Episode Details

Mint Primer | Tesla at ₹40 lakh: Will EVs now come roaring in?

Modi govt’s mixed record on corporate reforms

Two Raza paintings emerge from the shadows to fetch an eye popping ₹86 crore

How pig butchering scam is taking a toll on investors

Alakh sir, can PhysicsWallah ace the profit test?

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Wednesday, March 20, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:

Tuesday saw the Indian benchmark indices take a downturn, ahead of a key interest rate announcement by the US Federal Reserve. Both Sensex and Nifty shed more than one per cent to end the trading session deep in the red on Tuesday. Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the only few stocks to end the day in green.

Are you an electric car enthusiast? Ever dreamt of driving a Tesla on Indian roads? In a surprise move Friday, a day before the model code of conduct came into force, the Indian government revised its EV policy. The new policy slashed import duty on electric cars in India to 15 per cent from the current 70-110 per cent, a massive reduction! But it comes with conditions. The reduced tariff is valid only for 8,000 cars per annum and can be availed only if companies make an investment of 4,150 crore rupees or 500 million dollars towards setting up a factory within 3 years. There is also a clause on domestic value addition.  So the policy requires electric car makers like Tesla to commit to significant domestic investments. Tesla plans to develop an affordable model for emerging markets like India. And we finally may have a price point for a Tesla model. It sits somewhere close to 40 lakhs. Mint’s auto correspondent Sumant Banerji explains what the policy change could mean for global EV companies.  

When the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, one of the core ideas it championed was the ease of doing business in India. The previous regime’s ‘policy paralysis’ emerged as a strong pitch for the BJP. Now, after a decade in power, has the Modi-led government made any significant corporate reforms? Mint’s senior assistant editor Niti Kiran takes a look, using data as her tool. Niti examines the highs and lows of corporate policy making in the last 10 years. These include the Modi government’s banking reforms, led by capital infusion of more than 3 trillion rupees over five years between 2017 and 2022. Niti also takes a look at some of the not-so-successful policy decisions by the government - like 2016’s insolvency and bankruptcy code. This is the fifth part of an ongoing Plain Facts series covering the top election issues and the government’s report card after nearly 10 years in power. 

Niti’s story and other featured stories have been linked in the show notes. Just scroll down and click on the links to give them a read. 

“Money is not the criteria of art. Art or love is not a question of money. One should perceive these things at a different level”. What you just heard was a quote from the late great post-modernist painter Sayed Haider Raza. This is not an art history podcast.The reason we’re telling you about S H Raza’s art is because two of his famous paintings sold for an eye-water