Top Investors Propel Future Unicorns: Peak XV Partners, Accel, and Tiger Global Lead ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2024

In a remarkable recognition of venture capital excellence, Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA, has been named the leading investor in the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2024. Guided by their purpose, "We believe outlier founders and ideas shape the future of humanity,” Peak XV Partners boasts an impressive portfolio of 47 investments. Their notable successes include Turtlemint, CleverTap, and Classplus.

Securing the second position, Accel has demonstrated its investment prowess with 25 companies on the verge of becoming the next generation of unicorns. Their diverse portfolio features promising names such as Money View, Ninjacart, and Stanza Living.

Tiger Global Management, renowned for its long-term investment strategy, ranks third in the index. With 21 investments in Gazelles and Cheetahs, Tiger Global showcases a wide-ranging portfolio that includes Ather Energy, Captain Fresh, and Classplus.

These top investors are shaping the future of India's entrepreneurial landscape, backing innovative companies poised to achieve unicorn status.

FSSAI approves proposal to mandate showing nutritional information on food labels in bold, increased font size

Along with empowering consumers to make healthier choices, the amendment would also contribute towards efforts to combat the rise of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and promote public health and well-being.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has approved a proposal to display nutritional information of -- total sugar, salt and saturated fat on labels of packaged food items. The move is aimed at empowering consumers to be better informed about the nutritional value of food products. The information must be written in bold letters and a comparatively increased font size, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a release.

The decision to approve the amendment in the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 regarding Nutritional information labelling was taken in the 44th meeting of the Food Authority, held under the chairmanship of Apurva Chandra, Chairperson, FSSAI. The draft notification for the proposed amendment would now be put in the public domain and suggestions and objections will be sought.

Along with empowering consumers to make healthier choices, the amendment would also contribute towards efforts to combat the rise of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and promote public health and well-being.

"The prioritisation of the development of clear and distinguish labelling requirements would help in the global effort to combat NCDs," the ministry release read.

Further, FSSAI has been issuing advisories from time to time to prevent false and misleading claims. These include advisories sent to e-commerce website for removal of the term 'Health Drink' as it is not defined or standardized anywhere under the relevant Act, apart from directive mandating all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to remove any claim of '100% fruit juices' from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices, the use of the term wheat flour/ refined wheat flour, the advertisement and marketing of ORS along with prefix or suffix, nutrient function claim for multi-source edible vegetable oils etc.

These advisories and directives are issued to prevent misleading claims by FBOs.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; States and Union Territories attended the meeting. Representatives from industry associations, consumer organizations, research institutes and farmers' organisations were also present at the meeting.

The world is sitting on a $91 trillion problem. ‘Hard choices’ are coming

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Governments owe an unprecedented $91 trillion, an amount almost equal to the size of the global economy and one that will ultimately exact a heavy toll on their populations.

Debt burdens have grown so large — in part because of the cost of the pandemic — that they now pose a growing threat to living standards even in rich economies, including the United States.

Yet, in a year of elections around the world, politicians are largely ignoring the problem, unwilling to level with voters about the tax increases and spending cuts needed to tackle the deluge of borrowing. In some cases, they’re even making profligate promises that could at the very least jack up inflation again and could even trigger a new financial crisis.

The International Monetary Fund last week reiterated its warning that “chronic fiscal deficits” in the US must be “urgently addressed.” Investors have long shared that disquiet about the long-term trajectory of the US government’s finances.

“(But) continuing deficits and a rising debt burden have (now) made that more of a medium-term concern,” Roger Hallam, global head of rates at Vanguard, one of the world’s largest asset managers, told CNN.

As debt burdens mount around the world, investors are growing anxious. In France, political turmoil has exacerbated concerns about the country’s debt, sending bond yields, or returns demanded by investors, soaring.

The first round of snap elections Sunday suggested that some of the market’s worst fears might not come to pass. But even without the specter of an immediate financial crisis, investors are demanding higher yields to buy the debt of many governments as shortfalls between spending and taxes balloon.

‘Conspiracy of silence’

In the United States, the federal government will spend $892 billion in the current fiscal year on interest payments — more than it has earmarked for defense and approaching the budget for Medicare, health insurance for older people and those with disabilities.

Next year, interest payments will top $1 trillion on national debt of more than $30 trillion, itself a sum roughly equal to the size of the US economy, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Congress’s fiscal watchdog.

The CBO sees US debt reaching 122% of GDP a mere 10 years from now. And in 2054, debt is forecast to hit 166% of GDP, slowing economic growth.

So how much debt is too much? Economists don’t think there is a “predetermined level at which bad things happen in markets,” but most reckon that if debt hits 150% or 180% of gross domestic product, that means “very serious costs for the economy and society more broadly,” said Dynan.

Enter the scary bond market

But the problem with putting off efforts to rein in debt is that it leaves governments vulnerable to far more painful disciplining by financial markets. The United Kingdom offers the most recent example in a major economy. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss triggered a collapse in the pound in 2022 when she tried to force through big tax cuts funded by increased borrowing.

India, UK to hold next round of talks on proposed trade agreement this month

The India-UK talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles

With the new government taking charge in Britain, senior officials of India and the UK will hold the next round of talks this month for the proposed free trade agreement to resolve the pending issues and close the negotiations, an official said.

The India-UK talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles.

The official said the two sides are in touch, and the next round would start this month only.

Britain's newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and said he stood ready to conclude an FTA that worked for both sides.

