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OTT content piracy results in losses of ₹8,000– ₹11,000 crore annually, indicating that 10–25% of the potential revenue generated by original content creators and funders never reaches the platforms.In the past, OTT originals such as Scam 1992- The Harshad Mehta Story, The Legend of Hanuman and Ek Badnaam Aashram, among others, have fallen prey to piracy.“Piracy is honestly the single biggest plague hurting the entire content ecosystem—from production houses to OTT platforms to theatrical businesses,” said Ujjwal Mahajan, co-founder of Chaupal, a platform specializing in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri content.When a piece of content leaks, the entire commercial cycle collapses—subscriptions drop, advertising value decreases, and the ripple effect extends across the supply chain, Mahajan added. “It is responsible for multi-billion-dollar losses globally, and in India, it also means hundreds of millions of dollars of lost tax revenue for the government.

There is no contradiction between paying gig workers a living wage and the claim that gig work provides job opportunities to many who would otherwise struggle to earn anything. Delivery workers for food delivery and quick-commerce platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto and Blinkit went on strike recently, demanding better wages and work conditions.This has triggered a bizarre debate online, as if asking for better wages amounts to socialism and charges of gig worker exploitation go against entrepreneurship. The obvious gainers from low-paid gig work are consumers who get doorstep deliveries both extra-cheap and ultra-fast.

Mumbai: If searing heat is an annual feature of the Indian summer, air pollution is fast settling into a permanent fixture of winter. For companies that sell both air-conditioners (ACs) and air purifiers, sales and marketing now fall into two neatly-distinct seasons—summer for ACs and winter for air purifiers, a much smaller category. Given this sharp seasonality, how do marketing heads manage their business when demand peaks so unevenly through the year? Girish Hingorani, vice-president of marketing at Blue Star, tells Mint it is all about planning the year carefully and efficiently.

₹599 and ₹999 per person, with Perspectives taking a 20% commission.If the loneliness economy has a defining characteristic, it is that many of its founders did not arrive with market research or business plans. Most began by trying to solve a personal, unmet need.Originally from Tamil Nadu’s textile hub of Tiruppur, Krishna Rubiga moved to Chennai for work in 2024 and struggled to make friends. Singles mixers felt crowded and transactional.

advertising. But its approach has had limited impact on India. Most of our focus continues to be on safer areas, such as gender, specifically women’s empowerment.

First, define what you want to use AI for. Miller calls this process the writing of your “Personal AI Constitution,” which sounds like consultancy jargon but contains a tangible step: changing how ChatGPT talks to you.She recommends entering the settings of a chatbot and altering the system prompt to reshape future interactions.

, 64, has been driving for Uber since losing his job as a financial adviser at a major asset-management firm two years ago. The money supplements his Social Security payments. He feels financially squeezed by the rising cost of living, and his Uber income is down, which he attributes to rising competition from self-driving Waymos.

• Don’t go cold turkey. If you’re averaging multiple hours on social media, it’s not realistic to go to zero. Start with a goal of limiting or restricting your use by a certain amount.• Use your phone to set screen-time limits or cut-off times. Your phone can help you reach your goals.

This New Year, people were not just wishing each other a happy 2026 and making resolutions—they were also streaming the finale episode of Stranger Things on Netflix, which was in its fifth season. As soon as the episode aired, some began comparing it to Game of Thrones, while others hailed it as a historical moment in pop culture, akin to Harry Potter.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] rise of the micro-drama is the definitive trend for India’s streaming industry in 2025, as tight budgets and slowing subscription growth mean over-the-top (OTT) players remain selective about content and still rely on big-budget films.

passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in July 2025, US lawmakers added to the sense that crypto is here to stay. But look beyond the hype and an uncomfortable issue remains unresolved: Are cryptocurrencies a genuine innovation capable of serving the common good, or a speculative threat to financial and social stability?Of course, not all cryptocurrencies are alike.

Kevins for Fed Chair. Nope. Not going to happen. Meaning I see neither Kevin Hassett nor Kevin Warsh becoming chairman of the Federal Reserve in May.

The recent transformation of India's flagship rural employment guarantee programme puts a greater financial burden on states, highlighting a long-running source of friction in their relationship with the Union government.By law, the Union government collects direct taxes and shares it with states. But states say their share has not kept pace with the growth in tax revenues, even though they bear the bulk of social and development expenditure. States also argue that their autonomy is being eroded as the Union government forces them to co-finance centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) that they did not necessarily approve.Under the Constitution, only the Union government can collect direct taxes, with the Finance Commission (FC) setting the terms under which it is shared with states.

₹500 per child where creche facilities are not provided, and travel allowances for inter-state migrant workers."These changes reflect a strong emphasis on health, safety, and social security, and businesses should start preparing now to ensure smooth compliance once the rules are finalized," Gupta said.The draft central rules under the four labour codes provide clarity on several operational aspects. The code on social security rules specifies that gratuity will be calculated on ‘wages’ last drawn, excluding components such as annual performance-linked pay, medical reimbursements, stock options, and meal vouchers.

faced unexpected challenges earlier this year while preparing to roll out a new model, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg went on a recruiting blitz to build an AI dream team, offering top executives and researchers multimillion-dollar paydays.The company acquired a 49% stake in startup Scale AI that valued Scale at $29 billion, and Scale founder Alexandr Wang joined the social media giant as its chief AI officer.The Manus acquisition appears to be Meta’s first major purchase of an AI startup operating an frontier AI model. Manus’s capabilities are regularly tested by top benchmarks and compared against those of AI models including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini and DeepSeek’s R1.Earlier this year, Manus raised $75 million in a fundraising round led by venture firm Benchmark.

The year 2025 emerged as a pivotal year for household finances—marked by significant changes like a reduction in mandatory annuitization in the National Pension System (NPS), lower income tax rates, GST slab rationalization, and the introduction of new labour codes—laying the groundwork for how Indians will plan, save, and invest in 2026.For instance, the new tax regime has emerged as the obvious choice for most taxpayers following the increase in the rebate limit to ₹12 lakh. To make the old regime work, taxpayers would now need to claim deductions of over ₹8 lakh a year—a tough target given the ₹1.5 lakh cap under Section 80C and no change in the ₹50,000 standard deduction for years.

Capitalism: A Global History by Harvard historian Sven Beckert.In the self-interest of this claim, its length is best left undisclosed.It kicks off with a jaw-dropper: the 1639 trial in America of Robert Keayne, a trader shamed for ‘false principles’ like it being fine for someone to “sell as dear as he can and buy as cheap as he can” and take advantage of either “his own skill or ability” or “another’s ignorance or necessity.”Adam Smith’s thesis of an ‘invisible hand’ blending our interests to serve our collective well-being came much later, in 1776, though capitalism as an economic order is characterized not just by a free market, but also by the right to private property, contract enforcement and other props.The charm of Beckert’s account of endless capital self-creation is that it offers us a global view. After all, its story not only spans a millennium, it girdles the globe.Aptly, thus, this book takes us back to trade across the high seas around India about nine centuries ago.

India Ageing Report 2023 projects that the number of persons aged 60 years and above would double from 149 million in 2023 to over 347 million (25% of the population) by 2050. The dependency ratio would grow from 16% in 2020 to 34% by 2050.This has profound social, political and economic implications.

Write to Margherita Stancati at [email protected] and Sune Engel Rasmussen at [email protected] all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected].

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s appointment of a special envoy for Greenland drew an angry response from Denmark and reignited its concerns about U.S. efforts to control the strategic Arctic territory.