The Morning Brief

The NDA is back in power in Bihar, but this win didn’t come easily. Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister, leading his party as a junior partner of the BJP. Neerja Chowdhury, columnist and political commentator, and ET’s senior assistant editor Kumar Anshuman analyse India’s first election since the Covid-19 outbreak and assess what’s next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WhatsApp Pay finally got the nod to launch last week but with riders. Simultaneously, an unprecedented cap of 30% of monthly UPI transaction volume was announced for all players. We look at the ramifications of these two big developments on a rapidly growing digital payments network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The next US president’s key task will be to return America to global leadership in a world wracked by Covid-19, China’s ambitions and climate change. India will seek more investments and easier visa norms from the US. While Biden has always been supportive of India, Trump has clicked with Modi and a second term could mean business as usual.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flipkart has recently made a number of cherry-picked deals and partnerships. It's also seen bumper sales during its flagship festive sale. We delve into the company’s strategic focus on wholesale, fashion and grocery and what this means for its plans for an IPO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Starting off as a payment unit of Alibaba, Ant is today a fintech giant straddling payments, lending, investments, and insurance and is likely to raise over $34 billion in its upcoming listing, making it the world's biggest IPO. How did it get there, and can India have an Ant equivalent?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winter brings with it the familiar troubles of increased air pollution - this time, the government has proposed a new law to address the crisis in the capital. We discuss how effective that's likely to be, what the other solutions are and the situation that awaits India's most polluted cities this smog season.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The saga of a scam and a flamboyant stockbroker who turned Public Enemy No. 1 in 1992 has hit a chord among viewers. But why is Harshad Mehta still relevant after all these years and why does a man long dead and gone continue to fascinate many, not just the old-timers?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politicians are promising voters free Covid-19 vaccines. But a vaccine is far from ready. We assess why India may have to wait longer than other countries for the vaccine and what it will take in terms of logistics and costs to protect its over 1.3 billion people from the novel coronavirus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 led to the worst job crisis in India in decades. As the economy recovers, what will the job market look like in the next few quarters, and which skills will be most in-demand?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After months of Covid-19-induced curbs, festive season sales were back with a bang. Customers lapped up mobiles and appliances and even car sales got a bump-up. What made Indian shoppers open their purse strings despite widespread job losses and a battered economy?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.