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Hello,

History often repeats itself.

Ola has restarted its bike taxi service in Bengaluru. “This time, all-electric and our own S1 scooters!” founder Bhavish Aggarwal said. Customers would be charged Rs 25 for 5 km and Rs 50 for 10 km.

In other news, Zomato has initiated liquidation proceedings for its subsidiary in Slovakia, which, the company said, will not affect its turnover. The move is part of Zomato’s plan to pull back from minor markets to draw focus on India.

Meanwhile, state governments are doing their bit to keep up the business momentum in the absence of venture capital inflow.

While the Odisha government’s Startup Odisha initiative launched a Rs 100 crore startup growth fund—managed by SIDBI—to bolster the MSME sector, the Karnataka government has cleared 91 industrial projects worth Rs 7,659 crore with the potential to generate over 18,000 jobs.

ICYMI: Just four days left to go for YourStory’s TechSparks 2023, the biggest startup carnival of the year. Book your passes now to hear stalwarts from India’s startup ecosystem and network with startup entrepreneurs, investors and innovators.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Meet the IAS officer protecting environment in TN
• Signal W’s new album grooves on simple pleasures
• Mansoor Khan questions civilisation in new novel

Here’s your trivia for today: Which city was considered the ‘southernmost city in the world’ until 2019?

Women in Governance

Meet the IAS officer protecting environment in TN

Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, Government of Tamil Nadu, has been passionate about forests and always wanted to create a new era of conservation. She’s been working to reduce plastic pollution, conserving water bodies, and using AI/ML to prevent man-animal conflict.

Climate action:

• Sahu initiated the Meendum Manjapai campaign last year when the department installed manjapai (yellow bag) vending machines as the traditional alternative to single-use plastic.
• Under her tenure, India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in the Palk Bay area of the Gulf of Mannar, and the Slender Loris Sanctuary in Karur and Dindigul districts, both endangered species, were notified.
• Her team has set up WhatsApp groups within local communities where anti-poaching watchers and forest officials post messages.

Upbeat

Signal W’s new album grooves on simple pleasures

Alternative pop/rock band Signal W’s second album, Wonder How We Got Here, sounds best when you’re grooving to them with a G&T in hand. Its ethereal compositions rely heavily on the juggling act between the electric guitar and the smooth drum work that worships the cymbals.

Dreamlike music:

• Wonder How We Got Here features 10 songs that are an ode to the simple pleasures of life and range from something out of a 2000s rock concert to something you play at a house party.
• Bejewel, which is bursting at the seams of its own composition, makes you feel alive with its high-octane percussions and heavier guitar.
• Vent is futuristic, something that could be played in a space discotheque. It is sharp, edgy and wonderfully mixed and mastered.

Books

Mansoor Khan questions civilisation in new novel

Filmmaker Mansoor Khan has penned a short novel, ONE: The Story of the Ultimate Myth. It is about the perennial debate around civilisation and progress manipulating nature.

Shaping imagination:

• With the tool of a book within a book, Khan builds a deep and complex argument against separating human beings from nature through development and civilisation.
• Khan draws from the lives of tribes who prefer isolation to integration, to explain that living in harmony with nature is the actual way forward.
• Khan’s explanation of money and wealth and their reductionist impact on society is well done.

News & updates

• AI enthusiasm: SoftBank is reportedly on the hunt for deals in AI, including a potential investment in OpenAI, after the blockbuster listing of UK chip designer Arm. SoftBank could also look to strike a broad strategic partnership with the ChatGPT maker.
• Troubled growth: The International Monetary Fund plans to tell China to boost weak domestic consumption, address its troubled real estate sector and rein in local government debt, its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. She also said it was important for China to address consumer confidence in its real estate sector by financing the completion of apartments.
• Privacy issue: TikTok has received a hefty fine of €345 million ($379 million) from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for not adequately safeguarding children’s data on its platform. Referring to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Irish data watchdog has mandated that TikTok rectify its data processing practices within a three-month period to comply with regulations.

Which city was considered the ‘southernmost city in the world’ until 2019?

Answer: Ushuaia, Argentina. Puerto Williams in Chile became the world’s southernmost city after its status was updated from hamlet to city.

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