Arvind's Newsletter

1.India’s power-sector CO2 emissions fall for second time in over four decades: Reuters

India’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its power sector fell by 1% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 and by 0.2% over the past 12 months, only the second drop in almost half a century.

As a result, India’s CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement grew at their slowest rate in the first half of the year since 2001 – excluding Covid – according to new analysis for Carbon Brief.

The fall was driven primarily by record additions in clean-energy capacity and unusually mild weather, which curbed electricity demand, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Carbon Brief.

2.Why state debt could be India's next big fiscal problem: Mint

The true picture of India's debt is distorted by a persistent focus on the central government alone. States' annual borrowing, typically at 3-4% of GDP, compares with the Centre’s 4.8% in FY25. These figures are often understated by off-budget borrowings, which obscure the full extent of their liabilities.

The debt-to-GSDP ratios in some large states—Punjab, West Bengal, and Himachal Pradesh—have already soared above 40%, placing them in a fiscal position akin to highly stressed national economies.

This rising debt poses several risks: it can crowd out private and central borrowing in the bond market, undermine fiscal discipline as populist subsidies take precedence over long-term goals, and ultimately contribute to macroeconomic instability.

3.India's data centres may become 2nd-biggest power buyer in Apac region: Business Standard

India is projected to become the second largest market for electricity demand for data centres by 2030 in the Apac region, surpassing Japan and Australia, according to estimates by S&P Global released on Wednesday.

According to the S&P figures, the data centres’ share of electricity will triple from 0.84 per cent in 2024 to 2.6 per cent of the total electricity generated in the country by 2030. This is because in the same period, India’s data centre power requirement will grow five times from 13 terra watt hour (TWh) in 2024 to hit 57 TWh in 2030, an annual average growth of 28 per cent.

However, S&P points out that there will be sufficient renewable capacity, where most data centres are focusing on, to meet the additional demand. It argues that India will require an additional 15-30 Gw of power for data centres, which accounts for around 10 per cent of the total renewable planned additions projected during the period.

4.Independent directors’ pay doubles at India’s top firms: Mint

Independent directors at Nifty 50 companies now earn about ₹1 crore on average, up from ₹52 lakh in FY20, according to a Deloitte India study shared with Mint. Rising profits, higher commissions, and more board meetings have driven the surge.

While CEO pay rose close to 50% in the same period, director fees have jumped nearly 100% as companies seek stronger governance and global-calibre talent. Demand for qualified directors has doubled in recent years, with firms even matching US-level fees to attract marquee names. Women directors have seen the fastest gains, with their pay growing 2.1x versus 1.9x for men.

5.China's SAIC to cut stake in India car venture amid investment curbs: Reuters

SAIC to cut 49% stake in Joint Venture viz JSW MG Motor and halt further investments.

To try and grow in India, SAIC, one of China's largest state-owned auto companies, opted to tie up with local conglomerate JSW Group.

Indian and Chinese leaders met last month to ease relations, raising hope of improved business ties. There has since been little sign of progress, with Indian auto firms, for instance, still awaiting Chinese approval to buy rare earths from China.

The tie-up with JSW was meant to inject funds into the automaker's largest production base outside of China and also ease regulatory hurdles. But it has not delivered, said one of the people Reuters spoke to.

SAIC is not pulling out of India but wants to dilute its stake in JSW MG Motor significantly and will continue to provide technology and products for the venture, said a second person

6.The US Federal Reserve Cuts Rates: Wall Street Journal

The Federal Reserve announced a quarter-percentage-point cut in benchmark rates yesterday, bringing the range to between 4% and 4.25%—the lowest level in almost three years. The bank signalled the possibility of two additional cuts this year.

The decision saw the Federal Reserve prioritising a hiring slowdown over inflation. A sluggish 22,000 jobs were added last month; weekly jobless claims reached their highest level in four years last week. The US has also downwardly revised job growth by 911,000 for the one-year period ending in March. Those concerns trumped sticky inflation, with consumer prices rising 2.9% annually last month.

The bank voted 11-1 in yesterday’s decision, with the only dissenter being newly appointed Fed Governor Stephen Miran, who preferred a half-point cut. Governor Lisa Cook participated in the meeting after an appeals court ruled the White House lacked authority to fire her. The White House plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

7.Nvidia to invest $5bn in rival Intel: Financial Times

Nvidia has agreed to invest $5bn in its struggling rival Intel as part of a deal to develop new chips for PCs and data centres, the latest reordering of the tech industry spurred by artificial intelligence. Intel’s shares surged 26 per cent as trading began on Thursday following the announcement, which unites two of Silicon Valley’s longest-running competitors.The news comes on the heels of the U.S. government acquiring a 9.9% stake in Intel via an $8.9 billion investment in the company last month.

However, the pair’s announcement makes no reference to Nvidia using Intel’s foundry to produce its chips. Intel’s manufacturing business, which is losing billions of dollars a year and struggling to secure external customers, is seen as vital to US technological sovereignty.

Intel, which has also largely failed to gain a foothold in the booming AI server market, lost its crown as the world’s most valuable chipmaker to Nvidia in 2020.

8.Meta Launches $799 Glasses With Screen and AI Integration: Bloomberg and others

Meta unveiled the first version of its smart glasses with a built-in screen, the latest step in its drive to turn the gadgets into must-haves. The latest model, the $799 Meta Ray Bans display, features a screen in the right lens. It can show text messages, video calls, turn-by-turn directions in maps and visual results from queries to Meta’s AI service. The subtly integrated display can also serve as a viewfinder for the camera on a user’s phone or surface music playback. 

Mark Zuckerberg has argued wearable devices that can replace smartphones are vital to his all-in bet on “superintelligence”.

The glasses themselves are “the best I’ve ever tried,” a reviewer for The Verge said, reluctantly: “I’ve been a smart glasses skeptic for many years,” she wrote, but for the first time she feels “consumer smart glasses may really take-off.”

9.In Charlie Kirk’s name: Trump officials signal move to limit free speech: Axios and others

Dozens of workers at media companies, airlines, schools, sports teams, and government agencies have been fired in the last week, following a Republican-led campaign against those perceived as celebrating Kirk’s death or criticizing his beliefs.

The terminations may be legal, experts told Axios, but “they demonstrate fast-changing norms around free speech that many find troubling.”

Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US could revoke the visas of foreigners seen to be supporting Kirk’s killing. Vance urged people to report on those cheering the murder.

Disney’s ABC network on Wednesday evening pulled late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel’s show, days after he was roundly criticised by Kirk’s supporters for suggesting the killer was a Maga supporter.

They also show that companies are increasingly eager to distance themselves from “political commentary that risks blowing back on their reputations with consumers — or the Trump administration,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.

10.How People Actually Use ChatGPT, According to New Research: VisualCapitalist

What do people actually use ChatGPT for?

It’s a question that has lingered since the tool first went viral back in 2022. Now, a new research paper from OpenAI sheds light on user behaviour by analysing a sample of 1.1 million messages from active ChatGPT users between May 2024 to July 2025.

The findings, summarized in a helpful visualization by Made Visual Daily, show that ChatGPT’s core appeal is utility: helping users solve real-world problems, write better, and find information fast.

Over 55% of ChatGPT prompts fell into either learning or productivity-related tasks. Users often turn to the chatbot for help understanding concepts, writing emails, summarizing articles, or coding. A wide base of users are using the tool as a digital assistant, tutor, or research aide.

Another key insight? Most people still use the free version of ChatGPT. Only about 10% of the prompts analyzed came from paid users of GPT-4, suggesting that even the free-tier model is driving widespread productivity.