Arvind's Newsletter

1.BPCL secures land for $11 billion refinery project in southern India: Reuters

India's state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp will invest nearly $11 billion to build a new 180,000–240,000 barrels-per-day refinery in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a state government order said.

The order said the government has allocated 6,000 acres for a refinery and petrochemicals project costing about 968.62 billion rupees and asked BPCL to begin commercial operations by January 2029.

Andhra Pradesh, ruled by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu (CBN), is seeking investment to ease financial strains from high debt and social spending.

Over 20 years, the state will provide financial incentives to BPCL equal to 75% of the project's estimated capital expenditure, according to the order.

2.China seeks India's assurance on no heavy rare earths diversion to US: Economic Times

China is seeking guarantees from India that the heavy rare earth magnets supplied by it will not be re-exported to the US and will be used only to meet local needs, before commencing shipment of these critical components to companies here. Indian firms have submitted end-user certificates stating that magnets will not be used for manufacturing any weapons of mass destruction.

3.Come November, IndiGo’s number of international destinations will be on par with Air India group: Mint

IndiGo has been on an announcement spree over the last few days. The airline started flights to Copenhagen on 8 October, while it has already announced flights to London Heathrow starting 26 October 2025, along with the resumption of flights to Guangzhou. The airline will also launch flights to Siem Reap in November. The operational international stations for IndiGo will thus reach 44. The airline has operated to Yangon and Chengdu, which have remained suspended since the pandemic.

While 44 may hardly be a milestone number, the airline will have the same number of destinations as the Air India group in November, which makes it a milestone for the carrier, which started international operations in 2011.

4.British fintech Revolut to invest $670 million in India over five years, expand local operations: Economic Times

Global financial services company Revolut has committed $669.2 million (about Rs 5,941 crore) to the Indian market over the next five years as it rolls out a suite of payment and forex products, group chief banking officer Siddhartha Jajodia told ET.

The UK-headquartered fintech, valued at around $75 billion globally, said the investment will be directed towards building new products, investing in expanding its global capability centres (GCC), and securing additional regulatory licences in India.

Revolut has secured two licences so far — an Authorised Dealer (AD-II) forex licence and a domestic prepaid instrument (PPI) license — allowing it to offer both domestic and cross-border payments on a single platform. The company launched a single app for both domestic and international payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-linked prepaid cards and multi currency forex cards.

5.Govt aims to double concert economy, simplify event permissions in India: Business Standard

With India increasingly attracting global artistes, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) is working to simplify the process of setting up concerts in the country. “We are looking at doubling the concert economy,” said Sanjay Jaju, secretary, I&B ministry, in his keynote address at Ficci Frames 2025, emphasising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a vibrant concert economy in India.

One such initiative involves revamping the India Cine Hub website to create a single-window platform for concerts, streamlining the process of securing the various permissions required. A beta version of this initiative is expected by the end of October, in time for the upcoming concert season starting in November.

This announcement comes days after the alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins cancelled its first-ever performance in India due to logistical issues. “Due to unexpected logistical challenges and conditions beyond our control, we have to cancel our two upcoming shows in Bengaluru and Mumbai. We cannot perform these shows to the standards that we and our fans expect,” the band said in a statement on Facebook.

6.India’s rich flock to Mumbai’s new billionaires’ row: Financial Times

India’s richest tycoons are creating a new “billionaires’ row” on a single street in Mumbai, piling wealth into developments in a seafront district transformed by the city’s infrastructure boom.

Billionaires such as banker Uday Kotak and pharmaceuticals entrepreneur Dilip Shanghvi have bought properties on Worli Sea Face, wooed by sea views and decent transport connections after the construction of a $1.5bn coastal road. The one-time industrial heartland already counts among its residents Isha Ambani, the daughter of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man.

For India’s wealthiest, “Worli Sea Face today is the place to be”, said Gulam Zia, a senior executive director with property consultant Knight Frank.

Naman Xana tower, built on the site of a dilapidated bungalow that had been empty for decades, epitomises the transformation of the area into one of the city’s most desirable abodes.

Pharmaceutical tycoon Leena Gandhi Tewari, chair of USV pharmaceuticals, bought two apartments in Naman Xana for nearly $75mn. Dilip Shanghvi’s wife Vibha has bought two apartments in the building and Tanya Dubash, executive director at her family conglomerate, Godrej Group has bought a duplex in the tower. Barnsley football club owner Neerav Parekh also owns two apartments there. Read the gift article.

7.Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal, driving cautious optimism for an end to their brutal two-year conflict: New York Times and others

The agreement calls for the release of all Israelis kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed-upon line.

US President Donald Trump said he would visit the region to sign the deal, which The New York Times called “the biggest diplomatic achievement of his second term.” Residents of Gaza — where a humanitarian disaster has unfolded, with 67,000 killed and famine taking root — and the families of Israeli hostages welcomed the deal. Read Gift article in New York Times for full details.

However, Israel’s hard-right, nationalist finance minister said he would vote against the agreement, and though the deal is expected to pass, his remarks underline domestic opposition.

Later phases of the agreement also include numerous requirements that are unlikely to be fulfilled, such as the disarmament of Hamas, meaning that while the narrower hostage deal is laudable, the prospects for the wider truce “are very, very limited,” a Biden-era security official told the Financial Times.

8.An obsession with protein is reshaping both the food industry and people’s bodies

Protein-infused ice creams, sodas, and even bottled water have become a huge market. “Protein-rich” product sales increased 4.8% year-on-year in the US through March 2025. The rise has been driven by a resurgence in interest in dairy after years of ubiquitous milk alternatives and pushed food manufacturers to plaster the word “protein” on goods.

Consumers believe boosting protein intake is a healthy choice, The Wall Street Journal reported, and many use it to bulk up, but nutritionists are skeptical: One said shoppers are buying protein-enriched junk food , and that most people don’t need more protein per day than they would get from a single chicken breast.

9.Ronaldo is Bloomberg's first billionaire footballer: Bloomberg

Cristiano Ronaldo’s football career has been a series of glittering firsts, from a record transfer to Real Madrid to scoring more competition goals than any man in history. He’s now notched up another huge win off the pitch: becoming the first billionaire player.

During more than two decades at some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United and Juventus, the 40-year old Portuguese national hasn’t been shy about cashing in on his stardom with lucrative side gigs for the likes of Armani and Nike. But it’s now, in the twilight of his playing career, that he’s been catapulted into the top ranks of the richest sportspeople, inking a fresh contract extension in June with Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr that’s reportedly worth more than $400 million.

Ronaldo’s net worth has now climbed to $1.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is valuing his wealth for the first time, making him the first footballer identified by the index to achieve that status.

10.Hungary’s László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel literature prize: Financial Times

The Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, known for his postmodern, dystopian novels, has won the 2025 Nobel Prize for literature. The 71-year-old was recognised for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that in the midst of apocalyptic terror reaffirms the power of art”, the Nobel committee said on Thursday.

Steve Sem-Sandberg, one of the Nobel committee members, highlighted the “extraordinary literary vitality” of Krasznahorkai’s works that are noted for extremely long sentences and multiple shifts in tone, from the comical to the desolate, with the form “mirroring the nature of reality”.

His first novel Satantango — described by Sem-Sandberg as “magnificent” — was published in 1985 before the fall of communism. Set in an impoverished village isolated from the rest of the world, it explores themes of power and coercion. Written from multiple perspectives with chapters made up of single paragraphs, the book was later made into a seven-hour film.

The American writer and critic Susan Sontag once described Krasznahorkai, who cites Kafka as an inspiration, as the “master of the apocalypse”.