1.The U.S.-India relationship will shape the 21st century

Interesting post by Arthur Herman and Aparna Pande in The Hill. Some excerpts:

“The key foreign relationships for American presidents have historically been with democratic allies in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. But there is one nation that is not a formal security ally but can become a natural partner for U.S. national security and economic interests: India.

In fact, how America approaches its relations with India — the world’s largest democracy, its most populous nation and very soon its third-largest economy — may determine the balance of global power for the 21st century.

Since the end of World War II, American grand strategy has focused on building a network of global alliances that will halt the rise of a peer competitor. As the U.S. looks for a strong strategic partner to contain China’s current hegemonic ambitions, India stands out as the one country whose economic might, military potential and political values can decisively shift the balance of power toward the U.S. and other democracies around the world.

 The U.S. would benefit from American companies treating the Indian market as their alternative to China in the civilian manufacturing, high-tech and defense-industrial spheres. We also need to respect the fact that as a post-colonial country with a world-class economy, and one with a 5,000-year-old civilization, India will always see itself as a global power, not as a junior American ally, with strategic interests separate from — albeit largely aligned with — those of the U.S.

The emergence of India as a global power will permanently alter the dynamic of competition between the U.S. and China. A president who can correctly guide a closer strategic partnership between India and America will not only counterbalance China’s global ambitions and economic and military might, but could trigger a new era of growth and prosperity for both countries — indeed, for all three.” Read in full below

2.CNG, hybrid cars take expressway to drive past EVs

Sales growth of CNG and hybrid cars outpaced that of EVs in the first half of this year, according to automotive data analytics firm Jato Dynamics. Between January-August this year, sales of CNG cars grew 46% year on year, followed by hybrids which grew at 19%. EV sales grew only 7%.

In the same vein, there were more CNG models launched this year, followed by hybrids and then EVs. Car makers like Tata Motors and MG Motor have been offering discounts and battery rentals to drive up sales of EVs. 

3.Mercedes-Benz to manufacture EQS SUV 580 in India, first outside the US

German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz India would now be making its electric SUV, EQS SUV 580, in India, which will be the only market outside the US to produce this seven seater car as the company sees local demand for electric vehicles.

This is not the first EV that Mercedes would be making in India though. It has been making the EQS sedan here for the last 18 months, and has sold 500 units of the car.

The EQS SUV 580 is currently not available in India. The car with a 122 kwh battery and 809 km range (in single charge) would be priced at Rs 1.4 crore.

4.Tata chair on ‘painful’ transitions: ‘We have to do this’

Chandra speaks to Anjli Raval and Chris Kay in a wide ranging interview.

“We are trying to get the group prepared for the future,” Chandrasekaran (Chandra) tells the Financial Times in an interview in London. “However painful . . . these are transitions that need to be done.” This includes Tata Steel’s decision to close blast furnaces at the Port Talbot steelworks and cut jobs to move to greener forms of steelmaking.

After running the Paris marathon during the Olympics, the chair of India’s Tata Sons took a 12-day trekking trip in the Himalayas to give himself time to think. “My biggest strength, if you ask me, is that I reflect a lot. That’s what I’m good at,” says Natarajan Chandra. It was “a lot of time, walking all day, looking at the mountains”, he recalls. He uses running and such escapes to ponder strategy, replay business decisions and ask: “Why did this happen?”

“I told myself not to get overwhelmed,” says Chandra, as he confronted a company in crisis and pledged to “stop the bleeding” at the group’s highly leveraged companies. “What I do is important, but how I do it is more important.” You just shouldn’t get worked up . . . I always have a smile, no one can make out if I’m going through a tough day.

Chandra says he told the heads of Tata businesses that “every company has to be focused on financial fitness . . . don’t worry about growth, fix the fitness. Performance will come.”

Chandra says he has largely relied on intuition to set the direction for Tata and validates his approach with data. He says he would not “do anything differently”, although “not everything goes at the pace . . . you want”. He has been disappointed by the pace of Tata’s shift to sell more digital products to consumers, which “is taking time”. The integration of brands into a single super shopping app “could have been faster”. Read on.

5.China’s economic slowdown is deepening, new data indicated.

Weekend reports showed industrial output, investment, and consumption slowed more than forecast, while a measure of unemployment unexpectedly rose to a six-month high. Major banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley cut their GDP growth forecasts, warning that Beijing would need to deploy huge fiscal stimulus to arrest the slowdown, but Chinese authorities have shown little willingness to do so.

The country is grappling with a raft of economic challenges, including an aging population, a huge debt load, and a flailing property market. It did, however, allow the rapper Ye to perform in Hainan, possibly “to promote consumer spending and promote tourism,” The New York Times wrote.

6.Another Trump Assassination Attempt

The FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The attack took place yesterday around 2 pm ET at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is safe; the suspect, known for expressing pro-Ukrainian views, is in custody.

Secret Service agents opened fire on a man stationed in bushes outside the golf course. He was pointing a rifle through the fence, officials said. The man, who was roughly 400 to 500 yards from Trump, fled by vehicle and was later apprehended. An AK-47-style rifle was discovered on-site, along with a rifle scope, GoPro camera, and multiple backpacks. Officials have not publicly identified a motive as of this writing.

The incident marks the second near-miss assassination attempt on Trump in two months.

7.Fusion startups have raised $7.1 billion in funding, with four companies gaining more than a billion each, as the technology moves from far-off dream to plausible source of medium-term profit. 

Fusion — gaining power by joining atoms rather than splitting them as in conventional fission power — could in theory create near-limitless clean energy. Progress has been slow, because it is challenging to build reactors which can contain plasma as hot as the sun, but new developments in the software and hardware required to do so have attracted investors’ attention. If the startups can create commercially viable energy, “they have potential to upend trillion dollar markets,” TechCrunch reported. Jokes that fusion is 30 years away, and always will be, are becoming outdated.

8.Shōgun makes Emmys history as Hacks, The Bear and Baby Reindeer triumph

Shōgun has made Emmys history as the first ever non-English language series to win for best drama.

Hacks was the surprise winner of best comedy series, beating out previous winner The Bear and Abbott Elementary. Star Jean Smart took home the award for lead actress, her third win for the role. The HBO show, about two female comedians working together, also won for best writing for a comedy series.

The Bear took the majority of the comedy awards winning four Emmys including acting trophies for Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Liza Colón-Zayas.