🏫 One board for all students

Good morning. It’s a great day - let’s go after it 💪 

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🏫 Why India may need one board for all students

• 🤖 OpenAI walks away from Scale AI - and signals a shift in the AI race

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 📡 Cybercrimes

  • 💰️ Cutting China ties

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Indian stock markets remained under pressure, reflecting global market weakness and persistent geopolitical tensions. The Sensex and Nifty both closed lower, with broad-based selling across sectors including banking, pharma, and metals. Elevated crude oil prices continued to weigh on investor sentiment. However, IT stocks showed some resilience amid the cautious trading environment. Market participants remained cautious ahead of upcoming economic data and policy announcements.

🌍️ International

• US stock markets also continued to face pressure amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Technology and energy sectors were particularly affected as investors remained cautious. Oil prices stayed elevated, contributing to market volatility and risk aversion. Overall, the market sentiment remained subdued with investors awaiting further developments on the geopolitical front.

EDUCATION

🏫 Why India may need one board for all students

India’s Ministry of Education has recommended a bold step: that seven states adopt a common school board for Classes 10 and 12.

The reason? These states - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal - accounted for 66% of all student failures last year.

With 66 school boards in operation nationwide, this fragmented system leads to vast inconsistencies in curriculum quality, exam standards, and student outcomes. An internal analysis showed that non-standardised assessments and weak board structures have hurt learning levels and retention, especially in state boards and open school systems. Over 42 lakh students failed Class 10 or 12 in 2024 alone.

The move toward a common board aims to streamline assessment, raise academic standards, and offer more equitable opportunities—especially for students in underperforming regions. The Centre suggests expanding the reach of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and aligning it with schemes like Samagra Shiksha to prevent dropouts.

But there are bright spots too. States like Kerala and Odisha—already operating integrated board systems—recorded pass rates above 97%. Girls have overtaken boys in science enrollments for the first time, and schools like Navodaya Vidyalayas are producing high NEET and engineering entrance success rates.

The broader message is clear: India’s school system needs fewer silos and more shared standards. In a country as diverse as India, a common academic foundation could level the playing field—and help millions of students step confidently into higher education and the workforce.

Read more: Economic Times

AI

🤖 OpenAI walks away from Scale AI - and signals a shift in the AI race

OpenAI is quietly cutting ties with Scale AI, the data-labeling startup once relied upon to help train large AI models. The move, underway well before Meta’s recent $14.3 billion investment in Scale, marks a deeper pivot in how OpenAI sources the specialized data needed for its next generation of AI systems.

Scale AI, founded in 2016, built its business supplying data to giants like Google, Meta, and OpenAI. But as AI models grow more complex - moving beyond pattern recognition to mimic reasoning and agency - basic data labeling is no longer enough. OpenAI says it now needs highly specialized data providers, with deeper domain expertise, to support its ambitions.

Meta’s acquisition of a near-50% stake in Scale - and its hiring of Scale’s CEO, Alexandr Wang - also raised eyebrows. For rivals like OpenAI and Google, the risk of Meta gaining insight into their AI strategies became too high. Google is reportedly also ending its relationship with Scale.

While OpenAI’s CFO initially downplayed the Meta deal’s impact, the company had already been shifting toward newer partners like Mercor, which focuses on recruiting domain experts to help train smarter AI.

In layman’s terms: the AI race is evolving fast. Tech giants are no longer just feeding their models mass data - they’re hiring PhDs, domain experts, and moving closer to building machines that can think. This split shows how competitive, strategic, and specialized the AI supply chain is becoming.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

📡 Cybercrimes - In just 35 days, Bharti Airtel protected over 2.25 million users in Punjab from online fraud using its new AI-powered fraud detection system. Launched on May 15, the system scans over a billion URLs daily and blocks malicious links in real time across platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and email. It works automatically for all Airtel users, needs no installation, and operates in local languages like Punjabi. Fraud attempts—such as phishing links and fake delivery alerts—are on the rise, especially in cities like Chandigarh and Amritsar. Nationwide, Airtel has blocked 188,000 harmful links, safeguarding 86 million users from digital threats.

💰️ Cutting China ties - MakeMyTrip plans to raise $3 billion through debt and equity to repurchase shares from China’s Trip.com Group, cutting its stake from 45.34% to 19.99%. This move—India’s biggest by a listed new-age firm—follows concerns over Chinese involvement and data security. The buyback will also reduce Trip.com’s board presence. MakeMyTrip will issue $1.4–$1.6 billion in equity and $1.25 billion in convertible notes. Despite a 7% share dip, the Nasdaq-listed firm posted record FY25 gross bookings of $9.8 billion and profits of $95.3 million. The shift mirrors a broader trend of Indian startups reducing Chinese stakes amid regulatory and geopolitical pressures.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• Govt invites Indian cos to build indigenous 5th-gen fighter jet; Rs 15,000 cr budgeted for prototype.

• US Fed keeps rates steady, sees 50 bps rate cut in 2025.

• Govt will continue to support fintech industry, says finance minister.

• India to send black box of crashed Air India 787 aircraft to US for data recovery.

• Air India cuts 15% international flights after Ahmedabad plane crash, cites safety checks and operational caution.