Meet the heroes protesting against the NEET fiasco

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, June 19, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:

The Indian stock market's record-breaking spree continued as key equity indices—the Sensex and the Nifty 50—settled at their fresh record highs on Tuesday. The Sensex closed up by 308 points, gaining 0.40 per cent. The Nifty gained 0.39 per cent at the close. 

A severe heatwave has been lashing parts of North and East India for weeks now. Daytime temperatures have perpetually been above 45°C, affecting Indians' daily lives. The recently concluded general election was notably impacted by the heat, with voters in 19 states enduring dangerous 'heat stress' during polling. A recent analysis by Respirer Living Sciences highlighted that during the last three phases of the election, over 70% of the constituencies experienced significant heat stress. The long-term effects of these rising temperatures are evident. Even areas traditionally unaffected by severe heat, like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, recorded multiple heatwave days this year. This year alone, heat-related illnesses have been deadly, and discrepancies in government-reported data on heatwave-related deaths have raised concerns. As the country continues to face record-breaking temperatures, the electricity demand has surged, hitting a five-year high in June. Mint’s Manjul Paul explains through charts how the harsh effects of the heatwave have deepened the misery of millions of Indians. 

Click on the links in show notes to read the stories featured in today’s podcast. 

India Inc is calling for a significant increase in government capital expenditure. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Puri argues for a 25% rise from the ₹11.11 trillion set in the 2024-25 interim budget for 2024-25. The proposed increase would cost an additional ₹2.78 trillion, raising capex to 4.25% of GDP. This demand is aimed at bolstering the rural sector, which has not fully recovered from the pandemic's impact. This demand is somewhat unexpected, given that other economic drivers like government spending, private consumption, and exports have improved. However, private investment has lagged despite significant corporate tax cuts since 2019. So how will this demand affect fiscal consolidation? And will the government heed the call by India Inc? Mint’s senior editor N Madhavan tackles these questions in today’s Mint primer. 

In Bengaluru, top tech companies like Cognizant, Infosys, and Wipro have seen their office spaces shrink over the past year, reflecting broader changes in the industry. Collectively, these firms ended the previous financial year with a collective 103.2 million sq.ft., a decrease of 3.7% from 107.25 million sq.ft. in FY23. This downsizing has helped bolster profitability amid concerns about the future role of these companies as major employers and leasers of extensive office areas. The contraction in the physical presence of these companies occurs against a backdrop of sluggish growth in the $254 billion Indian IT services sector, Mint’s IT correspondent Varun Sood reports. The industry reported its weakest-ever dollar revenue growth of 3.8% in the fiscal year 2024. 

This year, the NEET results stirred significant controversy, revealing a major issue in the exam's handling. On the day the results were released, Alakh Pandey of Physics Wallah was engrossed in tallying NEET scores, noticing alarming discrepancies. Saurabh Pant of Sri Gosalites Medical Academy and concerned parents expressed shock at the unusually high scores. A staggering 67 students scored the maximum of 720 points, many from a single centre in Haryana, raising suspicions of potential misconduct. This anomaly led to widespread concern among students and parents, with many taking to social media and planning legal action to address the perceived injustices. The uproar centered around the inconsistency in scores and alleged issues at the testing centers, including delayed start times that led to the distribution of grace marks. The situation escalated as more individuals demanded a re-examination and a thorough investigation into the handling of NEET, emphasising the need for transparency and fairness in the examination process. Mint’s careers correspondent Devina Sengupta, along with legal reporter Krishna Yadav, takes a look at the key figures driving the widespread protests against the alleged discrepancies and injustices surrounding the NEET examinations.

Retail investor activity on the National Stock Exchange saw a significant uptick on the day of the Lok Sabha election results. This surge in buying brought their total investments for the first two-and-a-half months of this fiscal year close to the totals for each of the previous two fiscal years. Mint’s markets correspondents Ram Sahgal and Sneha Shah report that this change suggests a shift in investment behaviour. On June 4, as the BJP failed to secure a clear majority, causing the Nifty to drop by 8.5%, retail investors bought shares worth more than 21 thousand crore rupees. This large purchase accounted for almost half of their total investments of 46,383 crore rupees up to June 14. In contrast, Foreign Institutional Investors and mutual funds combined sold off shares worth almost 19 thousand crore rupees. 

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Show notes:

Polls, deaths, and loaded power lines: India’s summer misery deepens

Is India Inc.’s call for more public capex justified?

Why office space is shrinking at Cognizant, Infosys and Wipro

NEET fiasco: Meet the heroes behind the massive protests

Retail buying on 4 June pushes F25 buys to levels seen in whole of F24