Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Monday, January 6, 2024. This is Nelson John, let's get started.

China has a new virus! There is a rising concern about respiratory infections in the country, particularly with an increase in cases of Human Metapneumovirus among children under 14. This virus, part of the same family as the respiratory syncytial virus, has sparked worries due to its symptoms and transmission methods, which are reminiscent of COVID-19. Unlike COVID-19, however, there's no vaccine or specific treatment for HMPV, adding to the global health anxieties. The increase in cases, especially noted in northern China, comes during the usual flu season but has raised some eyebrows globally due to fears of a pandemic-like spread, reminiscent of the early COVID-19 days. However, health experts note that HMPV isn't new; it's been around since 2001 and pops up seasonally in places like the US and UK. Jessica Jani explains what the new virus is and how it could affect the human body, in today’s Primer. 

Donald Trump's second presidential term has reignited concerns over H-1B visas, critical for India's $250-billion IT services sector. Historically, these visas have been essential for employing highly skilled non-immigrants in the US. However, Indian tech companies are less vulnerable today than in the past due to a strategic shift towards hiring more Americans and reducing dependency on H-1B visas. Jas Bardia spoke to IT industry insiders who told him that IT companies are hiring more locally in the US, which decreases the reliance on H-1B visas. US firms now employ more Americans than H-1B visa holders in these roles. Data shows that major Indian IT firms, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro, have significantly reduced their H-1B visa applications over the last decade.

2024 marked a significant increase in ultra-luxury real estate transactions in India, with cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru seeing record deals for homes costing over Rs 100 crore. Speaking to Mint’s Khushi Malhotra, Ritesh Mehta of JLL highlighted the growth in this sector, noting high-value transactions on Gurgaon's Golf Course Road and South Mumbai's Malabar Hill. This surge reflects a robust confidence in ultra-luxury real estate as a stable investment. The data from PropEquity revealed 13 such transactions between January and October last year, a slight decrease from 21 in 2023. Anarock Group’s data also shows that 99 ultra-luxury residential deals worth Rs 8,069 crore were closed over the past three years.

India’s new Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is causing a stir with its latest draft rules, especially around the new requirement for parents to verify their identity when their kids want to use online platforms. This proposal is sparking quite a debate about its practicality and the potential headaches it could cause for both families and companies. The draft rules suggest parents need to prove they’re really the guardians using digital IDs like the Digilocker platform, Souvik Das reports. While this is meant to keep kids safe online, it’s also raising concerns about the extra burden it places on companies that now have to manage this verification process.

Ketan Parekh, once celebrated as a prime mover of India's stock market, found himself implicated in a new scandal. Decades after being banned for a major 2001 market scam, Parekh is accused of using insider information to manipulate trades, profiting ₹38.7 crore. Additionally, a Singapore-based trader linked to him earned ₹27.07 crore in commissions, leading the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to seek a return of ₹65.77 crore from those involved. The investigation, lasting over two and a half years, involved deep dives into financial records, phone data, and digital communications across multiple platforms. Sebi’s detailed probe revealed Parekh’s use of various tactics to disguise his involvement, including using multiple mobile numbers registered under different names and employing pseudonyms. Neha Joshi takes an in-depth look at the 30-month investigation undertaken by the market regulator, which ended up with Parekh’s implication.