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How social media is pushing young Indians deep into debt
- 2025/01/28
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Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Tuesday, January 28, 2025. This is Nelson John, let's get started. Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is stirring concerns in Maharashtra, with over 100 cases reported and a suspected death. This rare autoimmune disorder attacks the nervous system, sometimes leading to paralysis and severe respiratory issues. It's not contagious but typically follows infections or surgeries. Immediate hospitalization is often necessary for those severely affected. While there's no foolproof prevention due to its unclear causes, maintaining good hygiene and a healthy lifestyle helps mitigate risks. In India, GBS has been noted before, especially as a post-COVID complication, highlighting its potential severity. To tackle the current outbreak, the Central government has sent a specialist team to assist Maharashtra. The state is ramping up efforts to educate the public on maintaining hygiene and seeking prompt medical care for symptoms like muscle weakness. This proactive response aims to control the spread and provide necessary care to those affected. Priyanka Sharma explains what the GBS is, what are its symptoms and how to prevent it, in today’s Primer. Infosys is contesting allegations from Cognizant that it stole trade secrets, arguing that the information Cognizant claims as proprietary is publicly accessible and widely known. The dispute, currently unfolding in a U.S. court, has forced Cognizant to clarify what specific trade secrets Infosys allegedly misappropriated. Infosys, in a motion filed this January, challenged Cognizant to specify its claims, highlighting that many workers in the healthcare and IT sectors are familiar with the software at issue. The conflict began when Cognizant accused Infosys of using confidential information related to its QNXT and Facets software products—acquired through its 2014 takeover of TriZetto—to enhance Infosys’s own software solutions. Infosys has responded robustly, seeking to compel Cognizant to detail the supposed trade secrets and arguing that Cognizant's claims are overly broad and not legally tenable. Jas Bardia reports on the ongoing conflict. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's approach to the annual budget speeches since 2022 has evolved to focus more on a futuristic vision rather than literary embellishments. Unlike her predecessors, Sitharaman has opted out of quoting poets like Rabindra Nath Tagore and Shakespeare, shifting instead to a clear and direct style that reflects the developmental goals of the NDA government. This year, as she prepares for her eighth budget presentation on February 1, expectations are high for a speech that underscores India's aspirations to become the world's third-largest economy while addressing immediate challenges like inflation and unemployment. Gireesh Chandra Prasad writes about how, over the years, Sitharaman has refrained from quoting historical figures in her budget speeches and how it is likely to be the case this year as well. Young adults across Indian metros are increasingly shaping their spending habits to enhance their social media presence, often at significant financial cost. Mint’s Shadma Shaikh spoke to 20 people in the 22 to 33 age group, all of whom acknowledged that their spending habits were largely aimed at raising their social media game. In cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, it's becoming clear that a lot of young folks are tweaking their spending habits to boost their social media profiles. Take, for instance, a tech marketer from Bengaluru who splurged ₹19,000 on a Bryan Adams concert just for social media, even though he’s not much of a traveler or a big music buff. It’s all about crafting that perfect online image—even if it means racking up some debt. This trend isn’t just about personal choices; it’s shaping major business strategies too. A hefty slice of marketing budgets now fuels influencer campaigns that promise hefty growth, thanks to their ability to make anything from a beach vacation to the latest gadget seem essential. What’s worrying is how this is playing out financially for the younger crowd. Financial advisors are seeing a shift: more young people are swiping their credit cards not for emergencies or investments but for that next big social media splash. From music festivals to designer gadgets, the urge to splurge is often amplified by clever marketing and the fear of missing out. The Indian government has announced plans to synchronize all clocks across the nation to the Indian Standard Time (IST), using locally developed atomic clocks for millisecond to nanosecond precision. This initiative, named 'One Nation, One Time,' aims to enhance the uniformity and accuracy of timekeeping, which is crucial for various sectors such as navigation, telecommunications, power grids, and banking. Historically, many of India’s ...
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