Mint - HT Smartcast

Top of the Morning

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Top of the Morning is a daily podcast hosted by Nelson John , in which we bring you all the action from the global markets and the business world to kick-start your day on a well-informed note. This is a Mint production, brought to you by HT Smartcast

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Mint - HT Smartcast

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News

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

INDIA'S BEST MARKET DAY IN 5 YEARS | THE SPOUSE PROPERTY TAX TRAP | THE RBI HOLDS THE LINE | 08.04.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. Today, India had one of those rare mornings where every story broke in the same direction. The Sensex surged nearly 4 percent in its best single-day gain in five years, adding close to 17 lakh crore rupees in investor wealth. Crude oil crashed 14 percent. The RBI held rates steady at 5.25 percent, and Governor Sanjay Malhotra sent a quiet but important signal that lo...

US-Iran Ceasefire | India's Data Centers vs the Grid | AI Reshapes India's IT Jobs 08.04.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. A last-minute ceasefire pauses the US-Iran war brokered by Pakistan, with talks now set for Islamabad on Friday. Inside India's IT sector, AI has nearly frozen mass hiring: the top five firms added just 17 net employees in nine months, down from 17,764 the year before. Tata Trusts is in a serious governance dispute after its CEO asked two senior trustees to step down...

India's GDP Forecast Takes a Hit | RBI Hits Pause on Rate Cuts | Microsoft Breaks Free from OpenAI 05.04.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John, and this is Top of the Morning. Today we're covering five stories that tell you exactly where the world stands right now. India's GDP forecast just got slashed by a full percentage point thanks to the Iran war. Your grocery bill is about to feel the heat as food prices climb globally. China is positioning itself as the peacemaker in West Asia while quietly benefiting...

Oracle's 30,000-Job Bloodbath Signals a New Era | TV Ratings Overhaul | Flying Abroad This Summer? Brace for Sticker Shock 02.04.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John, and on today's episode of Top of the Morning, we break down five stories shaping the business world right now. Oil is above $110 a barrel and the ripple effects are everywhere, from inflation concerns to airline ticket prices surging across India. India's consulting and IT sector is grappling with AI-driven layoffs as firms like KPMG, McKinsey, and Accenture cut thou...

Sensex +1,500 | Goldman Says 5.9% India Slowing? | Oil Crisis Deepens 5.9% GDP | War, Oil & Kitchens 25.03.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. Welcome to Top Of The Morning. Today, markets are bouncing back hard with Sensex jumping 1,500 points after the US paused strikes on Iran. But behind the rally, Goldman Sachs just slashed India's growth forecast to 5.9% as oil prices and a weakening rupee squeeze the economy. We look at what this means for ONGC, why India's sugar and grain lobbies want ethanol in you...

₹8 Lakh Crore Wiped | Oil -14% | Rupee Record Low 23.03.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. Welcome to Top Of The Morning. Today's episode covers the biggest market crash of the week as the Sensex fell over 1,800 points on Monday. Oil prices swung wildly after Trump announced a five-day halt on strikes against Iran's energy infrastructure, sending Brent crude down 14 percent before partially recovering. The rupee hit a record low as the RBI juggled currency...

Why the RBI Publicly Defended HDFC Bank | HSBC Considers Cutting 20,000 Jobs | Russia Becomes the New Gulf for Indian Workers 20.03.2026

Good morning, I'm Nelson John. Welcome to Top Of The Morning. In today's episode, we start with the double shock that hit Dalal Street  HDFC Bank's part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned citing ethical concerns he observed over two years, sending the stock plunging 8% to a 52-week low and wiping out over one lakh crore in market value. The RBI took the rare step of publicly defending the ba...

Adani’s Land Grab | Tata’s Boardroom Battle | India’s LPG Lifeline Through a War Zone 18.03.2026

Good Morning, I’m Nelson John. Welcome to Top Of The Morning. Today — a quiet power struggle is unfolding inside Tata Sons after Noel Tata puts conditions on Chandrasekaran’s third term. Volkswagen is building its own electric vehicle platform specifically for India. Indian tankers are navigating the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s blockade to bring home desperately needed cooking gas. Adani just wo...

