TMS Ep469: JioBharat phone, Ajit Pawar's switch, durable stocks, NLMC

Mukesh Ambani’s 2016 foray into telecom had upended dynamics of the sector. A brutal price war unleashed with the introduction of Reliance Jio had pushed carriers like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India against the wall. Today, Jio is India’s largest telco with a wireless subscriber base of about 430 million, while Airtel is a distant second with about 370 million. Vodafone Idea is struggling to stay afloat. And now, Jio has announced the launch of Jio Bharat, an entry-level, 4G-enabled phone priced at 999 rupees. Will this new phone disrupt the market again? 

India’s political landscape cuts a somewhat similar picture. BJP has won two successive general elections and it still holds sway. Opposition parties, meanwhile, are trying hard to stitch an alliance to challenge Narendra Modi’s juggernaut. But will they be able to do so? Just days after several opposition leaders gathered in Patna to show unity ahead of next year’s general elections, there was a vertical split in a key camp. Ajit Pawar walked out of NCP and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government. So has Ajit Pawar’s switch dented the opposition unity? 

It is not just political activities. The weather in Mumbai too has become intense. The weatherman has issued an orange alert for rains in the city. Meanwhile, the 2023 summer has turned out disappointing for cooling product makers as unseasonal rains soiled expectations of bumper sales. This has also been reflected at the bourses, so what should investors do now? 

Benchmark indices continued to extend gains on Tuesday by scaling fresh all-time highs. After markets, let us now shift focus to the government’s monetization plan. The National Land Monetisation Corporation gears up to auction its first property in September. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more about this firm and why we needed it.