Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Monday, June 24, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:

Let’s first jump onto the clean energy bandwagon. The Adani Group plans to invest between 25,000 and 27,000 crore rupees (or close to 3 billion dollars) in its first pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) facility. According to Mint’s Anirudh Laskar, Adani Green will set up 5 gigawatts of PSH capacity over the next five years. This process involves moving water between two reservoirs at different elevations to generate electricity, essentially functioning like a giant battery that stores power during periods of low demand, and releasing it when needed. This technology is particularly essential for ensuring stable, round-the-clock power supply, unlike the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy. The planned facilities will be located across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Diving into our second highlight of the day: In a world increasingly shaped by technology, smartphones may soon face obsolescence. The smartphone, often hailed as the Swiss Army Knife of the digital age, is now threatened by innovations like extended reality glasses, gesture-based interfaces, and brain-computer interfaces such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Musk envisions a future where devices, such as the Neuralink, could render smartphones redundant by directly interfacing with the human brain to perform all the current functions of smartphones. And it isn't just Musk. Tech and internet analysts have long speculated about a future where wearables and embedded chips could supplant the functions of smartphones. What challenges could this future pose, and which technologies could dominate this transformative tech landscape? Mint’s Leslie D’Monte explores these questions in today’s Mint primer.

Now, we will shift focus to regulatory developments: Indian authorities are looking to expand their scrutiny beyond LinkedIn and Samsung to include more local branches of multinational corporations. In fact, six unlisted Indian units of MNCs are now under the lens of the Registrars of Companies. Officials are meticulously reviewing disclosures and shareholding information of these companies, as reported by Mint’s Gireesh Chandra Prasad. Earlier this month, the RoC in Uttar Pradesh found that two Samsung subsidiaries had failed to adequately disclose Samsung Electronics' executive chairman Lee Jae-Yong as a “significant beneficial owner." Last month, LinkedIn's Indian subsidiary was penalised 27 lakh rupees for failing to comply with SBO reporting standards, involving several top executives, including Microsoft's CEO. A source informed Gireesh that India’s business landscape is expanding rapidly, with approximately 150,000 new entities registering annually. This growth underscores the need for stringent regulatory oversight to maintain order and prevent future complications.

Moving on to our fourth story of the day. In a rapidly growing economy like India, the challenge of generating sufficient jobs to meet demand is formidable. Despite significant economic growth, many educated young Indians find themselves underemployed, leading to widespread frustration and discontent among the youth. This employment crisis has also had political implications, as evidenced in the recent election outcomes, which saw the ruling BJP lose its absolute majority, resulting in a coalition government. Compounding these challenges is the widening economic disparity with the wealthiest 1% of Indians controlling 40% of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 50% owning just 6.4%. Despite these challenges, experts said the government’s significant investments in capital expenditure has been pivotal in driving India's rapid economic growth.As Prime Minister Modi begins his third term, there is increasing focus on recalibrating economic policies to ensure inclusive growth across all segments of society. Mint’s senior editor N Madhavan examines the need for Modi 3.0 to craft a new economic blueprint. 

Wrapping up today's episode with some positive news for consumers: In a meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday, the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced significant reductions in tax rates on essential items, as well as measures to simplify business operations. The tax rate on everyday items such as milk cans and solar cookers has been reduced from 18% to a more consumer-friendly 12%. Besides, students will also benefit from GST exemptions on hostel stays exceeding 90 days, provided the monthly fee is below 20,000 rupees. Furthermore, in a move aimed at easing costs for daily commuters, GST has been waived on platform tickets and other railway-related services. E-commerce sellers will also see a reduction in the tax collected at source from 1% to 0.5%, which is expected to free up working capital for thousands of small and mid-sized businesses. The Council also proposed legislative changes to provide relief to businesses, including waivers on penalties and interest for tax demands from the early years of GST implementation, provided these are settled if settled by March 2025. Mint’s Gireesh Chandra Prasad provides further insights into these developments. 

We'd love to hear your feedback on this podcast. Let us know by writing to us at [email protected]. You may send us feedback, tips or anything that you feel we should be covering from your vantage point in the world of business and finance.

That’s all for today. Thank you for listening.

We're eagerly looking forward to our next Top of the Morning episode, which will be packed with fresh business news. Until then, have a great day!

Show notes:

Adani Group plans $3-billion push for new clean-energy business

Mint Primer: Will XR glasses, Neuralinks kill smartphones?

Indian units of more MNCs under beneficial ownership glare

Why Modi 3.0 needs a new economic blueprint

53rd GST Council meeting: exemptions and rate cuts

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