India Becomes the Auto Parts Factory | Trump's Cuba Gambit | India's Data Centre Gold Rush 17.03.2026

Good morning, I'm Nelson John. Welcome to Top Of The Morning. President Trump says he expects to take Cuba as the island faces its worst energy crisis in decades. Global automakers are accelerating their shift to Indian suppliers, driven by tariffs and the India-EU trade deal. India's data centre capacity is set to triple, creating thousands of new jobs. The Supreme Court begins a landmark hearing...

India’s First Passive Euthanasia | India’s Rs 20,000 Crore Nuclear Bet | West Asia Drags Dalal Street Down Again 11.03.2026

In today's episode, Nelson covers the ongoing market turmoil as the West Asia conflict pushes crude past $110 and wipes out Rs 22 lakh crore in investor wealth. Indian airlines are cancelling hundreds of flights, rerouting long-haul services, and seeking government fuel duty relief. Qualcomm Ventures commits $150 million to back Indian startups building on-device AI for the world. India's Rs 20,00...

India Opens Door To China | IndiGo CEO GONE. What Now? | Auto component industry hit by Hormuz disruption 10.03.2026

Good Morning, I’m Nelson John, and today’s episode is loaded. India’s cabinet has officially eased investment rules for Chinese firms, signalling a major shift in a relationship that’s been frozen since the 2020 border clashes. IndiGo’s CEO Pieter Elbers has resigned with immediate effect after a disastrous December that saw thousands of flights cancelled and a record DGCA fine. India’s auto compo...

Market Bloodbath | India's LPG Emergency | PhonePe IPO vs Paytm 10.03.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John, and today on Top of the Morning, we're breaking down the full impact of the West Asia conflict on India. Markets just had their worst day in months with the Sensex crashing over 2,400 points and nearly 13 lakh crore rupees wiped out. Cooking gas supplies are being rationed as the government invokes emergency powers. Crude oil has crossed $115 a barrel, and the pressu...

444 Indian flights grounded | India's Oil Vulnerability Exposed | Canada Comes Calling 02.03.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. The Gulf is on fire and India is caught in the middle. 444 flights grounded. 9 million Indians in a conflict zone. The Strait of Hormuz under threat. Pakistan at war with Afghanistan. And Canada's PM in Mumbai pushing a historic trade deal. Five stories. One brutal Monday morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Markets Take a Hit | Kerala Becomes Keralam | Reducing Your Tax Drag Without Breaking Your Compounding 25.02.2026

Good Morning, I’m Nelson John and here’s what you need to know today. Sensex crashed over 1,000 points as Trump’s tariff threats and AI disruption fears rattled Dalal Street. IT stocks got hammered, the rupee weakened to 90.95 against the dollar, and about three lakh crore in investor wealth was wiped out. In better news, India’s shipbuilding sector is gearing up for a game-changing $500M joint ve...

IDFC First Bank Rs 590 Cr Fraud | New HRA Tax Rules Hit Rent-to-Parents Claims | Airtel's Rs 20,000 Crore NBFC Bet 24.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John, and on today's Top of the Morning: IDFC First Bank is reeling from a Rs 590 crore fraud at its Chandigarh branch — government money, forged cheques, and a 20% stock crash. Bharti Airtel is going all in on fintech, pumping Rs 20,000 crore into its NBFC arm to build one of India's biggest digital lending platforms. The $100,000 H-1B visa fee is backfiring on the US, tu...

Formula 1 Is Coming Back to India | Why Lula Flew to India With 300 Businessmen | Karnataka Wants To Ban Phones For Under-16s 23.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. The US Supreme Court killed Trump's sweeping tariffs and Indian exporters in textiles, leather, gems, pharma, and engineering now face just 10 percent instead of 25. Real competitive edge over China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh but India already made concessions for a deal at 18 percent. That conversation is now live in Washington. Europe is rearming with $800 billion an...

