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Apple’s big bets on India continue. 

After the successful launch of the made-in-India iPhone 15 series, the company plans to scale up production in the country by over five-fold to around $40 billion (about Rs 3.32 lakh crore) in the next 4-5 years. Apple crossed the $7 billion production mark in the last financial year.

The Cupertino-based tech giant also has plans to start manufacturing its wireless Bluetooth earbuds Airpods in India next year while there are no immediate plans for its iPads or its laptops, a government official aware of the development said.

In other news, Tata Digital has appointed Mukul Saxena as its chief business officer. Prior to this, Saxena was the CEO of MobiKwik’s Financial Services and ZaakPay business.

Meanwhile, as wildfires become more frequent and deadly, here’s how California is leveraging AI to snuff them out before they explode. 

ICYMI: The cities seeing the highest decline in home prices as the pandemic boom slows.

Lastly, check out all that happened at the 14th edition of YourStory’s TechSparks here.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• PW marks 100% growth in online business
• Sameer Nigam on walking a tighter rope

Here’s your trivia for today: When was the first submarine built? 

Edtech

PW marks 100% growth in online business

PhysicsWallah (PW) has witnessed 100% growth in its online business in FY23 even as students move to offline channels, said Founder and CEO Alakh Pandey, in a fireside chat at TechSparks 2023.

He added that students now favour a hybrid approach, engaging in both online and offline methods for learning. 

Affordability first:

• PW’s venture into offline learning hurt its Net Promoter Score (NPS), according to Pandey, who mentioned that the company reduced its pace of offline expansion in FY23 to improve its NPS.
• While PW is monitoring other edtech companies, it’s also closely observing their strategies and initiatives. As a result, the company is engaging in AI-related advancements and developments.
• According to Pandey, if PW ever needs to train an AI model, it won’t require external assistance as it can utilise its abundant data for training purposes. Its app attracts two million students daily, spending an average of 20 minutes on the platform.

Technology

Sameer Nigam on walking a tighter rope

Challenging the duopoly of global giants Google and Apple in the mobile app marketplace, Walmart-backed PhonePe on Saturday launched its homegrown app store—IndusOS—to developers to offer localised services for Indian users.  

“Forty-one apps have signed up with the IndusOS app store, including the likes of Facebook, Mamaearth, Dream11, Sharechat, and CoinDCX among others. Conversations are on with OEMs/phone makers,” said Sameer Nigam, Co-founder and CEO, PhonePe, at TechSparks 2023. 

Building for India:

• PhonePe is looking to amplify its “Made in India” pitch with an app store that would have the advantage of localisation and discoverability of apps catering to the needs and likes of domestic users. 
• The developer platform will be free for the first year, and will not charge developers any platform fee or commissions for in-app payments. Further, the developers will be allowed to use any payment gateway of their choice. 
• “The annual fee for developers on the Indus OS app store will not be exploitative. We will have to walk a tighter rope and convince the consumer that this is an app store everyone must have,” Nigam said. 

News & updates

• On hold: India will defer an import licence requirement for laptops and tablets, two government officials said, a policy U-turn after industry and the US government complained about the move, which could hit Apple, Samsung, and others. The plan will be delayed by a year, after which the government will consider whether to implement a licensing regime or not.
• Asian Games: The once-in-four-year event, to be held in the city of Hangzhou, near Shanghai, is the first time that competitive video games will be eligible for medals. Tencent has a hand in making or publishing four of the seven multiplayer titles that will be contested as esports.
• World record: Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, lopping off more than two minutes from the previous best to clock an official time of two hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds.

What you should watch out for

• This week marks the September month Futures and Options (F&O) expiry, which is expected to bring about volatility in the market. In the upcoming listings, Yatra Online’s shares are set to be listed on both the BSE and NSE on September 29.
• Comedian, actor, and the former The Daily Show host Trevor Noah brings his Off The Record Tour to India for the first time. After concluding his shows in Delhi, Noah is set to come to Bengaluru (September 27-28) and Mumbai (September 30 – October 1). Here’s all you need to know. 
• Tamil Nadu Directorate for Welfare of the Differently Abled will be conducting a comprehensive survey of the differently-abled people in the state from September 25 to create their database. The first phase will be conducted in Chennai, Tiruchi, Dharmapuri, Tenkasi, and Cuddalore districts and will conclude in October. 
• Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd, the demerged entity of Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd, will get listed on the stock exchanges on September 26. The demerger of the wealth management business was completed following the approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on April 27. The scheme of arrangement came into effect on May 18, 2023.

When was the first submarine built? 

Answer: In 1620 by a Dutch engineer called Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel. 

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