Hello,
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday held its repo rate at 5.25%, and announced a series of measures to attract foreign capital amid the prolonged conflict in West Asia.
Among other measures to support the rupee, the government has now scrapped taxes on interest income and capital gains for eligible foreign investors in government securities, per a PTI report.
Moving on to the world of technology, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has rolled out two new AI-powered capabilities aimed at helping startup founders accelerate product development and scale their businesses. The new offerings, AWS Startup Advisor and agentic migration tooling, are designed to provide personalised guidance and simplify the process of building and migrating applications on AWS.
Speaking of Amazon, the ecommerce giant plans to double to one lakh its electric delivery van fleet across global operations, including India, by the end of 2030. It also plans to introduce over 1,000 electric light and medium-duty trucks into its operations in India over the next five years.
Lastly, researchers at the University of Cambridge say they have used AI to develop a new type of vaccine that can protect against a large number of bacteria and viruses.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Ecommerce is ripe for disruption
- Meet the people on marine conservation mission
Here’s your trivia for today: The bulk of the wine industry’s corks come from what country?
Interview
Ecommerce is ripe for disruption
When Sunitha Viswanathan, Partner at early-stage VC firm Kae Capital, talks about disruption, she does not mean it in a loose sense. She is referring to a specific, observable moment when consumers’ behaviour outpaces the platforms built to serve them, and a window opens for a new player to step in.
Key takeaways:
- Sunitha argues that the expectations of the consumer, particularly the younger ones, have moved far ahead of what existing ecommerce platforms offer. “If I search for a red T-shirt online, I’ll get 50,000 options. But I am not getting the right option.”
- The problem is not supply. It is curation—which involves understanding what customers want exactly, filtering products, and showing them the right options.
- Founded in 2012 by Sasha Mirchandani in Mumbai, Kae Capital is one of India’s earliest seed-stage venture firms, writing first cheques at the pre-seed to pre-Series A stages.
Startup: FirstClub
Amount: $55M
Round: Series B
Startup: Innefu Labs
Amount: $30M
Round: Series B
Startup: Simple Energy
Amount: About $26.2M
Round: Equity and debt
Environment
People on marine conservation mission
A new generation of champions is reshaping how India thinks about its oceans and marine life. Through scientific research, conservation, storytelling, citizen science, and community engagement, they are drawing attention to the rich yet often overlooked marine ecosystems that support millions of livelihoods.
Meet the men and women making ocean and marine conservation accessible and relatable.
Climate heroes:
- Uma Mani’s documentary Coral Woman not only amplified the plight of coral reefs but also brought her work to a wider audience, helping spark conversations around the urgent need to protect India’s marine ecosystems.
- Through Coastal Impact, an initiative he founded, Venkatesh Charloo works to raise awareness about marine ecosystems, encourage more people to become divers and ocean advocates.
- Marine conservationist Shaunak Modi is working to bridge the gap between science and public engagement along India’s coastlines.
News & updates
- Economy: In a quarter marred by disruptions from the crises in West Asia, India’s economy grew at 7.8% year-on-year in the three months to the end of March, a faster-than-expected pace.
- Fading crypto: Bitcoin is looking at the worst performance for this time of the year in at least a decade, as AI stocks and a series of glittering upcoming new listings such as SpaceX are taking investors away from the crypto market.
The bulk of the wine industry’s corks come from what country?
Answer: Portugal
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