The Adani-Telecom Standoff | India's Chief AI Officer Boom | Gold vs Equities vs Bonds 19.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. Today on Top of the Morning: India's boardrooms are creating a new C-suite role the Chief AI Officer. We also break down gold vs equities in 2026, the connectivity battle at Navi Mumbai Airport, Sridhar Vembu's bold AI prediction, and what the latest fresher hiring data means for India's young job seekers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

Micron Fires Up India's First Chip Factory | PFC-REC Merger | RBI Rewrites the Rules on Capital Market Lending 17.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. On today's Top of the Morning: Gold just had its worst crash in 40 years, falling 21% from record highs after Trump named Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair. India is rolling out its first commercial semiconductor chip from Micron's Gujarat facility this month. The trade deficit blew out to $34.68 billion in January, nearly doubling year-on-year, driven by a surge in...

India's AI Impact Summit | India's 38-Nation Trade Web | Global Growth Hits a Wall 16.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John and today on Top of the Morning we're looking at a world in recalibration. India is about to host the biggest AI summit ever held in the Global South, but AI fears just wiped 5.7 lakh crore off Indian IT stocks. A new Fed Chair is about to change the game in Washington. India now has trade deals spanning 38 countries. And the UN says global growth is slowing but holdi...

India's Telecom Slowdown | SBI Overtakes TCS | RBI Takes On Mis-Selling 12.02.2026

Good Morning, Welcome to Top of The Morning, I'm Nelson John. A new analysis reveals US states have paid $199 billion in tariffs since March 2025, with $134 billion coming from key midterm battleground states. India's telecom sector posts its slowest growth in six quarters as tariff hike benefits fade. SBI surpasses TCS to become India's fourth largest company after record quarterly profits, a shi...

Sending Money Abroad Got Cheaper | New Tax Rules: Simpler Forms, Harder Choices | Neopolis: Hyderabad's New Manhattan | 11.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. On today's episode of Top of the Morning: Hyderabad's real estate market is on fire with 200 million square feet sanctioned in 2025 alone, and a new district called Neopolis is being called the city's Manhattan with land prices crossing 150 crore per acre. Meanwhile, Sattva Group just entered Mumbai with a massive 11,000 crore redevelopment bet across six projects. O...

The SaaSpocalypse | SGB Tax Changes | MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G | Credit Score Expansion 06.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. This week saw $285 billion vanish from global software stocks after Anthropic's AI plugins launched. The India-US trade deal enters its final stretch with tariffs dropping to 18%. Your credit score is now being pulled by employers, insurers, and telecom companies. Sovereign gold bonds bought from secondary markets lose their tax-free status starting April. And MGNREG...

IndiGo Faces Antitrust Probe | Vodafone's Banking Test & The Metals Correction Explained 05.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. In today's episode, we unpack five stories that reveal what happens when business as usual stops working. IndiGo's December meltdown 4,500 cancelled flights just triggered a Competition Commission investigation. When you control 60% of the market and create artificial scarcity during peak demand, regulators take notice. Vodafone Idea is back seeking ₹35,000 crore fro...

India's Russian Oil Problem | Iran Talks After Drone Shootdown | Gold Market Chaos 04.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. Today on Top of the Morning: President Trump claims India agreed to stop buying Russian oil, but industry insiders say 1.2 million barrels daily will keep flowing for months because contracts are already locked. Then, a US fighter jet shoots down an Iranian drone heading for an aircraft carrier just hours before announcing talks are still on for Friday in Istanbul. G...

China's $1.2T Surplus vs India's Trade Gamble | ₹60,000 Crore Gap: Who Pays? 02.02.2026

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John. Today on Top of the Morning: India's Budget 2026 promises fiscal discipline while betting ₹12.2 lakh crore on infrastructure. Meanwhile, China posts a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus, proving tariffs couldn't stop its export machine. And closer to home, the government's ₹1.4 trillion telecom receipt target could spell trouble for Airtel's AGR relief hopes. Budget...

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