🌞 Good Morning, Chai Fam!

It’s Tuesday, and the news cycle is hotter than your local cutting chai 🔥. From Musk dragging Big Tech into court to OYO dusting off its IPO plans, today’s headlines are brewed strong and spiced just right. Let’s sip.

📰 Chai Shots

• 📡 Vodafone Idea Gets No AGR Lifeline: The government ruled out fresh concessions for Vodafone Idea, which still owes around ₹75,000 crore in AGR dues. Having already converted ₹36,950 crore of dues into equity, making it the largest shareholder, the Centre insists repayments must begin in 2026. 

• 🏦 Bank of Maharashtra’s ₹2,000 Cr Fundraise: To comply with SEBI’s public float rules and cut the government’s 79.6% stake, the bank will raise about ₹2,000 crore this year. The funds will also boost its capital reserves as it targets 15% business growth in FY26.

• ⚖️ Musk vs Apple + OpenAI Goes to Court: Elon Musk’s xAI and X have sued Apple and OpenAI, alleging an illegal monopoly that locks rivals like Grok out of the App Store and ties iPhones exclusively to ChatGPT. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 🏏 BCCI Scrambles for Jersey Sponsor: After Dream11’s exit due to the RMG ban, Team India may play the Asia Cup without a jersey sponsor. The BCCI has begun the replacement process, though it’s unlikely to finalize before the tournament.

📈 Market Masala

• 📊 Sensex & Nifty Close Higher: Indian indices ended Monday in the green—Sensex up 329 points at 81,636 and Nifty up 98 points at 24,968—led by IT majors Infosys, TCS, and HCL Tech, each up ~3%. Gains followed Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hint at a September U.S. rate cut, though looming U.S. tariff hikes on Indian imports could cloud the outlook.

• 🛒 Govt to Tap Amazon & Flipkart Data for CPI: India will begin sourcing price data directly from e-commerce platforms to modernize its inflation index. The new CPI, expected next year, will also include streaming services and airfares, plus a new quarterly services index for better GDP tracking.

• 🛫 India Targets 350 Airports by 2047: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said the country will expand from 162 to 350 airports by 2047, with smaller cities driving growth. Projects include new airports in Odisha, seaplane services in coastal states, and heliports in hilly regions.

🌍 Global Masala

• 📉 Wall Street Slips Despite Nvidia Hype: U.S. stocks closed lower Monday—the Nasdaq down 0.22%, S&P 500 off 0.43%, and Dow down 349 points—even though Nvidia gained 1% ahead of earnings. Intel dipped after news of the U.S. government’s 10% stake, part of Trump’s sovereign wealth fund push.

• 💻 Intel Flags Risks in Trump Stake Deal: Intel warned investors that the U.S. government’s 10% ownership could alienate foreign clients, who account for 76% of its revenue. While Trump hailed it as a “great deal for America,” Intel says the stake dilutes shareholders and ties it to volatile trade policies.

• 💄 Louis Vuitton’s $160 Lipstick Strategy: Louis Vuitton launched its first beauty line with Pat McGrath, featuring $160 lipsticks and $250 eyeshadow palettes. Analysts say it’s a prestige play to reinforce luxury positioning, not a volume game, even as rivals like Hermès and Chanel charge far less.

☕ The Big Brew ⚖️ Musk vs Apple + OpenAI: The Antitrust Masala

Elon Musk has turned up the legal heat, with his companies xAI and X filing a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI. The case accuses the two giants of secretly locking up AI markets to shut out rivals like Musk’s Grok chatbot.

• 📱 Exclusive Tie-Up: Apple’s decision to bake ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs is at the heart of the case. Musk argues this “exclusive club” gives OpenAI billions of user prompts while burying Grok in App Store rankings.

• 💰 Billions on the Line: The lawsuit, filed in Texas, seeks billions in damages and accuses Apple of manipulating app approvals to stall Grok updates. Musk even posted that Grok has “a million reviews at 4.9 stars” yet doesn’t appear in Apple’s top lists.

• 🚗 Beyond Phones: Musk has embedded Grok into Tesla cars and tied it to his $33B acquisition of X to supercharge training. He claims Apple’s gatekeeping makes it “impossible for anyone else to hit #1 in the App Store.”

• 🔥 Feud Reloaded: This isn’t just business—it’s personal. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, left in 2018, and has since sued to block its for-profit shift. He even tried (unsuccessfully) to buy OpenAI outright for $97B.

What does this mean?
This case could be the first to test how courts define “AI markets” in antitrust law. If Musk wins, Big Tech may face new limits on exclusive AI partnerships. For India—where Apple is ramping up iPhone sales and OpenAI just opened its Delhi office—the ripple effect could decide how fairly AI apps compete for your downloads.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🍣 Harajuku Tokyo Café Nets ₹19 Cr: The Japanese-themed dining chain raised ₹19 crore led by Indian Angel Network. From 7 outlets today, it plans 90 stores in 20 cities by 2027, targeting ₹200 crore in revenue.

• 📱 Paytm Shuts Gaming Arm, Invests ₹455 Cr Elsewhere: Paytm pumped ₹300 crore into its wealth-tech arm Paytm Money and ₹155 crore into PSPL, while officially closing its gaming venture First Games. Outgoing PSPL CEO Varun Sridhar will now launch a new wealth-tech startup.

• 🌱 Wastelink Raises ₹27 Cr for Food Upcycling: Bengaluru-based Wastelink, which converts surplus food into animal feed, raised ₹27 crore from Avaana Capital. Its AI-led platform has already upcycled 35,000 tons, supporting 38,500 animals and boosting milk yields by up to 15%.

• 💍 Palmonas Secures ₹55 Cr from Vertex Ventures: Demi-fine jewellery brand Palmonas, co-founded by Shraddha Kapoor, plans 100 new stores in the next year and a global push, after already delivering 6.5 lakh orders since 2022.

🤓 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know 🚀 The International Space Station is the most expensive object ever built, costing over $150 billion? It orbits Earth about 16 times a day, giving astronauts a sunrise every 90 minutes.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next

• 🏨 OYO IPO Filing in November: OYO will file draft papers in November, targeting a $7–8B valuation.

That’s your Tuesday pour! From airports doubling to lipsticks priced like gold, the world’s serving us full drama with a side of chai. Stay sharp, stay caffeinated, and let’s see what tomorrow brews.

Catch you soon,
Masala Chai ✨