💰️ India bets big on deep tech

PLUS: Tariff Trouble

Author

Ruchirr Sharma
November 03, 2025

 

Good morning. The Indian Women’s cricket team - That’s all 🔥 👑 🍾 🏏 

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INVESTMENT

India is putting serious money where its innovation ambitions are. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) fund - the country’s most aggressive push yet to get the private sector to lead in AI, deeptech, and advanced science.

For decades, India’s R&D story has been government-heavy and industry-light. Private firms account for only about 30–35% of total R&D spending, compared to nearly 70% in developed economies. The new fund aims to flip that ratio — and fast.

Here’s the playbook: instead of the government funding projects directly, it will channel money through VCs, AIFs, IITs, and the Technology Development Board. The support could come as low-interest loans or equity stakes in startups and corporates, with one condition — companies must co-invest at least 50% of the project cost.

The focus areas read like a who’s who of future tech: AI, quantum computing, biotech, semiconductors, green energy, medical devices, and advanced materials.

Why this matters: India’s innovation pipeline has long been choked by risk aversion and lack of patient capital. This fund could change that, bridging the “valley of death” between research and commercialization. Think of it as India’s version of DARPA — but with desi capital and corporate skin in the game.

If executed well, this isn’t just a fund — it’s a bet on India’s ability to invent, not just implement. The age of Make in India may be evolving into Invent in India.

GAMING

India’s export engine just hit a massive speed bump. Between May and September 2025, shipments to the US plunged 37.5%, according to new data from GTRI, marking one of the sharpest short-term drops in years. The culprit? Trump’s escalating tariffs, which jumped from 10% in April to a steep 50% by August.

The fallout has been swift and brutal. Exports fell from $8.8 billion to $5.5 billion in just five months, with even tariff-free goods collapsing nearly 47%. Smartphones, once India’s fastest-growing export, saw a 58% decline, while pharma shipments slipped nearly 16%. Labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems, and machinery, the backbone of India’s export economy, shrank by a third. Surat’s diamond units and Tamil Nadu’s textile clusters are feeling the sting.

Even renewable energy was hit hard, with solar exports dropping 60%, as competitors like Vietnam and China benefited from lower US tariffs.

The deeper problem is structural. India’s export base is heavily dependent on a single market and vulnerable to sudden policy shifts. GTRI warns that unless India moves quickly with credit relief, duty refunds, and diversification, rivals could permanently capture its lost market share.

The message is clear: this is not just a tariff problem but a test of adaptability. India’s trade resilience will depend on how fast it can pivot in a world where protectionism is back and the old playbook no longer works.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

✈️ Air India’s Compliance Turbulence - Air India has grounded two pilots after discovering they flew commercial flights with licensing violations — one co-pilot operated flights after failing a proficiency test without remedial training, and a senior commander flew with an expired English Language Proficiency (ELP) licence. The DGCA has launched an investigation and demanded a report. These lapses come just months after the regulator flagged “systemic failures” in Air India’s crew rostering and compliance checks following the June Ahmedabad crash. Despite prior warnings, the incidents expose persistent oversight gaps, prompting renewed scrutiny of Air India’s safety and regulatory practices.

🏋️ India’s Fitness Fatigue - India’s gyms are struggling to stay afloat as membership renewals drop 25–30%, driven by rising costs, overcrowding, and the convenience of home and apartment gyms. Major chains like Cult.fit have seen losses widen, while high rents, taxes, and the removal of GST input credits squeeze margins. Meanwhile, personal trainers are quitting gyms to freelance, earning more and drawing clients away. Affordable home equipment, quick-commerce fitness gear, and YouTube workouts have further weakened gym dependence. With shrinking spaces, lower-quality machines, and soaring costs, India’s once-booming fitness industry faces a reckoning - adapt to flexibility or risk fading out.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

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