Best of the Week: To everyone who has ever lived through a song

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MUSIC! It has never just been something I listened to; it has been something I lived through.

Hindi music, especially, has always felt like home. Since childhood, every emotion I experienced came with a song attached to it. Happiness had a chorus. Sadness had a haunting melody. Even ordinary afternoons had background scores in my head. I once thought this habit of assigning songs to moments was just the child in me being dramatic. But life changed. People changed. Circumstances changed. And yet, the one constant remained, music.

Even now, as I write this, my favourite genre is playing softly in my ears.

Growing up, I began noticing something more. I stopped seeing just the faces on screen and started recognizing the voices behind them, the playback singers whose notes carried the weight of our emotions. Their voices were stitched into our memories, yet their faces often remained unseen.

Reading this piece by my colleague Lata Jha made that realization heavier. Behind the millions of streams, the viral reels, and the sold-out concerts lies a fragile financial reality. Many singers are paid once, while songs they’ve poured their soul into generate revenue for years. The glamour hides an unorganized system where awareness and negotiation often matter more than talent alone.

It is saddening, in a way, to know that the voices that healed us are navigating such uncertainty.

But maybe that is what makes music even more sacred to me, it is deeply human. It carries struggle, resilience, and hope. And perhaps, that is why it has always healed me.

On to the best of Mint’s journalism from this week:

What the IDFC First episode really means

An 18% stock plunge in two days. A ₹590-crore suspected fraud. And suddenly, a bank built on credibility is answering uncomfortable questions. The issue at IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh branch, allegedly involving employee misconduct and the Haryana government-linked accounts, has rattled investors. Even as the Reserve Bank of India insists there’s no systemic risk and management calls it an isolated lapse, the market reaction tells another story. Yes, deposits remain strong at ₹2.82 trillion. Yes, government deposits form just 8-10% of the base. And yes, the bank says it will stay profitable even if the full amount hits earnings. History suggests frauds often trigger deposit outflows, not because balance sheets collapse overnight, but because trust does. A forensic audit by KPMG is underway. Employees have been suspended. Funds are being traced across banks.

India’s social media dilemma

Should India ban kids from social media, or fix what makes it addictive in the first place? As the government weighs age-based restrictions, following countries like Australia, the concern is digital addiction, sleep disruption, and online safety. With India being the largest market for platforms like Instagram and YouTube, the stakes are high. But can age bans really work in a country where teens share devices and accounts aren’t always personal? Could restrictions push them toward smaller, less regulated corners of the internet instead? Social media can be distracting. It can harm. But it can also empower, educate, and connect.

The great AI reset in Indian IT

Is India’s $250-billion IT dream staring at its biggest reset yet? Nasscom says growth may hover at 6%, with hiring staying flat as AI reshapes tech jobs. Jefferies has trimmed targets. Nearly $45 billion in market value has evaporated this year. But leaders at Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys argue we’ve seen such tech transitions before. AI may shrink large, multi-year deals, but it’s also opening new revenue streams. TCS alone has clocked $1.8 billion in annualized AI revenue. Partnerships with OpenAI and others show firms aren’t sitting idle.

One call. ₹5.85 crore. Gone.

What would you do if someone knew your child’s school, your tax details, your life, and threatened to detain your son? In 72 hours, a Gurugram executive liquidated everything and “voluntarily” transferred ₹5.85 crore from her HDFC Bank account. The money bounced through mule accounts, a little-known cooperative bank, shell firms, and vanished. This is “digital arrest”: fear engineered at scale. India has logged over 8.2 million cybercrime complaints, with tens of thousands of crores lost. Banks cite authentication rules. Victims cite coercion. So where does responsibility lie? As the Supreme Court of India weighs stricter safeguards and AI-led monitoring, the question now to ask is, if consent is extracted through terror, is it really consent?

Oil, war and India’s backup strategy

Oil is back in the headlines, and not for the right reasons. Tensions are rising near the Strait of Hormuz, and India is quietly activating Plan B. After all, nearly 2 million barrels of our daily crude imports sail through that narrow stretch. What if it closes? Officials are exploring alternative pipelines via Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Saudi Aramco, diversifying suppliers, and topping up reserves. But pipelines can only replace a fraction of Hormuz flows. Every $1 rise in oil adds ₹13,000 crore to India’s import bill.

Can India’s solar story stay bright?

A 126% US duty, and solar stocks plunged. Waaree Energies Ltd fell by over 10%. Premier Energies Ltd slid. The message from Washington was, Indian cells are “subsidized”. But is this a knockout blow? Many firms insist they’re hedged, sourcing cells from lower-tariff regions or focusing on India’s booming domestic market. The government? Largely hands-off, fight it in US courts. Still, the US is a high-margin market powering AI-hungry data centres. If exports slow, will excess supply flood India and squeeze prices?

Uber vs Rapido: The new cab clash

Remember when Ola Cabs vs Uber was the fight? Not anymore. Uber’s CEO has admitted it; the real challenger now is Rapido. Uber has pumped nearly ₹3,000 crore into India. Rapido, leaner but faster-growing, ended 2024-25 with more free cash and shrinking losses. Market share is shifting. Incentives are rising. Losses are ballooning. So what wins in ride-hailing, deeper pockets or smarter playbooks? As this turns into a war of balance sheets, riders may enjoy discounts. Drivers may chase bonuses. But how long can this cash-fuelled chase last?

Data, dominance and a digital U-turn

After years of courtroom sparring, WhatsApp has told the Supreme Court of India it will comply with directions giving users more control over data shared with Meta Platforms entities such as Facebook and Instagram. Remember the 2021 policy update? “Accept or exit”. That sparked a probe by the CCI, fines worth ₹200+ crore, and can dominance override consent? So why back down now? India is WhatsApp’s biggest market. Stability here matters more than a prolonged regulatory fight. For users, this is leverage.

Inside the Krutrim-Ola equation

Krutrim, Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI bet, posted ₹101 crore in revenue, but 90% came from Ola group companies such as Ola Electric Mobility Ltd and ANI Technologies. Supporters say it’s arm’s-length, audited, cost efficient. Critics ask: when a promoter-owned firm draws business from listed, shareholder-backed entities, shouldn’t transparency be airtight? Add overlapping board seats and shared infrastructure, and the optics get sharper. Krutrim may well be building India’s AI muscle. But governance matters as much as growth. If the economics are compelling, why not win more independent clients?

SpiceJet’s supreme showdown

Another hearing. Another deadline. And ₹144.51 crore hanging in the balance. The Supreme Court of India is set to hear SpiceJet’s plea against a Delhi high court order directing it to deposit dues linked to a long-running battle with former promoter Kalanithi Maran. This is about a 2018 arbitral award, years of appeals, contempt warnings, and questions of compliance. SpiceJet says cash is tight, fuel costs, currency swings, survival first. Courts say Supreme Court orders can’t wait indefinitely. What’s really at stake? Liquidity, yes. But also credibility.

That’s all from us this week. Subscribe to our newsletters and the website for what’s in the news and beyond it. Write to us at newsletters@livemint.com.