Arvind's Newsletter

1.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, as New Delhi eyes a trade deal to avoid punishing

Trump has criticised India’s duties on US goods, and India is particularly at risk from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs — but Modi came prepared to offer him a “gift” in the form of tariff cuts and deals on energy, military equipment, and agriculture, one Indian official told Reuters. As the US president upends relations with foes and allies, India so far has ensured “the vibes are good” with the White House, one expert said. But Trump’s immigration crackdown leaves India vulnerable as the largest source of undocumented migrants to the US outside of Latin America.

But the Modi-Trump bonhomie doesn’t seem to have resulted in any concessions for India, yet. Indeed, Trump was asked at the joint press meet of the two, post Modi’s visit to Washington, whether he would consider concessions for India. Trump quipped he didn’t get any in his first term. “We will be charging them whatever they are charging us.” Trump said.

That does not mean PM Modi will come back empty handed.President Donald Trump said he’s beginning trade talks with India aimed at addressing the deficit and resolve the tariff standoff. Trump has also offered to sell the US military’s most advanced fighter jet to India. Trump said the US would increase sales of military hardware to India by “many billions of dollars,” including the F-35 stealth jet, after meeting Indian Prime Minister Modi at the White House. The pledge is the latest US move in years-long efforts to weaken India’s close military ties with Russia. 

2.India says Russian oil suppliers must provide sanctions-compliant cargoes

India won’t take oil from Russia unless it comes from companies and ships that have not been sanctioned by the US. Reuters reported India’s oil secretary Pankaj Jain as saying, “It is the responsibility of the supplier to deliver to me something that meets my requirements of compliance.”

India is the second-largest importer of crude oil from Russia and the world’s third-largest oil importer. Jain’s comments come at a time when India has been playing it safe as the Donald Trump administration threatens countries with tariffs. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a cordial relationship with Trump, the US president did not spare a warning for India when it comes to tariffs. 

3.JioStar to launch JioHotstar, combining JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar

The combined media entity of Reliance Industries (RIL) and The Walt Disney Company, JioStar, will launch JioHotstar, the combined streaming platform from Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.

JioHotstar will offer shows, movies, and live sports without requiring a subscription in a single application, with subscription plans starting at Rs 149 for an uninterrupted experience, the company said in a statement. Existing JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar subscribers will be able to seamlessly transition and set up their JioHotstar subscriptions, the statement added.

4.The Race to Explain Why More Young Adults Are Getting Cancer: Time Magazine

Researchers have found that young people around the world are getting many different kinds of cancer at alarmingly high rates. And as the diagnoses of celebrities and public figures like Kate Middleton, Chadwick Boseman, Dwyane Wade, and Olivia Munn bring mass attention to the issue, scientists are racing to answer a question on the minds of many outside the medical profession: Why is cancer, historically a disease of old age, increasingly striking people in the primes of their lives?

Overall, cancer is still overwhelmingly an older person’s disease. As of 2025, 88% of people in the U.S. diagnosed with cancer were 50 or older, and 59% were 65 or older, according to data from the American Cancer Society. But there is no question that the demographics are shifting. Under 50s are not only at increasing risk of suffering from cancer; theirs is the only age group for which the risk is rising. All told, 17 types of cancer are on the rise among U.S. adults in this age group.

5.Long-term yogurt consumption tied to decreased incidence of certain types of colorectal cancer

Researchers looked at the role of long-term diet and the gut bacteria in colorectal cancer using data on participants who had been followed for three decades. They found that people who consumed two or more servings of yogurt per week tended to have lower rates of colorectal cancer positive for Bifidobacterium. The findings suggest that yogurt consumption may change the microbiome, leading to a protective effect for some types of colorectal cancer.

6.Matchmakers in India Now Have Competition: AI

Players in India’s multimillion-dollar matrimony industry are embracing AI tools to optimise the generations-old practice of arranged matchmaking, but prioritising efficiency comes with its own limitations.

“In 2021, the BBC reported that some 90 percent of marriages in India are still arranged, a triumph of tradition over change. At the same time, technology has been enacting changes in the practice of that tradition. The driving principle is still intelligence. Only now it’s artificial." 

7.A cheap blood test raised hopes for early detection of one of the deadliest cancers.

Pancreatic cancer killed 467,000 people in 2022: It is particularly dangerous because it often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has spread past the point of being easily treatable. Earlier detection could prevent many deaths. Researchers found that testing frozen blood samples for particular enzymes common in tumours correctly identified healthy individuals 98% of the time and patients with cancer 73% of the time.

The test is far from perfect — even 98% specificity would mean a lot of false positives if the cancer is rare, and it could also miss many true positives — but it possibly means many tumours are picked up earlier.

8.European leaders moved to establish a unified backing for Kyiv in the face of growing chaos from the US. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said the return of President Donald Trump should be an “electroshock” which will force Europe to “muscle up” and take more responsibility for its own defence.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against accepting a “dictated pace” in Ukraine after Trump suggested he would conduct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin without Europe’s involvement, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer talked up his support, saying British troops could go to Ukraine as peacekeepers and that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to NATO membership, despite the White House saying it was not “realistic.”

9.English Cricket’s Selloff Gamble Values Teams at Over $1 Billion

An auction has valued eight English cricket teams at nearly £1 billion ($1.3 billion), a coup for the country’s newest competition that only launched four years ago.

A sales process for The Hundred, a shorter format of the game aimed at a younger audience, valued the franchises at £975 million, the England and Wales Cricket Board said Thursday. About £520 million raised will be reinvested into the sport.

The largest valuation was for London Spirit, the team that plays its home matches at Lord’s. The winning bid for 49% of the team came from a consortium led by Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Nikesh Arora and including other Silicon Valley CEOs including Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella. The MCC, the owner of Lord’s, will retain 51%.

Other successful bidders included India’s billionaire Ambani family, which own the Mumbai Indians Indian Premier League team. They bought a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles, the other team in the UK capital.

Other winners include GMR group (Southern Braves), Sun TV/Sunrisers Hyderabad (Northern Superchargers) and RPSG (Manchester Originals).

10.The “5 Types of Wealth”: Why you’re wealthier than you think

Big Think spoke with writer and investor Sahil Bloom about his new book, The 5 Types of Wealth, which argues that true fulfillment comes from defining wealth on your own terms.

Bloom contends that financial wealth is just one type of wealth — you can also be physically and mentally wealthy, and also well-off in time and social relationships.

Different stages of your life might call for prioritizing different kinds of wealth.