Delhi’s Fuel Ban Hits the Brakes 🛑

🌞 Good Morning, it’s Friday, July 4!

Hope you’re cruising into the weekend like it’s a long drive on an open highway—with no EOL ban in sight 🚗💨. The markets may have hit the brakes, but the world of business and tech is still in the fast lane. Grab your cup, because today’s brew is loaded with some unexpected turns—from AI's trillion-dollar sprint to golden warning bells.

🚗 Chai Shots

• 🔧 Delhi Backpedals on Fuel Ban: The Delhi government has paused its controversial End-of-Life (EOL) vehicle policy, which would’ve banned fuel for petrol cars older than 15 years and diesel vehicles over 10 years. Instead, only visibly polluting vehicles will now be targeted—not every aging ride. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 📱 Foxconn’s China Recall Isn’t a Big Worry: India says the recall of 300 Foxconn engineers to China is a temporary hiccup. With no skilled labour shortage here, Foxconn still plans to hire 500–1,000 Indian workers this month and continue expanding iPhone manufacturing.

• 📈 Wall Street Rockets on Job Surge: A surprise jump in U.S. jobs sent the Dow soaring 344 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs. Strong employment data cooled expectations for Fed rate cuts, even as global investors digested Trump’s tariff drama and tax reforms.

• 🍔 BNP Paribas Bites into Swiggy: In a ₹122 Cr block deal, BNP Paribas scooped up over 3.2 lakh Swiggy shares offloaded by Citigroup at ₹381 apiece. This comes as Swiggy trims non-core bets and experiments with a lifestyle app for premium users. Market optimism remains despite lagging its rival Eternal.

• 💻 IT Still Reigns as Top-Paying Sector: Tech roles continue to pay the highest across all experience levels, with salaries reaching up to ₹85,500/month in product management. Cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, and Ahmedabad are emerging as new pay hubs, challenging traditional metros.

💹 Market Masala

• 📉 Markets Reverse Gains on Trade Worries and FII Selloff: The Sensex slipped 170 points to 83,239 and the Nifty closed at 25,405, shedding 48 points after an intraday high. Three culprits dragged it down: (1) a weak rupee (down 8 paise to 85.70/USD), (2) heavy FII outflows (₹1,561 Cr offloaded), and (3) uncertainty around the India–US trade pact. Talks are stuck over tariff exemptions and farm imports, making investors nervous with the July 9 deadline looming.

• 🇺🇸 India Could Gain from Trump Tariffs: Moody’s says India may benefit from Trump’s tariff hikes hitting other APAC exporters like Vietnam and Cambodia. With lower tariff exposure, an FTA with the UK, and trade talks with the US and EU, India could attract more supply chain investment—if the uncertainty clears.

• 📡 Viasat Joins India’s Satcom Race with BSNL: As Starlink gears up for its India debut, U.S.-based Viasat is already teaming up with BSNL to roll out satellite messaging services. Starting with two-way comms and moving toward full internet, the service will target aviation, defence, and remote consumers.

• 🏦 Anil Ambani’s Firms Say 'No Impact' from RCom Fraud Tag: Reliance Infra and Reliance Power insist SBI's fraud classification of RCom won’t affect their business, finances, or stakeholders. RCom, now under insolvency, faces accusations of diverting loans pre-2019.

• 🌽 India May Open Doors to GM Animal Feed: To strike a trade deal before July 9 tariff hikes, India is considering allowing imports of GM soy meal and corn byproducts from the U.S.—used in animal feed but not permitted for direct consumption or farming.

• 💊 Torrent Pharma Ups Stake in JB Chemicals: Torrent is set to acquire another 2.41% of JB Chemicals for ₹620 Cr, following its massive ₹11,917 Cr majority buyout. The deal boosts Torrent’s reach in chronic therapies, ophthalmology, and global CDMO markets.

• ⚖️ Bizongo Faces ₹69 Cr Complaint from TradeCred: Invoice platform TradeCred has accused Bizongo of fund misappropriation and cheating. The complaint includes top investors like Accel and B Capital. Bizongo denies wrongdoing, claiming it followed the repayment plan.

🌍 Global Masala

• 🌍 Global Markets Ride U.S. Wave: European and Asian stocks followed Wall Street’s rally, buoyed by the robust U.S. jobs report. The Euro and British Pound dipped as the dollar surged, while investors braced for more trade curveballs from Washington.

• 🧠 Nvidia Nears $4 Trillion Club: Nvidia stock soared 1.3% to hit a record $3.89 trillion valuation, inching closer to Apple’s all-time high of $3.915T. With strong earnings and bullish AI tailwinds, analysts like Wedbush expect it to cross $4T this summer—and maybe $5T by next year. Skeptics warn of an AI bubble, but investors are still pouring in.

☕ The Big Brew: Delhi Hits Pause on Fuel Ban

The Delhi government has U-turned on its plan to ban fuel sales to older vehicles. Here’s what went down:

• 🚫 Original Plan: Ban petrol cars over 15 years and diesel over 10 years by blocking fuel access.

• 📣 The Backlash: Public outrage, especially from daily drivers and auto unions, made headlines.

• 🛑 The Reversal: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot clarified that only visibly polluting vehicles will face action.

• 👀 New Enforcement: Petrol pumps are asked to report only those vehicles emitting visible black smoke—not all old cars.

• 🔍 Why It Matters: The earlier EOL order impacted lakhs of Delhiites and raised concerns over arbitrary enforcement and inconvenience.

• 📆 Still in Place: Delhi’s broader policy to deregister and scrap old vehicles remains intact.

What does this mean?

You won’t be stopped from refuelling just because your car is old. But if your ride’s belching smoke like a chimney, expect trouble. It’s a partial win for drivers, but Delhi’s pollution fight is far from over.

🧠 Startup Scoop

• 🧪 Luma Fertility Raises $4M: Backed by Peak XV’s Surge, the fertility-tech startup plans to expand from Mumbai to five more cities. With AI-enabled clinics and over 500 consultations already done, Luma wants to modernise India's fragmented fertility space.

• 📊 GobbleCube Scoops $3.5M: The AI-driven brand analytics startup—founded by Blinkit alumni—raised fresh funds from InfoEdge Ventures and Kae Capital. It already boasts 200 clients including Tata Consumer and Nivea, and aims to fuel hyperlocal commerce with predictive insights.

• 🅿️ ParkMate is Now Blyp: The smart parking startup has rebranded as Blyp to go full-stack on urban mobility. It’s now targeting everything from EV infra to real-time traffic and predictive analytics for cities and commuters.

• 🗣️ ElevenLabs Eyes IPO in 5 Years: AI voice startup ElevenLabs is going global with plans to scale in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Backed by Sequoia and Salesforce, the London-based firm wants to be IPO-ready by 2030 and is exploring where to list based on user geography.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• ⏳ India–US Trade Talks: July 9 is the deadline for wrapping up negotiations to avoid tariff hikes. Will GM animal feed and dairy access be the final pieces of the puzzle?

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know 🧐☕ that India is the world’s largest producer of milk—churning out more than 200 million tonnes every year? 🐄🇮🇳 That’s enough to fill over 80,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools! 🏊‍♂️🥛 No wonder we take our chai doodh seriously 😄

🫖 That’s a Wrap!

If the markets gave you whiplash this week, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Between U-turns on fuel bans, billion-dollar trade talks, and AI stocks moonwalking past $4 trillion, it’s been a week of plot twists. Catch your breath, sip some chai, and we’ll see you with more freshly brewed headlines!

Until then, stay grounded—and maybe get that old diesel car checked 😉