Why India Inc. hates boredom

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, November 19, 2024. This is Nelson John, let's get started.

In what could be construed as a nudge to RBI to cut lending rates, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized the need for more affordable bank lending rates to support India's growth. But she acknowledged that the government could do more to improve storage for perishable foods to mitigate the inflation volatility. Shayan Ghosh writes that RBI has maintained interest rates since February 2023, and due to inflationary concerns might not change that for now. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had also called for rate cuts last week. 

India has new advertising guidelines for coaching classes. The new rules aim to prevent misleading claims by holding institutes accountable for false advertisements. Devina Sengupta writes that coaching centres must now provide refunds for unmet promises and disclose if their courses are accredited by relevant authorities. These regulations seek to protect students, who often enroll in coaching hubs like Kota under inflated expectations of success. For many years now, coaching classes have misled students and their parents with tall promises — these regulations are aimed at tempering them.

The government had announced a wide-ranging internship programme during the Union Budget a few months ago. While the original plan was meant for 21-24-year olds, Gireesh Chandra Prasad reports that the scheme might be expanded to the age group of 18-25 years. The focus will continue to remain on candidates from families with annual incomes below Rs 8 lakh and without permanent government jobs. Currently, over 125,000 internships are available in companies like ONGC and Reliance Industries. 

Who said science and faith cannot co-exist? In a move that merges technology with cultural preservation, an AI powered digital twin of St Peter’s Basilica was unveiled  earlier this month. Leslie D’monte writes that such technology can help you explore the world from your living room. AI-related tech is also being used to restore broken artifacts by designing what the missing pieces look like.  

An idle mind, they say, is the devil’s workshop. An IT professional from Bengaluru, rated

as a top performer by his employer, discovered this to his detriment recently. Having

moved from the hellish environmental extremes of Delhi to Bengaluru in the Beautiful

South, he had it all going for him. But instead of making the most that the easygoing IT

capital of India had to offer, he found himself consumed by a hellish addiction to

pornography, which soon made its way from his home to the workplace. Psychologists

blame his addiction on boredom, a silent threat that is looming over employers who fail

to keep their employees occupied in meaningful tasks. As Devina Sengupta writes, if it

is not identified and addressed, boredom’s cascading effects can have a long-term

impact on the prospects of both the employer and the employee.