For the first time in many years, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has cleared the environmental release for GM mustard. This is likely to make way for its commercial release in the near future. Back in 2002, BT Cotton was the last GM crop approved for commercial cultivation. What would this mean for India as an agrarian nation and is this a step in the right direction for GM crops in India? MR Subramani, head, of Commodities and Agri Business, The Hindu businessline,...

Delay in capital raising has placed Dhanlaxmi Bank under RBI’s tight monitoring. What led to the move, What would this mean for the bank in the coming months, and will this make the bank an easy acquisition target? Hamsini Karthik, tells us more regarding this increased monitoring of Dhanlaxmi Bank. Listen in.

The demand for returning to the old pension scheme is gaining momentum across several States, and leaders of various political parties are making promises about returning to the old scheme. What is the old pension scheme? Will it be possible to bring it back? Listen in.

The six-airbag norm for passenger cars, which was to be implemented from October 1, has been deferred by a year on account of supply chain issues faced by auto companies. In this backdrop, we look at the evolution of safety norms in the auto industry, the costs involved, and India’s road safety record.

Whether it is a small budget or a big budget movie, whether the actor is a superstar or a newcomer, whether the language is English or regional one, whether the movie is shot in an exotic foreign location or in rural India, one thing that binds all these is the silver screen. Many movie enthusiasts wonder why movies from South India often shine at the box office. But do we have adequate exhibition infrastructure in the country? Let us explore some of these points in this podcast.

2022 is the third consecutive year that La Nina, which has caused unseasonal rainfall in India in 2020 and 2021, is setting in. La Nina is coming at a time when many countries face the risk of recession amid the Ukraine War. This is pushing up costs, which is leading to inflation, as per analysts. MR Subramani, head, Commodities and Agri-Business, The Hindu BusinessLine, explains. 

In another move to curb cash flow into Russia, the G7 nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US -- are working on a mechanism to cap the price of Russian oil. This move would build on the European Union’s sixth sanctions package, which will come into effect on December 5. In the latest episode of the BL Context, Nivedita V talks to Richa Mishra, Chief of News Bureau, Hyderabad and Kolkata, to understand the reasoning behind the price cap, its mechanism and to know how the...

As the sugarcane crushing season nears, the demand for agri workers increases. In Maharashtra, most of them are from the Beed District. When the parents move away for work during the season, which goes on till April, the children stay back. The daughters of these workers are now focusing on one task -- to earn a new identity for their district and for themselves. Why are these girls want to change the identity of their district? Can they successfully help change their families’ economic...

On Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi met Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and the two leaders talked about various issues, including fast-tracking an free trade agreement. In this podcast, Senior Deputy Editor Amiti Sen talks about the significance of the meeting and why it could potentially help boost India’s trade with its eastern neighbour. Listen in to the latest episode of the BL Context.

The last couple of days has been tough on Bengaluru because of an unprecedented downpour in recent days with life coming to a standstill in India’s Silicon valley. What does flooding mean for India’s IT capital? What are the issues that need to be sorted out both short-term and long-term? BusinessLine’s Bengaluru’s Bureau chief Venkatesha Babu explains!

One of India’s leading broadcast media NDTV, may have to change its ownership with the Adani Group after the Adani group launched a hostile takeover bid on Tuesday. If it succeeds, Adani will own about 55 per cent stake in NDTV. This hostile takeover has raised questions among the investors and consumers. In this podcast, Palak shah explains hostile takeover. Listen in!

The ownership of NDTV, one of India’s oldest private media companies, is set to change as the Adani Group started a hostile takeover bid on Tuesday. In this podcast, Chitra Narayanan talks to Vanita Kohli-Khandekar about the corporate takeover of the media industry and how the media can be manipulated thereafter. Khandekar has been tracking the media and entertainment business for over two decades and is the author of The Indian Media Business to understand. Listen in!

You'll probably know someone who has a full-time job and is working another job on the side. This is called moonlighting and it has divided the IT industry. Rishad Premji, Wipro's Executive Chairman, tweeted that moonlighting is "cheating".  While others like not. Swiggy recently announced its moonlighiting policy -- which is an industry first. Cred, too, has a policy for this. Is moonlighting just a side hustle or is it something that has the potential to threaten firms -- both big and...

The RBI's recent consultation paper regarding the possible revision of charges on digital transactions -- including UPI -- has become controversial. Many users were unhappy and took to social media to express their disappointment. The Centre, too, isn't happy. The Finance Ministry tweeted that UPI is a digital public good and that "there is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services." But, why did the RBI want to review the charges in the first place? Also, can we now...

Domestic airlines have suffered losses of around $4.1 billion in 2021-22, and are expected to reach the pre-pandemic level by the end of FY2024. If airlines want to turn their fortunes around, what should they do? K Giriprakash outlines the focus areas and roadmap the aviation industry needs to take to reach pre-pandemic levels Listen in!

The freebies versus welfare scheme debate have sparked off a furious war of words. But exactly are freebies anyway? Here is all you need to know. 

The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced on August 5, This looks to bring about changes in the Competition Act 2002 that gives the Competition Commission of India (CCI) powers to prevent practices that have an adverse effect on competition and the interest of consumers. What is the Ambit of the amendments and what are the regulatory gaps that the Amendment looks to address? Senior Deputy Editor, KR Srivats explains. Read the full article here.

In May this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that one of his dreams is to see a drone on every farm. Drones are being used extensively in the country for many purposes including spraying fertilisers and pesticides and surveying the farms. Is using the new technology always beneficial to the farmers? In this episode of the BL Context, Subramani Ra Mancombu explains the pros and cons. Listen in!

In a bid to tackle climate change and reach the goals of sustainable development, for the PM Narendra Modi government, Energy Conservation has gained significant importance. This is the reason the Energy Conservation Amendment Bill 2022 was introduced in Parliament and on August 8, it was passed by the Lok Sabha. But what is the bill all about? Here is all you need to know.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dismissed the fear of India slipping into stagflation in the Parliament. She cited Bloomberg’s report and highlighted that the country won’t fall into recession. What is a recession? Where does India stand?  Listen in. 

US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s unannounced trip to Taiwan, during her tour of Asia, has made China upset. Ahead of her visit, China said that the US will “pay the price” if Pelosi visited Taiwan. “The US side will bear the responsibility and pay the price for undermining China’s sovereign security interests,” a Chines foreign ministry spokeswoman said. Why is this visit so controversial? Could this visit put the US and China on a collision course? Listen in.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu Government proposed to increase the power tariff by 10 to 35%. In this podcast, we explain all you need to know about the power tariff increase in Tamil Nadu.

The 90s  were an era of change — the Berlin wall came crashing down, the USSR fell, new technologies brought in new opportunities and there was a wave of political liberalisation in various countries, including India. In this podcast, Baskar B and Siddharth MC take a look at the 1991 economic reforms, which were introduced in the Parliament by the then Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the 24th of July. What were the factors that led to this pivotal shift from a command economy? Who...

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued clarification on imposing Goods and Service Tax on pre-packed goods elimiating the differnce in charging tax on branded and unbranded commodities. Shishir Sinha explains us more about the new announcement.