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Gaza’s Bitter Legacy
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Good Morning. A Trump-Netanyahu ceasefire plan may have brought cheer to Gaza, but it won't quiet the grief. Two years, 67,000 deaths, and a scarred generation later, Gaza is in ruins. Will this peace deal bring closure? Back home in India, IPOs are booming, and the Reserve Bank of India is liberalising bank lending for this. Will that help India’s stalled growth?
Indian indices gained on Thursday, thanks to metal stocks. The BSE Sensex closed at 82,172.10, gaining 398.44 points or 0.49%. The NSE Nifty50 closed at 25,181.8, gaining 135.65 points or 0.54%
In other news, India has signed a defence deal with the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, soon you could make UPI payments on ChatGPT.
Trump And Netanyahu’s Ceasefire Plan Won’t Heal The Scars In Gaza
Two years and two days after the terrorist attack by Hamas fighters from the Gaza Strip that killed around 1,200 Israelis, and the beginning of Israel’s brutal retaliation, that leading genocide scholars and a UN Commission have labelled genocide, a ceasefire plan appears to be taking hold.
The plan, jointly announced by US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeks Hamas’s surrender and return of the remaining hostages who are still alive and the bodies of hostages who have died, in return for ceasefire, partial withdrawal of Israeli Defence Forces from Gaza, and the possibility of Palestinian statehood at the end of a period of reconstruction and consolidation when Gaza would be administered by a steering group headed by Trump, with former British prime minister Tony Blair as a member.
As many as 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, 30% of them children, and thousands of young Palestinians have had their physical and mental development stunted, probably permanently, by prolonged starvation and trauma.
Fallout Of The War
Gaza is now rubble. Palestinian schools and hospitals lie in ruins.
Compulsive seers of the bright side, the likes of those who would pick up a book to read utilising the light provided by their house going up in flames, could see Gaza presenting itself as new terrain for developing planned, organised, energy-efficient settlements that would make one of the most densely populated areas of the planet a little more livable than it was two years ago.
Whether peace holds or not, there is no gainsaying the bitterness that the war has created and the poisoning of relations between Palestinians and Israelis. Antisemitism and Islamophobia are guaranteed to thrive across the globe for many years to come, as a direct fallout of the Gaza war.
Back Home In India
Meanwhile, India continues to witness an IPO boom, the calendar year expected to see public issues totalling some $20 billion. The success of the LG Electronics issue is remarkable, like the Hyundai issue last October.
The Reserve Bank of India also decided to liberalise bank lending to capital market intermediaries, and to raise the ceiling for loans against shares and credit availed of to subscribe to share purchases. Considering that the bulk of initial public offerings these days witness promoters offloading their shares to a public hungry to own shares, the liberalised bank lending will go to boost share prices, rather than form productive capital on the ground.
Will a debt-fuelled stock market boom do much to revive India’s stalled growth?
The answer will not be blowing in the wind, if only for the reason that parts of Northwest India are entering a phase of reduced wind speeds, leading to the accumulation of pollution that brings air quality down to dangerous levels.
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CORE NUMBER
$468 million
That’s the value of the lightweight multirole missiles deal that India signed with the UK during prime minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India. In addition, the UK signed the next phase of a deal for naval ships, too, worth 250 million pounds.
The Scoop: Starmer also said that he wants the UK-India free trade deal to start as soon as “humanly possible.” The trade deal aims to increase bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds by 2040, especially in sectors like advanced manufacturing, clean energy, service and services. The trade pact will remove tariffs on Scotch whisky and cars, and boost Indian exports of textiles, pharmaceuticals, and IT services. It could also give British fintechs and universities easier access to India’s fast-growing consumer base. But, though India wanted more visa liberalisation, the UK didn’t budget on the issue.
Next Steps: Starmer also met with producers at Yash Raj Film Productions and announced that YRF Films will shoot three high-budget films in the UK in the near future.
Indian PM Modi said that there’s a “new energy” in UK-India ties after Starmer’s visit.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
LG Under Scrutiny.
Proxy advisory firm InGovern has raised concerns about LG Electronics $1.3 billion worth India’s IPO, which has become the most bid billion-dollar IPO since 2008, according to Moneycontrol. The company faces possible dues of around Rs 4,700 crore from tax and royalty disputes with its Korean parent.
Flashpoint: InGovern also noted that the parent can increase royalty fees and end the brand licence with six months’ notice.
Impact: Since the IPO is a full offer-for-sale, no new money will go into the company, and the parent will still own 85% after the listing.
AI Meets UPI
India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Razorpay have partnered with OpenAI to pilot AI-powered payments on ChatGPT using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Reuters reported. The service will let users make purchases directly in ChatGPT through UPI’s new “reserve pay” feature, which allows reserving funds for specific merchants.
Flashpoint: Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are partners for the trial, and Bigbasket is the first platform to go live. Razorpay CEO Harshil Mathur said to Reuters that agentic AI transforms assistants “from discovery tools into shopping agents. The pilot aims to explore secure, autonomous transactions via AI.
Experts Say: OpenAI’s Oliver Jay said to Reuters that the collaboration combines cutting-edge AI with one of the world’s most trusted payment systems. Meanwhile, Cashfree has rolled out its own agentic AI payment solution, intensifying competition in India’s fintech landscape.
Saatvik Exits US Market
Saatvik Green Energy, one of India’s largest solar module manufacturers, announced it is exiting the US export market, citing “not worth the risk” amid high tariffs, according to Reuters. The US accounts for nearly 90% of India’s solar module exports, but tariffs of up to 50% and possible anti-dumping duties have made sales unviable.
The Lead: Saatvik CEO Prashant Mathur told Reuters that the firm will focus on strong domestic demand as delayed projects revive. Saatvik plans to expand solar cell capacity from 3.8 GW to 4.8 GW by 2027 and add 4 GW of module capacity by 2026, aligning with India’s 2030 renewable targets.
Flashpoint: But as India’s solar industry races ahead, The Core reported that it’s also facing growing pains — a crowded IPO pipeline, shrinking US exports, and the looming presence of Reliance Industries and Adani Enterprises entering the space.
THE CORE QUIZ
Which price/segment is becoming the new sweet spot for property demand in India? |
When was the Navi Mumbai International Airport first proposed and when will operations actually begin? |
Beginning October 8, which new method could Indians authenticate UPI payments with, beyond PINs or OTPs? |
PODCASTS
Global Markets Continue To Stay Strong
On Episode 699 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Sheetal Sapale, Vice President at Pharmarack as well as Deepak Maheshwari, Senior Policy Advisor at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP).
Global markets continue to stay strong
Falling food prices are putting downward pressure on inflation.
How economic growth in Asia projected to come in stronger
Why clean energy stocks are actually outperforming equities and even gold.
You would never guess which drug has made it No 2 in India’s drug brands.
We have just marked the 140th anniversary of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885
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