half of March 2023 across 19 cities. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

If there is one state that has an inflation that is consistently the highest among its peers, it is Telangana. At 7.63%, it is almost 200 basis points more than the national average. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Demand for refined petroleum products hit a record in FY23, led by transportation fuel. The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) said consumption reached 222.30 million tonnes in the last fiscal. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Tamil Nadu has banned online gambling, rekindling a campaign against gaming firms in India that has raged for over a year-and-a-half. This episode is hosted bu Prasid Banerjee.

The Met has predicted normal rains in the June-September monsoon season—in spite of the likelihood of El Nino conditions developing by July, which usually negatively impacts rainfall. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

OPEC+ countries announced a voluntary oil production cut by 1.16 million barrels per day. Reduced global oil supplies can impact the economy of India, which is dependent on oil imports for approx 85% of its energy needs. This episode by Prasid Banerjee.

Over the last few years, India's outreach to Latin America has increased. EAM Jaishankar, who has visited Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, is to visit Guyana and Colombia later this month. This episode is hosted by Prasidd Banerjee.

Parliament has given its approval to the Competition Amendment Bill, 2023, in the ongoing budget session, laying the foundation for more effective oversight. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Recently, #G20’s infrastructure working group concluded its meeting in Visakhapatnam. The focus was on urban infrastructure financing. This episode explains why the financing of future cities is a pressing need and the options available. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

The government has finally unveiled its new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) which came into force on 1 April. The previous policy had to be extended several times due to the pandemic & geo-political developments. This episode is hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Generative AI has polarized AI experts with some calling for a six-month moratorium on building new systems and others arguing against the idea that the benefits of AI far outweigh perceived risks. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

India says it has no plans to provide any more flying rights or 'bilateral rights' to foreign airlines, as the country wants its own carriers to become global players. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

The final part of the sixth assessment report ("AR6") of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released on Monday. It's "final warning" about the climate crisis merits attention and drastic action. This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

After pushing generative AI into their search engines and browsers, Google & Microsoft are now adding them to consumer products like Outlook, Bing, Edge, Gmail, Docs & more. Can they change how we use these apps? This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.

Cases of influenza-A subtype H3N2 are on the rise, with a few deaths reported across India. The government says it’s keeping a close watch on the situation and has issued advisories. Is there cause for concern? This episode is being hosted by Prasid Banerjee.