Arvind's Newsletter

1.India to become third largest economy in the world by 2030, GDP to grow 7%: S&P Global

According to the "Global Credit Outlook 2024" by S&P, India is projected to be the fastest-growing emerging market globally. However, the critical challenge lies in determining whether the country can successfully evolve into the next major global manufacturing hub.

The report further highlighted that India's growth is projected to be 6.4% in the fiscal year 2023-24, a decline from the 7.2% recorded in the preceding financial year. The rating agency anticipates that the growth rate will persist at 6.4% in 2024-25 before experiencing an increase to 6.9% in the subsequent year and reaching 7% in 2026-27.

"A strong logistics framework will be key in transforming India from a services-dominated economy into a manufacturing-dominant one," it said.

2.Cyclone Michaung hits South East India : Landfall process completed; death toll rises to 17

Cyclone Michaung made landfall early this morning along India’s southern coast as a severe cyclonic storm, with wind speeds of up to 62 mph and gusts of up to 70 mph. At least 17 deaths have been reported due to the heavy rainfall, and thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate. Officials in Chennai said the rainfall from Michaung (pronounced “mig-jaum”) is the most the city has encountered in 70-80 years, with some parts of the city recording nearly 10 inches of rain in 24 hours.

3.Bitcoin reached its highest price in 20 months on forecasts of interest-rate cuts. 

The cryptocurrency hit $42,000, up 20% over the last month.Two high-profile prosecutions of the two big crypto exchanges, FTX and Binance, are now over, and investors hope regulators will allow a bitcoin exchange fund on the stock market, opening it up to mainstream backers. But it’s also increasingly seen as an alternative asset, like gold, which is also a record high at $2100 per ounce. In times of geopolitical uncertainty and likely interest-rate cuts, the two are believed to offer a hedge against currency fluctuations.

4.Consulting Giants See AI Shaving Years Off the Path to Partner reports Bloomberg

Consulting giants and law firms are looking to artificial intelligence to speed up the time it takes junior staffers and associates to make partner as the technology eliminates vast swaths of repetitive, time-consuming tasks that typically fill up their first few years.

At KPMG, for instance, freshly-minted graduates are now doing tax work that was previously reserved for staff with at least three years of experience. Over at PwC, junior staffers are spending more time pitching clients rather than the hours they used to spend prepping meeting documents. And at Macfarlanes LLP, junior lawyers are interpreting complex contracts that their more—experienced peers used to have to handle.

If the early experimentation pans out, it would mark a seismic shift for professional services firms, which are known for subjecting junior staffers to years of tedious work before putting them on the path to becoming partner. That partner title translates to bigger client assignments and fatter pay-checks.

5.The World’s top 10 Electronic Exporters

From personal computers to memory chips, the electronics trade plays a vital role in the world economy. In 2021, global electronics exports reached $4.1 trillion according to McKinsey Global Institute.

The following Visual Capitalist graphic shows the 10 largest electronics exporters in the world, based on data from McKinsey, and how they’ve changed since 2000.

We can see in the above table how global electronics trade has become more concentrated in Asia, which accounted for 7 out of the top 10 countries and around 68% of global exports.

As an electronics powerhouse, 34% of the world’s electronic goods in 2021 came from China, representing $1.4 trillion in value. Home to leading firms like TSMC, Taiwan also plays a major role due to its prowess in semiconductor manufacturing—highlighting the island’s global importance. Other large Asian exporters include South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.

India is not on this list but hopes to get on this list over the next 10 years.

6.Rizz is Oxford's word of the year for 2023. Do you have it?

Are you good at chatting up or flirting with potential partners? If so, you may already have rizz, even if you didn't know it.

The Oxford word of the year, internet slang for romantic appeal or charm, is mostly used by young people.

The word might not mean anything to you if you're not Generation Z.

But it's used massively online, with billions of views of the hashtag "rizz" on TikTok.

According to Oxford University Press [OUP], which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary [OED], it is defined as style, charm, or attractiveness, and the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.

The term is thought to be a shortened form of the word "charisma".