Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Thursday, November 28, 2024. This is Nelson John, let's get started.

Flying has become a pricey experience these days. To help with that, the Centre is working on a comprehensive package for the aviation sector. Dhirendra Kumar and Manas Pimpalkhare report that these measures include tax concessions, reduced user charges, route optimization, and regulatory relaxations. Some relief with the aviation turbine fuel tax is expected, as current prices are about 60% higher than other hubs around India. The initiative also seeks to minimise procedural delays for airline licences and hiring foreign pilots.

For many years, India's telecom industry has had one clear winner, one runner up, and two players hunting for survival. For the latter, at least BSNL has the government's backing. Gulveen Aulakh writes that the financial stability of the sector has improved over the last few years. Airtel and Vodafone Idea have managed to reduce their debt burdens too. Ongoing discussions around receiving a fair share from OTT platforms might further improve the state of the industry, She explains.

There's a new sector hiring IITians heavily: and what is that you may ask? Coaching institutes. Around 3,000 to 5,000 IIT grads have been snapped up by edtechs or coaching institutes right out of college. Mansi Verma and Devina Sengupta report that these companies start off with a salary of around ₹10 lakh, but give the potential to make up to five times that within a few years. As more and more students vye for very few IIT seats, these jobs are more in demand. While interest in such positions is high, many view these roles as temporary before seeking further opportunities in other industries.

A recently released documentary by a Tamil actor Nayanthara has taken centre stage behind the scenes in the Indian cinema industry. Nayanthara aired a three-second behind-the-scenes clip from a 2015 movie, which was featured in the documentary. A civil suit has been filed over the usage of the clip. Lata Jha spoke to copyright law experts, who said minimal use might qualify as fair use. The fight isn't just domestic: in Hollywood too, actors and directors have often come to blows with studios on what they can use or distribute on their own accord.

In October, Indian banks issued significantly fewer credit cards than the year before, nearly halving from 1.69 million to just 0.79 million. The dip mainly stems from banks tightening their lending criteria to better manage risk and ensure applicants can repay their debts. Leading the pack in issuing cards were big names like HDFC Bank, SBI Card, and ICICI Bank, while others like Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, and Axis Bank actually saw their numbers drop. Analysts are predicting that this conservative trend in credit card issuances might c ontinue for the rest of the fiscal year. Shayan Ghosh explains what’s causing the dip in new card issuances.

Show notes:

India plans comprehensive aviation package

Explainer: Are more reforms needed for the telecom sector?

IIT grads flock to edtech: A new career frontier with high salaries

Nayanthara's battle for film footage bares copyright conflict

Mint Primer: Why banks are issuing fewer credit cards