- Arvind's Newsletter
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- Arvind's Newsletter
1.S&P Global upgrades India' rating to BBB amid Trump's 50% tariffs, says outlook stable: Reuters
Ratings agency S&P Global has today upgraded India's sovereign rating to BBB from its earlier rating of BBB-, while maintaining the economic outlook as “stable”. This comes just ahead of Independence Day tomorrow and amid United States President Donald Trump's imposition of 50 per cent tariffs.
The ratings upgrade from S&P reflects the impact of prudent fiscal policy. The central government's quality of expenditure has improved along with a more long term focus on fiscal improvement by targeting debt.
2.India's trade deficit widens to 8-month high of $27.35 billion in July: Business Standard
India’s trade deficit widened to an eight-month high of $27.35 billion in July, as imports grew at a faster pace than exports, data from the commerce department showed.
The trade deficit stood at $24.77 billion in July last year and $18.78 billion in June this year.
Imports increased by 8.6 per cent year-on-year to $64.59 billion during the month, the data showed while Exports rose 7.29% to $37.24 bn in July.
3.Baby food: Regulator plans to cut sugar levels further in bid to curb obesity, diabetes rates in India: Mint
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is considering new rules to cut down sugar added to foods for toddlers and babies aged 6 to 24 months, people aware of the matter said. The move, which could affect popular products such as infant cereals and milk formulae, is part of an effort to fight the country’s rising rates of obesity and diabetes.
India's baby food regulations in India encourage the use of lactose and glucose polymers as main carbohydrates. The rules strictly limit added sugars like sucrose and fructose. These can't make up more than 20% of the total carbohydrates in the product.
Some of India's prominent baby food brands are Cerelac from Nestle, Amulspray from Amul, Similac from Abbott, and Slurrp Farm. To be sure, these products keep sugar within permitted limits, but the food regulator believes it's time to go further.
4.IndiGo emerged as Asia’s most punctual airline in July: Ciricum amd Aviacion al Dia
IndiGo emerged as Asia’s most punctual airline in July, clocking an on-time performance of 87.28% across 62,000 flights, ahead of Thai AirAsia and Philippine Airlines, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium’s ‘Monthly On-Time Performance Report’. Its on-departure time stood at 88.60%, 3.46% higher than Thai AirAsia.
In the global large airport category, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and Chennai International Airport topped rankings with on-time rates of around 92% and 87%, serving 105 and 66 routes, respectively. Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Delhi airports also featured in the top 20.
5.India’s real unemployment crisis: Why official rates don’t tell the whole story: Mint
“Ever wondered how India’s unemployment rate is just 3.2% when you see endless queues for a handful of jobs? Official stats say all’s well, but for urban educated youth, joblessness hits double digits—13% for graduates, 10% for the young. The data is robust, experts say, but hides underemployment and poor-quality jobs. Much of the post-pandemic “employment” boom is in self-employment or unpaid family work. So, is India really creating enough good jobs, or are the numbers just painting a rosier picture than reality?” Read more
6.Apple Plots Expansion Into AI Robots, Home Security and Smart Displays: Bloomberg
Apple plans to put an animated version of its Siri voice assistant at the centre of a new robotic device that could launch in 2027, according to Bloomberg.
Apple is testing out a new version of Siri that would power a device that resembles an iPad mounted on a robotic arm that swivels about, reported Bloomberg. Video calls through FaceTime will be one of the main features of the tabletop robot. Siri will be able to interrupt conversations that take place around the device with restaurant suggestions or recipe recommendations, according to Bloomberg.
Putting Siri in such a prominent position may be a risky move for Apple. First launched in 2011, Siri has lagged behind rival voice assistants for a long time now. Siri’s struggles have become more pronounced in recent years as more advanced chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have emerged. Apple failed to deliver a more advanced version of Siri that it promised to launch this year, delaying it until sometime next year.
7.US President Donald Trump is increasingly operating as the country’s CEO, several commentators argued: New York Times and others
His involvement in a deal around US chipmakers’ sales to China marked Trump’s latest unorthodox corporate intervention; he has also sought to exert influence over the country’s central bank and policing in Washington DC.
While traditional American conservatism favours limited government involvement, a newer strain on the right advocates for the public sector to operate more like a business. That approach carries risks, a former George W. Bush adviser warned: “[Trump] owns all of it. He doesn’t even delegate it to Cabinet secretaries that he can fire if it doesn’t go well… I would never advise a president to take ownership of so many things.”
8.How to instantly be better at things: Big Think
One simple yet surprisingly effective way to improve at something is to imitate someone more skilled than you.
“It’s easier to imitate wholeness than it is to assemble it from parts,” argues Cate Hall, a writer, CEO, and former professional poker player.
“Beginners are often neurotic, alternating between I better not fuck this up and I’m going to fuck this up,” writes Cate Hall. How to skip all that? Hall has a simple strategy: She pretends to be someone she knows who’s insanely competent. “Much of the time, it made me better at [a task] immediately,” she notes. This type of strategic mimicry isn’t about erasing yourself; it’s about letting a “deeper, more intuitive” learning system take over until you can run the show. And surprisingly, according to Hall, this method might continue to work even when you’ve become so skilled that there’s nobody left to mimic.” Read on.
8.Shifting Alcohol Attitudes (in USA): Gallup
Only 54% of US adults say they drink alcohol, the lowest rate Gallup has recorded since tracking began in 1939. The 2025 poll, released yesterday, also found a record high 53% of Americans view drinking as harmful to health.
The drinking rate hovered in the low to mid 60s from 1997 to 2023, before falling to 58% in 2024. Analysts attribute the ongoing decline largely to adults aged 18 to 34, whose drinking rate has dropped 9% in two years. Two-thirds of this group say even moderate drinking—one or two drinks a day—is harmful, up from 34% in 2018. Concerns among older adults have also increased, though less sharply.
The trend follows growing research about alcohol’s health impacts. In January, the US surgeon general called for warning labels on alcoholic beverages over cancer risks. Federal guidelines currently recommend that men limit their daily intake to two drinks and women to one.
9.Are Samosas Unhealthy? Some Indians Find Official Advice Hard to Swallow : New York Times
“Indians eat an array of street food, but the king — and one of India’s most famous culinary exports — is the samosa. This deep-fried, plump, potato-filled snack is usually served with tangy and sweet condiments and can cost as little as 15 cents.
When a government advisory recently put the samosa on a list of things that should be eaten in moderation, social media erupted with memes, and the Indian media treated the list as an attack.”
10.Weapons to Materialists: 16 of the best films of 2025 so far: BBC
BBC film critics Caryn James and Nicholas Barber pick their cinema highlights of the year so far, from "unique" new horror Weapons to "delightful almost romcom" Materialists.
