Govindraj Ethiraj

Rising Forest Fires Could Hinder India’s Green Cover Ambitions More than a quarter of India’s forest cover is fire-prone, and climate change is increasing the likelihood of fires in some regions

Last year, a 75-year-old woman was caught in a blaze while tending to her fields in a Himachal village. The district as a whole reported 239 outbreaks of fire in 2024.
A study of forest fires rising from 8,430 fires in 2005 to 104,500 in 2021.
www.indiaspend.com/climate-chan...

Good idea to increase incentives so people actually help rather than gawk and film tragedies on smartphones..
Should be a CSR effort too and expand to all injured, by accident or otherwise..

Episode 476 of The Core Report with financial journalist @govindraj.bsky.social is out. Here are the top stories and themes of the day.

Listen to the full episode for the latest developments and insights: ▶️https://lnkfi.re/tcr

Poverty alleviation in India is transient. Between 2011-12 and 2022-24, according to one study, while 18.1% of households moved out of poverty, 5.3% fell back into it.
www.indiaspend.com/poverty/snak...

YouTube video by The Core Why Short-Term Thinking Is Killing India’s Business Potential | Rajendra Srivastava | The Core

How does Maruti continue to control over 40% of India’s automotive sector?

The answer lies in the groundwork it laid 30–40 years ago, Rajendra Srivastava, former Dean of the Indian School of Business, tells @govindraj.bsky.social as they discuss the dangers of short-term thinking in business.

ICYMI: What explains Ashwin's abrupt exit from Indian cricket? Prem Panicker writes in this edition of The Playbook. theplaybook.thecore.in/p/a-cricket-...

"No player—certainly not one with Ashwin's proven abilities—deserves to live from match to match, uncertain whether he will even get to play."

Critical Data Remain Elusive, As 2024 Comes To A Close 16 critical datasets are delayed, nine ministries are yet to release their annual reports and the Census is now three years overdue, affecting policy-making and weakening transparency

As 2024 ends, 16 critical Indian datasets are delayed, 9 ministries yet to release annual reports & Census is now 3 years behind, including 2021 Covid year.
www.indiaspend.com/data-gaps/cr...

India’s former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who liberalised the economy and then led the country through a period of strong economic growth, has died aged 92. Read our full obituary: www.ft.com/content/0eeb...

Locked Out of WhatsApp? Here's What to Do If Your Account Is Hacked | BOOM A Mumbai-based couple fell victim to a WhatsApp hack after receiving a deceptive message from a colleague. Here’s how it unfolded.

A Mumbai-based couple became victims of a WhatsApp account hack after a deceptive message. #Cybersecurity experts advise enabling two-factor authentication and contacting #WhatsApp support immediately if an account is hacked.
www.boomlive.in/decode/locke...

Masayoshi Son and the Art of the Fake Deal The investment Trump is touting is fake on multiple levels

The war on arithmetic begins paulkrugman.substack.com/p/masayoshi-...

Jharkhand’s Jumbo Trouble Also this week, the impact of climate change on Ladakh’s snow leopards and Uttarakhand’s weather

Jharkhand’s Jumbo Trouble
open.substack.com/pub/indiaspe...

U.S. Court Denies TikTok’s Request to Freeze Sale-or-Ban Law TikTok had sought to temporarily freeze a law that requires its Chinese parent to sell the app or face a U.S. ban in mid-January. The case may now head to the Supreme Court.

new: DC court denies TikTok's request for a temporary freeze of the sale-or-ban law. this surprised several legal experts i've been in touch with. now it'll try its luck with the Supreme Court, as Jan. 19 looms: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/b...

Stray Dogs and Climate Change Threaten Ladakh’s Snow Leopards Ladakh’s conservation efforts for snow leopards have been effective, but stray dogs can undo hard-won gains

"People who once hunted snow leopards to protect their livestock now welcome them into their villages," says WWF's Rishi Sharma.
"The shift has come through ecotourism & conservation programmes that make people see snow leopards as a valuable resource."
www.indiaspend.com/climate-chan...

Why Elephant Conflicts Are On The Rise In Jharkhand With 474 human deaths in five years, as elephants are being forced out of their homes in Jharkhand, humans are paying the price

At the time of electrocution, the Divisional Forest Officer had ordered a probe. “It was an unfortunate incident. A few months later we found that Hindustan Copper had not followed the set guidelines, and that lapses on their part had resulted in the accident."
www.indiaspend.com/development/...

‘I feel dizzy but I can’t stop’: global heating is already making kiln workers’ lives unbearable. And it will only get worse Researchers mapped brick kilns across India and used climate models to forecast the levels of heat stress workers face between now and 2050

"I work with fire. But this has been the hottest ever, even for me,” says Harilal Rajput, squinting in the blazing midday sun. Rajput, 41, works at a brick kiln near the town of Danapur on the outskirts of Patna in eastern India.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Yen Carry Trade That Rattled Markets Shows Signs of a Comeback The yen carry trade — an investment strategy that blew up in spectacular fashion this year — is regaining popularity.

