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Good morning. Phase 5 of voting took place wrapped up yesterday. 2 more phases remain to be completed.

• 6th Phase, No. of PCs are 57, No. of States 07, Poll Date 25-05-2024.

• 7th Phase, No. of PCs are 57, No. of States 08, Poll Date 01-06-2024.

Please remember to cast your vote when your area's turn comes. Voting is an important part of the democratic process. Stay informed and exercise your right to vote ✌️ 🇮🇳 

- Ruchrngd Sharma & Shatakshi Sharma  

📊 Markets

🇮🇳 India

• No changes - Indian markets were closed due to the fifth voting phase for the Lok Sabha Election 2024.

🌍️ International

• U.S. stocks varied on Monday with Nasdaq hitting a record and Dow Jones slightly down. The mild trading followed a positive market week due to modest inflation data and expected Federal Reserve rate reductions. This week's attention is on earnings from Nvidia, Lowe's, and Target to assess consumer spending and profit trends.

🥵 Climate Tech investing gets hot

India's climate tech startup space is witnessing a surge of investor interest, fueled by supportive policies, growing consumer demand, and the prospect of lucrative returns. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on:

• Over the past 12-15 months, venture capital firms such as Blume Ventures, Leo Capital, Synapses, and global investors like RTP Global have backed climate tech startups in their early stages.

• This growing sector raised nearly ₹1308 Cr ($157M) across 52 deals in 2023, with ₹375 Cr ($45M) invested through 12 transactions in just the first four months of 2024. 

• Blume Ventures plans to back 10-15 climate tech startups over the next three to four years.

Why now? 

• Regulatory interventions like SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) mandate have created a massive opportunity for climate tech solutions. 

• Additionally, maturing technologies, robust R&D capabilities, and the government's push towards a green energy transition have converged to provide tailwinds for the sector.

Overall: Investors are particularly excited about emerging software opportunities in areas like carbon emission management, sustainable mobility, green hydrogen, battery chemistry, sustainable packaging, and circular economy. 

As businesses and consumers increasingly prioritise carbon neutrality, the demand for climate-friendly technologies is poised to skyrocket, presenting a lucrative investment avenue for risk capital.

Read more: Economic Times

💰️ ₹1 Lakh Cr dividend

The RBI’s recent actions suggest that it may transfer a higher dividend, possibly around ₹1 lakh Cr., to the government - more than the ₹87,416 Cr. transferred last year. 

Here are the deets: 

• Last week, the RBI announced a steep cut in the government's borrowing through Treasury Bills, reducing the amount by ₹60,000 Cr. 

• It also took measures to ensure greater success of an upcoming operation where the government plans to prematurely pay back ₹60,000 Cr. of earlier borrowings. 

• These actions, aimed at utilising idle government funds due to election-related constraints on spending, hint at the Centre's finances being replenished soon.

What's next? 

• Analysts expect the RBI to announce the transfer of its surplus funds to the government by late May. 

• Kanika Pasricha, Chief Economic Advisor at Union Bank of India, anticipates the RBI to transfer a surplus of ₹1,000B (₹1 lakh Cr.) to the government in FY25.

Why is the dividend so big? 

• The key factors contributing to a large surplus transfer include a sharp increase in interest earned through the RBI's foreign exchange assets amid aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. 

• Additionally, while the RBI's forex interventions were lower in FY24 than FY23, analysts still expect a substantial boost to earnings from foreign assets.

Read more: Economic Times

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

💻️ AI computers are here - Microsoft unveiled its new Surface PCs, along with partner devices from Lenovo, Dell, HP, Asus, Acer, and Samsung. These devices are powered by AI chips from Qualcomm, designed to run AI models locally, resulting in improved battery life. These "Copilot+" PCs conform to Microsoft's standards for executing AI tasks such as audio translation, message response suggestions, and image generation, all without needing an internet connection. This launch is part of Microsoft's strategy to boost the competitiveness of Windows PCs by incorporating sophisticated AI features. As part of its strategy, Microsoft is broadening its AI initiatives beyond cloud services to counter the increasing popularity of Apple's Arm-based Mac.

👁️‍🗨️ IRIS - Flipkart just launched its insights platform, Flipkart IRIS (Insights and Research Intelligence System), designed to provide brands with comprehensive reports and actionable insights into customer behaviour and product performance on the e-commerce site. This helps reveal new opportunities, optimize marketing, boost customer engagement, measure brand health, and make informed decisions to enhance conversions and sales. It aims to support brands' success and tap into the growth potential in India's rapidly expanding digital advertising landscape.

🏥 Upstox gets into insurance - Wealth management startup Upstox entered the insurance distribution business, starting with offering term life insurance plans from partners like HDFC Life on its platform. This expansion into insurance aims to provide Upstox's users with a comprehensive platform to effectively manage their wealth and secure their financial future. The move comes at a time when fintech players are increasingly venturing into insurance verticals to tap the low insurance penetration in India by leveraging technology-driven distribution models beyond the traditional agent-driven approach.

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• IPO-bound CarDekho ropes in Neelesh Talathi as group CFO.

• Oil India posts highest-ever quarterly profit in Q4.

• Meta-approved political ads in India that incited violence.

• Delhi sizzles as temperatures cross 45C.

• Siemens Energy plans to sell Indian wind business at $1bn valuation.

• Tata, Mahindra see no logic in incentivising hybrids.

• Rail maker Wabtec Corp eyes $30 million exports from its India operations.

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Match between KKR and RR was abandoned due to rain. KKR, SRH, RR and RCB make it to the qualifier rounds. IPL leaderboard here.

• Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachan and Shahrukh Khan, exercise their rights and show up to vote for the elections.

• Jacqueline Fernandez glistens in her Cannes red carpet look. An overview of the Cannes so far here.

• Fashion influencer, Nancy Tyagi reveals her second self-made outfit, a hand-embroidered saree, on the Cannes red carpet. Slay!

• Yami Gautam-Aditya Dhar welcome son Vedavid.

• Dakota Johnson starring ‘Am I OK?” trailer drops - film to release on HBO Max on June 6th.

• The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, teaser trailer out now - series to drop on Amazon Prime on August 29th.