🔙 Reverse flipping

Good morning. One day closer to the end of the week - the only thing that’s keeping us going tbh.

That and heaps of coffee ☕️ 🥱 

- Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🔙 Reverse flipping

• 🪝 Your data is being bought and sold

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 💪 Uber Black is back

  • 🏭️ G42 investing in Indian data centres

  • India 🤝 Phillippines

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 ended lower on Wednesday, dragged by weak global sentiments and selling across sectors. Sensex fell 398 points, and Nifty50 dropped 123 points, breaking a two-session winning streak. Losses were led by Tata Motors, ONGC, while FMCG gained, hitting a record high.

🌍️ International

• U.S. stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday, driven by a tech sector boost despite inflation concerns. Core CPI increased by 0.3%, surpassing expectations. Political developments from a presidential debate also influenced market sentiment, with solar stocks rallying and Trump Media shares declining significantly.

ECONOMY

🔙 Reverse flipping

If you are an Indian startup that is headquartered overseas but are looking to come back to India, here’s some good news: 

The Indian government has streamlined the process for overseas-headquartered startups to merge with their Indian subsidiaries. 

Here are the details: 

• In a move aimed at encouraging “reverse flipping”—where Indian entrepreneurs with foreign-incorporated startups return to India—the government has removed the need for National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval. 

• Instead, startups must now obtain clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a government nod, effective from September 17, 2024.

How does this help? 

• This change benefits Indian-origin startups based abroad that want to tap into India's strong growth prospects, as the previous requirement for NCLT approval caused significant delays due to case backlogs. 

• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has introduced a new rule under the Companies Act, simplifying the merger process for foreign transferor companies and their wholly-owned Indian subsidiaries. 

Overall: Experts see this as a boost for startups seeking favourable valuations in India's capital markets, enhanced government support, and easier access to capital. 

As India's startup ecosystem continues to grow, this regulatory change is expected to accelerate the trend of reverse flipping, allowing more Indian-founded companies to return home efficiently.

Read more: Economic Times

DATA PRIVACY

🪝 Your data is being bought and sold

Here’s something that’s wildly alarming—in India, your personal data is being sold for as little as ₹150-₹300, fueling a booming underground data mining industry.

What happens with this information? Details like recent flights or car insurance records are collected by informants and sold to call centres, telemarketers, and online platforms.

• For example, telemarketers like Rishabh Shukla (name changed) mine personal details from sources such as apartment visitor logs and sell them to real estate platforms.

• This data is passed along to brokers, interior designers, and even housekeeping agencies.

• Shukla earned ₹1.5 lakhs in just three months selling highly accurate datasets.

So, what’s driving this explosion of stolen data? Experts point to blatant data theft.

• A quick online search reveals websites selling leads for as little as ₹120.

• These sites often disguise themselves as legitimate market research firms while trading in sensitive personal information.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Advancements in AI are enabling even more sophisticated scams. AI-generated voice clones and deepfake media are being used to defraud individuals, particularly in executive impersonation scams. Experts warn that AI’s rapid data-mining capabilities could make controlling this issue even harder.

What’s the solution?

• The recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act aims to tackle this problem by holding violators accountable and ensuring that personal data isn’t shared without explicit consent.

• However, full compliance may take years, as many organizations lack proper data management practices.

Btw, this is not just an India-specific issue—it’s rampant in the US, too.

Don’t believe it? If you’re reading this in the US, try calling (855) 752-5625.

An automated message will greet you with your name, address, and even your Social Security Number—a number you’re supposed to protect with your life.

Bottom line: In an era where personal data is a commodity, privacy breaches are on the rise.

With advanced technologies like AI facilitating more sophisticated scams, protecting personal information has never been more critical.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

💪 Uber Black is back - Uber is relaunching its premium service, Uber Black, in India starting with Mumbai. The service offers luxury cars and top-rated drivers, featuring perks like quiet mode, temperature control, and extended wait times. Aimed at meeting growing consumer demand for high-end experiences, Uber Black is priced 30-40% higher than Uber Premier and is expected to appeal to corporate travellers. Originally launched in India in 2013, Uber Black was halted a year later. With this reintroduction, Uber continues to expand its offerings in India, where it operates across 125 cities with over 1.1 million drivers.

🏭️ G42 investing in Indian data centres - Abu Dhabi-based G42 is set to double its data centre capacity in India, building up to 2 Gigawatt AI-ready centres as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the UAE and Indian governments. The initiative, supported by Emirati wealth fund Mubadala, aims to develop a sovereign AI ecosystem in India. G42 also introduced NANDA, a 13-billion parameter AI model trained on Hindi and English datasets. The company plans to deploy an 8 exaFLOPS AI supercomputer in India as part of a broader partnership with major tech firms like Microsoft, IBM, and Nvidia.

India 🤝 Phillippines - India invited the Philippines to collaborate in the co-development and co-production of military hardware, as discussed during the fifth India-Philippines Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in Manila. The nations emphasised self-reliance in defence production and encouraged mutual investments in defence industries. Both sides appreciated each other’s efforts toward defence modernisation. The meeting also reviewed enhanced bilateral defence cooperation and operationalised initiatives like the White Shipping Information Exchange.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• Government approves ₹12,461 Cr. support for 31,350 MW hydropower projects.

• Australia plans a minimum age limit for social media use.

• NASA green-lights mission to search for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa.

• Defence Ministry clears Navy's ₹2,500 Cr. plan for unmanned vessels with capabilities to attack submarines.

• Trump Media shares plunge after GOP nominee debates with Harris.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Vir Das becomes first Indian to host International Emmy Awards!!

• Harris-Trump face-off soars past Biden June debate.