Arvind's Newsletter

1.How did IndiGo grab the market created by the grounding of Go First? Experts attribute IndiGo's large fleet, extensive domestic network, pilot pool, and quick decision-making to its success in cornering the lion's share of the market share shed by Go First.

In the Indian aviation sector, someone's pain has always been another's gain. The grounding of Wadia-group-backed Go First has now become another opportunity that the country's largest airline, IndiGo, used well, as it managed to record its highest-ever domestic market share of 61.4% in May.

IndiGo saw a near-400-basis-point (bps) jump in market share in May compared to April, while all other airlines in India combined saw a 180-bps jump in market share over the same period.

Similarly, IndiGo carried 7.04 lakh more passengers in May compared to April, while all other carriers carried around 2.4 lakh more passengers in May compared to April. Most of Go First's market share of 6.4 percent carrying 8.29 lakh passengers in April, went IndiGo’s way last month.

2.The Green Pivot: Will India’s green energy dreams face a severe capital crunch?

India will have to compete with the US and the EU in attracting capital to its green energy sector writes Vivek Kelkar.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a note that global renewable energy capacity is set to rise to 4,500 Gigawatts (GW) in 2024, equal to the total power output of China and the United States combined. IEA has previously indicated that renewable energy portfolios are generating higher total returns than fossil fuel. But key measures of investment risks were lower in advanced economies and higher in emerging markets and developing economies.Thus, investors find clean energy attractive but the direction of investment in coming years will clearly be skewed towards the advanced economies. India has much to think about. Read on.

3.How govt drone survey is clearing up land ownership in villages across India
State governments have issued as many as 1.32 crore property cards in 2.55 lakh villages across the country as of 7 June, giving people ownership documents for their property, according to The Print. 

These cards are being issued under the central government’s Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) Yojana, which creates a Record-of-Rights (RoR) for inhabited areas (as opposed to agricultural land) in villages — data that most states don’t have.

The Survey of India — the central agency for mapping — is preparing maps using drones and information provided by state governments about property owners after on-field verification.

4. Marc Andreessen made his name in the browser industry being the founder of Netscape amongst other start ups before becoming
a successful venture capitalist, founding his own VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (now known as a16z). Marc is known for his landmark essay from 2011 – Why software is eating the world. His long read is worth reading.

5.ChatGPT quickly found a home in the sophisticated echelons of investment banks and drug design firms. Now, the advanced artificial intelligence is coming to a huge workforce that’s largely tech-illiterate and non-English speaking: India’s domestic workers, waste recyclers and struggling farmers, according to Bloomberg.

In the crowded neighbourhoods of Bangalore, ragpickers, cooks and cleaners are taking part in an AI trial aimed at helping some of the nation’s poorest people access money from government anti-poverty programs without getting snarled in red tape and corruption.

It’s an opportunity for people such as Vijayalakshmi, who earns just $100 a month cooking for households in Jayanagar. She only uses her smartphone for basic purposes and speaks no English. Yet, that sweltering afternoon in April, she joined a gaggle of domestic workers to experiment with AI technology.