Mint Podcast

India’s brandy market is poised to rise from about $1.29 billion in 2023 to $2.17 billion by 2030, growing at a 7.7 % CAGR. Consumption is heavily concentrated in South India, with states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala accounting for a large share of brandy demand. The “regular” brandy segment remains dominant, while flavoured variants are emerging as the fastest-growing category. Premiumization, gifting culture and rising middle-class income are among the factors driving this boom. Watch.#IndiaBrandyMarket #BrandyGrowth2030 #TamilNadu #Kerala #SouthIndiaSpirits #IndianSpiritsMarket #FlavoredBrandy #LiquorIndustryIndia #IMFLTrends

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories.

It’s been a week where power, pride, and precision all shared the spotlight.

India-Pakistan War Games: Both nations are running massive military drills — in overlapping waters. Pakistan’s naval firing exercises in the Arabian Sea coincide with India’s tri-services Trishul operation involving 25 warships, 40 aircraft, and tens of thousands of troops. Despite the overlap, experts say coordination will keep things cool — though the timing, coming months after Operation Sindoor, sends a firm message across the border.

India’s Women Rewrite History: In Navi Mumbai, the Indian women’s cricket team finally lifted the World Cup, defeating South Africa by 52 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues’ heroics in the semi, Smriti Mandhana’s runs, and Deepti Sharma’s wickets powered a victory that was years in the making — and marked a turning point for women’s sport in India.

ISRO’s Big Lift: India launched its heaviest homegrown satellite, CMS-03, aboard the LVM3 rocket, ending dependence on foreign launchers. Another flawless flight for Bahubali.

Buffett’s Record Cash: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway now holds $381.7 billion in cash — more than most nations’ GDP — after cutting Apple and Bank of America stakes. As Buffett prepares to hand over to Greg Abel, he’s arming the company with dry powder for the next big play.

AI Boom, Market Shock: Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon are set to pour $380 billion into AI infrastructure. Cloud players like Amazon and Google surged; Meta plunged 11%. The AI arms race just got real.

Prashant Kishor and his party Jan Suraaj have opened an interesting third front election competition in Bihar. The party's founder has done extensive work in the state in the last 3 years. In this exclusive conversation with MINT's Gulam Jeelani, he talks about his party, BJP , RJD and everything Bihar .#prashantkishor #jansuraaj #bihar #biharelection2025

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories.

Thursday afternoon in Mumbai's Powai turned into every parent's nightmare. Seventeen children walked into RA Studio thinking they were auditioning for a web series. Instead, they became hostages. The man behind it was 50-year-old Rohit Arya from Pune. He locked the kids inside, set up motion sensors on the stairs, and recorded a chilling video. "Instead of committing suicide, I made a plan and kept a few children hostage," he said on camera. His demands? A conversation. He wanted to speak with former Maharashtra Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar. Here's the thing. Arya wasn't asking for money. He claimed the government owed his firm Rs 2 crore for work done under the Swachhta Monitor Project, part of the state's "My School, Beautiful School" campaign.

339 runs to win. Defending champions Australia. A knockout match. And the ghosts of past chokes hanging heavy over Indian cricket. Thursday night in Navi Mumbai, something changed. Jemimah Rodrigues walked in at 59 for 2. The 25-year-old hadn't even been a guaranteed starter at the tournament's beginning. Four months of struggle, of being dropped, of wondering if she belonged. All of it came down to this moment. What followed was the knock of her life. 127 not out off 134 balls. But here's the thing about this innings. It wasn't just about the runs. It was about the courage to keep going when Australia's Alyssa Healy dropped her on 82. Then again on 106. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur stood alongside her, scoring 89 off 88. Together they added 167 runs for the third wicket. India's highest partnership against Australia in World Cup history. When Harmanpreet fell with 113 still needed, Rodrigues didn't flinch.

China just threw India a lifeline on rare earth magnets. And the timing tells you everything. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed Thursday that several Indian companies have received licenses to import rare earth magnets from China. No numbers yet, but this is significant. Let's break it down. Rare earth minerals are the backbone of electric vehicle manufacturing and battery production. China controls 70 percent of global rare earth mining. When Beijing restricted exports recently, Indian EV makers felt the squeeze immediately

Kerala is making a bold claim. The state says it's about to become the first in India to eradicate extreme poverty. MLA M. B. Rajesh laid out the numbers. When the Pinarayi Vijayan government returned to power in 2021, their first cabinet decision was launching a poverty eradication scheme. They trained 4 lakh people through the Kerala Institute of Local Administration to identify the poorest families. Then they built micro-plans for each of the 64,006 families identified. Four years later, Rajesh says all of them have been lifted out of extreme poverty. "After China, Kerala is becoming second place in the world to eradicate extreme poverty," he told ANI. But Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar isn't buying it

India just bought itself some time on Chabahar port. The US has granted a six-month exemption from sanctions on the Iranian port project. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed the news Thursday. This matters because Chabahar is India's strategic gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia without going through Pakistan. Here's what happened. US sanctions on the port kicked in September 29 as part of Trump's pressure campaign on Iran's nuclear program.

In this special episode, MINT's Political Desk Editor Gulam Jeelani goes on ground in Patna to talk to youngsters about their aspirations and the upcoming elections. What will they vote on? Are their enough jobs in the state? More so, why is migration such a man-made issue in the state.#bihar #biharelection2025 #chathpuja #nitishkumar #tejashwiyadav #live #prashantkishor #modi #rahulgandhi #patna #buxar #mughalsarai #railwayexam #biharvidhansabha #laluyadav #yadav

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, I’m your host Nelson John — This is your smart, daily briefing on what matters. From big moves in business to headlines shaping India and the world, we cut through the noise so you start your day informed and ahead. 

