Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani
We need advice on the Advisory
In our two-part series last month, we explained the slow collapse of digital news around the world. The dwindling attention to news, ongoing inability to find a reliable revenue model—all of it is behind our new editorial strategy. We’re not the New York Times, but we are inspired by its success in leveraging Cooking, Games, WireCutter (product reviews) etc. to thrive in a difficult market. Can the Advisory become the foundation of something as valuable for a wider audience?
Every day, we help you ‘discover’ news that is valuable, relevant and—above all—reliable. Much like the news, we are buried in lifestyle content—and yet it seems impossible to find what to cook, watch, read, listen to, or buy. How can we be your trusted guide who helps you figure that out?
To answer that question, we need your help. Please take 10-15 minutes to fill out our survey. It’s mostly multiple choice questions—but detailed answers would be really helpful. If you’d rather speak than type, you can sign up for a quick 15 minute chat, as well. Here’s the form—please fill it out when you have a little time.
Zomato vs BookMyShow: Let the battle begin!
The context: In 2018, Zomato started its own event—a ‘food and entertainment carnival’—called Zomaland. And earlier this month, it announced plans to launch a new going-out app called ‘District’—separating its restaurant reservation and events ticketing services from food delivery. The Paytm move reveals the dimensions of Deepinder Goyal’s ambitions in this area.
What happened now: Paytm has sold its event ticketing app Paytm Insider to Zomato for Rs 2,048 crore ($244 million)—exiting the entertainment space. The company will focus solely on its digital payments services—and try to save its skin. Reminder: six months ago, the Reserve Bank of India told Paytm to cease all business activities—due to severe compliance issues (see: this Big Story).
Goyal’s smart move: Ticketing juggernaut BookMyShow owns the entertainment ticketing space—with little serious competition. Paytm Insider is much smaller but offers a strong foundation for taking on BookMyShow:
[In FY2023-24, Paytm Insider] enabled the purchase of 78 million tickets for more than 10 million unique customers. By acquiring this business, Zomato will get access to Paytm’s vast customer base, as well as about 280 of Paytm’s employees familiar with how this sector works.
Also this: “In the quick-delivery market, Zomato’s Blinkit competes with tougher rivals, including Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto.” Offering a strong alternative to a single dominant player is relatively easier. Last not least, Goyal has already tested the move’: Its ‘going-out’ business made ₹3,225 crore in gross order value in 2023-24 (GOV is the total value of an order, including taxes etc).
The big picture: Food and entertainment make a good match—since people who buy a movie ticket online are also most likely to use delivery platforms. But some experts aren’t sure if a separate District app makes sense:
Creating another app and communicating to the consumers that it is owned by Zomato itself is a huge expense. I don’t think the concept will last long if treated as a separate app and this will create a lot of friction from the customer perspective.
TechCrunch has the acquisition story. Mint (paywall) has more nerdy business analysis.
A historic first: PM Modi visits Ukraine
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Kyiv today. The trip is notable for all sorts of reasons. For starters, it marks the first official visit by an Indian PM to the Ukrainian capital. It also comes on the heels of his trip to Moscow—which really annoyed Washington and Kyiv:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was particularly critical, saying he was “disappointed to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow”.
What it means: Some view the trip as an attempt to soothe the US’ hurt feelings. Modi chose to go see Putin right when NATO leaders were meeting in Washington to express their solidarity with Ukraine. So India may be trying to “balance the situation” after being seen as “tilting towards Russia.”
New Delhi, of course, denies it: “This is not a zero-sum game ... these are independent, broad ties.” And some analysts agree:
India isn’t in the business of placating Western powers, or anyone for that matter. It’s a trip meant to advance Indian interests, by reasserting friendship with Kyiv and conveying its concerns about the continuing war.
Point to remember: Keeping the US happy matters—but staying close to Russia matters more—at least to the Indian economy. We just overtook China to become Russia’s largest oil customer at 2.07 million barrels per day. Also this: “Some 60% of India’s military systems and hardware is of Russian origin.”
But, but, but: We buy military equipment from Ukraine as well—which is one reason why this trip is critical:
India needs marine engines for its warships, and upgrade its large air transport fleet and technologies—particularly propulsion. Ukraine knows that cooperation with India will bring in much-needed money for its defence companies, which are struggling financially and are severely impacted by the war with Russia.
Isse kehte hain ‘non-aligned’. For more analysis, read BBC News, The Print, and Associated Press.
