Episode Details

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, April 26, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:

Indian benchmark equity indices surged for a fifth straight session on Thursday with BSE’s Sensex recording its all-time high of 74,571 points. NSE’s Nifty 50 ended the day 0.75 per cent higher. 

Packaged food is a convenience a lot of us rely on. From cereal for infants to readymade spice mixes, packaged food has become a crucial part of our diets. But recently, some big-name brands have found themselves in hot water over their food products. Public Eye, a Swiss watchdog group, has called out Nestle for adding too much sugar in its infant products and cereals in India. Nestle says it's been cutting down on sugar, but concerns linger. MDH and Everest, two popular spice brands, got flagged by regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore for using ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical, to keep spices fresh. In response to these concerns, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is conducting thorough investigations, including sample testing from various production sites. Sayantan Bera, who covers food and nutrition for Mint, explains the implications of lingering regulatory action on packaged food brands. 

Is Tesla on its way to India or not? That is a question a lot of Tesla fans and enthusiasts are grappling with right now. Despite India rolling out the red carpet with a new electric vehicle policy aimed at wooing automakers like Tesla, Elon Musk’s powerhouse remains on the fence. People in the know told Mint’s autos correspondent Alisha Sachdev that the Texas-based EV-maker hasn't engaged significantly with state governments or local suppliers, nor has it taken steps to set up its crucial supercharger network in India. Other automakers like Vietnamese EV-maker Vinfast, meanwhile, are making strides towards setting up their operations in India. Tesla on the other hand seems to prefer entering the market through imports to gauge potential before committing to local manufacturing.

India is currently in discussions to sidestep a potential G7 mandate that requires all diamond imports to the G7 countries to be tested in Belgium. The G7 mandate is to ensure that diamonds originating from Russia do not enter its member nations. India on the other hand wants the diamonds to be tested in domestic hubs like Surat and Mumbai to avoid escalating costs for diamantaires. India, a major player in the diamond industry, processes about 91% of the world’s rough diamonds and is looking to negotiate with European authorities to prevent a disruption in its exports. Mint’s Mihir Mishra and Ram Sahgal report on India’s efforts to keep its diamond testing within its borders. 

The finance ministry's latest report is buzzing with optimism, thanks to predictions of a bountiful monsoon expected to boost harvests and keep inflation in check this year. This good news comes amid a backdrop of stubborn global inflationary pressures. Mint’s economy correspondent Rhik Kundu writes about the Finance Minister’s monthly Economic Report for March, according to which India's handling of inflation has been quite effective thanks to a mix of strategic interest rate decisions, robust food supply policies, and eased import restrictions. This has brought retail inflation down to a post-pandemic low, with core inflation dipping to 3.3 per cent in March. The India Meteorological Department's prediction of a normal monsoon paints a hopeful picture of agricultural revival and falling food prices, especially after last year's erratic weather. Food inflation in India eased to 8.52 per cent in March from February's 8.66 per cent, although prices remained high in categories like meat, fish, and eggs.

Since the 90s, MTV has been a part of India’s cultural zeitg