It's Wednesday, October 29th. Let's get started!

In Delhi, a Cessna aircraft from IIT Kanpur fired silver iodide flares into clouds to trigger artificial rain that could wash away pollution. The ₹1.28-crore trial failed to bring any measurable rainfall. Moisture levels were too low, only 10–15 percent. Yet Delhi’s environment minister hailed it as a “science-first step.” Critics mocked the timing since the weather office had forecast natural rain. For a smog-choked capital desperate for relief, even failed experiments count as effort.

Down south, Bengaluru saw something equally unusual — cooperation. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya met Congress deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar to discuss the city’s tunnel road project. Surya argued that instead of a ₹50,000-crore car tunnel, funds should go to public transport that can move 69,000 passengers per hour, compared to the tunnel’s 1,800 vehicles. Shivakumar listened, agreed to meet again, and invited industry leaders to the next discussion. For once, the city’s politics paused to prioritize policy.

Meanwhile, New Delhi deepened its ties with Moscow. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited signed a deal with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation to build the SJ-100 passenger jet in India — the first since the Avro of the 1960s. The move comes weeks before Putin’s India visit and despite Western sanctions on UAC. India says it recognizes only UN-mandated sanctions. The partnership fits its strategy of “multi-alignment” — buying cheap Russian oil while working with the US in the Quad. It’s both business and geopolitical signaling: India will decide its partners on its own terms.

In Gaza, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas unraveled again. Israeli jets struck targets near Shifa Hospital after Hamas allegedly fired on its troops, killing at least 30 people. Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the truce by returning only body parts of hostages; Hamas said it was preparing another handover before the strikes. With each clash, hopes of sustained calm fade, and humanitarian conditions worsen.

And in the corporate world, Amazon began its own experiment with efficiency. The company is cutting 14,000 corporate jobs — 4% of its white-collar staff — as AI tools take over logistics, payments, and cloud operations. CEO Andy Jassy called AI “the most transformative technology since the Internet.” Profitable yet restless, Amazon is reshaping itself for the machine age, even if it means fewer humans in the loop.

Across these stories runs a common thread: ambition amid uncertainty. Delhi tried to engineer rain, Bengaluru tried political collaboration, India asserted independence in diplomacy, Israel and Hamas tried (and failed) to sustain peace, and Amazon tested the limits of automation.

Each was an experiment — scientific, political, or technological — driven by the same instinct: to act rather than wait. Not all succeeded, but all reflected the restless urgency of our times. Whether firing silver iodide into clouds or feeding algorithms new data, humanity’s defining habit endures — the need to try, fail, and try again.

Sanjeev Prasad Reveals What's Holding Indian Markets, Tariff Impact On India & China | Samvat 2082In this episode of Mint's Diwali special series , Kotak Institutional Equities MD and Co-head Sanjeev Prasad discusses with Mint's Dipti Sharma, talks about the Indian markets, the valuations and impact of US tariffs on India and China.Watch!#investment #diwali #money #personalfinance

The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra | The Right Angle New Episode | Entertainment News | Bollywood News | Viral Topics | Latest News🎬 The Right Angle brings you the real story behind the hype. Watch now!#TheRightAngle #SonalKalra #BollywoodNews #EntertainmentNews #ViralVideos #BollywoodControversy #TrendingNow #PopCultureDebate #EntertainmentWeekly #IndianEntertainment

Bihar Elections: Why Was VIP's Mukesh Sahani Chosen As Mahagathbandhan's Deputy CM Face? Tell Me WhyAs Bihar Polls draw closer, Hindustan Times' Sunetra Choudhury decodes why opposition went on to choose their new alliance partner Mukesh Sahani as the Deputy CM Face?

Watch!

#bihar #biharelections #biharpolls #tejaswiyadav

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories.

California Tragedy Sparks National Debate:

Dashcam footage captured the terrifying moment a semi-truck slammed into stopped traffic on California’s I-10 — killing three, injuring four, and igniting a firestorm over how commercial licenses are issued. The driver, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, an undocumented immigrant allegedly high on drugs, had somehow obtained a California CDL. Federal officials are calling it a “systemic failure,” while Washington froze $40 million in funding over weak language standards for truckers. Singh faces manslaughter and DUI charges.

Trump’s High-Stakes Asia Trip:

President Trump heads to Asia for his first meeting with Xi Jinping since returning to office — and it’s make-or-break. After months of tariff threats and China’s rare-earth export curbs, Trump’s opening line to Xi will be about fentanyl. Washington blames Beijing for chemical flows fueling America’s drug crisis. The outcome could reset U.S.-China trade — or reignite tensions.

India’s Big Defense Push:

India approved ₹79,000 crore in new defense buys — missiles, warships, and AI-powered air systems — part of a wider push for self-reliance after Operation Sindoor. The move boosts combat readiness across all forces while backing Indian defense tech.

Delhi Bets on Artificial Rain:

Delhi may finally make it rain — literally. Using IIT Kanpur’s cloud seeding tech, the city plans its first artificial rainfall by October 29 to fight smog. Five trials are planned — science versus pollution.

India-Canada Thaw Begins:

After a year of diplomatic frost, India and Canada are talking again. Ottawa can now send back diplomats under a “reciprocal” staffing deal — a cautious reset after Trudeau’s explosive 2023 accusation over Hardeep Nijjar’s death.