- Arvind's Newsletter
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- Arvind's Newsletter
1.The Ambani, Adani, Tata twist to India’s nuclear energy playbook; Economic Times
Earlier this year, in the hushed confines of Nuclear Power Corporation of India’s (NPCIL) headquarters in Mumbai, a unique meeting of India’s best corporate minds was underway. In attendance was a formidable assembly of top executives from Adani, Reliance, Tata, Jindal, Vedanta, and the country’s top nuclear scientists. The agenda? To make India a global nuclear energy superpower.
This a marked departure from the earlier stance, as India, for long, has been hesitant to embrace nuclear energy at scale. Now the country is charging ahead with one of the world’s most ambitious nuclear expansion plans – to achieve 100 gigawatt (GW) nuclear capacity by 2047. That’s more than a tenfold increase from the current 8GW. This is also a major step that will help India achieve Net Zero by 2070.
What makes India’s fresh nuclear power push different is that it is no longer solely the purview of the governments and elite institutions. Private enterprises are now entering the arena. Regulatory frameworks are being fundamentally reshaped. Groundbreaking reactor designs are moving from laboratory concepts to tangible prototypes.
“The world is watching,” observes Kris Singh, CEO of Holtec International, a US-based nuclear technology firm collaborating with Indian entities. “India isn’t merely catching up, it also possesses the potential to surpass the rest of the world,” he adds.
2.IPO-bound Flipkart plans to shift holding company from Singapore to India
E-commerce giant Flipkart, based and operating in India, has shared its intention to relocate its holding company from Singapore to India.
The move comes at a time when Walmart-owned Flipkart, valued at around $36 billion, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) expected within the next 12 to 15 months, according to sources. The company has secured internal approvals to shift its domicile from Singapore to India — a key step to facilitate its listing on Indian stock exchanges. Backed by Walmart, Flipkart has been strengthening its board and operations in anticipation of the public offering, aiming for what could be one of the largest IPOs by a new-age Indian company.
Gold just blasted past another milestone, extending this year’s 30% rally and briefly surpassing $3500 per troy ounce for the first time.
In a rush to haven assets, gold climbed as much as 2 per cent to $3,500.05, cementing its position as one of the biggest winners from Trump’s return to the White House. The Japanese yen strengthened to ¥140 per dollar for the first time since September, as the dollar index languished near a three-year low.
The moves underscore how the “sell-the-US narrative” is gaining speed. And banks have become progressively more positive: Goldman Sachs has forecast $4,000 an ounce midway through next year. Jefferies analysts say gold may be “the only true safe-haven asset left.”
And in India, following global cues, gold created history on Monday in the evening trade hitting the Rs 1 lakh milestone in the physical market with the last recorded price of 24 karat (999) at Rs 97,200 per 10 grams. A 3% Goods and Services Tax (GST) takes the prices to Rs 1,00,116.
Gold prices have surged over 26% or by Rs 20,800 per 10 gram in 2025, so far.
4.Tariff Impact, AI Age, Rise Of GCCs—Indian IT Sector Braces For A Tough FY26
India’s $280 billion IT industry is likely to see another gloomy year after two years of muted growth, as Tariff wars cast a shadow of uncertainty in the business demand. Putting hopes of revival on a backfoot, IT companies are compelled to walk a tightrope with deal conversion delays, project deferral and cancellations with tough pricing conditions.
Since Donald Trump’s re-election as US President, a wave of new policies have come in, and his unpredictable tariff decisions have fueled uncertainty. Amid volatile trade conditions, businesses around the world are taking a more cautious stance.
Last week, three Indian IT majors — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro — reported weak fourth-quarter results. While TCS’ results missed market expectations of margin and profit, Infosys’ missed its FY25 guidance, with margin being marred by wage hikes. Wipro guided poorly for FY26 despite a strong deal pipeline.
5.Foxconn’s iPhone factory is fueling a real estate boom in a small Indian farming town
Foxconn’s arrival is quickly changing a rural town in southern India into a real estate hot spot.
Devanahalli, located on the outskirts of India’s tech hub, Bengaluru, is home to Foxconn’s “Project Elephant,” a 13-million-square-foot site, roughly the size of 220 football fields. The $2.5 billion facility is set to be Foxconn’s second-largest factory outside China and create 40,000 jobs. The factory is part of Foxconn’s broader effort to diversify supply chains amid the U.S.-China trade war. The company plans to double its iPhone production in India to up to 30 million units.
Foxconn’s Devanahalli project, approved by the local government in 2023, is the biggest in an agricultural belt known for pomelos, blue grapes, and silk, among other things. Property prices in the area have risen by 35% since Foxconn’s entry, according to data from property consultancy Anarock. Still, resistance persists against the wider industrial push in Devanahalli: While many farmers have come around, some continue to hold out, demanding higher compensation for their land.
6.Harvard sued several US agencies and top officials for freezing billions of dollars in federal funding, escalating a high-stakes showdown with the Trump administration.
The government unlawfully suspended Harvard’s funding after it refused to comply with “unconstitutional demands” to overhaul governance, discipline and hiring policies, as well as diversity programs, lawyers for the university argued in a lawsuit. The Trump administration halted $2.2 billion of grants on April 14 after accusing the nation’s oldest and richest university of failing to combat antisemitism on campus.
7.Snow levels in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region hit a 23-year low, threatening the water supplies of 2 billion people.
The mountain ranges, which stretch from Afghanistan to Myanmar, hold the world’s largest ice reserves outside the Arctic and Antarctic, and their meltwater is a vital source of fresh water in much of Asia.
“Snow persistence,” the time snow lasts on the ground, is 23.6% below normal, the third year of low snow, raising the risk of drought in areas already affected by more regular heatwaves.
Ice is on the retreat everywhere: The World Meteorological Organisation said recently that five of the last six years have seen rapid glacier retreat, and sea ice near both poles is at record lows.
8.$8 billion of US climate tech projects have been canceled so far in 2025: MIT Technology Review
This year has been rough for climate technology: Companies have canceled, downsized, or shut down at least 16 large-scale projects worth $8 billion in total in the first quarter of 2025, according to a new report.
That’s far more cancellations than have typically occurred in recent years, according to a new report from E2, a nonpartisan policy group. The trend is due to a variety of reasons, including drastically revised federal policies. Here’s a map of all the cancellations so far this year.
9.The Hidden joys of Google Maps
Its not just for navigation you know
The navigation app might be built for function – but dig deeper and you’ll find a trove of inside jokes, neighbourhood quirks and charming errors
10.Severance to Adolescence: 10 of the best TV shows of 2025 so far
From the latest season of the dystopian workplace drama to the UK miniseries that got the world talking and a new hit medical show, we pick the year's greatest programmes to stream right now.
