Arvind's Newsletter

1.UPI payments through biometrics likely soon; PIN may become optional: Business Standard

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users may soon be able to authenticate transactions using biometrics, such as facial recognition and fingerprints, as an alternative to entering a personal identification number (PIN), according to industry players. 

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is preparing to roll out this update to UPI, which is expected to enhance security and convenience. The move comes amid growing concerns around PIN theft and fraud and at a time when UPI accounts for over 80 per cent of digital transactions in the country. 

Sources confirmed that the NPCI, which has been working on the feature for over a year, has shared the details with UPI ecosystem participants for review, feedback, and to ensure their readiness ahead of a potential rollout. A demo is likely to be showcased at the 2025 Global Fintech Fest.

2.Tata Sons fends off central bank IPO order as deadline looms: Financial Times

India’s largest conglomerate Tata Sons is expected to fend off a regulator’s order for an initial public offering that would have introduced greater transparency at the closely held group.

The Reserve Bank of India had wanted Tata Sons to list by the end of September in accordance with central bank rules that classify it as a major shadow lender. Analysts estimated the company could attract a valuation as high as $127bn.

But with fewer than 10 weeks to the deadline, Tata has yet to appoint bankers or file the necessary documents for an IPO, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

Some of the people said Tata was now expecting the RBI to push back that deadline or even grant them a reprieve.

3.India Inc's Q1 revenue growth estimated at 4-6 pc: Crisil Intelligence as reported in Economic Times

The revenue growth of India's corporate sector in the first quarter of this fiscal year is estimated at a modest 4-6 per cent, down from about 7 per cent in the previous two quarters, due to sluggish performance by power, IT services and steel sectors, according to Crisil Intelligence.

 Power, coal, IT services, and steel sectors, accounting for a third of total revenues, dragged overall growth. Power sector revenue fell 8% year-on-year, IT services remained flat, and steel rose just 1–3%.

 Pharmaceuticals (9–11%), telecom (12%), organised retail (15–17%), aluminium (23%), and airlines (15%) drove growth. Aluminium saw higher demand and exports; airlines benefited from increased capacity due to reduced groundings and new aircraft additions.

4.Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart files for IPO, to raise $247 million in fresh issue: Reuters

India's biggest eyewear retailer Lenskart has filed for an initial public offering, which includes the issue of fresh shares worth 21.5 billion rupees ($247.58 million), its draft prospectus showed on Tuesday.

Large shareholders of the company, known as "promoters", will also cumulatively sell 132.3 million shares. These include Japan's SoftBank (9984.T), opens n, Mumbai-based private equity firm Kedaara and Singapore state investor Temasek.

Incorporated in 2010, Lenskart is valued at $6.1 billion as of June 13, data from Traxcn showed. It is the largest retailer of eyewear in the country, followed by Specsmakers and ClearDekho.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to set up new company-owned, company-operated (CoCo) stores across the country, invest in technology and cloud infrastructure, and for general corporate purposes, the draft prospectus said.

5.India's data rules may force Tesla to take China route for car insurance plan: Moneycontrol

While Tesla is globally known for its real-time, telematics-powered insurance model, regulatory and data privacy constraints in India may force it to follow a more conservative model.

The much-anticipated Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) may force Tesla to abandon its global insurance playbook as it enters India's electric vehicle market with its flagship model Y.

Instead of launching its real-time, telematics-based insurance product, as it has in the US and the UK, the automaker is likely to adopt a limited model used in China and parts of Europe, where it partners with domestic insurers to offer bundled, static policies at the point of sale, sources told Moneycontrol.

Though not officially announced, the EV giant is reportedly in talks with Acko, Zurich Kotak, and Liberty General Insurance to partner for bundled insurance offerings.

6.Donald Trump’s tariff blitz brings US levies to highest levels since 1930s: Financial Times

Donald Trump has pushed US tariffs on foreign goods to the highest level since before the second world war as he enacts his sweeping protectionist agenda. The wall of levies announced by the president since he took office again in January has taken the country’s effective tariff level to an estimated 17.3 per cent, according to Yale University’s Budget Lab.

The figure, incorporating the latest deal agreed with the EU at the weekend, brings the total US levies close to the 20 per cent last seen during the widespread tariff increases in the years after the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act.

Trump’s time in office has been marked by tariff threats followed by climbdowns and reversals, but he has by this point made agreements that lock in high levies on almost 45 per cent of all US imports. That tariff wall threatens to trigger a reordering of global trade.

“Trump has engineered a new era of US trade protectionism that will eventually reverberate through the entire global trading system,” said Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy and economics at Cornell University.

Gift article

7.China launches $500 annual baby subsidy in effort to boost births: Bloomberg and others

After years of worrying drops in birth rates, China has announced it will start handing out childcare subsidies across the nation. More than 20 million families stand to benefit from the 3,600 yuan ($502) a year per child under age three.

It’s a marked shift for a country that abandoned its one-child policy almost a decade ago. China has been feeling the pressure after its population registered a decline for three straight years through 2024.

Falling marriage rates are compounding the issue—last year numbers plunged almost 21% to a new low. Social stigma and public services eligibility requirements mean few children are born out of wedlock. 

Hopes of a baby boom have proved fleeting, with young Chinese preferring to care for dogs and cats over kids. According to Goldman Sachs, pets are on track to outnumber toddlers almost 2 to 1 by 2030.

8.Harvard Is Said to Be Open to Spending Up to $500 Million to Resolve Trump Dispute: New York Times

Harvard University has signaled a willingness to meet the Trump administration’s demand to spend as much as $500 million to end its dispute with the White House as talks between the two sides intensify, four people familiar with the negotiations said.

According to one of the people, Harvard is reluctant to directly pay the federal government, but negotiators are still discussing the exact financial terms.

The sum sought by the government, which recently accused Harvard of civil rights violations, is more than twice as much as the $200 million fine that Columbia University said it would pay when it settled antisemitism claims with the White House last week. Neither Harvard nor the government has publicly detailed potential terms for a settlement and what allegations the money would be intended to resolve.

9.Should we be drinking more matcha? BBC

As a self-confessed coffee addict, Melissa Hogenboom attempts to reduce her intake by giving matcha tea a try and examines whether there's any truth to the health benefits.

10.A promising new drug to treat obstructive sleep apnea could help hundreds of millions of people sleep better: New York Times 

Approximately a billion people suffer from the condition worldwide: Poor sleep raises the risk of accidents and poorer performance at work. Sleep apnea causes the throat muscles to narrow during sleep, leading to snoring or temporary pauses in breathing which cause people to jolt awake.

The only effective treatment is a face mask which pumps air into the lungs, and which is noisy and uncomfortable. But this month, a pharma company released preliminary results from a clinical trial into a pill which significantly reduces breathing interruptions, and which could be an effective alternative to the mask. Read on, gift article in NYT.