All you need to start your day informed in under 6 mins
Good Morning 🇮🇳
In the latest episode of Slow and the Furious ft. Bangalore’s famous traffic - EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti’s annoyance reached another level as it took him 100mins to cross one intersection. In a never before seen combination of uncontrollable anger and philanthropy, he pledged Rs 1 crore to fix the city’s traffic problems with - you guessed it - AI and data. Here’s hoping AI doesn’t just say “build helipad to EaseYourTrip macha” vs. trying to ease everyone’s.
Now, let’s get into the dispatch! 🚀
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Today’s reading time is 5.5 mins.
MARKETS 🔔🐂🐻
As on Indian market close on July 15
Healthy buying trend across various segments in the market led to Sensex and Nifty ending their 4-day losing streak and posting a decent gain.
Automotive 🚙
Automakers feeling the breaks before festive season
Image credits: ANI
According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), car sales by Indian automakers to dealerships dropped to a drastic 18-month low in June, owing to sluggish demand in urban markets. Units dispatched in June were down 7.4% compared to a year ago.
What’s happened? Urban consumers have been cutting back on discretionary spending as pay hikes have failed to keep up with the price hikes. Additionally, a growing shortage of rare earth materials has put the supply of critical EV auto components in limbo. As a result, production has been affected, limiting the availability of cars. The sector had clocked record-high sales for the last three years; however, some early signs of slow down are emerging in the world’s third-largest car market.
Flip side: The report also says that the upcoming festive season might boost passenger vehicles and two wheeler demand. Additionally, an above normal monsoon is likely to aid rural income - which can translate into higher sales for two-wheelers and entry level vehicles.
Real Estate 🏠
India’s Tier-1 real estate overview
Image credits: Mauli Infra
A report just released (by PropEquity) gives an overview of the residential real estate market in Tier 1 cities for Q1 2025. As always, we’re here with the low-down.
Headlines (for the Jan-March 2025 period):
New supply of houses and total new sales have both declined, compared to the same period last year in total across all cities.
Sales however still surpassed new supply, so total ‘stock’ of homes decreased compared to last year in total across all cities.
Bengaluru leads in new supply of residential units, Mumbai is second to last.
Pune house sales (absorption) were almost the same as Delhi-NCR and Mumbai combined.
Tier-1 cities have witnessed price appreciation of 14% compared to last year
Sales of affordable homes - priced up to Rs 60 lakh each - declined 4% in eight major cities due to lower supply and higher demand for luxury apartments.
What else? Outside of the report, the company also said that Housing plots are in demand post-Covid, with worth plots worth Rs 2.4 Lakh Cr launched in last 3.5 yrs. Experts are saying this surge reflects a growing desire among people for ownership, personalization and a shift in behaviour from built up units to land ownership.
Keep in mind this is one company’s report. The whole report can be downloaded here!
BUSINESS INDIA: Dhanda Hai Yeh! 📈📊
India’s unemployment crisis: India's youth (age 15-29) unemployment rose to 15.3% in June, a second increase, after hitting a high of 15% in May. The increase has been sharper in urban joblessness.
Tesla’s India entry: Tesla's first India showroom officially opens in Mumbai on Tuesday, launching the Model Y with prices starting at ₹59,89,000. The price in India is far higher compared to other countries because of the nearly 100% import duty. Despite incentives, Tesla isn't yet manufacturing cars in India as Donald Trump was not a fan of the idea. Now with the bromance on a break - let’s see if that changes.
India-US Trade boom: Indian exports to the US jumped 23.53% in June, hitting $8.3 billion, while imports dipped 10.61%. The US is now India's largest trading partner.
Andhra’s ₹25,000 Cr Leap into Space: Andhra Pradesh has launched its Space Policy 4.0, aiming to attract ₹25,000 crore in investments over 10 years and create 35,000 jobs. Under this policy, the state plans to become home to 25,000 startups and produce 10 unicorns.
India’s IPO run continues: Indira IVF Hospital is looking to revive its IPO plans, aiming to raise ₹3,500 crore ($408 million) through existing shareholder sales. Meanwhile, WeWork India's IPO also received SEBI approval for an Offer for Sale, with existing shareholders planning to sell up to 43.75 million shares. The company will not receive any proceeds from the issue.
WORLD: KYA CHAL RAHA HAI? 🌏
Source: Reuters
New York floods: Torrential rain caused flash flooding in New York City on Monday night. Subway services halted, roads submerged, and 1,200+ flights cancelled. New Jersey declared a state of emergency amidst the chaos.
Trump’s ultimatum to Russia: Donald Trump warned Russia to end the Ukraine war in 50 days or face 100% tariffs. Russia, however, swiftly dismissed his "theatrical ultimatum," with a senior official stating that Putin plans to continue fighting.
Afghans secretly moved to the UK: The British government revealed thousands of Afghans, many who worked with British forces, secretly moved to the UK after a 2022 data leak. A £400 million program helped up to 4,500 people move.
Google's green AI future: Google is making a massive $28 billion investment over the next two years. Of this investment, $25 billion targets data centres and AI infrastructure, with the remaining $3 billion modernizing two Pennsylvania (US) hydropower plants to fuel a growing demand for energy for this infrastructure.
Claude's financial leap: Claude AI, developed by Anthropic with Amazon's backing, will now provide tools for financial services assisting professionals to make investment decisions, analyse markets and conduct research.
Aur Batao: News from across India 📰
India’s first bullet train gets a Japanese upgrade: India’s first bullet train project which will run on the 508-km Mumbai–Ahmedabad route will feature Japan’s futuristic E10 Shinkansen trains. The project will debut in 2030 but the trial runs will start in 2026.
YouTuber Samay Raina apologises for IGT row: YouTuber Samay Raina appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) on July 15 and issued a written apology for his comments on his show India’s Got Latent. The show was pulled down earlier this year after backlash.
Making India healthy again: The Supreme Court has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to roll out simple front-of-pack nutrition labels on packaged foods. The move aims to tackle India’s obesity crisis by nudging consumers toward healthier picks. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry wants visual alerts on sugar and oil in schools and offices.
Fuel switches under scrutiny after Air India Crash: India’s aviation watchdog has ordered urgent checks on fuel control switches for Boeing 787s and select 737s across all airlines. This comes after the preliminary report for the Air India crash found that both the plane’s engines were starved of fuel after the switches moved to “CUTOFF” position.
Sports and Entertainment
World’s oldest Marathon runner dies after being hit by a car: In terrible news, Fauja Singh - 114-year-old British-Indian marathon icon - who began running at 89, died in a hit-and-run in India. Singh completed nine marathons between 2000 and 2013. It is believed that a Punjab-registered white Toyota Fortuner was involved in the accident. The search is still on for the driver.
Shafali Verma enters ICC top 10: Indian cricketer Shafali Verma is back in the ICC Women’s T20I top 10 after two years, clinching 9th spot. The 21-year-old smashed 176 runs, including 75 of 41 balls, in India's latest 3-2 T20I series victory against England.
Luka Modric joins AC Milan: Real Madrid’s midfield maestro, Luka Modric, joined AC Milan on a one-year free transfer after 13 successful years at Real Madrid.
West Indies crumble to new low: Australia bowled out West Indies for just 27 runs, the second lowest score in Test history, and the worst since 1955. Australia secured a 176-run win and a 3-0 series sweep.
Harry Potter’s filming begins: HBO's Harry Potter TV series officially started filming at Warner Bros Studios in the UK. The series is set to premiere in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max. The makers revealed its first look with Dominic McLaughlin playing the beloved character of Harry Potter in this adaptation.
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