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Hello,

It’s feature phones vs smartphones. 

An average Indian feature phone user now finds it hard to buy a brand-new smartphone in a country with around 750 million smartphone users. Instead of switching to a smartphone, buyers are continuing with their existing feature phones. 

Recently, these old-fashioned phones with limited features have seen a growth in shipments. According to Counterpoint, feature phone shipments in India saw 10% annual growth last year, up from -31% in 2022. And, there’s more!

Speaking of smartphones, Xiaomi recorded a 25% decline in smartphone shipment during 2022, including three-quarters of FY23, according to market research firm IDC.

In its FY23 financials, Xiaomi reported that its profit in India nosedived 77% year-on-year and revenue from operations declined by about 32%.

In other news, Lithium-ion batteries may not be the silver bullet for clean energy as one might expect.

A new research has found that toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” used in these batteries present a dangerous source of chemical pollution that threatens the environment and human health.

ICYMI: The Olympic gold medalist who spends $1,000/month on food!

Power training for the shot put!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• What edtech wants from Budget
• Enabling fair prices for MSMEs

Here’s your trivia for today: Who was the first person to climb all of the “Seven Summits”?

In-depth

What edtech wants from Budget

Edtech companies are voicing their wishlist for the upcoming Budget. Their hopes include tax exemptions, enhanced digital infrastructure to bridge the access gap, and more to propel the sector’s growth. These measures, they argue, are crucial to democratise education, enhance learning outcomes, and equip the future workforce with necessary skills.

Wishlist:

• Education sector stakeholders assert that the Budget should recognise the importance of aligning with the New Education Policy’s recommendations, including allocating 6% of total GDP to education.
• Prioritising teacher training and development programmes in the latest pedagogies and technologies is also crucial for delivering high-quality education, believes Prajodh Rajan of Lighthouse Learning.
• upGrad’s Mayank Kumar argues that the government should consider how it approaches ESOPs. He states that revisiting ESOP taxation policies could further incentivise talent retention and growth in the tech industry.

SMB

Enabling fair prices for MSMEs

Bengaluru-based B2B ecommerce marketplace startup Solv has been on a mission over the last five years to solve two key challenges of MSMEs—market access and price. Founded in 2019, Solv has combined the elements of technology and human interaction to create an online platform of trust to ensure business collaboration among genuine members of the MSME community.

Model:

• Solv adopted an inventory-less business model, where it has become a facilitator between the MSME producers and retail buyers. The inventory-less model is a key part of Solv’s strategy for building trust among the MSMEs.
• Under Solv’s model, MSME producers or sellers can be part of the platform on an invite-only basis, whereby they are carefully curated based on various parameters. 
• Solv is present across six categories—grocery, apparel, home furnishing, footwear, and small electronics. It has a presence in over 500 cities in the country with over 400,000 retailers and MSME producers.

News & updates

• Complaints: OpenAI whistleblowers have filed a complaint with the US SEC, calling for an investigation over the AI company’s allegedly restrictive non-disclosure agreements. The AI company allegedly made employees sign agreements that required them to waive their federal rights to whistleblower compensation.
• Spike: Bitcoin price has topped $60,000 per bitcoin, up from lows of $53,000 earlier this month as Trump’s chances of retaking the White House in November spiked on the crypto-based Polymarket prediction platform following an injury during an assassination attempt. 
• Just robots: Roboticists at Yale University have developed a way for soft robots to replicate some of the more unsettling things that animals and insects can accomplish—say, a reptile self-amputating a limb, or ants building bridges by temporarily fusing their bodies.

What you should watch out for

• Indian stock markets will be closed for trading on July 17 on the occasion of Muharram. 
• Earnings: IT majors Infosys and Wipro will announce their Q1 results on July 18 and 19. Heavyweights Reliance Industries, Persistent Systems, and L&T Technology Services will also report their Q1 FY25 results this weeḳ.
• China’s third plenum is scheduled for June 15 to 18. The much-anticipated policy meeting is a major gathering of the top members of the ruling Communist Party of China that typically happens only once every five years. This plenum was widely expected to be held last fall but has been delayed.

Who was the first person to climb all of the “Seven Summits”?

Answer: Richard Bass. 

In 1983, he climbed the first six—Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt Elbrus (Europe), Mt Vinson (Antarctica), and Mt Kosciuszko (Oceania/Australia)—in a single year. He completed the feat by climbing Mt Everest in 1985.

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