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Today’s reading time is 6 mins.
MARKETS 🔔🐂🐻
As of Indian market close on July 17
Market ended almost flat on Wednesday with weak Q1 earnings of large movers and tariff concerns the key reasons for the flattish trend.
Green Energy ⚡
India hits green energy milestone, but red on storage
Image credits: Avaada
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India has reached a key climate milestone with non-fossil fuel sources now accounting for 50.1% of the country’s total installed electricity capacities (485 gigawatts as of June this year). India reached this key milestone before the 2030 deadline which was set under the Paris Agreement signed in 2015. India remains among the few G20 countries on track to meet and even exceed their commitments in the agreement. The government is not stopping now, and has set some ambitious goals:
500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030
Net-zero emissions by 2070
Doubling per capita clean electricity consumption in rural/underserved areas
There’s always a but! While this is an incredible achievement, thermal plants still produce over 70 per cent of the country’s electricity. This is because while renewable energy sources have installed capacities, these don’t produce energy around the clock and India still lacks adequate power storage systems to store this energy produced. To top that, China’s dominates global supply of power storage batteries and has been increasing export restrictions.
So, what now? India will need to invest heavily in battery storage, modernizing grid infrastructure, and create smarter systems that can balance fluctuating supply. Otherwise, this milestone will look good on paper, but risks becoming more symbolic than structural.
YouTube ▶️
What’s the new ‘hype’ about?
Credits: YT Official Blog
YouTube just unveiled a feature in India - ‘Hype’. They’re saying it will supposedly help creators gain more reach in an increasingly populated ecosystem, and just-might also help them make more money. But they’re not doing it for the money, obviously.
So, how does ‘Hype’ work? The feature will appear just below the like button on YouTube. When a video is hyped by a user, it will receive points. The more points the content creators get, the higher they climb on a country-specific leaderboard. The top100 Hyped videos would then appear under the Explore section on the YouTube homepage. This can help increase visibility for creators that don’t already have an enormous number of followers.
So are all videos “hype-able”? Yes, if you’re not a big-shot already. Only creators with less than 5 lakh followers can ‘Hype’ a video. The video itself has to be long-form content, and can only be hyped in the first 7 days of posting. Oh and yes, you can only hype for free three times a week - after that take out the ₹₹₹.
Where else does this exist? Hype was launched globally in 2024. It gained significant popularity in the beta testing phase in Turkey, Taiwan, and Brazil with users hyping over 5 million times across more than 50,000 unique channels. Jury’s out on how it performs in India.
BUSINESS INDIA: Dhanda Hai Yeh!
US using India (and China, Brazil) to pressure Russia into peace deal: NATO secretary general Mark Rutte has issued a new warning to countries engaging in trade and business with Russia. Warning of 100 per cent tariffs and more sanctions, the NATO chief focused on India, China and Brazil as he called on the three countries to halt trade. He urged the three countries to “make the phone call to Putin". This comes after Donald Trump issued a 50-day deadline to Putin to implement a peace deal with Ukraine.
SBI’s Japanese expedition: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and SBI Holdings plan to jointly offer wealth management services to affluent Japanese customers. They are targeting ¥10 trillion ($69 billion) in assets within five years. Let’s just hope the Japs are familiar with the idea of ‘bank holidays’.
India’s defensive push: India has submitted a letter of request to the United States to co-produce the Javelin anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) in the country. Along with the growing urgency to add new weaponry, this move also aligns with the ‘Make in India’ narrative, boosting defence and employment at the same time.
UPI’s international travel: India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) International has linked 13 more Indian banks (a total of 19) to the UPI‑PayNow real-time payment network with Singapore. This means that customers at these banks can send and receive money instantly between India and Singapore.
Rs 27,000 crore boost for renewable energy: In continued push for renewable energy, the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs greenlit Rs 27,000 crores for NTPC Limited and Neyveli Lignite Corp India Limited (NLCIL) to generate upto 70 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032.
IndiaAI mission gets an open source update: Bengaluru-based AI startup Sarvam.ai, selected under the IndiaAI Mission and backed by a ₹98.7 crore subsidy will open-source (i.e. make underlying code available for public use) the foundational language models it develops.
WORLD: KYA CHAL RAHA HAI? 🌏
Apple’s $500 Million rare earth bet: Apple is reportedly set to invest $500 Million in MP Materials, the only U.S. rare earths miner, to secure a local supply of rare earth magnets. The deal includes buying U.S.-made magnets from MP’s Texas plant, building a second factory, and adding a recycling facility in California. MP shares jumped 8% post the news.
