DailyBrief: "Take from the rich and give to the poor": Rahul Gandhi wants to redistribute India's wealth; And, boAt's massive data breach

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Market Watch

• Indian benchmark indices scaled new highs today with the Sensex up 494.28 points at 74,742.50, and the Nifty 50 up 152.60 at 22,666.30.
• Sectorally, Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty were the biggest gainers, while Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank were the biggest laggards.

"Take from rich, give to poor": Rahul Gandhi vows wealth redistribution survey if voted to power

Rahul Gandhi announced that the Congress party would undertake a financial and institutional survey to redistribute wealth fairly across various communities in India, ensuring representation in government jobs and big companies.

The details: “First, we will conduct a caste census...to know the exact population and status of backward castes, SCs, STs, minorities and other castes. After that, the financial and institutional survey will begin. Subsequently, we will take up the historic assignment to distribute the wealth of India, jobs and other welfare schemes to these sections based on their population,” he said at a public meeting in Tukkuguda.

The intrigue: This 2018 IMF paper discussed just this plan, while highlighting some welfare schemes in India too. However, the IMF paper was not aimed solely at India.

Reactions: This idea has not gone down well, with many sections on social media condemning the plan while questioning why he doesn't begin with redistributing his own family wealth.

Why this matters: Rahul Gandhi’s promises are symbolic of a larger issue, where opposition parties seem to have hollow manifestos with promises that are essentially recycled, or fail to mention any aspect of wealth creation, development or moving forward.

• Take the CPI(M)’s manifesto for instance. While it has positive points like legal recognition for same-sex couples, a majority of their promises are about undoing things they feel the BJP has done.

• The highlight of the Congress’ 5-Nyay manifesto proposals were freebies and more reservations. Credit where credit is due though - the employment guarantees for youth, and the apprenticeship program are things the BJP can learn from.

• BJP's Madhvi Latha also made a valid point about Owaisi talking about beef eating in the AIMIM manifesto:

The bottom line: While most of the country is looking to move forward, if opposition parties continue to pitch backwards-facing agendas, they are handing the elections to the BJP on a silver platter. Prashant Kishor sums it up nicely:

Pic du jour

This epic image of trans woman Hemangi Sakhi, who seeks to take on PM Modi in his own constituency of Varanasi:

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Over 7.5 million boAt users personal information leaked in a major data breach

A hacker has put up the personal information of over 7.5 million boAt customers for sale on the dark web.?The data leak includes names, addresses, contact numbers, email IDs, and customer IDs of boAt customers.

• A hacker using the pseudonym ShopifyGUY claimed responsibility for the breach and reportedly leaked around 2GB of data. The data is being sold at a remarkably low price of just €2.

Why this matters: The consequences of the breach are severe, with risks of financial fraud, phishing scams, and identity theft for affected users, and potential legal and reputational damages for boAt.

• Forbes reports that boAt has yet to acknowledge the breach or inform its users. As far as the authenticity goes, Forbes contacted some users on the list and confirmed that they had indeed recently purchased boAt products.
• Since the data is being sold for a low price, it could wind up being shared for free on Telegram or other channels too, increasing the risk to exposed customers.

ICYMI

• The Average compensation of CEOs in India has risen by 40% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.
• The Supreme Court reinstated the bail of YouTuber A Duraimurugan Sattai, stressing the importance of freedom of expression, especially before elections.
• D-street continues to scale new highs, but experts say that these are based on solid fundamentals.
• Elon Musk has taken on the Brazilian Supreme Court, over the latter’s requests to take down content on the platform.
• Apple wants to build houses for its workers at India’s iPhone plants.
• Thailand is batting for a Schengen-type visa system - aimed at attracting high-spending long-haul tourists.