🛒 Quick commerce rivalry

Good morning. If you didn’t know - January 9th marks Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day), commemorating Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915. Now you know 😉 

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- Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🔋 Uniform GST for Batteries

• 🛒 Quick commerce rivalry

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 🏦 Cutting rates

  • 🛰️ Satellite drift

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• The Indian stock market closed marginally lower. IT and oil & gas sectors provided support, while banking, metal, and pharma stocks weakened. Market sentiment was influenced by concerns over Q3 earnings, foreign fund outflows, and expectations of fewer US rate cuts. The broader market saw steeper declines in small-cap and mid-cap stocks.

🌍️ International

• US stocks closed mixed. Markets reacted to strong economic data, raising concerns about inflation and future interest rates. Tech stocks were mixed, with Nvidia and Microsoft gaining, while Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon fell. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.71%, its highest since April.

GST

🔋 Uniform GST for Batteries

The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has called for a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate of 5% on all battery technologies, mirroring the rate applied to electric vehicles. This proposal aims to support the rapidly growing energy storage sector in India and address disparities in current tax structures. Presently, lithium-ion batteries are taxed at 18%, while other chemistries, such as lead-acid and sodium batteries, face a higher rate of 28%.

Debi Prasad Dash, President of IESA, highlighted the rising import of lithium-ion cells, which grew from ₹18,000 crore in FY23 to ₹24,000 crore in FY24, primarily from China. To protect and nurture domestic manufacturers, Dash suggested government measures such as increasing customs duties over time and introducing incentives akin to the ₹9,000 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

Additionally, Dash emphasized the need for targeted government support for battery component manufacturers, including those producing cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, separators, and copper foils. Such backing would not only enable Indian companies to supply local gigafactories but also position them as exporters in the global market.

The IESA has engaged with multiple government ministries to advocate for policy changes that align with the “Make in India” campaign. Dash also underscored the importance of skill development and capacity building within the sector to ensure its sustainable growth.

As the government prepares for the Union Budget, these measures could significantly bolster India's energy storage ecosystem, reduce dependency on imports, and make the country a competitive player in the global market.

Read more: Economic Times

Q-COMMERCE

🛒 Quick commerce rivalry

The quick commerce sector in India is heating up as Amazon and Flipkart ramp up efforts to dominate this fast-growing market. Amazon has begun piloting its new service, Tez, in select Bengaluru neighborhoods, initially targeting its employees. Meanwhile, Flipkart is rapidly scaling its Minutes service, aiming to reach 150 dark stores this quarter, with an expanded product lineup including electronics and medicines.

Amazon’s Tez focuses on essentials like groceries, utilizing third-party logistics partners, but remains limited to a few Bengaluru pin codes. Experts caution that a delayed public launch may hinder its competitiveness, given the rapid expansion of established players like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Blinkit.

Flipkart’s Minutes, on the other hand, is aggressively expanding both geographic coverage and product categories. It has made strides in electronics, routinely offering premium items like iPhones, and is pushing into new markets like Kolkata. Flipkart's steady growth and existing vendor relationships position it as a formidable challenger in the quick commerce space.

The $45 billion quick commerce market, projected to grow to $77 billion by 2025, presents significant opportunities for disruption in traditional grocery and retail ecosystems. While the entry of Amazon and Flipkart adds intense competition, analysts believe the market is large enough to sustain multiple players, shifting the focus to profitability and long-term viability.

Flipkart’s strategy appears more robust, with better category diversification and market penetration. Amazon’s cautious rollout of Tez may be an initial testbed, but as the competition grows fiercer, the ability to quickly scale operations will be critical for success.

Both players are entering a space dominated by incumbents, but their innovative approaches and deep resources could redefine the quick commerce landscape in India.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🏦 Cutting rates - CII President Sanjiv Puri expects the RBI to cut interest rates next month to boost growth and suggests the upcoming Budget focus on job creation in labour-intensive sectors like apparel and tourism. He highlights the need for labour reforms, measures against China's excess stock dumping, and de-linking food inflation from monetary policy due to climate change impacts. CII also recommends reducing excise duty on fuel and lowering marginal tax rates for incomes up to ₹20 lakh to spur consumption and growth. Puri underscores the importance of targeted interventions and urges the government to prioritize economic resilience and employment generation.

🛰️ Satellite drift - ISRO has postponed the SpaDex mission docking for the second time, originally scheduled for January 7, now delayed due to unexpected satellite drift. Launched on December 30, the mission involves two small satellites (SDX01 and SDX02) to demonstrate cost-effective in-space docking technology critical for future endeavors like the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and lunar missions. The satellites, launched via PSLV-C60, are in a 475-km orbit. ISRO emphasized SpaDex as a milestone for advancing India's capabilities in satellite servicing, space station operations, and interplanetary missions, highlighting its importance for the nation's growing space exploration ambitions.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• Greenland: Trump's apparently crazy idea holds a lot of water.

• 'Copycat': Elon Musk, X users react to Meta introducing Community Notes.

• Swiggy unboxes professional services app Pyng under house of apps strategy.

• Neuroscience startup BrainSightAI raises $5 million from IAN Alpha Fund, others.

• Zerodha’s Rainmatter invested Rs 275 crore in 2024 across climate, health startups: Nithin Kamath.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Paatal Lok Season 2 trailer: Jaideep Ahlawat goes to Nagaland

• Prominent film producer Pritish Nandy died after a cardiac arrest at his South Mumbai residence, at the age of 73. 

• Alan Ritchson goes undercover and finds big trouble in new trailer for Reacher Season 3.

• Badminton: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progress to the pre-quarterfinals at the Malaysia Open, whereas Lakshya Sen is defeated by Chi Yu Jen.