The BS Morning Show

It was just over a year ago, on the morning of 24th of January, 2023, when Indian stock markets woke up to a US short seller’s report -- which accused mighty Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. While the benchmark indices soon recovered from the shock handed over by Hindenburg Research, the conglomerate had a tough time navigating the challenges. So has Adani Group recovered from the Hindenburg accusations? And what the future looks like for the group?  Adani Green’s consolidated net profit, meanwhile, more than doubled for the quarter ending December 2023. The Q3 result was announced on Monday. Clearly, things are looking up for the group. Moving on, things are looking up for India’s education sector too. The government is restructuring the CBSE board exams for Class 10th and 12th. As per the latest framework, board exams will be conducted twice a year. The aim is to reduce the stress caused by the fear of a single opportunity, allowing students the flexibility to decide based on their preparedness. So, can biannual boards reduce student stress?  The ruling party at the Centre, too, will face a crucial test soon as general elections are approaching. But before that, the government led by it will table an interim budget on February 1. So will upcoming polls, in any way, influence the proposals of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman? Which sectors are likely to get priority? And what should be your market strategy pre-and post the interim Budget announcements? Andrew Holland, CEO, Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies shares his expectations from the upcoming interim Budget Budget, at times, also affects the prices of electronic items like TVs or mobile phones. But the prices of television sets are set to increase for a different reason now. It is because the cost of open cells, an essential component in LED TVs, has been on the rise for a while. But what are these tiny cells? How do they determine TV prices? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

Byju’s, it seems, has been reduced to a pale shadow of its former self. Once the world’s most valuable education tech firm, it is now mired in a host of financial and legal troubles. Its just released but delayed financial statement for fiscal year 2021-22 paints a grim picture. Losses had more than doubled in the pandemic-hit year - a period which was considered the best for ed-tech platforms. The firm is now focussing on Generative Artificial Intelligence to lift its fortunes. Will it help?  Byju’s was once the poster boy of Indian startups. While some of its actions have knocked it off from the high pedestal, the country’s overall startup ecosystem continues to flourish. In the next five years, it is expected to contribute close to 5% to the country's GDP. Speaking of the economy, the government is all set to table an interim budget on February 1. In the fourth episode of Business Standard’s interim Budget series, explore if Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will try to lift the rural economy by offering sops?  Investors in financial markets too keenly watch every budget announcement. Meanwhile, key benchmark indices are going through some volatility. From a record high of 22,124, the Nifty has slipped nearly 4 per cent amid frequent bouts of profit-taking owing to Q3 earnings. Technically, the Nifty is seen quoting below its 20-day moving average for the first time since early November 2023. With the Union Budget drawing close, will the markets bounce back and see a pre-Budget rally?  India’s stock market has overtaken Hong Kong’s to become fourth-biggest equity market globally for the first time. Moving on, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ‘Pradhanmantri Surydaya Yojana,’ under which the government will provide rooftop solar power systems to one crore households across the country. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

Till a few days ago, they were busy in hectic parleys to form a formidable 10 billion- dollar media empire in India. And now, broadcaster Zee and Sony are fighting a pitched battle in courts. While the court proceedings will follow its own course, how will the collapse of this proposed merger affect Zee - whose revenue and profit growth have been muted over the past two years. Has Zee run out of options?  Reliance-Disney merger, on the other hand, is on track. Both the companies have recently appointed law firms and started antitrust due diligence of their planned merger. Moving on, the world’s most popular browser Google Chrome will soon be phasing out a very essential tool that brands swear by for tracking users. We’re talking about third-party cookies. Now, while this is good news for user privacy, businesses may not be equally happy. They are apprehensive. So are businesses in India prepared for a cookieless market?  But for now, businesses are more keen on seeing what is in the store for them in the upcoming interim budget. It will be tabled on February 1. The current budgeting exercise is confronted by economic headwinds such as the deceleration in the global economy, and strains on the rural economy. Against this backdrop, find out what markets are expecting from the interim budget. Markets regulator, Sebi, meanwhile, is busy strengthening guardrails. It is planning to comprehensively stress-test equity mutual fund schemes and come out with measures to handle potentially dangerous situations. But what is stress testing? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

