Arvind's Newsletter

1.IndiGo Aims To Take International Capacity Share To 40% By FY30

The number of air passengers in India is expected to double to 510 million by 2030 from the current 252 million, said IndiGo. It aims to take its international capacity share to 40% by financial year 2030 from 28% currently.

The airline reiterated its target of taking the aircraft count to more than 600 by 2030, with orders of 925 planes yet to be delivered. The company currently has more than 400.

Preparing to expand its international operations with long-haul flights, IndiGo will be focusing on expanding partnerships with overseas carriers and joining an airline alliance is not a priority.

However,Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the global aircraft shortage hampering airline growth will persist for four to five years as supply snags hobble production at jetmakers Boeing and Airbus. Why is Air India struggling even as Indigo claims its plans are on track?

2.It’s an All-New Allianz! Jio Financial Tieup Fast-tracked reports Economic Times

Allianz SE is stepping up efforts to forge an alliance with Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Financial Services (JFSL) for a second stab at the domestic life and general insurance market, said people in the know. This follows Monday’s announcement that it was ending its 24-year joint venture with Bajaj Group.

The German financial services powerhouse will sell its 26% stake in Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co to its Indian partner for $2.8 billion. It may receive the proceeds in several parts. Talks between executives of Allianz and Reliance Industries (RIL), which owns Jio Financial, have been going on for several months. 

The Munich-based group is clear that it wants to be a minimum 50% partner in any new ventures and may even be open to a larger stake. It also wants to have a bigger say in management and operations. Let see if Reliance agrees to their terms.

3.The world’s largest warehouse firm re-enters India with a $500 million purse

US-based Prologis Inc., the world’s largest owner of warehouses, plans to invest around $500 million in India by 2026 to build a large portfolio of warehousing parks in the country.

The company could double its investment in India in the 5-7 years following the initial $500 million outlay, chief investment officer Joseph Ghazal said in an interview. Prologis, which counts Amazon Inc. as its biggest client, plans to build and lease warehousing parks in India as well as develop build-to-suit facilities for customers.

Prologis’ plan is to first establish its presence in five major Indian cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

4.Indian Cabinet approves 6-lane highway project connecting JNPT at Rs 4,500 crore

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of a 6-lane access-controlled greenfield high-speed National Highway to connect JNPA Port (Pagote) with Chowk (29.219 km) in Maharashtra at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore.

"With the increasing container volume at JNPA port and the development of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, a need was identified for augmenting National highway connectivity in the region."

5.Criminals use AI in ‘proxy’ attacks for hostile powers, warns Europol: Financial Times

The EU’s police agency Europol has warned criminal organisations increasingly use artificial intelligence to stage attacks on behalf of hostile powers, posing an “unprecedented” security challenge to national governments.

In its report on the threats posed by organised crime published on Tuesday, Europol warned criminals were becoming “proxies” in hybrid attacks such as sabotage allegedly committed by Russia and China.

AI and other technologies such as blockchain or quantum computing have become a “catalyst” for crime, as they “drive criminal operations’ efficiency by amplifying their speed, reach, and sophistication”, the agency said.

“Cyber crime is evolving into a digital arms race,” said Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle. “AI-driven attacks are becoming more precise and devastating. Some attacks show a combination of motives of profit and destabilisation, as they are increasingly state aligned and ideologically motivated.”

6.German parliament approves Friedrich Merz’s €1tn spending plan

German lawmakers approved a landmark defense and infrastructure spending plan, which experts say could resuscitate Europe’s largest economy and spur the continent’s rearmament efforts.

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz took the unusual step of using the outgoing parliament to secure a supermajority, which was needed to OK up to $1 trillion in debt-fueled investments.

Some of the money was also earmarked for climate funding, boosting clean-tech hardware stocks. Germany has traditionally been frugal, but its newfound willingness to spend big could have continent wide implications, with Brussels increasingly open to common borrowing, Politico wrote: Europe may have its “Hamiltonian moment” and move toward joint EU debt issuance.

7.The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025: Fast Company

“As the world shifts and industries transform, the World’s Most Innovative Companies aren't just keeping up. They're setting the pace. Fast Company’s annual look at the most groundbreaking companies in every industry and across the globe offers a snapshot of innovation today and a playbook for the future. The companies on this year’s Top 50 list are making what once seemed impossible a reality.”

The Top 5 companies on the list are: Google’s Waymo, Nividia, Nubank, WNBA and BYD. Sadly no Indian companies in the list.

8.Elon Musk’s X obtains $44bn valuation in sharp turnaround: Financial Times

Social media site X’s valuation has soared back to $44bn, underscoring the sharp turnaround in the company’s fortunes since its owner Elon Musk assumed the role of staunch ally to President Donald Trump.

Investors valued the platform at $44bn in a so-called secondary deal earlier this month, in which they exchange existing stakes in the company, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

X was also working on raising fresh capital in a primary round, which would aim to raise about $2bn through selling new equity and be used to pay off more than $1bn of junior debt that Musk agreed to take on to finance his buyout of the company, then known as Twitter, in 2022, several people briefed on the situation said.

Since taking over the group, Musk has loosened the platform’s moderation policies, something that prompted many advertisers to leave. Disclosures from Fidelity Investments in late September implied a valuation for the company that was below $10bn. Musk purchased Twitter for $44bn.

9.Introverts should (sometimes) act like extroverts: Olga Khazan in Vox

It turns out that behaving in an extroverted way can have surprising benefits, even if you’re an introvert.

Compared to introverts, extroverts are happier, research unfortunately shows. An exhaustingly chirpy series of studies has found that social connection is one of the strongest predictors of well-being, and extroverts are more socially connected.

 Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist who has studied this phenomenon, says it’s worth focusing less on the “extrovert” part of this and more on the fact that these individuals are more enmeshed in community. “Connection is really the key to happiness,” Lyubomirsky told me. And there are ways to square your natural introversion with the universal human need for connection. You don’t have to mingle with everyone at the office party, for instance. You can just call a trusted friend for a one-on-one conversation. Even hanging out with others and listening more than you talk can be a form of “extroversion,” Lyubomirsky says.

Though there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert, several studies have shown that when introverts occasionally behave in extroverted ways, they experience more “positive affect” — science-speak for good feelings.

10.Take a virtual tour of the Galapagos Islands

If Galapagos islands is on your travel bucket list as it is on mine than you will find the following link worth spending time on.

The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. 

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, 900 km (560 mi) west of the mainland of South America.