How do we prevent train accidents?

Top of the Morning

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Thursday, June 20, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:

Equity markets were more or less flat on Wednesday. Nifty was down 0.18 percent, while Sensex edged up 0.05 percent.

Markets have rebounded after a huge crash when the general election results were announced at the start of the month. Small- and mid-cap stocks are leading the charge, taking valuations to fresh highs. Dipti Sharma writes that benchmark indices such as Nifty Smallcap 250 and Nifty Midcap 100 have each surged by almost 20 percent. However, this immediate rebound has raised questions about the sustainability of the current bull run. Market experts told Dipti that volatility is always possible in small- and mid-cap stocks. Moreover, their sky high valuations also raise concerns about the potential upside moving forward. As always, investor caution is advised.

A few years ago, Yes Bank was in a constant crisis. Then, the Reserve Bank of India stepped in. Changes were made and Yes Bank had new stakeholders to steer the ship out of troubled waters. State Bank of India picked up a 49 percent stake in the bank, while a host of private lenders invested some 10,000 crore rupees. These investments were locked in for at least three years to ensure that depositors continue to be serviced. Today, the bank is in a far better position, writes Gopika Gopakumar. Credit for the turnaround goes to Prashant Kumar, the MD and CEO of Yes Bank and an SBI veteran. While Kumar has done well so far, his real challenge begins now, as the investors' three-year lock-in has expired. Some will no doubt come knocking to get their money back. How will Kumar deal with this challenge? Gopika tries to answer this and other questions.

India witnessed another train accident this week, which killed 10 people. Plans to modernise and improve the country’s railway infrastructure have been underway for a while. The government has been rolling out a system called "Kavach", which means shield in Hindi. The system automatically hits the brakes on a train if it sees another one approaching. However, only 1,500 km out of 68,000 kilometres of train tracks have been fitted with Kavach. That’s less than 5 percent Such anti-collision systems have been in place in Europe since the 1960s. Shelly Singh notes that we need to increase the coverage of Kavach to prevent or at the very least reduce train accidents.

Generally, air travel is safer than rail. One reason is that airports are more modern and adopt safety technologies much faster. Anu Sharma writes that Indian airports are now using artificial intelligence tools to improve their services. AI will mostly help with customer service. However, Anu writes that Delhi international airport, the busiest airport in India, is using AI to plan travel, and manage traffic at crucial places such as immigration counters. For example, waiting times for travellers with electronic visas could be expedited using AI.

The scorching summer and delayed monsoon have caused spot prices of electricity to surge. Rituraj Baruah reports that a unit of electricity now costs 6.78 rupees on the India Energy Exchange. It was 5.51 rupees just a month ago. As state power distribution companies have long-term power purchase agreements, they won't be bothered by the sudden price increase. However, those who need to buy power from these markets for immediate consumption will suffer. The past two months saw a 14 percent increase in electricity consumption compared to last year.

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Show notes:

After a brief break in March, the broader stock market is buzzing again

Yes Bank’s turnaround: Why Prashant Kumar still has miles to go

Can tech steer train safety into the future?

Indian airlines, airports adopting AI tools to improve services

Exchange prices of power increase, hit ceiling price in peak hours