Week 9

Deals Deals Deals 📝

September 05, 2020

Good Morning,

Welcome! I hope you have your “Subah Kee Chai” ready and you're excited to read your weekly 10-minute digest. 

This week saw poor market performances, a further ban on 118 Chinese apps, a range of different commercial deals, and sadly the loss of our former President Pranab Mukherjee, 

Before we dive in, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Teacher's Day. A day, which celebrates the individuals who have taught you and shaped who you are today. 

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

The week's market performance can be described using one word: poor. Both equity indices saw fluctuated performances throughout the week with Nifty 50 finishing in the green by a slim margin.

were among the top losers on Friday, the last day of the trading week. Living in isolation, Maruti was the only gainer. According to domestic traders, Indian equities dipped due to the massive sell-off in global equities. Banking stocks plunged after the Supreme Court directed banks not to declare standard loans as non-performing, raising uncertainty over future economic recovery. 

India is racing to the number 1 spot in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases, as the country reported

! The Health Ministry of India stated that a majority of new cases are being reported in rural and semi-urban areas. Experts claim that despite low testing in rural areas, the virus has spread to every corner of the country. 

Chinese App Ban

If you thought India banning Tik Tok was depressing, wait till you find out that

has also been banned...

On Wednesday, the Indian Government issued an order banning a further

over data security concerns and national security risks. IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that India has one of the highest mobile application downloads, raising major red flags for potential data exploitation. With the banning of 118 more Chinese-tied apps, the total tally of apps banned in India reached 224. 

Zoom out:

As the world is moving into a new technology sphere, with the rapid normalization of sharing data on the internet, do you fear for the security of your data? Does the Government's restriction of a number of applications prevent data breaches, and do you think the government's involvement is a breach of basic democracy to enjoy the content on the Internet? I would love to hear what you think, so do let me know by replying to the email!  

Deals

Here is a summary of all the major deals that took place this week: 

1. Venture capital firm

launched its new USD 100 million fund to invest a larger amount into a higher volume of start-ups. In the past, the company has invested in start-ups such as meat delivery firm Licious and fin-tech firm Open. 

2. India's second-largest IT services firm

stated that it will acquire US-based Kaleidoscope Innovation for up to USD 42 million. Kaleidoscope Innovation is a full-spectrum product design, development, and insights firm. The acquisition will help Infosys expand by introducing newer technological advancements. 

3. As part of its Series B funding program,

invested INR 30 Crore into Ultraviolette Automotive. The investment comes after Ultraviolette Automotive showcased its high-performance electric motorcycle F77. The bike is planning to be launched next year. 

4. Norwegian food maker

bought a 68% stake in Kerala based Eastern Condiments at a deal valued at INR 2000 Crore. The transaction took place during a time where the Indian spice market is undergoing increased activity. The total spice market in India is growing annually at a compound rate of 13% doubling in value from 2013 to 2019. 

Tribute to Pranab Mukherjee

On Tuesday, India lost its former

who was described as a distinguished leader, a tall statesman, and an accomplished parliamentarian. Pranab Mukherjee was known for his vast experience in the political world having served as Union Foreign, Defence, Commerce, and Finance minister at different times. Here is a quick timeline of the 13th Indian President's life as a politician: 

1. Pranab Mukherjee started his political life after being elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969. 

2. He served as Deputy Minister (Industry) from 1973-75. 

3. In 1982, he undertook the role of Finance Minister and was also the Leader of the house in the Rajya Sabah from 1980-1985. 

4. Following his role as Finance Minister, he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in 1991 to 1996, during which he was appointed the role of Minister of Commerce (1993-1995) and Minister of external affairs (1995-1996). 

5. He was the Minister of Defence from 2004-2006 and was appointed for the second time as Minister of external affairs (2006-2009) and Minister of Finance (2009-2012). 

6. Leader of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2012. 

7. Pranab Mukherjee was appointed the office of President of India on the 25th of July, 2012, and served all 5 years. 

Rest in peace to one of India's finest leader!

Sports 

IPL Schedule 

The much-awaited IPL (13th Edition) is just around the corner, with the 2020

on Sunday. The IPL is scheduled to start on the 19th of September till the 10th of November. All games will be held in the UAE, in the three major cities; Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. 

  The Smart Ring

Similar to the NBA, the Mumbai Indians have introduced their very own

. The ring is a personal health tracking device that flags any irregularities in the individual's heart rate, heart rate variation, respiratory rate, and body temperature. The tracking gadget will be worn by every member of the Mumbai Indians team present in Abu Dhabi for the 13th edition of the IPL. 

  ISL Policy

The All India Football Federation (AIFF)'s general secretary Kushal Dias stated that the

stakeholders have agreed to introduce promotion and relegation from the 2024-25 season onwards. Teams relegated will move down into the second-tier competition, the I-league. On the contrary, the winner of the I-league will automatically be promoted for the ISL.  

Other News

1. Walmart owned Flipkart launched its wholesale e-commerce platform

. It hopes to list 200,000 products and host 50 brands over the next two months. 

2. A recent survey conducted by NASSCOM-EY indicated that 60% of business leaders believe

will disrupt their business within the next three years.

3. On Wednesday, the Indian government stated that

will be allowed to resume.

4. An Indian Oil Corp chartered ship tanker carrying over two million barrels of oil

. The respective authorities were called immediately, as the fire posed a major risk of an oil spill which would be extremely detrimental to the marine life.

5. The

was released on Friday, with India jumping 4 places to rank 48th.   

Quiz

Quiz time! 

What do the following words have in common?

feminine kindergartencanineoverweightthreatencobblestoneheightdone

Get thinking...

See you next week!

I hope you enjoyed reading your weekly Subah Kee Chai newsletter.

As always, please do share it with your friends and family so they can enjoy reading the news while sipping on their Subah Kee Chai.

Please do provide feedback by replying to the email to help me improve the newsletter in the best possible way.

Links to our social media accounts are below. 

See you next week!

--------------------------

Quiz Answer: They all end with the spelling of a number  

-------------------------- 

Written by: Adnan Bahrainwala (Founder of Subah Kee Chai)