🇮🇳 Third-largest economy

Good morning and a very Happy Kartik Purnima.

From riverside lamps to early morning prayers, India glows today - proof that light still wins, even in uncertain times. 🌕🪔

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🇮🇳 Third-largest economy

• ☁️ OpenAI Bets $38 Billion on Amazon’s Cloud

• Bite-sized summaries

  • 👓️ Lenskart’s IPO Vision

  • 📊 IIT Madras Wants to Fix India’s Startup Information Problem

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

ECONOMICS

🇮🇳 Third-largest economy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy, marking another milestone in its decade-long growth story.

Speaking at the Delhi School of Economics, Sitharaman highlighted how India has climbed from the 10th spot in 2014 to 5th today, with the next leap to 3rd place now in sight. She credited this rise to robust economic fundamentals and sound policymaking that have helped India “stand distinctly on its feet.”

The minister also noted a major social achievement — the government’s efforts have lifted 25 million people out of multi-dimensional poverty, reflecting both welfare expansion and broader economic inclusion.

On the financial front, Sitharaman pointed to the remarkable turnaround of public sector banks, which have shed the “twin balance sheet” stress of the past decade and now show stronger, cleaner balance sheets.

She reaffirmed the government’s commitment to meeting its fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of GDP (₹15.69 lakh crore) for FY26, underscoring continued fiscal discipline even amid global uncertainty.

With steady growth, fiscal prudence, and improving financial health, India’s journey to becoming the world’s third-largest economy now looks less like an aspiration, and more like an inevitability.

Read more: Economic Times

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

☁️ OpenAI Bets $38 Billion on Amazon’s Cloud

OpenAI is making a major cloud pivot. Just a week after restructuring to gain more operational freedom, the ChatGPT maker has inked a seven-year, $38 billion deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) — its first big infrastructure move since parting from Microsoft’s exclusive orbit.

The deal will give OpenAI access to hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs to power training and inference for future AI models. AWS will roll out new data clusters packed with Nvidia’s GB200 and GB300 chips, with full capacity expected by 2026 and expansion into 2027 and beyond.

For Amazon, this is a huge win. The partnership signals renewed investor confidence in AWS, which had been perceived as lagging behind Microsoft and Google in the AI race. The news sent Amazon shares to an all-time high, adding roughly $140 billion to its market value.

CEO Sam Altman said the collaboration “strengthens the compute ecosystem that will power this next era,” as OpenAI pursues its audacious plan to build 30 gigawatts of computing power, an effort projected to cost $1.4 trillion.

The shift also reflects OpenAI’s gradual decoupling from Microsoft, which once held the exclusive right to supply its cloud. The company now works with multiple providers — including Google Cloud and Oracle — as it lays the groundwork for a potential $1 trillion IPO.

But with spending commitments soaring past $1 trillion across the AI sector, the deal also stokes fresh questions: how long can the AI boom sustain its pace before it tests the limits of economics and energy alike?

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

👓️ Lenskart’s IPO Vision - Eyewear giant Lenskart’s IPO drew massive investor demand, getting 28.3 times oversubscribed by its close on Tuesday. Qualified institutional buyers led the rush with 40x bids, while retail investors subscribed 8x. Targeting ₹7,300 crore at a valuation of ₹70,000 crore, the IPO will list on November 10. Founded by Peyush Bansal, Lenskart reported a ₹297 crore profit in FY25, reversing a ₹10 crore loss from FY24, with revenues hitting ₹7,009 crore. The proceeds will fund expansion and offer exits to early investors. The company also secured a ₹90 crore pre-IPO investment from Radhakishan Damani, reflecting strong confidence in its growth story.

📊 IIT Madras Wants to Fix India’s Startup Information Problem - India’s startup ecosystem just got a data boost. IIT Madras has launched Startups for All, a digital platform that tackles the information asymmetry plaguing entrepreneurs. Built by IIT’s Centre for Research on Start-ups and Risk Financing (CREST) with incubated firm YNOS, it hosts verified details on 2.75 lakh startups, 15,000 angel investors, 5,500 VCs, 1,400 incubators, 800 banks, and 110 government schemes. The goal: make credible data free and accessible to founders, students, and researchers. With search and analytics tools plus a micro-payment model replacing costly subscriptions, IIT Madras is pushing for a more inclusive, transparent startup landscape — beyond metro hubs.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• Reserve Bank of India’s rupee defence saps liquidity, fuels bond-buy bets

• Afghanistan quake: India ramps up support, vying with China for influence

• National Stock Exchange of India sets aside 13 billion rupees to settle pending regulatory cases

• India tribunal lifts WhatsApp data-sharing ban, upholds Meta Platforms fine

• Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs warn equity markets face possible pull-back