The two leaders agreed to work towards the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK FTA.

There are pending issues in both the goods and services sectors.

The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty.

On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates and certain confectionary items.

Britain is also looking for more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services (banking and insurance).

The two countries are also negotiating a bilateral investment treaty (BIT).

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 21.34 billion in 2023-24 from 20.36 billion in 2022-23.

The Labour Party's election manifesto for the recent polls also committed to clinching the deal.

The new Starmer-led government's new Foreign Secretary David Lammy is also on the record saying that he wants to finish the job on the FTA and plans to visit India within the first month of being elected.

According to the think tank GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative), the agreement is nearly finalised and with a few minor adjustments like curtailing the number of visas for Indian professionals, the Labour Party is likely to give its approval.

It has suggested that India should focus on two issues – Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) and non-traditional subjects like labour, environment, gender, and intellectual property rights – in the pact.

Historically, India has resisted incorporating these topics into FTAs as they often require domestic policy changes.

The GTRI report has stated that even if the UK agrees to eliminate tariffs on sectors like textiles, Indian exports might still need to meet stringent UK sustainability requirements, and this could adversely affect Indian exports, especially in labour-intensive sectors.

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CoinDCX acquires BitOasis in international expansion push

India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, is expanding internationally through the acquisition of BitOasis, a digital asset platform in the Middle East and North Africa, the companies said Wednesday.

The Bengaluru-based startup said BitOasis’s team is joining CoinDCX, with the original leadership continuing to manage the exchange, which offers trading in more than 60 tokens. BitOasis will also retain its branding, CoinDCX told TechCrunch.

Dubai-based BitOasis had secured over $40 million in funding during its eight-year history. The two firms didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal, but a CoinDCX spokesperson told TechCrunch that BitOasis investors would receive equity in CoinDCX, adding that the deal was profitable for BitOasis backers.

The expansion comes amid a prolonged period of regulatory hostility toward cryptocurrency in India, with the local central bank maintaining pressure on other lenders to avoid conducting business with crypto firms. India remains one of the least friendly jurisdictions for crypto traders, imposing a 30% tax on digital asset gains.

The regulatory environment, coupled with a downturn in the broader market, has forced top crypto companies in India to find other ways to maintain their growth. CoinDCX launched a decentralized exchange in 2022 and has been aggressively working to expand it.

The parent company of CoinSwitch Kuber, India’s other unicorn crypto exchange — and a key rival to CoinDCX — has diversified its offerings to include investments in stocks and mutual funds in the past year.

CoinDCX — which is backed by B Capital, Coinbase, Pantera and Steadview — was valued at $2.1 billion in a funding round in 2022.

Local exchanges benefited from India’s ban on Binance and more than half a dozen other international crypto exchanges this year for not complying with the local anti-money laundering rules. Several of these exchanges, including Binance, are now in touch with the Indian authority and working toward compliance. They are expected to resume their operations in India in the coming weeks.

CoinDCX, which processes trading volumes north of $800 million each quarter, aims to become the “go-to trading platform for crypto worldwide,” CoinDCX co-founder and chief executive Sumit Gupta said in a statement. “Our expansion strategy begins with the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region, capitalizing on its mature market and the population’s keen interest in crypto investment.”

BitOasis said it has processed $6 billion in trading volume since its founding in 2016.

Google’s emissions climb nearly 50% in five years due to AI energy demand

Google’s goal of reducing its climate footprint is in jeopardy as it relies on more and more energy-hungry data centres to power its new artificial intelligence products. The tech giant revealed Tuesday that its greenhouse gas emissions have climbed 48% over the past five years.

Google said electricity consumption by data centres and supply chain emissions were the primary cause of the increase. It also revealed in its annual environmental report that its emissions in 2023 had risen 13% compared with the previous year, hitting 14.3m metric tons.

The tech company, which has invested substantially in AI, said its “extremely ambitious” goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 “won’t be easy”. It said “significant uncertainty” around reaching the target included “the uncertainty around the future environmental impact of AI, which is complex and difficult to predict”.

Google’s emissions have risen by nearly 50% since 2019, the base year for Google’s goal of reaching net zero, which requires the company removing as much CO2 as it emits.

The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres’ total electricity consumption could double from 2022 levels to 1,000TWh (terawatt hours) in 2026, approximately Japan’s level of electricity demand. AI will result in data centres using 4.5% of global energy generation by 2030, according to calculations by research firm SemiAnalysis.

Data centres play a crucial role in training and operating the models that underpin AI models like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s GPT-4, which powers the ChatGPT chatbot. Microsoft admitted this year that energy use related to its data centres was endangering its “moonshot” target of being carbon negative by 2030. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, admitted in May that “the moon has moved” due to the company’s AI strategy.

Microsoft’s co-founder, Bill Gates, said last week that AI would help combat the climate crisis because big tech is “seriously willing” to pay extra to use clean electricity sources in order “to say that they’re using green energy”.

Big tech companies have become major purchasers of renewable energy in a bid to meet their climate goals.

However, pledges to reduce CO2 emissions are now coming up against pledges to invest heavily in AI products that require considerable amounts of energy for training and deployment in data centres, along with carbon emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting the computer servers and chips used in that process. Water usage is another environmental factor in the AI boom, with one study estimating that AI could account for up to 6.6bn cubic metres of water use by 2027 – nearly two-thirds of England’s annual consumption.