Government bans dangerous drug combos
The context: Any medicine is made up of two components. One is the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) which helps treat the disease. The other is the excipient—an inactive ingredient that helps deliver the API inside your body. So paracetamol is the active ingredient in Crocin—and acetaminophen in Tylenol. A medicine with a single active ingredient is called a single dose formulation (SDF). When it has two or more APIs, then it’s called a Fixed Dose Combination or FDC. This Big Story explains why FDCs in India can be lethal.
What happened now: The Health Ministry has banned doctors from prescribing 156 “irrational” FDC medicines with immediate effect. These include antibiotics, anti-allergic drugs, analgesics, multivitamins etc. The most notable among them:
[A] combination dose of Omeprazole Magnesium and Dicyclomine HCl which is used for treating stomach pain, as well as a combination of Mefenamic Acid and Paracetamol Injection for reducing pain and swelling in various diseases. Additional FDCs include a combination of povidone iodine, metronidazole, and aloe used to prevent and cure skin infections, as well as ursodeoxycholic acid and metformin HCl used to treat fatty liver in diabetics.
This is the biggest crackdown on FDCs since 2016—when the government banned 344 such meds. (Indian Express)
The not-so-good news on GDP
Rating agency ICRA estimates that our growth has slowed to 6% in the most recent quarter—which ended on June 30. In the previous quarter that number was 7.8%—and 8.2% in the quarter ending March 31. So it’s a serious and worrying trend—and all the more concerning since the Reserve Bank has forecast real GDP growth of 7.2% for FY25. ICRA expects it will be closer to 6.8%. The reasons for the downward trend: A decrease in government capital expenditure (spending on infrastructure etc). And a “surprising downtick” in consumer confidence in urban India. (Business Standard)
Worrying data on board exams results
New data shows that a total of 6.5 million students did not pass their board exams in 2023. Of these, 3.35 million failed their 10th boards—while the rest did not take the exam. In Class 12, the number of students who failed was 2.72 million.
Data points to note: There were key differences between male and female students. More girls took the exams than boys—and their pass rate was 6% higher. More boys chose the sciences than girls—who preferred arts subjects—but they fared better across both subject areas. Also this: Student performance was far poorer in state vs central boards. (The Hindu)
A major ‘Megalopolis’ gaffe
Lionsgate studio has yanked the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi epic ‘Megalopolis’. The reason: The teaser begins with a bizarre homage to Coppola as a misunderstood genius—citing critical reviews running down his most famous movies:
Turns out many of these quotes—from legendary movie critics—were pure fiction:
Pauline Kael, for one, totally adored both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. She lavished praise on the adaptation, the direction, and the performances… The alleged quote attributed to her in this trailer — that The Godfather is “diminished by its artsiness” — is nowhere to be found in either of her (glowing) reviews of the first two films.
Lionsgate is calling it an “inexcusable error” in their “vetting process.” (Vulture, paywall, CNN)
Constipation is bad for your heart
According to a new study, people with constipation are 2X more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure. If you also suffer from hypertension, you are 34% more likely to experience a cardiac arrest. The reason: “Chronic constipation can lead to straining when passing a stool. This can result in laboured breathing and can lead to a rise in blood pressure.” FYI: Elvis Presley is rumoured to have died of a heart attack—while sitting on the toilet, trying to poop. (The Conversation)
RIP Sphen, the famous gay penguin
The context: In 2018, Sphen made global headlines when he fell in love with his partner Magic—when they were both chicks at Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium. The couple went on to foster two babies—and became the world’s first penguin power couple. They featured in a key coming out scene in ‘Atypical’—and even inspired Mardi Gras costumes:
What happened now: On August 22, the aquarium confirmed that 11-year-old Sphen died of natural causes earlier this month. When Magic was taken to see his body for one last time, he spontaneously broke into song—and was soon joined by the rest of the penguins. Zoo caretakers don’t know what the singing signifies but say it was clearly some kind of send-off.
You can see the rainbow couple below. (The Guardian)
what caught our eye
business & tech
- The biggest customer of Russian oil is now…India—overtaking China in July with 2.07 million barrels per day.
- An update on the antitrust googly in the Jio-Disney shaadi: some of their existing cricket broadcasting rights deals may need to be sold for the merger to go ahead.
- An AI assistant named Lindy is ‘rickrolling’ its users—and has been taught to stop acting like a silly human.
sports & entertainment
- The $600 million sale of Michael Jackson’s catalogue to Sony will go ahead—after a California appeals court overruled his mother’s objections.
- Fede Álvarez—the director of ‘Alien: Romulus’—has been banned from an ‘Alien’ subreddit for… impersonating himself. LOL!
