TMS Ep465: Air India-Vistara merger, Svamitva, markets, history of HDFC

Why is CCI questioning Air-India merger now? How is Svamitva providing property rights to villagers? Will the Sensex & Nifty sustain at record highs? A brief history HDFC-HDFC Bank merger

The proposed merger of Air India and Vistara has flown into rough weather. It has attracted the glare of antitrust regulator CCI -- which has asked Air India to explain why this merger should not be probed. It comes mere months after Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines filed a merger application with the antitrust body in April, saying the amalgamation of the two airlines will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape of India. So in today’s first segment Bhaswar Kumar tries to find out why the CCI is now raising questions about the proposed merger, which was announced in late 2022? 

And it is not just the big birds. Indian skies are also increasingly getting swarmed by drones. They are out for delivery. They are employed in security. And now, they are mapping land parcels in rural areas to help clearly define land rights. The recently launched government scheme Svamitva will provide exact coordinates for accurate map making with the help of drones.  

Meanwhile, markets too have been flying high for the last few months with the Sensex and the Nifty hitting their fresh 52-week peak levels. Is there more steam left in the markets, or is it time for you to take some money off the table? Puneet Wadhwa spoke with Ajit Mishra, senior vice-president for technical research at Religare Broking on what the charts suggest.

India’s financial markets, meanwhile, will lose a gem early next month as the shares of HDFC will delist on July 13. This mortgage institution -- which helped over one crore Indians realize their dream of owning a home in the last 45 years - is now merging with HDFC Bank. So how has this journey been so far? And how did these two Indian giants come into being? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.