Good Pass, Microsoft

Good morning! There was much ado about south India cinema stealing Bollywood’s thunder when Hindi films were struggling at the box office. Now Bollywood is returning the favour with web series. Mint reports that longform shows that aren’t soap operas don’t draw big enough audiences south of the Vindhyas because those markets are still films-driven. According to an Ormax Media report, 44 streaming originals were released in the four main south Indian languages in 2022, less than half that of series released in Hindi. The result is the likes of Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Roshan Mathew being cast in “cross-cultural” shows (Farzi, Family Man, Poacher), a dearth of writers who can develop plots, characters, and five-act structures for non-Hindi series, and Mumbai still calling the shots on which titles will be greenlit or not. 

🎧 Why is Netflix suddenly so thirsty for live sports? Also in today’s edition: The allegations of human rights abuse that taint the EV industry’s supply chain network. Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Market Signal*

Stocks & Economy: Gold created a new record as US interest rate cut hopes revived and an oil tanker headed to China was hit by Houthi rebels. Asian stocks were awash in green in morning trade following their counterparts in the US. 

After three union ministers failed to pacify jittery investors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself assured them that the stock market will steam ahead once the election results are out. “The more common people invest in stock markets, the better for the economy. And the risk appetite of every citizen should rise,” Modi said in an interview. 

Uncertainty has gripped the Indian markets as national elections have progressed, and the volatility index hit a new 52-week high. Foreign investors offloaded shares worth Rs 28,242 crore in May due to the uncertainty. The markets are, however, closed today for elections to be held in Mumbai.

INDUSTRY

Boilerplate Analysis

While the National Capital Region swelters in temperatures crossing 46°C in some parts, heavy rains are lashing Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The India Meteorological Department has had a busier-than-usual season this year, issuing amber and red alerts for extreme weather events across the country since April.

To what extent will frequent inclement weather affect industrial output and labour productivity? The answer is unfolding as you read this: some districts in Kerala have enforced mining and travel bans. Steel and auto, already contending with rising input costs and a flailing capital goods sector, are ill-prepared for climate disruptions. That’s bad news for the other industries that rely on them. Food processing and tourism may not be spared either. Today’s story in The Core is about extreme weather playing spoilsport with India’s growth targets and its much-touted labour dividend.

PHARMACEUTICALS

(Re)Call Me By Your Name

We recently wrote about India’s attempts to save face when it comes to pharma exports. Drug regulator CDSCO is aligning certification requirements with WHO standards. That aside, India joined the Pharmacopoeial Discussion Group last year.

An overhaul can’t come fast enough. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) reported that Dr Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, and Sun Pharma are recalling some products in the US due to “manufacturing issues”. These include Dr Reddy’s Javygtor (used to control blood phenylalanine levels), Aurobindo Pharma’s clorazepate dipotassium anti-anxiety tablets, and Sun Pharma’s Amphotericin B (used to treat fungal injections). One lot of Javygtor is subject to a Class I recall. Class I pertains to defective drugs that can cause serious health issues.

Tangent: Nothing to do with medicine, but India’s embarrassing lack of quality control is rife in FMCG too. Patanjali’s soan papdi is the latest to be flagged as substandard.

GAMING

Pass, Present, Future

Lately, Microsoft has been in the news more for its AI ambitions and rollouts than for its biggest acquisition to date, the $75 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard (AB). That changed over the weekend. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the company will release the latest instalment of Call of Duty (CoD) on its Game Pass subscription service. Monthly subscriptions range from ~$10-$17.

What’s the big deal?: CoD is one of the best-selling franchises of all time. It was a major reason why Microsoft paid that acquisition money in the first place, and why rival Sony lambasted the AB acquisition as being anti-competitive.

CoD will be available on Sony’s PlayStation and other consoles/platforms. But the instalment’s (alleged) release on Game Pass is a departure from the a la carte gaming model of paying separately for each title. CoD costs about $70 as a standalone purchase.

FYI

Crashed: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were missing after a helicopter carrying them presumably crashed in a mountainous region in dense fog. Rescue operations were hampered due to bad weather.

We’re done: Mint reports that Mohandas Pai and Rajnish Kumar do not intend to continue as members of BYJU’S advisory panel after their tenure concludes in June.

Shot in the arm: Tata Motors has earmarked Rs 43,000 crore as its investment outlay for FY25, up from Rs 38,000 crore in FY24, The Hindu Business Line reports.

Tragedy: Heavy unseasonal rains and ensuing flash floods in northern Afghanistan have killed 84 people as of Sunday.

Giving it another shot: Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin has resumed space tourism missions nearly two years after it grounded crewed missions due to an in-flight failure.

THE DAILY DIGIT

£651 million

Or $826 million. The combined wealth of UK PM Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy. King Charles is worth £610 million. (The Economic Times)

FWIW

Just Putin it out there: Much of the (Indian) chatter around this year’s Cannes Film Festival may be about Aishwarya Rai’s red carpet looks and Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa, but deepfakes are getting their share of attention too; specifically, those of Vladmir Putin. Polish filmmaker Patryk Vega has used AI to generate the Russian President’s face for embarrassing scenes, such as those of Putin “cowering on a floor with diapers”, and (spoiler alert) him dying in the end. The biopic has already been sold in 50 countries ahead of its September premier. Careful, Mr Vega. We know what sometimes happens to enemies of Putin’s state. 👀