India’s GDP Glow-Up 🌟

Good morning, Masala Crew!

It’s Saturday, and if your weekend plans involve shade, chill, and chai—you're doing it right. We’ve brewed up India’s GDP glow-up, global chip rallies, repo drama, and some serious startup moves. It's hot, it’s heady, and it's all real.

Pour a cup, let's stir things up 👇

☕ Chai Shots

• 📊 India’s Q4 GDP Surprises at 7.4%: India’s economy clocked 7.4% growth in Jan-Mar 2025, outpacing analyst predictions. Full-year FY25 GDP landed at 6.5%, the slowest since the pandemic years but still solid. Construction and government services led the charge. More in The Big Brew ☕️

• 🥗 Peas on the House: The Centre extended its zero-duty policy on yellow pea imports till March 2026. With pulse inflation on the radar and over 2.9 million tonnes imported last year, the move aims to keep dal prices grounded.

• ✈️ IndiGo-Turkish Lease Nears Endgame: India’s aviation regulator has given IndiGo a final three-month window to wind down its wet-lease deal with Turkish Airlines. Mounting political tensions and backlash over Ankara’s proximity to Islamabad have pushed regulators to block any further extensions.

• 💄 Nykaa Doubles Down on 60-Min Delivery in More Cities: Betting big on the rapid delivery boom, Nykaa is set to scale its 60-minute beauty service, Nykaa Now, to more metro cities. Anchit Nayar, CEO of Nykaa’s beauty biz, says the secret sauce is their vast product range, unmatched in the fast delivery space.

• 🧑‍⚖️ Google’s Search Monopoly Trial Heads to Final Verdict: A US federal judge will soon decide whether Google’s dominant search empire needs to be broken up after the U.S. government won its antitrust case against the tech giant. The Justice Department wants Google to sell off its Chrome browser, stop paying for default search status on phones, and share search data with rivals.

📉 Market Masala

• 📉 Weekend Wobble: The Sensex dipped 182 points, closing at 75,410, while Nifty wrapped up at 24,750. Tech stocks were the weak link—HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra both slid 2%.

• 📊 Nifty Trades Tight: The Nifty moved within a narrow 150-point band, closing at 24,750. Broader markets saw profit booking, with the Smallcap index snapping a five-day winning streak.

• 🌏 Macro Watch: Traders stayed cautious amid revived US-China trade tensions and ahead of key data—US PCE inflation, China PMI over the weekend, and RBI policy next Friday. FII flows remained positive, buoyed by hopes of a rate cut and strong GDP prints.

• 🕵️‍♂️ Patanjali Faces Corporate Affairs Probe: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has kicked off an investigation into Patanjali Ayurved over suspected financial and governance lapses. Acting on alerts from other government bodies, the MCA is invoking Section 210 of the Companies Act to determine if deeper irregularities exist. This adds to Patanjali’s growing regulatory heat—its listed arm, Patanjali Foods, is already dealing with a ₹27.5 crore GST claim, and the Supreme Court previously pulled it up over misleading ads.

• 🏛️ States Get ₹81,735 Cr from Centre: The Centre has approved an extra ₹81,735 crore for states as tax devolution, landing on June 2. That’s ₹11,860 crore more than last year, meant to boost spending on infrastructure, welfare, and the ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ goal.

🌍 Global Masala

• 📈 Wall Street Wraps Record May Despite Trade Jitters: U.S. stocks finished strong for the month, with the S&P 500 notching its best May since 1990—rising over 6%—thanks to tech momentum and bets on easing tariffs. The Nasdaq jumped nearly 10% and the Dow added 4%. But daily gains were muted Friday as investors weighed fresh China tensions and mixed inflation signals.

• 🛍️ U.S. Spending Cools, Inflation Stays Tepid: American consumers eased up on their wallets in April, with spending rising just 0.2%—a slowdown from March’s 0.7% surge, which had been driven by stockpiling ahead of Trump’s tariff hikes. Inflation nudged up moderately, with core PCE inflation at 2.5% YoY.

• 💻 Microsoft’s Russia Unit Heads for Bankruptcy: Microsoft’s Russian subsidiary has announced plans to file for bankruptcy, per an official registry post. After scaling back operations in 2022 due to the Ukraine conflict, the tech giant now faces rising pressure as Russia pushes foreign tech firms out to favor local alternatives.

☕ The Big Brew: India’s Growth Brews Strong at 6.5%

• 📊 India’s economy grew 6.5% in FY25, keeping its title as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Q4 alone clocked a sharp 7.4% jump.

• 💸 Consumption took the lead, growing 7.2%—powered by rising rural demand and a strong agri season.

• 🏗️ Government and private investments cooled, as capex peaked and fiscal discipline kicked in.

• 🌾 Agriculture surprised with 4.6% growth, while manufacturing slowed sharply to 4.5% (vs 12.3% last year).

• 💼 Services growth dipped to 7.2% but stayed resilient, especially in trade, transport, and real estate.

• 📉 The GDP-GVA gap widened due to lower subsidy payouts, making GDP appear stronger than core activity.

• 🔮 RBI expects 6.5% growth again in FY26, aided by monsoon, potential rate cuts, and tax breaks.

👉 Bottom line: India’s growth engine is steady—but to hit top gear again, private investments must rev up.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 💰 Plane Lands in the U.S.: Open-source project management startup Plane has acquired U.S.-based Sort to beef up its AI-native enterprise offerings. With a global user base and deep tech chops, Plane is plotting a big leap into North America.

• 💼 PayU’s IPO Prep Gets Serious: Payment giant PayU added three new heavyweights to its board—including RBI’s ex-deputy governor Subhash Mundra—as it gears up for an India IPO. Prosus is fueling the push with a ₹1,000+ crore capital infusion.

• 🧴 Good Glamm Eyes Organic Harvest Exit as Lenders Tighten Grip: With its financial fuel running low, Good Glamm Group is exploring a possible sale of Organic Harvest back to its original founders. Lenders, wary of ballooning losses and overdue payments, have tapped ex-KPMG India COO Arjun Vaidyanathan to take the financial reins—monitoring cash flows, greenlighting payments, and enforcing stricter control on disbursements.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

🎾 Did you know the longest tennis match in history lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes?
It was played over three days at Wimbledon 2010 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Isner finally won the fifth set 70–68! Hope they packed snacks. 🍌🍫

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• 📆 RBI’s next interest rate decision could jolt markets—watch the commentary closely.

That’s your Saturday scoop, Masala Crew! 🎙️
Go recharge, sip some actual chai, and we’ll be back Monday with more frothy headlines. Till then, may your stocks stay green and your snacks stay crunchy.

☕