Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Friday, December 6, 2024. This is Nelson John, let's get started.

Himachal Pradesh is grappling with severe financial challenges, struggling to meet promises of government job creation and welfare schemes under the weight of a heavy debt burden. The state’s revenues are largely consumed by fixed expenses such as salaries and pensions, leaving little room for development initiatives. This financial strain has its roots in decisions made decades ago, when the state relied heavily on central government funds without developing its own robust revenue streams. Post-1990, as central support dwindled, Himachal Pradesh increasingly turned to borrowing, which spiraled into a fiscal crisis. Despite measures such as tax hikes and targeted freebie schemes introduced under Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the financial outlook remains bleak. As the state, a popular tourist destination, struggles to balance its books, N Madhavan explores how Himachal Pradesh’s debt woes are affecting its ability to sustain growth and fulfill its promises.

India is set to maintain its capital spending at around 3.4% of GDP for the 2025–26 fiscal year, translating to approximately ₹12 trillion. This steady allocation aims to sustain economic growth as state-level expenditure continues to lag. For the current fiscal year, capex stands at ₹11.11 trillion, a notable increase from the previous year’s estimates. While India's GDP grew by 8.9% in the first half of the current fiscal year, full-year growth may fall short of earlier projections, report Rhik Kundu and Subhash Narayan. To keep growth targets on track, the government plans a modest increase in capital expenditure for the next fiscal year, with the rise expected to range between 7% and 10%. With private sector investments gaining momentum at a slower pace and state-level capital spending remaining subdued, the central government’s capex remains a critical driver for economic growth.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $100,000 early Thursday, fulfilling predictions made by some analysts at the start of the year. This historic surge has been driven by a mix of market optimism following Donald Trump’s US presidential election win and regulatory developments. However, doubts linger about the rally’s sustainability. The US SEC played a pivotal role in this price spike by approving Bitcoin ETFs earlier in January, enabling institutional investors to enter the market. This move helped Bitcoin climb from $16,500 to over $40,000, and by June, increased institutional backing pushed the price to $75,000. After dipping to $50,000 in September, Bitcoin’s fortunes reversed with Trump’s election victory and his appointment of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. This appointment reignited investor enthusiasm, propelling the cryptocurrency past the $100,000 milestone. Shayan Ghosh delves into the key factors behind Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally.

NTPC Green Energy Ltd, a state-owned enterprise, is gearing up for a ₹30,000 crore investment in a dedicated transmission network to support a new green hydrogen hub in Andhra Pradesh. Rituraj Baruah reports that the network, with a capacity of 20 GW, will operate independently of the national grid and connect NTPC's upcoming solar project in Anantapur to a hydrogen production facility in Pudimadaka. Spread over 1,600 acres, the Pudimadaka hub aims to produce 1,500 tonnes of green hydrogen daily, leveraging renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. NTPC Green Energy is currently in discussions for land allocation, a critical step that will pave the way for the construction of the transmission system, targeted for completion by 2032.

The competition between India’s oldest exchange, BSE, and its younger but larger rival, NSE, is intensifying. Starting January 3, BSE will shift the expiry day for its weekly Sensex contracts from Friday to Tuesday. This change aligns the expiry schedules for weekly, monthly, and quarterly Sensex, Bankex, and Sensex 50 derivatives, all set to terminate on the last Tuesday of their respective months. The move is a strategic attempt by BSE to capture a larger share of the derivatives market by extending trading focus from a single day to three days, potentially boosting trading volumes, report Ram Sahgal and Neha Joshi. Currently, NSE commands a dominant 87% market share in index options premium turnover, based on November data, while BSE holds the remaining 13%. Despite the disparity, BSE has made notable progress, growing its market share from virtually zero just 18 months ago.

Deep in debt, Himachal Pradesh is a case study in how not to run a state

Centre likely to maintain capex push in FY26 to aid economic growth amid sluggish state spending

Mint Primer: Bitcoin scales the $100k peak, but can it crash too?

NTPC Green plans Rs 30,000 cr-transmission network for AP green hydrogen hub

BSE, NSE contest to heat up under Sebi’s eagle eye

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