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The world’s richest cricket league continues to draw record-breaking viewership across platforms.

Disney Star, the official television broadcaster of IPL 2023, garnered its highest-ever viewership in the history of IPL in the Hindi Speaking Markets or HSM. In a statement, the company said 20.4 crore viewers tuned in for the first 10 matches, an increase of ~30% over the previous year.

Over on the digital side, JioCinema too reached peak viewership earlier this week during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, with 2.2 crore concurrent viewers. JioCinema drew more than 147 crore video views during the opening weekend of the IPL and plans to build on this to take on global OTT giants.

The Mukesh Ambani-owned app is set to add over 100 films and TV series to the platform, reported Bloomberg, which would also mean that JioCinema will start charging for content.

ICYMI: A look at the miniature sculptures by Willard Wigan that fit in the eye of a needle.

There’s even a scaled-down version of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Zepto hires new CFO ahead of IPO
• Spearheading India’s gin revolution 
• Air India reinvents its menu

Here’s your trivia for today: Who was the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?

Quick commerce

Zepto hires new CFO ahead of IPO

Zepto has a new CFO. The company hired Ramesh Bafna, replacing Jitendra Nagpal, who had joined the quick-commerce startup two-and-a-half years ago. “To take Zepto public in 2-3 years, we believe we need an incredible CFO and Ramesh is the right person for the job,” CEO Aadit Palicha said.

Key points:

• Ramesh Bafna joined CoinSwitch in June of last year and led the cryptocurrency firm as CFO for 11 months.
• Prior to that, he was the CFO at Sequoia-backed Zilingo and Flipkart-owned Myntra. He also headed Flipkart’s finance for fashion, home and furniture, and other categories. 
• Jitendra Nagpal plans to establish a venture capital fund to back startups across sectors, and will provide consultancy services to startups.

Wine and food

Spearheading India’s gin revolution 

Gin is in the spotlight in India’s alco-bev space as many customers are now gravitating towards white spirits. Anjali Batra knows the space in and out as she runs Gin Explorers Club and dining and experiences club Food Talk India under her creative agency Anthem.

All about gin:

• Gin Explorers Club celebrates Gin with festivals in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, bringing domestic and international gin brands under one roof.
• “I feel one of the biggest reasons people love to sip on gin is because you don’t have to quit drinking anything else to have gin,” Batra says.
• She also created Food Talk India to offer food and drink recommendations. It enables members to bond over food in person.

Wine and food

Air India reinvents its menu

Air India, India’s national carrier, has been on a journey to reinvent itself and is also redefining the entire inflight dining experience for its passengers. It has curated new menus that feature an assortment of gourmet meals, delectable appetisers, and mouth-watering desserts.

Making of the Maharaja:

• The food that reaches passengers is monitored at every stage for quality control and random checks at Quality Assurance and Laboratory.
• While the dishes are primarily Indian, Air India is making efforts to integrate Asian and continental dishes.
• Vegan international travellers flying first and business classes can choose from a selection of plant-based meal options.

News & updates

• Riding high: USA’s banking heavyweights reaped windfalls from higher interest payments in the first quarter. Earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo beat Wall Street expectations although all three saw signs of a slowdown and made provisions accordingly.
• Hefty fine: A court in Dubai has ordered KPMG Lower Gulf to pay more than $231 million to a group of investors who claim they lost money because of poor-quality audit work on a fund they were invested in. This exceeds KPMG Lower Gulf’s revenues of $210 million in its most recent financial year.
• Green light: SpaceX received approval to launch its next-gen Starship rocket, a key milestone in its quest to send humans to the Moon and eventually, Mars. The Federal Aviation Administration granted the licence to the company on Friday, allowing it to launch the rocket from its facility in Texas. 

Who was the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?

Answer: Alice Walker, who won in 1982 for her novel The Color Purple.

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