Chinese company to launch driverless car: Uber and Baidu are teaming up to roll out thousands of Apollo Go robotaxis in Asia and the Middle East this year. Users in select cities will soon be able to choose fully driverless rides via the Uber app. Tests are also planned in Dubai, Turkey, and Europe, with a London pilot kicking off next year.
Epstein storm rattles Trump camp: Trump’s base is furious after his admin backed out of releasing Epstein-related files, sparking backlash from MAGA influencers and Republican leaders. While Trump has downplayed it as “boring,” calls for a Special Counsel have grown louder.
Meta's Price for Privacy Breach: An $8 billion trial kicked off against Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and other Meta leaders over claims that they failed to prevent illegal data harvesting, violating a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) deal.
Ukraine’s Power Shuffle: Ukraine's PM Denys Shmyhal has resigned, kicking off a major government reshuffle. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has identified 39-year-old Yuliia Svyrydenko as his replacement. Svyrydenko is currently the Deputy Prime Minister as well as the country’s first female Economy Minister.
Aur Batao: News from across India 📰
India offers to save Satyajit Ray’s ancestral home: As Bangladesh mulls demolishing the ancestral home of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, India has stepped in, offering to help restore it as a “museum of literature”. The century-old house is seen as a cultural icon. Mamata Banerjee and MEA urged both nations to protect this shared heritage.
India’s 2024 vaccine milestone: India has made major strides in child immunization, reducing zero-dose children (those without a single dose of a vaccine) by 43%, from 1.6 million in 2023 to 0.9 million in 2024 per WHO-UNICEF data. DTP vaccine first-dose coverage rose to 95%, while measles cases dropped 39%. The HPV vaccine rollout is expected later this year. These gains reflect stronger policies, digital tracking, and tireless frontline workers.
Big boost for farmers: The Cabinet has cleared the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, a ₹24,000 crore per year scheme for 6 years to uplift 1.7 crore farmers across 100 districts. It’ll boost crop productivity, promote sustainable farming, and push crop diversification.
Everest’s youngest hero from Meghalaya: 20-year-old Rifiness Warjri, daughter of a tea seller and chicken vendor, has become the youngest person from Meghalaya to summit Mount Everest. She’s now set her sights on conquering all Seven Summits.
Gujarat launches India’s first tribal genome project: Gujarat has rolled out India’s first Tribal Genome Sequencing Project to boost healthcare in 17 tribal districts. Backed by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), it will sequence genomes of 2,000 individuals to detect genetic risks like sickle cell anaemia and cancer. The initiative aims to build a tribal genetic database.
Google’s ‘Gemini’ gift for Indian students: Google is giving eligible Indian college students a free 1-year Gemini AI Pro plan. Powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro, the plan offers homework help, exam prep, writing tools, 2TB cloud storage, Gemini Live, Deep Research, NotebookLM upgrades, and even Veo 3 video generation. To get the offer, just go here.
Sports and Entertainment
Chhetri voices concern over ISL: Sunil Chhetri voiced deep concern over ISL 2025–26 being put on hold indefinitely amid Master Rights Agreement (MRA) legal issues between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL). The delay has left players and staff anxious about their futures. Chhetri urged the ecosystem to “stay calm” and stick together, hopeful that football in India will bounce back soon.
Sindhu stumbles, Lakshya shines: PV Sindhu exited early at the Japan Open Super 750, losing 21-15, 21-14 to Korea’s Sim Yu Jin, her first defeat in four meetings after a string of unforced errors and poor judgment. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen eased past Wang Zheng Xing 21-11, 21-19, and Satwik-Chirag powered into Round 2 with a commanding 21-18, 21-14 win over a tough Korean pair.
Vaughan slams over-rate penalty: England were docked 2 WTC points and 10% match fee after falling short on overs at Lord’s, despite winning by 22 runs. Michael Vaughan called out the ICC’s inconsistency, saying both teams were slow. With the penalty, England slipped to 3rd in WTC standings.
Yuvi joins Indian Golf League as it takes concrete shape: The Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) has onboarded Yuvraj Singh as co-owner and brand ambassador of the league. Scheduled to take place over three weeks, the IGPL will start in January-February 2026, featuring six teams of 10 players each.
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