🇮🇳 Operation Sindoor

Good morning. There is lots to get into today, so let’s dive right it!

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🇮🇳 Operation Sindoor

• 🛵 DoorDash’s bold European play

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • ☀️ Climate change to affect farmers

  • 🛳️ Zero tariffs

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Indian equities ended higher despite sharp intraday swings and geopolitical tensions. Midcap and smallcap indices outperformed, with auto, realty, and financial stocks leading gains, while FMCG and pharma lagged.

🌍️ International

• US stocks closed higher in a volatile session after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and flagged rising risks of both inflation and economic slowdown. Disney shares surged nearly 11% on strong earnings and a jump in streaming subscribers, helping lift the Dow.

INDIAN ARMED FORCES

🇮🇳 Operation Sindoor

In the early hours of May 7, 2025, India launched one of its most expansive military operations in recent memory - Operation Sindoor.

This marked a significant departure from earlier limited retaliatory strikes like the 2016 Uri surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes. This time, India targeted nine terror camps deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), signaling a bold new chapter in its counterterrorism strategy.

Here’s the breakdown:

• The attacks were reportedly carried out using high-precision missile systems, though the specifics remain undisclosed.

• Among the key targets were Bahawalpur and Muridke in Pakistan’s Punjab, and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in PoK—areas long associated with terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

• These were purely strategic targets - Bahawalpur is the hometown of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, while Muridke is home to Lashkar’s infamous base, Markaz-e-Taiba, linked to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

India’s operation comes in the wake of a gruesome attack in Pahalgam, where terrorists reportedly targeted civilians based on their faith.

In the lead-up, India issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) and masked the move as a routine Air Force drill. However, the precision and coordination revealed it was anything but routine.

What followed the strikes was a carefully calibrated diplomatic offensive.

• National Security Advisor Ajit Doval briefed counterparts from the US, UK, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and others, emphasizing that India had acted with restraint and precision, targeting only terror infrastructure—not Pakistani military assets.

The Ministry of Defence echoed this stance, noting that the action was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory.” Yet, India made it clear: it is prepared to respond resolutely to any provocation.

Overall: Operation Sindoor wasn’t just a strike - it was a statement. One that says India will no longer tolerate terrorism emanating from across the border, and it is ready to act - firmly, decisively, and on its own terms.

Read more: Times of India

EUROPE

🛵 DoorDash’s bold European play

DoorDash is making a headline-grabbing entry into the European food delivery market with its $3.9 billion acquisition of UK-based Deliveroo. The deal expands DoorDash’s reach to 40 countries, marking its most ambitious international move yet. But the road ahead is anything but smooth.

The San Francisco-based delivery giant has long dominated the U.S. market—88% of its 2024 revenue came from there—but has struggled to replicate that success overseas. Its 2022 acquisition of Finnish firm Wolt barely moved the global needle. Now, with Deliveroo in tow, DoorDash hopes to change that. Yet, experts say this move may not be enough to shake up Europe’s entrenched delivery ecosystem.

Deliveroo, despite being a household name in the UK, trails both Uber Eats and Just Eat Takeaway.com in market share. It operates in only five European countries and is outpaced by Uber Eats in France and the UK. In contrast, Uber Eats is already present in 13 European markets and is now expanding further by acquiring an 85% stake in Turkey’s Trendyol Go for $700 million.

The broader context is a food delivery industry undergoing rapid consolidation. The Covid-era boom has faded, pushing companies to merge or acquire to stay competitive. February saw Prosus NV buy Just Eat Takeaway.com for €4.1 billion, while Grubhub was recently snapped up by Wonder Group for $650 million.

DoorDash’s European ambitions may still face further turbulence. Amazon, which owns a 14% stake in Deliveroo, is rumored to be considering a counterbid—potentially throwing a wrench in the acquisition.

Still, analysts like Bloomberg Intelligence’s Mandeep Singh believe that this market shake-up could work in DoorDash’s favor. The UK delivery space is fragmented, and a heavyweight like DoorDash may yet carve out a meaningful position—if it can execute well.

In the battle of delivery titans, DoorDash’s European chapter has just begun—but it will need more than a big-ticket acquisition to catch up with the continent’s more seasoned players.e fast-food race. The Blinkit Bistro bet is on controlled speed, not chaotic scale.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

📶 India's wireless growth continues - India's wireless subscriber base grew to 1.16376 billion in March 2025, reflecting a 0.28% monthly increase, driven primarily by rural growth, which added 4.85 million users, while urban areas saw a decline of 1.43 million. This pushed the national wireless tele-density up slightly to 82.42%. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel led subscriber gains, adding 2.14 million and 1.25 million users respectively. Delhi maintained the highest tele-density, whereas Bihar remained the lowest. Meanwhile, wireline connections also rose modestly from 36.91 million to 37.04 million. These trends highlight the ongoing expansion of India’s telecom sector, with rural regions emerging as key growth drivers and fierce competition persisting among major players.

🇮🇳 🇬🇧 India-UK trade pact - India and the UK have finalized a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) aimed at doubling bilateral trade to USD 120 billion by 2030. The deal eliminates tariffs on labor-intensive Indian exports like leather, footwear, and clothing, while reducing duties on British imports such as whisky and cars. Experts highlight that this agreement not only enhances trade between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies but also opens access to a combined market worth USD 6.08 trillion.Announced amidst global trade uncertainties, particularly due to recent US tariff policies, the pact is seen as a strategic move to strengthen economic ties and expand consumer markets.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• India closes 25 flight routes to Pakistan from Indian airspace.

• Telangana: Comprehensive mock drill conducted in Hyderabad's Golconda.

• Punjab: Authorities conduct mock drill in Amritsar, urge residents to stay alert.

• Jaishankar to hold talks with Iranian counterpart on Thursday.

• India's wireless subscriber base hits 1.16 billion in March, grows 0.28% monthly: TRAI.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Rohit Sharma announced retirement from Test Cricket with immediate effect.

• IPL 2025: CSK beat KKR by 2 wickets. Leaderboard here.

• Arsenal's bid to reach the Champions League final ends in failure as they are beaten by Paris St-Germain 2:1.