From E20 To E100 | Apple's TSMC Escape Plan | Prudential Drops ICICI

Good Morning, I'm Nelson John, and on Top of the Morning today every story is about a trade-off. Letting go of one risk to take on another. India is considering pushing ethanol blending past E20, all the way to E85 and E100 flex fuel cars. The savings on crude imports are real. But farmers are already switching from oilseeds and pulses to maize, rice and cane. India's edible oil and pulses import bill is bigger than a decade of ethanol savings. That tension is now on the table. UK insurer Prudential is rewriting its India strategy. After more than 20 years inside ICICI Prudential Life, it is cutting that stake to 10 percent and acquiring 75 percent of Bharti Life Insurance for ₹3,500 crore. The trigger is the new 100 percent FDI cap in insurance. Allianz, Chubb, Old Mutual and others are all reassessing. The map is being redrawn. Then the ₹3 per litre fuel hike, the sharpest in four years, lands right as kharif sowing begins. Diesel powers 40 percent of farm activity in India. The ripple into food inflation has already started. Apple has reportedly signed a preliminary deal with Intel to manufacture some of its chips. The story behind it is Nvidia overtaking Apple as TSMC's biggest customer, and the US government pushing chip production back onto American soil. And JSW Steel, through joint ventures with Japan's JFE and Korea's POSCO, is on course to hit 80 million tonnes capacity by 2032. That would make it the largest steelmaker outside China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices