TMS Ep255: Car safety, retirement age, auto ancillary cos, nasal vaccine

Cyrus Mistry’s death in a car accident has triggered a debate around road safety. Most experts believe that the business tycoon’s decision of not wearing a seat belt led to his death. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has now said that the central government will enforce the rule that all travellers in a car, even those on the rear seat, wear a seatbelt. We explore how India can make its cars and roads safer.

The government, meanwhile, is also busy dealing with the increased pension and social security bills. Like China, India too will have to grapple with the challenges arising due to the rising elderly population. The country’s largest retirement fund EPFO recently backed the idea of raising the retirement age in line with western countries to deal with it. 
 

Falling commodity prices and easing of semi-conductor shortages have put the spotlight back on auto ancillary companies. While the majority of them reported a margin squeeze in the June quarter of fiscal year 2023, analysts expect some turnaround from the second half of the year as commodity prices ease. 
 

Auto industry is yet to recover from the effects of pandemic. Vaccines have played a crucial role in bringing down Covid-19 cases. Recently, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the country’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use. Just a few drops in both the nostril will keep the virus at bay. Let us find out more about this vaccine in this episode of the podcast.