With the rising wealth, more and more Indians are choosing exotic foreign destinations to get married. From humble Phuket to exquisite Italy, their favourite holiday spots are now doubling up as wedding destinations. But this trend is hitting the local wedding industry hard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly appealed to affluent Indians to ‘Wed in India’. So what will it take for ‘Wed in India’ to succeed?  Meanwhile, an altogether different kind of marriage or tie up is promising to make our lives better. Google India and NPCI have joined hands to expand UPI for international payments. Reports suggest that Google Pay makes 26% of all online transactions in the world, and is among the top five mobile payment services. This initiative may therefore give a major push to India’s UPI to emerge as an alternative to the western international payment systems.  NPCI has recently launched UPI for secondary markets. The aim is to streamline trading and increase security. Speaking of trading, Indian equities are stuck in high volatility as their sharp gains from last year face resistance in the first month of 2024. With foreign selling resuming and geopolitical tensions on a rise, how should you navigate the wild swings in the current market. Should you sell the rallies or buy the dips?  Last week, Indian stocks saw the biggest outflow of foreign funds in 19 months. Clearly, after a record-breaking rally, investors were booking some profit. After the financial markets, let us now talk about socialism. About 35 years after his death, the government has now decided to honour prominent socialist leader Karpoori Thakur with Bharat Ratna -- the country’s highest civilian award. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

India’s youngest airline, it seems, is striking the right notes. Last year, Akasa Air was the best on-time-performing airline in five out of 12 months. It has just ordered 150 aircraft for around 20 billion dollars. And its CEO Vinay Dubey wants to put Akasa on the path to be one of the world’s top 30 biggest airlines by the turn of the decade. But there are challenges too. So is Akasa Air ready to fly higher?  While most airlines are trying hard to retain pilots and other crew members, the situation is quite different in other sectors. Over 16,000 tech employees lost their jobs in 2023. It was a 15% jump from 2022. And within the first three weeks of January 2024, more than 7,500 employees got laid off globally with tech giants such as Google and Amazon announcing layoffs in select teams. It certainly doesn’t bode well for India too. So, what will 2024 hold for layoffs in India?  Benchmark indices meanwhile crashed on Tuesday after some early gains. But rail-related stocks have been trading at record highs ahead of the interim Budget. The stocks have witnessed a phenomenal run in the last 10 months, gaining up to 600 per cent during the period. But, does such a steep rally leave further upside in these stocks? What should be your investment strategy?  IT stocks too have extended gains on better than expected Q3 results. Meanwhile, IT giant HCL recently inked a pact with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to set up an outsourced assembly and testing facility in India. But what is outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing? Listen to this episode of the podcast for all the answers.

The IPO of Walmart-owned Flipkart has been in the works for a while now. In 2022, the e-commerce firm had internally raised its IPO valuation target to 60 to 70 billion dollars. Before that, it was 50 billion dollars. Two years on -- while the IPO is still elusive-- the company has now raised 600 million dollars from Walmart. But its current valuation is still below its 2021 peak of 38-billion-dollar. So is a 60-billion-dollar target realistic? While Flipkart and Amazon struggle to turn profitable, there is no denying that consumers have gained a lot. They never had so many options. And such a wide price range to pick from. The digital revolution has taken the retail sector by storm. It has tremendously helped students in learning too. In cities, smartboards have replaced the traditional blackboards. But in rural areas, the digital divide appears stark. The Annual Status of Education Report 2023 has come out with a worrying report. It says that about 25% of rural youth in the age group of 14-18 cannot read a Class 2 level text “fluently”, or calculate basic math.  After the country’s education, let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. Shares of India’s most valuable company, Reliance Industries, have been slow movers at the bourses. The stock performed in-line with the markets in 2023, but picked momentum over the last few weeks. Going ahead, will the December quarter results help the stock sustain its uptrend? Or will the stock turn an underperformer again?  Soaring indices are not the only indicators of India’s impressive economic growth. There are other metrics too. One of them is poverty. The number of people who are being pulled out of poverty every year. A recent NITI Ayog report said that India’s multidimensional poverty has decreased from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23.  But what is multidimensional poverty? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

All eyes are on Ayodhya today. The Ram Temple is all decked up, waiting for the consecration ceremony by a battery of priests led by an elderly Kashi Acharya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the ‘Jajman’ or chief guest at the event -- which will be witnessed by millions. And many of them will soon embark on a journey to seek blessings from the deity. The tiny temple city will soon turn into a mega pilgrimage spot. But what does it mean for the future of religious tourism?  After the temple inauguration, the next big event that will be keenly watched is the tabling of the interim budget. General elections are near, and there are expectations that the government may loosen its purse strings for welfare schemes. Even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has ruled out any such “spectacular announcements”. In the third edition of our special series on interim budget, Bhaswar Kumar speaks to experts to find out if welfarism will indeed get a further boost? And if yes, will it impact fiscal discipline?  Financial market too is eagerly waiting for the interim budget. It has its wish list ready. But right now, it looks like all the roads are leading to Ayodhya. Hopes of a tourism-led economic boom have also seen stocks of travel and hospitality companies shoot up in recent weeks. So, should you join this rally or wait as valuations may test the optimism?  An IMD forecast says that Ayodhya is likely to be sunny today, during the inauguration of the temple. But rest of the north India is still reeling under fog and cold wave. Hundreds of flights have either been cancelled, or are being delayed at the Delhi airport -- which will soon open its second CAT III- B runway. But what is this landing system? How does it help aircraft land during foggy conditions? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.

