Your SandeshBox for the week

India

• Chandigarh election saga

  1. Context: The mayoral elections in Chandigarh on January 30 were highly anticipated as the first major face-off between the BJP and the opposition alliance INDIA. Social media buzzed with controversy following the results, with a video suggesting potential foul play by Anil Masih, a BJP councillor, who allegedly invalidated eight ballots in favor of the AAP-Congress alliance.

  2. In response to the controversy, the Supreme Court intervened and nullified the outcome of the mayoral polls. The court found evidence that Anil Masih had deliberately tampered with the ballots. In light of this, the Supreme Court declared Kuldeep Kumar, the joint AAP-Congress candidate, as the rightful winner, emphasizing the importance of upholding democratic principles and thwarting subterfuges that could undermine the foundation of the country's democracy.

  3. It isn’t clear what will happen now since BJP has already attracted 3 councilors from the AAP-Congress alliance.

• Farmer’s protests update

  1. Background: Thousands for farmers protested for an entire year in 2021 against the farm laws introduced by the government which eventually led to the govt. withdrawing the laws in November 2021.

  2. Why is this relevant now? On February 13, approximately 250 farmer unions recommenced their journey towards Delhi, emphasizing their primary request for a legal guarantee regarding the Minimum Support Price (MSP) committed to by the government. The march was temporarily paused when the government extended an invitation for discussions.

  3. Okay, now what happened? Following extensive negotiations, farmers rejected the government's proposal, which suggested purchasing five crops at the minimum support price for five years through a contractual system. The farmers insist on a legally binding guarantee, resistant to arbitrary changes by the government.

  4. On Wednesday, the Haryana police attacked farmers with drones armed with tear gas and rubber bullets at the border with Punjab which led to the death of one farmer by a rubber bullet. This has brought in the influential Samyukta Kisan Morcha has joined the 'Dilli Chalo' march, pledging a nationwide mobilization after previously not being involved.

  5. The social media platform X has released a statement criticizing the Indian government's executive orders, which mandate specific actions on certain accounts and posts. While complying by withholding content in India, the platform asserts disagreement, emphasizing the importance of extending freedom of expression to the affected posts.
     

Business

• The Byju’s soap opera continues

  1. Byju's founder Byju Raveendran claims that the rights issue by parent company Think & Learn has been fully subscribed, seeking critical funds for operational costs. The edtech major valued itself at $22 Million, a fraction of its peak estimated worth of $22 Billion, forcing investors to either contribute or risk stake dilution.

  2. Major investors voted to oust Byju Raveendran as CEO in an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on 23 February which was called earlier this month. Anticipating this outcome, Byju's had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court, seeking an injunction against the EGM and requesting a stay on potential resolutions. The court, on 22 February, temporarily restrained the resolutions from taking effect until the next hearing on March 13, emphasizing the critical nature of the court's final decision on March 13. Byju's rejected the EGM outcome, asserting that only 35 out of 170 shareholders, representing approximately 45% of shareholding, voted in favor, deeming the EGM invalid.

  3. Adding to Raveendran's challenges, The ED has sought a look out circular (LOC) against Byju Raveendran to prevent him from leaving the country for alleged FEMA violations.

• Business shots

  1. Japan's Nikkei (Japan’s version of Nifty/Sensex) finally crossed the previous high post slipping into a 30 year-long recession, rising 2.1% on Thursday to 39,098, surpassing its previous peak of 38,916 set in 1989.

  2. The Indian government has extended an unprecedented invitation for private firms to invest in the nuclear energy sector. However, the government will retain the right to build and operate the nuclear power stations, as current Indian law prohibits private companies from establishing nuclear plants. This initiative is crucial for India's goal to increase non-fossil fuel utilization to 50% of its installed electric generation capacity by 2030, from the current 42%.

  3. Capital One and Discover, the fourth-largest and the sixth-largest US credit card issuers, respectively, are merging to create a consumer loan behemoth that could threaten the duopoly of Visa and Mastercard. The merged company will be bigger than JPMorgan and Citigroup by credit card loan volume. 

  4. Zee-Sony row continues : First, it was reported that Zee had been meeting Sony executives for the last two weeks to salvage the Sony-Zee merger. Now, Sebi has found evidence that Zee’s promoters siphoned off ₹2,000 crore (~$241 million) in an ongoing investigation into CEO Punit Goenka.

  5. In an unusual move, Reddit is planning to reserve some IPO shares for 75,000 of its most prolific users when it goes public in March, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sports, Culture & Everything else

• India wins all across

  1. Cricket - India achieved it’s most substantial Test cricket triumph with an astonishing 434-run victory over England in the third Test held at Rajkot. Remarkably, Yashaswi Jaiswal overshadowed the performances of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja by scoring an impressive 214 runs. Adding to the success, Jadeja contributed significantly with a devastating five-wicket haul who was the Man of the Match.

  2. Badminton - The Women's badminton team clinched their first-ever Badminton Asia Team Championships title in an exhilarating final against Thailand. This achievement concluded an impressive run, including victories over top contenders like China, Hong Kong, and Japan. The standout performer of the tournament was 17-year-old Anmol Kharb, ranked 472, who convincingly defeated the 45th-ranked Pornpicha Choeikeewong in the decisive round.

• Interesting tidbits

  1. NASA achieved a significant milestone by landing on the Moon's surface 50 years after its last mission. Notably, this event also signifies the maiden successful lunar landing conducted by a private company - Intuitive Machines.

  2. OpenAI has a new tool - Sora - upon receiving a textual prompt, generates video content lasting up to a minute. It can create videos featuring intricate scenes with multiple characters, specific motion types, and precise details of the subject and background.

  3. Over 50% of the world faces water scarcity for at least a month each year, with current annual freshwater consumption 6X higher than a century ago.

Global

• War updates

  1. Russia-Ukraine War 

     Russia achieved a notable victory by seizing the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, capitalizing on Ukrainian forces' low ammunition and troop shortages. The loss could mark a turning point in the war for Ukraine, struggling to receive adequate military aid due to political infighting in the US, hindering its ability to match Russian forces.

  2. Israel-Hamas War

     1. Massive protests erupt in Tel Aviv, demanding Netanyahu's immediate resignation, alongside increasing calls for the release of hostages.

     2. Despite concerns, the US continues weapon shipments to Israel even with news breaking out that the State Department is investigating the illegal use of American arms to kill civilians.

     3. Israel experiences a sharp 5% GDP drop in Q4 2023, surpassing predictions, leading to Moody's credit rating downgrade due to a perceived lack of national strength.

     4. In a rare political statement, Prince William expresses deep concern over the Middle East conflict, emphasizing the urgency for humanitarian aid and the release of hostages.

     5. The Gaza conflict toll surpasses 29,000 Palestinians killed, prompting a conditional US proposal for a ceasefire, a notable shift in stance.

     6. The US vetoes Algeria's UN Security Council humanitarian ceasefire proposal, with the UK abstaining and France expressing regret, highlighting international divisions and the US slowly being left alone.