Arvind's Newsletter

1.India's gross domestic product or GDP grew by 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022-23, compared to a growth of 4.4 per cent growth in the previous October-December quarter, as per the official data shared by the National Statistical Office. The Street had expected a growth of 5.5 per cent during the fourth quarter.

For the entire fiscal 2022-23, the economy's growth rate came in at 7.2 per cent, higher than the central bank's estimate of 7 per cent. However, the pace of growth was slower as compared to 9.1 per cent in FY2022.

2.India’s population is rapidly ageing – doctors aren’t prepared at all

“Geriatric care, whether as a specialized discipline or a crucial component of primary health care, is not widely available and has largely been overlooked in India,” explains Dr Giridhar Babu, from the Public Health Foundation of India, based in Bengaluru.

“The Governments have predominantly concentrated their efforts on reproductive and child health so far, with an added emphasis on Covid-19 in recent years. Non-communicative diseases (NCDs) and geriatric care haven’t had a similar focus.”

Given India’s ageing population, says Dr Babu, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases is expected to “significantly” rise. But without sufficient geriatric care, he adds, these illnesses will also drive a rise in premature deaths.

Only one state – Kerala – has revolutionised its approach to caring for the elderly. The rest of the nation must follow suit.

3.Reliance’s Jio Cinema is coming after Netflix and Amazon Video.

Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema has turned its full force against Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video.

Viacom18, a joint venture of Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Paramount Global, announced a multi-year partnership with NBCUniversal (NBCU), promising to bring “thousands of hours” of films and TV shows created by the US mass media and entertainment conglomerate under its Peacock brand.

This is the second such deal JioCinema has grabbed in less than two months. In April, the streaming service announced the onboarding of content produced by Warner Bros, HBO, and Max Original.

Moreover, JioCinema’s Premium services cost only $12 a year—way less than Netflix’s $94.

4.Growing demand for renewables in both South Africa and Ukraine illustrates their potential in countries suffering from instability. Demand for residential solar installations hit a record level in Cape Town as South Africa with a power crisis that the state utility warned could be the country’s worst ever. Ukraine’s recently opened Tyligulska wind farm, meanwhile, generates enough electricity for 200,000 homes about 60 miles from the front line of the country’s war with Russia. Though by no means sufficient in either case, green power offers each a measure of energy security and independence — from the corruption and lacklustre development that has plagued power infrastructure in South Africa, and from the war battering Ukraine.

5.To Prevent Heart Attacks, Doctors Try a New Genetic Test reports the New York Times.

A new genetic test, known as a polygenic risk score. It looks at a collection of thousands of genetic variants. Each variant contributes little on its own to heart disease risk, but the variants together might point to those who are likely to have heart attacks.

Cardiologists hope to use such tests, which cost about $150 and are not typically covered by health insurance, to identify people most likely to have heart attacks long before they have them. Some doctors envision testing children as part of routine pediatric care.

Those at high risk would be treated aggressively. But the test may also spare some patients from unnecessary treatment if their risk turns out to be low.