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Good morning and happy Friyay. India is currently going through a heatwave with temperatures rising to 47.4 °C

In case you were wondering, the highest temperature ever recorded in India was 51 °C in Phalodi, Rajasthan.

- Ruchrngd Sharma & Shatakshi Sharma  

📊 Markets

🇮🇳 India

• India's Sensex and Nifty soared to record highs on Thursday, up 1.6% after an unanticipated Rs 2.11 lakh Cr. surplus transfer from the Reserve Bank to the government. This move, seen as a sign of policy continuity, is expected to cut the fiscal deficit. The surge, driven by banking stocks due to likely higher treasury incomes, signals market approval of anticipated political stability.

🌍️ International

• Nvidia's forecast and stock split announcement pushed Nasdaq and S&P 500 to records, but U.S. markets closed lower due to inflation worries and a tight labour market. Investors reassessed Federal Reserve rate cuts, making a September cut less likely. Boeing and Live Nation declined, while DuPont plans to split into three companies.

📈 Go Digit’s successful IPO

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are feeling good about their investment portfolios today. 

Go Digit General Insurance Ltd made a strong stock market debut on Thursday, with its shares listing at a premium to the issue price. On the National Stock Exchange, the stock opened at ₹286.55, a 5.15% premium to its IPO price of ₹272. On the BSE, it listed at ₹281.20, up 3.35%.

But that wasn’t all - the insurtech company's shares hit an intra-day high of ₹314 on the BSE before closing at ₹305.75, a handsome 12.4% gain over the issue price. At close, Go Digit had a market capitalization of over ₹28,000 crore (around $3.4B).

Early investors saw big gains in their holdings on the listing day itself. 

• Marquee investor A91 Partners, which invested ₹245 crore, saw its stake valued at ₹895.3 Cr. 

• TVS Capital's ₹301 Cr investment was worth ₹948.8 crore. 

• Even celebrity investors Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma's ₹2.5 crore bet was valued at ₹10.1 Cr.

The retail portion saw strong demand, being subscribed 4.3 times. Non-institutional investors like corporate houses and wealthy individuals put in bids worth 7.2 times the shares reserved for them. 

But the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) like mutual funds and insurance companies drove the demand, subscribing a whopping 12.5 times their allocation.

Overall: The IPO values Go Digit at $3-3.2B. The company raised ₹1,125 Cr through a fresh issue of shares, with parent entity Go DigitInfoworks offloading a large chunk of its 80.5% holding through an offer for sale.

Read more: Economic Times

📲 Tata x Cisco

Tata Communications and Cisco have strengthened their 20-year partnership by launching Webex Calling, a cloud-based enterprise communication service, in India. This new offering, Webex Calling by Tata Communications, integrates Cisco's Webex Calling with Tata Communications' GlobalRapide cloud voice platform.

Here’s what this partnership means: 

• It provides a modern, complete cloud-hosted business phone system integrated with Cisco's collaboration tools, such as Webex Meetings, messaging, and AI-powered features like audio intelligence. 

• A key benefit is enabling enterprises to scale communication infrastructure without upfront hardware investments while complying with Indian regulations.

• In an exclusive interaction, Daisy Chittilapilly, President of Cisco India & SAARC, highlighted how hybrid work has increased demand for seamless collaboration experiences. 

• Arijit Bonnerjee, SVP and India Head of Tata Communications noted the service's appeal to startups seeking quick cloud solutions amidst the D2C boom.

Looking ahead: 

• Both companies are bullish on generative AI integration across their offerings. 

• Cisco is embedding AI for automation, while Tata Communications is launching an AI cloud with NVIDIA. 

• Key growth areas discussed include AI, security, data insights/observability, and infrastructure modernisation.

Overall: The partnership aims to drive innovation by providing an "intelligent interaction fabric" for digital enterprises. With demand for cloud communications spiking post-pandemic, the launch is well-timed to transform enterprise collaboration in India.

Read more: Forbes India

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🛫 Business class, coming to an airline near you - India's largest airline IndiGo announced it will introduce a business class cabin on the country's busiest routes by year-end, marking a strategic shift from its long-standing single-class model. The new "tailor-made" premium offering appears aimed at competing more effectively against full-service carriers like Air India and Vistara for business travellers and those willing to pay for added comforts. IndiGo cited India's booming economy and evolving consumer aspirations as drivers behind expanding into the premium segment. This move, along with plans for a loyalty program, long-haul widebody orders, and increased international expansion, signals IndiGo's broader strategic evolution beyond its low-cost carrier roots as it seeks to tap into lucrative premium markets domestically and abroad.

💰️ Disney to sell its Tata stake - Walt Disney has reached a $1B deal to sell its stake in Tata Play, the satellite TV provider owned by India's Tata Group. This move comes as Disney looks to focus on its planned $8.5B merger with Reliance Industries to create an Indian entertainment giant. Last month, Tata Sons increased its stake in Tata Play to 70% by buying out Temasek's 10% holding for $100M. Disney had inherited its stake in the company after acquiring 21st Century Fox's India assets in 2017. With Disney exiting, the shareholding ratio between Tata and Disney in the joint venture is expected to change from the current 70:30 split.

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• India’s YouTubers take on Narendra Modi.

• Dodgers owner Mark Walter's India bet ends in disaster.

• Uptick in business activity as India’s services PMI hits 4-month high.

• India's silent income crisis.

• Pune Porsche crash: After outcry over bail, juvenile court sends teen to observation home.

• Google bets big on India: Pixel phones and drones to be made in Tamil Nadu.

• India, China have agreed to cooperate in efforts to pay for imports in local currency.

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Chandu Champion dropped a teaser for their song Satyaanas, and it’s being compared to Shahid Kapoor's ‘Gandi Baat’ and Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Maston Ka Jhund’ - what do you think?

• Jyothi Yarraji equals the 100m hurdles national record but misses direct Olympic qualification.

• Bangladesh’s horror form continues as they lose the series to the USA with a game to spare after defeat in the 2nd T20I.

• The Indian Men’s Cricket Team head coach position is not for the weak of heart.

• Indian Men’s Hockey didn’t have the outing they wanted - Harmanpreet and co outplayed 1-4; old foe Hendrickx scores twice.