Fog has sent flight schedules into a tailspin. Hundreds of flights have either been cancelled, or are running hours behind the schedule across most cities. And the fliers they cater to are at the wit’s end. Situation is dire at the country’s largest and busiest airport in Delhi, which has just one CAT 3 runway operational. So is there a solution to flight delays in fog season?  An international study, led by IIT Madras, has found that industrial processes and the burning of plastic waste were creating the high particulate matter. And these high particulate matter were the leading cause of reduced visibility during fog season. Clearly, technology can unravel a lot of mysteries. And no wonder, a large number of youngsters are attracted by engineering courses. But off late, engineering colleges are seeing a declining interest from students due to a host of reasons. Slowdown in the IT sector is one of them. Find out if engineering courses have lost their charm. Rally in IT sector pushed Dalal Street to a new high a few days ago. But sub-par results of HDFC Bank triggered an unexpected correction in the markets. Benchmarks clocked their worst one-day selling in 18 months on January 17. The stock of India’s biggest private bank, too, has crashed around 11% in two days. As bears flex their muscles at the counter, what lies ahead for the stock?    But buoyed by a rush of interest in AI, IT stocks are likely to keep benchmark indices in good health in the days to come. And it seems, there is no field where AI is not making a difference. It is being used in Ayodhya too. Artificial intelligence surveillance will be implemented for the first time to detect suspicious activities in the temple city. But, how will AI help in Ayodhya’s surveillance? Listen to this episode of the podcast for more.

India blocked access to nine foreign cryptocurrency exchanges on 12th of January. The government believed that these offshore platforms were not complying with the country’s anti-money laundering law. And investors were also using them to circumvent TDS costs. Some of them -- like Binance -- were quite popular among domestic investors. But now, crypto investors are reportedly flocking to domestic exchanges. There is a surge in registration. So will this crackdown on offshore exchanges help desi crypto platforms?  Clearly, there are signs of thaw in the ongoing crypto winter. It started with the collapse of the famous foreign exchange FTX. But for many, winter means a season of earnings. The longer it is, the better. But, even as north India is reeling under a prolonged spell of winter, its famous skiing resorts are without snow. Locals in Uttarakhand’s Auli and Kashmir’s Gulmarg -- whose livelihood depends on tourists -- are looking towards the sky for some divine help, as tourists are cancelling bookings. But why are hills in these regions facing a snowless winter?  After the hills, let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. The government’s ‘Make in India’ push and indigenisation in the defence space opened floodgates for order flows for most PSUs in 2023. Nearly 30% of the stocks doubled investors’ wealth last year, while 27 stocks hit record highs. The rally has extended thus far in 2024 with the Nifty PSE index touching its all-time high level on January 16. But the rally has taken valuation multiples to multi-year highs. So, will the pack be able to defend its gains? Or is a sharp correction waiting around the corner?  After stocks, let us now see what is happening in the world of cryptocurrencies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission last week approved applications for exchange-traded funds or ETF, that are primarily based on bitcoin. Supporters hope it will attract new investors to the token and boost its price in the long term. But what is the Bitcoin Spot ETF? Find out about it in this episode of the podcast.

Gujarat’s Dholera is finally getting a large semiconductor fabrication plant. While Vedanta’s plans are still hanging fire, Tata Group may start churning out chips by the end of this year. And the salt-to-software conglomerate is also building a 20-gigawatt lithium-ion storage battery factory in Sanand -- just 95-km from Dholera. Clearly, the company is rapidly cementing its footing in new-age technology. We find out more about how the conglomerate is reinventing itself.   Tata’s chip making facility in Dholera will certainly be a shot in the arm for India’s ambition to become a manufacturing powerhouse. Meanwhile, the government has set yet another ambitious target. It wants to export agriculture products worth around 100 billion dollars a year by 2030 -- almost double from the current export figure of about 50 billion dollars. But it also comes against the backdrop of a slew of export curbs on various agricultural items. So is this target achievable?  Moving on, Tata Motors became the third Tata group firm to cross Rs 3-trillion market cap on 16th of January. On the bourses too, its stock price hit a new high. Tata Motors was a stellar outperformer on the bourses in 2023, being the only large-cap stock that doubled its price. Record domestic sales and a pick-up in volumes of its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover have led to this rally. So will the counter hold its strength or hit a speed breaker ahead?  After the capital markets, let us now turn our gaze to world politics. France has got a new prime minister. He is 34. Which makes him the youngest PM in the country’s post-war history. And he is openly gay. We tell you more about Gabriel Attal in this episode of the podcast.