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Hello,

One link to order them all.

Foodtech startups Zomato and Swiggy are locked in an intense marketplace battle to garner the largest share. The latest tool in their arsenal: a group ordering feature that lets users share a link for multiple orders.

“No more passing the phone around awkwardly to collect everyone’s order,” Zomato Founder Deepinder Goyal said in a post on X.

Moving on, India’s Rs 10,372-crore AI ambition is taking shape. The government has now asked companies to submit bids to provide AI services on the cloud as part of the IndiaAI mission.

With AI being the buzziest of buzzwords, it is surprising that a majority of S&P 500 companies–around 56%–have not spoken about AI in their recent earnings calls.  

Lastly, what’s the time on the Moon?

The answer doesn’t exist…yet. However, a new study published in The Astronomical Journal has devised a system for reconciling lunar time with Earth time.

According to the researchers, precise timekeeping for the Moon could be a stepping stone for future space exploration.

To infinity and beyond!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Decoding contra dating
• Activist Aruna Roy’s new book
• Social media’s viral ‘dadis’

Here’s your trivia for today: What body of water separates Australia and New Zealand?

Lifestyle

Decoding contra dating

Opposites attract, or do they?

The world of relationships has a new word: contra dating. As the term suggests, it is a trend wherein an individual dates someone outside their usual preferences, eventually stepping out of their comfort zone. 

“It’s a way to broaden your dating horizon, shake up dates that might have become routine, or even meet different people to understand your preferences better,” explains Ruchi Ruuh, a Delhi-based independent counselling psychologist. 

Love theory:

• Contra dating is a great way to break the routine and introduce an element of mystery and excitement back into dating, points out Ruuh. 
• However, it’s important to ensure there is a similarity in values, ethics, and the foundational principles that make or break a relationship. 
• Ruuh advises people to first understand what attracts them usually and why it isn’t working for them. Also, it may not be a good idea to go big too soon. Pushing oneself out of the comfort zone completely can lead to desperation and bad choices. 

Inspiration

Why the personal is political 

In the realm of Indian activism, Aruna Roy stands as a towering figure.  After a career in India’s civil service, which began in 1968, left her disillusioned, she moved to social activism. Today, Roy is one of the country’s most seasoned civil rights advocates and a repository of stories about change.

Key takeaways:

• Her latest work, The Personal Is Political: An Activist Memoir comes as a profound exploration of activism from the inside out, backed by the collective experiences of the women and communities she has worked with.
• In 1974, Roy left the IAS to join the Social Work and Research Centre, a rural-development organisation in Tilonia in Rajasthan (founded by her husband Bunker Roy).
• About two decades later, Roy moved to Devdungri, also in Rajasthan, and set up the Workers and Peasants Strength Union (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan; MKSS), an organisation devoted to empowering workers and peasants and increasing the accountability of local governments.

Inspiration

Dancing ‘dadis’ go viral on social media

Shantai Vruddashram in Belgaum has gained fame across India thanks to its 32 residents who, with their dance moves, are reliving their youth by dancing to popular songs on social media. They are popularly called “viral dadis” on the internet. The word dadi refers to grandmother in Hindi.

Hope:

• Their Instagram channel started last September and currently boasts over 37,000 followers, with many young social media users as well as celebrities supporting the initiative.
• The old age home, started in 1998 by Vijay More and Vijay Patel, offers free shelter, food, and a place to call home to elderly people. Currently, it houses 40 people consisting of 32 women and eight men.
• On the topic of dance reels, More says his daughter Cheryl came up with the idea last year. She encouraged the residents to make a dance reel on a popular song going around at that time.

News & updates

• Fintech: British fintech startup Revolut said it was valued at $45 billion in a secondary share sale with existing and new investors. The $45 billion transaction sharply increases the company’s valuation from the $33 billion notched in July 2021.
• Slowdown: Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com’s quarterly results from Thursday underscored the slowdown in China’s consumer market, with retailers struggling to attract value-conscious customers.
• Chip boost: Texas Instruments said it would receive up to $1.6 billion in funding from the US Commerce Department towards the construction of three new facilities, the latest government outlay aimed at bolstering domestic chip production.

What body of water separates Australia and New Zealand?

Answer: Tasman Sea

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