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Market Watch
- Indian benchmark indices ended the day in the green with the Sensex up 363.99 points at 80,369.03, and the Nifty up 127.60 points at 24,466.80.
- Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank made the highest gains, while Nifty Auto shed the most.
ICYMI
- 🗳️ It’s not just a West Bengal thing, a ballot box was set on fire in Washington destroying hundreds of ballots, raising significant concerns about election security.
- 📱 Apple exported $6 billion worth of India-made iPhones in six months, a one-third increase from the previous year, highlighting its rapid manufacturing expansion in India.
- ✈️ Russia has reached out to Indian airlines to help meet domestic flight demands due to Western sanctions affecting its aviation industry.
- ❌ Jeff Bezos' decision to block The Washington Post’s endorsement of Kamala Harris has led to mass subscription cancellations and resignations.
- 🔫 The family of Abhinav Arora, a 10-year-old self-proclaimed spiritual orator, has claimed that they have received death threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
- 🤝 Comedian Kunal Kamra has accepted Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal's offer to work with Ola Electric, but not without stipulations.
- 🚨 Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, has recently raised alarm about what he calls a “financial emergency” in the United States, citing the country's massive national debt.
Delayed for years, census process to start in 2025
The Indian government aims to start the delayed national census in 2025, with the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats expected by 2028. The national census, delayed since 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is planned to start in 2025 and continue until 2026.
The intrigue: According to sources, the 2025 census will be India's first digital census, incorporating several technological advancements.
- It will allow citizens to self-enumerate at both the house-listing and population enumeration stages.
- All responses to the census questionnaire will be uploaded to a dedicated Census portal. A census app and software are being developed and tested internally.
The details: This will change the usual 10-year census cycle, with the next census after this one expected to be held in 2035. There is ongoing demand from opposition parties for a caste-based census, though a decision is yet to be made public.
- The delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, a process of redrawing constituency boundaries, is scheduled to follow the census and is expected to be completed by 2028. The delimitation exercise may increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats from the current 543 to around 753.
- Notably, India has conducted delimitation exercises four times previously: in 1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002. The 2002 delimitation only redrew boundaries within states without altering the number of seats per state.
Why this matters: Northern states are likely to see a substantial increase in seats. For example, Uttar Pradesh's seats could rise from 80 to 128. Southern states may see only marginal increases or even decreases in seats. Kerala, for instance, could lose one seat.
- Some politicians, like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, have expressed concerns about southern states potentially losing relative representation in Parliament due to their successful population control measures.
Yes, but: Article 82 of the Constitution states that readjustment of seats based on census figures is not necessary until the first census after 2026 is published.
- This may require a constitutional amendment if the 2025 census data is to be used for delimitation.
Of note: The implementation of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha, recently passed as a constitutional amendment, is tied to the completion of the census and delimitation process. This means the quota may not come into effect until after 2029.
Clip du jour
This video of Kamala Harris’ awkward interaction at another one of her rallies:
Breaking Bad in Delhi: Another meth lab with Mexican connections busted
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Delhi Police raided a meth lab in Greater Noida linked to Mexican cartel CJNG, seizing 95 kg of methamphetamine.
The intrigue: The operation involved local conspirators, including a Delhi-based businessman, a Tihar Jail warden, and a chemist from Mumbai.
- The lab is reportedly linked to members of the Mexican drug cartel known as Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). This cartel is considered one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world, according to the U.S. DEA.
- The lab produced meth for both domestic use and international export, with quality checks managed by a cartel member in Delhi. NCB officials are currently searching for a Mexican national suspected to be a member of the CJNG cartel.
The big picture: Since January, there have been multiple incidents involving methamphetamine production in Delhi. The NCB has reported that this is the fifth such laboratory busted by them this year in the broader region, though not all were necessarily in Delhi.
- A few weeks ago, seven individuals, including a postgraduate chemistry student and engineering graduate, were arrested for operating a meth lab in Chennai.
- Earlier this month, Delhi Police seized over 500 kg of cocaine valued at Rs 2,000 crore, marking the largest drug bust in the capital's history.
- Before that, a joint operation by Gujarat ATS and NCB led to a significant drug seizure worth Rs 1,814 crore near Bhopal.
- Later, in a joint operation, Delhi and Gujarat Police seized 518 kg of cocaine from Gujarat.
- In February this year, 3,300 kg of narcotics were seized off the Gujarat coast, including 3,110 kg of charas (hashish), 158.3 kg of crystal methamphetamine, and 24.6 kg of suspected heroin, valued at between Rs 1300-3000 crore.
- In 2023, 2,826 kg of banned substances were seized at ports and in coastal waters, with Methamphetamine accounting for 99% of the seizures. Major seizures were reported from Gujarat, Kerala, and Andaman.
Why India? India's geographical location plays a crucial role in international drug smuggling routes, making it both a transit point and a destination for illicit narcotics.
- India lies between the Golden (now called Death) Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan) and the Golden (now called Death) Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos) - two of the most prolific drug smuggling routes globally.
- India’s vast coastline also makes it a key transit hub for narcotics moving toward Europe, Asia, and the US.
Hi, I’m Gaurav Jeyaraman, the editor of this newsletter. I’d love to hear some feedback on the newsletter. WhatsApp me directly and tell me what you think.
