The steady saffronisation of Mamata didi

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, May 10, 2024, and I'm Nelson John. Let's dive in: The Indian benchmark indices ended deep in the red on Thursday, marking their third consecutive session of losses, weighed down by a raft of weak March quarter results and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Sensex, which had opened higher, tumbled more than a thousand points to close 1.45 percent lower than its previous close. The Nifty also ended in the red, down 1.55 percent. Spices and Indian masalas are an integral part of the subcontinent’s history and global identity. The spice trade in medieval times shaped India’s colonial history. However, Indian spices are now facing a crisis of confidence. It all began early last month when regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore suspended the sale of MDH and Everest spice mixes due to alleged chemical contamination. The regulators found high levels of ethylene oxide, a carcinogen, in the spice mixes. The Maldives has also banned both brands, while regulators in the US, Bangladesh, and Australia have initiated investigations. Indian spice exports are substantial, estimated at $4.25 billion in FY24, constituting 12% of the global spice trade valued at $35 billion. Mint’s senior editor, N Madhavan, explains how the regulatory action against these Indian spice companies could impact the $4 billion spice export sector. India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India, announced stellar fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday. Profit for the quarter ended in March rose to more than Rs 20 thousand crores. Rising 24 percent year-on-year, the profit was the highest quarterly number it has ever reported. For the whole of FY24, SBI’s income stood at more than Rs 61 thousand crores, yet another record for the lender. SBI chairman Dinesh Khara expressed confidence in the bank’s growth prospects, saying that the lender aims to expand its credit book by 14-16%. Despite the positive outlook, SBI's projected deposit growth for FY25 is expected to lag its credit growth, a trend playing out across the banking industry. Khara remains optimistic, citing broad-based growth across various loan segments, including retail, corporate, small businesses, and agriculture. Mint’s banking correspondent Shayan Ghosh writes on SBI’s results and examines what the current fiscal year has in store for the bank. In 2023, Tesla chief Elon Musk conceptualized the Hyperloop—a revolution in mobility. The Hyperloop is envisioned as a low-pressure tube for high-speed transportation of cargo and passengers using magnetically levitated pod-like vehicles. Despite skepticism about its viability, Satyanarayan Chakravarthy, a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, believes in its potential. Speaking with Mint’s senior editor Leslie D’Monte, Chakravarthy revealed plans for Avishkar Hyperloop, a project at IIT-Madras, to demonstrate a Hyperloop stack, including a vacuum tube, at their new campus. This demonstration will take place during the 'Global Hyperloop Competition' hosted by IIT-Madras next January. Despite challenges, Chakravarthy remains optimistic, highlighting Avishkar Hyperloop's progress in developing Hyperloop technology since 2017. The initiative has garnered support from the Ministry of Railways and various research institutions. Russian companies have utilized nearly $4 billion from their rupee vostro accounts in Indian banks over the past 6-8 months. These funds have been allocated toward purchasing various items, including locally manufactured arms. This spending surge follows a period where these accounts saw a significant influx of rupees due to India's heightened purchases of Russian crude oil. But wait, let's back up a bit. What exactly are vostro accounts? A vostro account is managed by a domestic bank on behalf of a foreign bank. The foreign lender can use the account for transactions, including forex settlements, cross-border payments, and investments in the domestic market. Notably, these vostro accounts also facilitate settlements for Indian exports to Russia. This arrangement serves as a workaround for Russian banks, which face limitations in interbank payment transactions following their exclusion from the SWIFT payment system due to Western sanctions. Mint’s foreign affairs correspondent, Rhik Kundu, reports on how Russia is exploiting all its resources—including money in its vostro accounts—to fund its war in Ukraine. Until recently, West Bengal's Chief Minister and All India Trinamool Congress leader, Mamata Banerjee, was notably uncomfortable with overt displays of political Hinduism. She even expressed disdain for the politicisation of religious sentiments, evident when she dismissed the grand spectacle of the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya as a political manoeuvre by the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls. However, Banerjee's stance has gradually softened in response to political dynamics. For instance, she surprised many by declaring a state holiday on Ram Navami, albeit under the guise of celebrating the Maha Navami of the Chaitra Durga Puja, avoiding explicit acknowledgment of Ram's birthday. Her party leaders, meanwhile, enthusiastically embraced Ram Navami celebrations, with TMC candidates actively participating in festivities. This subtle shift in TMC's approach is part of a broader strategy to consolidate support among Hindu voters in West Bengal, a response to the BJP's growing influence in the state. The TMC has been quietly bolstering its Hindu credentials through measures such as stipends for priests, allowances for Durga Puja celebrations, and temple construction and restoration projects. By embracing a lighter shade of saffron, the TMC aims to counter the BJP's Hindutva narrative and prevent further erosion of its Hindu vote base. Mint invited West Bengal-based journalist Romita Dutta to examine the steady saffronization of TMC’s politics in the state. We'd love to hear your feedback on this podcast. Let us know by writing to us at [email protected]. You may send us feedback, tips or anything that you feel we should be covering from your vantage point in the world of business and finance.   Are Indian spices facing a crisis of confidence?  After stellar FY24, SBI aims at better show in next fiscal Can India leapfrog the high-speed rail story with Hyperloop? Russian exporters ramp up spending from rupee funds on defence equipment, arms Hindutva-lite: Behind Didi’s new formula to boost Trinamool in Bengal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices