Govt boost for drone industry

Top of the Morning

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Tuesday, September 17, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started.

Indian frontline indices ended Monday's trading session with modest gains despite hitting fresh record highs intraday. The Nifty 50 ended the session 0.11 per cent higher, while the BSE Sensex ended with a 0.12 per cent gain.

After delaying hikes last year, Wipro is likely to give a raise to its staff on time this year. Jas Bardia reports that India's fourth-largest IT company is doling out hikes to its 2 lakh employees just in time for the festive season. The hikes will be around three to eight percent on average. The company had rolled out smaller increments in December last year, as opposed to the usual cycle of September or October. Slowly, but surely, India's IT sector is getting back on track.

Millions of soft drink bottles are sold today in India. While glass bottles ruled the sales, plastic bottles are more common today. One thing's clear: it's a good time to be a bottler in India. Coca Cola is considering listing its subsidiary in India. Priyamvada C writes that this move allows the popular soft drink company to cash in on its investment. The parent company can also reduce its exposure risk to seasonal problems. Moreover, FMCGs might consider spinning off their subsidiaries to optimise their balance sheets — much like Coca Cola hopes to do, if the IPO goes through.

The Reserve Bank of India's tightening grip on unsecured loans has fintechs pivoting to secured loans, using assets like stocks and mutual funds as collateral. Companies like PhonePe and Mobikwik are teaming up with non-bank lenders to offer these digital loans, appealing to a tech-savvy crowd that prefers to skip bank visits. Mint’s Anshika Kayastha spoke to fintech insiders who shared that leveraging their digital prowess can reshape secured lending, making it more accessible and efficient. This shift comes as unsecured loan growth cools off, thanks to stricter regulations.

The central government's production-linked incentive schemes have been successful in invigorating certain sectors: solar energy, mobile phone components, semiconductors, and automobiles. Soon, drones too might get such a financial incentive, report Shouvik Das and Mihir Mishra. At 165 crore rupees, the government already has a tiny purse for developing drones. Shouvik and Mihir report that this kitty might go up to 3,000 crore rupees to facilitate better research and local manufacturing of components.

As India gears up for the festive season, starting in October and stretching until Holi next year, OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and ZEE5 are queuing up major releases. They're timing big releases like Netflix’s "CTRL" starring Ananya Pandey and Amazon’s spy series "Citadel: Honey Bunny" with Varun Dhawan, to coincide with holidays and long weekends, aiming to capture the festive binge-watching crowd. During this season, platforms typically see a spike in viewership, writes Lata Jha. While new subscriptions might not jump dramatically, renewals keep steady thanks to special festive offers and campaigns that keep existing viewers hooked.

Wipro to hand out an average 8% salary hike to its top performers this year

Mint Explainer: Inside the lucrative world of soft-drink bottling manufacturers

Loans against stocks, MFs, FDs on fintech radar amid regulator’s scrutiny

Centre plans ₹3,000-cr PLI scheme to indigenise domestic drone ecosystem

Streaming platforms line up big releases for festive season engagement