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1.Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek is looking to invest $10 billion in India during the next three years, Ravi Lambah, Temasek's head of India and strategic initiatives, said. This investment is set to take Temasek's total India exposure to $47 billion.
In the last 10 years across all geographies, India has been the best in terms of returns," said Vishesh Shrivastav, managing director (India), Temasek, in an interview with Mint on Monday.
Earlier in the day, Temasek said its exposure to India stood at $37 billion (equivalent to S$49 billion), including the financial interest from its portfolio firm SingTel’s investment in Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Temasek owns 52% in SingTel, which in turn owns around 29% stake in Airtel).
“It is the highest (mark-to-market exposure to India) so far. This is the value of our direct investments and the mark-to-market of our portfolio (and) of our subsidiaries as well," said Shrivastav.
2.The rise and rise of India’s defence production : Business Standard.
India’s domestic defence production crossed the Rs 1 trillion mark for the second year and was at Rs 1.27 trillion in 2023-24. The year-on-year growth has accelerated from single-digit levels seen before the pandemic to nearly 17 per cent in 2023-24, according to the latest government figures.
Data shows that the share of private defence manufacturing companies in India has been consistent at about a fifth despite an increase in private defence companies and defence startups. The public sector still accounts for the majority of production. The government had mandated procurement targets to boost involvement and support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which mainly provide components to the defence industry. This has translated into more orders for small businesses as production scaled up.
Exports have exceeded Rs 21,000 crore in 2023-24, a record for India. Exports include small arms, protective gear, and artillery, among other items. The total figure is nearly twice the level seen in 2018-19.
The rise in exports comes even as India remains among the world’s biggest arms importers, with others such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar topping the list between 2018 and 2023. The dependence on Russia has come down lately, falling to 36 per cent from over 58 per cent earlier.
3.China’s economic growth slows in second quarter
China’s economic growth missed forecasts by a wide margin, slowing to an annual rate of 4.7%. The underwhelming figures highlighted Beijing’s failure to boost domestic consumer spending ahead of a key meeting which opened today where Chinese Communist Party leaders will chart the country’s economic path.
Although officials have vowed to prioritize “high-quality development” in areas such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, a ballooning debt burden — including as much as $11 trillion in off-the-books borrowing — may put that at risk. Now debt-fueled growth looks “illusory and suggests China’s future is far from assured, “ The Wall Street Journal reported.
4.Trump Assassination Attempt
Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally Saturday. The 20-year-old suspect was killed by a Secret Service sniper after a bullet pierced the upper part of Trump's right ear. The attack killed one rally attendee and left two others critically injured.
Trump was roughly six-and-a-half minutes into his speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the gunman opened fire from a nearby warehouse rooftop (see video below). Immediately following the attack, Trump was covered by Secret Service agents before being ushered offstage, raising his fist in the air.
The FBI has not identified motive for the suspect, a man from nearby Bethel Park. His father had purchased the weapon—a semi-automatic rifle—at least six months before. Explosive materials were later discovered in the suspect's home and car.
The attack marked the first attempted assassination of a US president since Ronald Reagan in 1981. It also raised questions about security lapses, given the gunman's ability to scale a rooftop roughly 400 feet from the former president. House leaders have launched their own investigation.
Both US President Joe Biden and his challenger for the White House Donald Trump called for unity after an assassination attempt on the Republican candidate. The appeals came as the Republican National Convention was due to open, with Trump set to deliver a major address unveiling his vice-presidential candidate, a speech he apparently rewrote to focus on lowering the temperature.
5.Sunday was a big day for Spain’s sporting youth.
The Spanish men’s soccer team defeated England in the European Championship final (Foorball is not coming home after all). A goal from 22-year-old Nico Williams opened the scoring, while his teammate Lamine Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday, is the tournament’s youngest-ever player and scorer.
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 21, comfortably defeated Novak Djokovic to win his second consecutive Wimbledon’s singles title becoming the first man other than Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal to successfully defend a tennis Grand Slam title since 2001 — before he was born. He denied Djokovic the chance to beat Margaret Court’s record of 24 Slams, and to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon wins.
