🎮️ India’s gaming ban faces first court test

Good morning and Happy Friyay. Hope you a have a lovely weekend when it arrives 😎 

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🎮️ India’s gaming ban faces first court test

• 🏭️ India just made its first chip

• Bite-sized summaries

  • 📊 Tariff Shockwaves

  • 💳️ Cross-border boost

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Indian stocks extended their losses. The broad-based decline was triggered by concerns over US tariffs on Indian exports and foreign fund outflows. Banking, IT, FMCG, and metals sectors all declined sharply, with only a handful of stocks bucking the negative trend.

🌍️ International

• US stocks rose to new record highs, powered by strong GDP data and optimism from Nvidia's solid earnings. Energy and technology sectors led the rally, and bullish sentiment was sustained despite ongoing tariff and Fed controversies.

GAMING

🎮️ India’s gaming ban faces first court test

India’s sweeping online money gaming ban has hit its first legal hurdle. Head Digital Works, the parent of poker and rummy platform A23, has petitioned the Karnataka High Court, arguing that the new law unfairly criminalizes games of skill and could shutter legitimate businesses overnight.

The backdrop: 

• Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Law, 2025 last week, banning all forms of online money games to curb addiction, fraud, and laundering.

• The move instantly sent shockwaves through a $3.7B industry that was expected to more than double by 2029. In response, Dream11, My11Circle, MPL, WinZO, and PokerBaazi all suspended their real-money offerings - some assuring users they can still withdraw balances.

What’s new here: Until now, most firms complied quietly. A23’s court challenge marks the first open rebellion against the ban. The company says the law is “state paternalism” and unconstitutional when applied to skill-based games like poker and rummy.

The stakes: India has attracted nearly $3B in foreign investment into gaming in just five years, with 20% of the world’s gamers playing here. A blanket ban could chill investor confidence, wipe out jobs, and stall innovation in a sector once hailed as a “sunrise industry.”

The bigger picture: Policymakers see the law as consumer protection. But for startups and VCs, it’s an existential threat. The court battle ahead could decide whether India’s gaming boom gets regulated—or snuffed out before it matures.

Read more: Economic Times

SEMICONDUCTORS

🏭️ India just made its first chip

For decades, India has been the world’s IT back office and a hub for chip design—but when it came to actually making semiconductors, the country was missing in action.

That’s finally changing.

• This week, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated CG Semi’s advanced chip facility in Sanand, Gujarat, marking a milestone: India’s first-ever semiconductor chip is about to roll off the line.

• The plant, built with partners from the US and Thailand, cost ₹7,600 crore and is part of a much bigger bet - the India Semiconductor Mission, a ₹76,000 crore program to make the country less dependent on imports.

Why does this matter? 

• Because chips are the lifeblood of modern tech - powering everything from your phone to fighter jets.

• Until now, India relied almost entirely on foreign suppliers, leaving it exposed to global shortages and geopolitical risks.

• Now, with four major plants under construction (Micron, Tata, Kaynes, and CG), plus six more recently approved, India is building the foundations of a domestic chip ecosystem.

But factories are only half the story. The government has also tied up with 270 universities to train the next wave of chip engineers—critical when the world faces a shortage of a million semiconductor professionals by 2032. Already, Indian students have clocked 1.2 million design hours, and 17 institutions have chips nearly ready for production.

The takeaway: India isn’t about to rival Taiwan or South Korea overnight, but the first “Made in India” chip signals a shift - from being a consumer of semiconductors to a future producer. And in the global chip race, that’s a big deal.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

📊 Tariff Shockwaves - The Commerce Ministry admitted that the US’s 50% tariff hike will immediately hit Indian exporters, particularly textiles, chemicals, and machinery, causing slowed orders, delayed payments, and liquidity strain. However, it emphasized the impact would be short-lived, with limited long-term effects on GDP and trade. Industry bodies are pressing for relief measures similar to COVID-era support, while the government accelerates the Export Promotion Mission to cushion losses. Officials stressed the need to diversify exports and markets, calling the crisis a “wake-up call” for resilient supply chains. Bilateral trade talks with the US remain stalled until tariffs are addressed.

💳️ Cross-border boost - Infosys has partnered with Mastercard to integrate Mastercard Move’s global payment capabilities into Infosys Finacle. The collaboration will allow banks and financial institutions to offer near real-time, secure cross-border transactions across 200+ countries and 150+ currencies, covering 95% of the world’s banked population. This integration reduces the heavy resourcing typically needed for such projects, enabling faster adoption. With remittances and digital payments surging, especially in Asia, the partnership aims to enhance customer loyalty, improve financial experiences, and build resilient, seamless digital payment systems. Both firms see it as a step toward scaling smarter, more inclusive global money movement.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping likely to hold one-on-one meeting on Sunday.

• Western voices back India against Trump's tariff war.

• India's Russian oil imports set to rise in September in defiance of US.