The yen carry trade — an investment strategy that blew up in spectacular fashion this year — is regaining popularity

Why India Must Keep Covid-Era Oxygen Plants Running With demand for medical oxygen subsiding, several oxygen plants in India’s hospitals are in disrepair or not in use. An audit of these plants is vital, experts say

A functional PSA plant is a certain source of oxygen and, for remote hospitals, it is the only source when logistics fail or demand rises to unprecedented levels as we saw during the pandemic.
www.indiaspend.com/health/why-i...

‘India Could See An Epidemic Of Lung Cancer From Air Pollution’ No organ system is spared from the effects of air pollution, and more Indians are getting lung cancer because of it, thoracic surgeon Arvind Kumar tells us in this interview

"No organ system is spared from the effects of air pollution, and more Indians are getting lung cancer because of it": thoracic surgeon Dr Arvind Kumar
www.indiaspend.com/indiaspend-i...

Indians Tighten (Some) Spends Last week, a new Uniqlo store opened in a mall near our office in Mumbai. Over 18,000 square feet in size, it is the third store opened by the...

Decoding the Indian consumer! @govindraj.bsky.social

thecoredaily.thecore.in/p/indians-ti...

How Shanghai’s ambition of being the ‘future of finance’ fell apart The city was meant to be China’s answer to New York. But trade tensions and changing domestic priorities have taken a toll

How Shanghai’s ambition of being the ‘future of finance’ fell apart

https://www.ft.com/content/fee4b7ca-5fee-430c-bccc-f79fd7a697af

Delhi HC Backs 'Right to Be Forgotten,' Allows Online Anonymisation The Delhi High Court has emphasised the need to balance public access to information with an individual's right to privacy, stating that no public interest is served by retaining information online af...

A man acquitted of charges had petitioned #DelhiHighCourt to mask his name in orders. Recognising the right to privacy, which includes the "right to be forgotten", the court allowed him to request platforms and search engines to anonymise the judgment.
www.boomlive.in/web-stories/...

A strong dollar is pushing down currencies across Asia including India making it even more expensive to visit America..bottomline, the best value travel and vacations are in Asia now..

How the year 2016 was a start point for India's digital financial infrastructure journey...
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

Inside India's Child Modeling Scam Machine: It Starts With A Click | BOOM Starry-eyed parents wanting their kids to be the face of big brands are being scammed through a maze of Facebook ads, Telegram groups, scamsters sitting abroad and their money mules in India.

The Facebook page looked perfect - pro photos of children on fashion runways, glowing testimonials from parents. For Vidushi, a mother scrolling through social media, it seemed like this was the breakthrough that her 9-year-old daughter and she were waiting for.
www.boomlive.in/decode/insid...

Inside India's Child Modeling Scam Machine: It Starts With A Click | BOOM Starry-eyed parents wanting their kids to be the face of big brands are being scammed through a maze of Facebook ads, Telegram groups, scamsters sitting abroad and their money mules in India.

🆕🚨Scammers are setting up fake Facebook pages of a Chandigarh kids' modelling agency, luring parents who hope to fulfil the modelling dreams of their kids. Then they target desperate families with Telegram investment scams.

Hera Rizwan reports

#Scams #ScamAlert
www.boomlive.in/decode/insid...

What India Expects From The Developed World’s Climate Plans The global annual climate conference underway in Azerbaijan has seen three countries announce their next climate plans for 2035. While there is no word on India’s plan yet, what are the expectations.....

Heat-related mortality in people older than 65 years increased by a record-breaking 167% compared with the 1990s, the 2024 Lancet Countdown said.
www.indiaspend.com/climate-chan...

Hong Kong sentences 45 democracy activists to up to 10 years in prison Legal scholar Benny Tai receives 10-year penalty in landmark national security trial

Hong Kong sentences 45 democracy activists to up to 10 years in prison

https://www.ft.com/content/aeb83a5c-9e7b-4665-8908-51ea6bea98c9

India’s Lost Battle To Attract Foreign Tourists Inbound tourism in India has yet to breach pre-pandemic levels and it is hurting businesses.

“I was freelance editing for a food news publication at the time so I listed my profession as a journalist. I didn’t think much about it because my speciality was in food and dining,” she recalls. After a series of additional questions, her visa was rejected.
www.thecore.in/business/ind...

How Ladakh Is Battling ‘Hidden Hunger’ Ladakh’s geography and harsh climate means the people are deprived of essential produce for months, leading to micronutrient deficiencies and a high prevalence of anaemia

“We are disappointed as doctors refused to operate on her,” says Norbu, member of a pastoralist tribe. “They are saying she is anaemic. Why is that a problem? All of us are & it cannot be changed overnight. It is difficult & costly to travel 100 km over and over..”
www.indiaspend.com/health/how-l...

Why India's Bail Scheme For Poor Prisoners Isn't Working RTI responses from six states show that only Maharashtra released prisoners under this scheme, announced in 2023 and designed to help undertrial and convicted prisoners pay bail money or fines

India is reported to have 573,220 prisoners, based on latest 2023 data. The majority of them--more than three in four--are undertrials and 30% are educated below grade X.
India has added 11 prisons since 2021 and they were filled to 131% of capacity.
www.indiaspend.com/governance/w...