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Hello,

India’s statistics ministry’s first advance estimates show that the country’s GDP is projected to grow 7% in FY23, in line with RBI’s 6.8% forecast earlier. 

This is lower than the 8.7% growth India’s GDP saw in the previous fiscal.

In other news, Reliance Retail-backed Dunzo is likely to raise $70 million to $100 million (up to Rs 825 crore) through convertible notes to scale its quick commerce vertical Dunzo Daily, reported The Economic Times. This is just a month after it raised Rs 50 crore ($6.2 million) via debentures from Blacksoil India.

Meanwhile, layoffs continue as mobility tech startup Bounce has fired about 5% of its staff to cut costs. Then, PTI reported that Amazon is laying off 1,000 employees in India. This is part of its workforce reduction exercise across the globe, where the company is laying off 18,000. 

Oh, and here’s a throwback to 50 films that’ll turn 50 this year.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Copper chimney’s culinary legacy 
• Offbeat international destinations
• CoinSwitch’s Proof of Reserves

Here’s your trivia for today: Which city is known as the Glass Capital of the world?

Food

Copper chimney’s culinary legacy

An immigrant’s dream, Copper Chimney was inaugurated by the late Dilip Kumar in 1972. The restaurant has seen several firsts. For one, it was the first restaurant to have a woman head chef, the first standalone to have a show kitchen for its guests, and to introduce the Iranian Chelo Kabab and Burrah Chops from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region to the city. 

Fifty years on, the restaurant is spreading its wings to explore international markets.

Fine dining:

• The restaurant was founded by JK Kapur who arrived in India from Lahore in 1947 post the partition, with just a few essentials in hand and memories of the flavours he grew up with, especially his mother’s recipes. 
• Several dishes like their Dal Maharaja, Rawalpindi Gosht, and Chicken Bharta are on the restaurant’s limited edition ‘Autograph’ menu.
• Copper Chimney has nine outposts in Mumbai and 15 across India. 

Travel

Offbeat international destinations

From remote islands to deserts and even relatively lesser-known cities and towns, the world has a lot to offer to the adventurous. In 2023, visit offbeat destinations before the arrival of the social media crowd. 

Hidden gems:

• Located between Norway and mainland Scotland, Shetland is an archipelago made up of around 100 different islands. The region also offers a chance to see the Northern Lights, known locally as ‘Mirrie Dancers’, in the winter.
• Steeped in history and Southern hospitality, Charleston in South Carolina, US, is the land of horse-drawn carriages and beautiful waterfront parks.
• Set against the backdrop of the majestic Atlas Mountains, Marrakech, is one of Morocco’s four Imperial Cities. The cultural centre of Morocco, the Red City is crowded, noisy and full of history–and known for Gnaoua trance music, the steamy hammams, and multi-course feasts.

Cryptocurrency

CoinSwitch’s Proof of Reserves

Indian crypto trading platform CoinSwitch has published a proof of reserves (PoR) report that showed the exchange holds total crypto assets worth $131.09 million. 

The Andreesen Horowitz (a16z)- backed firm claimed 85% of its crypto assets (worth $112.99 million) are held on custodial wallets while 15% (worth $18.1 million) are held on exchanges such as CoinDCX, WazirX, Binance, and CoinSwitchX.

Key takeaways:

• The crypto platform also explained it holds more crypto assets than its users, adding the data is from an independent report of its holdings and balances from November 2022.
• CoinSwitch’s proof of reserves report comes a few weeks after it published its annual report, which found that only 8% of the 19 million crypto investors on its platform are women.
• CoinDCX, another leading Indian exchange, published its own PoR in November, while WazirX is said to be working on its own report.

News & updates

• Year of the AI: OpenAI, the developer behind artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT, is in discussions to raise capital at a valuation of almost $30 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter, as venture capitalists rush to profit from the viral technology.
• Electrification: Renault is considering building a mass-market electric vehicle in India, two people with knowledge of the ongoing review told Reuters, as part of a renewed push into a market where EV adoption is expected to grow quickly from a small base.
• A fishy comeback: A giant tuna was auctioned for 36 million yen ($275,000) in the ceremonial first sale of the new year at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, marking the first gain in four years and signalling that consumers are returning to spend in restaurants and bars. 

Which city is known as the Glass Capital of the world?

Answer: Toledo, Ohio.

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