TMS Ep591: Telecom Bill 2023, end of WFH, airline stocks, Covid-19 JN.1

The Lok Sabha passed Telecom Bill, 2023 on Wednesday, 20th of December, after a brief discussion. In our previous episode, we explored its likely implications on over-the-top platforms, like WhatsApp and Telegram. Today we will find out about another key aspect of the proposed bill. That is the proposal to assign spectrum for satellite internet services through administrative allocation … without an auction. So is allocation better than auction?   

The world is better connected than ever today, thanks to evolving communication technology. It also helped us tide over the pandemic crisis as homes doubled up as offices. But as the travel restrictions eased and the world returned to normalcy, employers were forced to do a reality check. Most of them called employees back to the office. In our year-ender series, which starts today, Ayush Mishra looks if 2023 was the year work from home ended. 

Let us now turn our gaze to financial markets. Shares of IndiGo and SpiceJet have been buzzing on the bourses amid a slew of positive news flow. While IndiGo achieved the milestone of carrying 100 million passengers in a year, SpiceJet has finalized its fundraising plans. Add to it, the industry dynamics are on a mend with travel demand holding up amid falling crude oil prices. Does this mean airline stocks are set to fly higher in the skies? Or are there potential turbulences that investors are ignoring? 

Key benchmark indices recovered on Thursday after crashing a day earlier amid concerns of elevated valuation, and a surge in Covid cases. Over 600 fresh cases of Covid-19 were registered in the country on Thursday morning. Of them, 21 were of the new JN.1 sub-variant – which is fuelling the global uptick. Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.