- Rotten Tomatoes has introduced a new ‘Verified Hot’ badge—which gives greater weight to audience rankings.
- Say hello to the Bandland 2024 lineup—heavy music giants Avenged Sevenfold and Extreme will headline the Bangalore-based fest.
- Vox has a good read on how pop singer-songwriter Chappelle Roan took seven years to become an overnight success.
- Vinesh Phogat has alleged that Delhi Police has withdrawn security from women wrestlers scheduled to testify against the sexual assault-accused former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
- Ahead of the Paris Paralympics, CNN has a good read on Afghan Zakia Khudadadi’s act of defiance in women’s taekwondo.
as for the rest
- Pet turtles are causing salmonella cases across 21 US states.
- Financial Times (splainer gift link) has a good read on how climate change is shaking up travel in Europe.
- Aged 116, Japan’s banana-loving Tomiko Ikoota is now the world’s oldest person—after the death of 117-year-old Spaniard Maria Branyas.
- New York Times (splainer gift link) has a good read on a zany TikTok cucumber craze that has Iceland in a bit of a pickle.
- Fasting may have health benefits but could also lead to the formation of intestinal tumours, a new study has revealed.
- Chandrayaan-3 has found evidence that supports the presence of a lunar magma ocean under the surface. The Print explains why this is important.
- Data from the Lokniti-CSDS post-poll survey challenges the popular belief that women prefer the BJP over other parties.
- Delhi Police say they’ve busted an ‘Al-Qaeda inspired’ terror network that was active in Rajasthan, UP, and Jharkhand.
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has fined the Punjab government Rs 10 billion (1,000 crore) for legacy waste and sewage management failures.
- Book your Colombo flights—Sri Lanka will offer visa-free access to India and 34 other countries from October 1.
- Mongabay has a good read on the uncertain future for Madhya Pradesh’s potters—due to rising temperatures and shifting markets.
Four things to see
One: The biggest highlight of day three of the Democratic National Convention was a video montage of Kamala Harris’ interrogation of white men—remixed to the tune of Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Savage’. (Newsweek)
Two: Las Vegas’ fanciest new arena—the Sphere—will soon screen ‘V-U2’—a concert film directed by Edge. FYI: We did a fab Big Story on the Sphere—which has totally disrupted the concert business. Watch the trailer below. Variety has more details.
Three: Our love for oversized statues is spreading like a virus—among the Indian diaspora. Get ready for a 90-foot-tall golden statue of Hanuman—at the Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, Texas. This is now the third tallest statue in the US—mercifully still dwarfed by the Statue of Liberty at 151 feet. You can see the very extra inauguration below. (Telegraph India)
Four: Speaking of infectious desi crazes, Aussies have discovered the virtues of a mineral resin called shilajit—that usually oozes from rocks in the Himalayas. A 15 gm bottle is being sold for a whopping Rs 3,700 (AU$ 65)—as a metabolism booster. Check out their sales pitch below. (Hindustan Times)
feel good place
One: Say hello to Swiftie Chris.
Two: The California Dreamin’ mashup we didn’t know we needed!
Three: None Nun can resist a (conjuring) garba night.
Takshashila: A doorway to public policy
Editor’s note: We are delighted to unveil our partnership with Takshashila Institution. It is one of India’s foremost think-tanks on public policy. They also run valuable courses that teach students how to tackle complex policy challenges—bringing together academic experts and policy practitioners from across the world. We will be showcasing their courses and community in splainer. Please note: This is not paid content.
Over to Takshashila…
The doors to knowledge and innovation in public policy are now wide open for everyone. Takshashila Institution, the pioneer in public policy education in India invites you to join OpenTakshashila, a free space for learning, exploring and engaging with the public policy community.
What’s happening on OpenTakshashila? Educate Yourself: Our "Open Course in Public Policy" is a free, self-paced online course designed to equip you with the fundamentals of public policy. It's your foundation for understanding, analysing, and influencing policy decisions.
Join the Conversation: Participate in "Open Mic" sessions where nuanced discussions on current policy issues thrive. It's your chance to voice your thoughts, listen to diverse opinions, and engage in debates that matter.
Dive into Books: Our "Books & Banter" book club invites you to share your latest reads, discover new insights, and discuss ideas that can transform society. It's a space where policy enthusiasts and book lovers unite.
Have Fun Learning: "OffBeat" offers a unique blend of events and fun games focused on public policy. This is where learning meets play, allowing you to grasp complex concepts through engaging and interactive activities.
Explore Open Takshashila—and sign up here.
