Are our Paralympians better than able-bodied Olympians?

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 Wednesday, September 4, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started.

Indian equity markets were little changed on Tuesday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty moving less than 0.01 percent during the day.

Seventeen-year-old Sheetal Devi, an armless Indian Paralympian archer, has captured the world's attention by scoring a perfect 10 earning a bronze medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024, using her foot, jaw, and shoulder with remarkable precision. Her achievement underscores a significant advancement in tech for Paralympians. Leslie D'Monte writes that Devi's success is part of a broader narrative of technological evolution in Paralympic sports. From rudimentary equipment to today's customised, high-tech aids like 3D-printed prosthetics, Paralympics have come a long way. This ensures fair competition, and showcases incredible human spirit and determination. India is currently at 15 medals in these Games — watch out for a better tally in the days to come.

At R-I-L's annual general meeting last week, Mukesh Ambani formally announced the merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. This deal has stirred unease among producers and content creators, who fear it could lead to a market monopoly. With one fewer player in the market, their bargaining power is diminished, and the commissioning of new shows and films may decline. Lata Jha reports that Disney+ Hotstar had already been slowing down on commissioning new content. Despite these concerns, some media experts see potential benefits in the merger.

It turns out you can have your brownie and eat it too. The sale of Theobroma Foods is nearing its final stages, reports Ranjani Raghavan, drawing strong interest from private equity firms like Bain Capital, Carlyle Group, and Chrys Capital. The sale, initiated by its major private equity partner ICICI Venture, involves offloading a 42% stake. The patisserie brand is valued at ₹2,800 crore, with an asking price slightly higher by a few hundred crores.

IT companies are making it clear they want employees back in the office. LTI Mindtree has revised its leave policy to deduct a quarter-day of leave for each day an employee misses office, reports Jas Bardia. This policy categorizes employees into three groups based on their work requirements: those required in the office full-time, those working at client locations as needed, and those on a hybrid model. Hybrid employees must come to the office at least two days per week, with total leave deductions capped at 1.5 days per month. Jas notes that employees are generally receptive to the change, viewing it as the formalization of previously understood expectations.

Currently, the minimum limit for starting an SIP is ₹500. Sebi chief Madhavi Puri Buch has proposed reducing this to ₹250—a 'micro SIP,' if you will. The move aims to democratize wealth creation and cater to small investors, including rural residents and daily wage earners, writes Abhinaba Saha. However, mutual fund houses see micro SIPs more as charitable efforts, citing operational challenges and low profitability in managing numerous small transactions.