TMS Ep132: Blinkit-Zomato merger, N Chandrasekaran, markets, deepfake

Online food-delivery platform Zomato is set to take over Blinkit -- which had pioneered the 10-minute grocery delivery as Grofers. And it looks like a win-win deal for both. It marks Zomato’s foray into e-grocery space, where its rival Swiggy is already there. And the pact will also give a leg up to Blinkit which is struggling to raise funds and has shuttered over 50 warehouses recently and laid off hundreds of employees. 

Meanwhile, there is another acquisition which is in the news for a while now. The takeover of Air India by Tata group. The airline is now in the midst of an overhaul. Last week, Natarajan Chandrasekaran was appointed its chairman, about a fortnight after former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci declined to be CEO over a row on his political links. Even if the appointment of Chandrasekaran -- who is already heading the mighty Tata Sons -- is a stopgap arrangement, it will give the airline a leg up ahead of resumption of international flights later this week. So, how his on-boarding and that of some other independent directors will help the airline?

After the skies, let us see what is happening on Dalal Street. Markets staged a strong rebound last week, buoyed by a rally in global equities and a dip in commodity prices. The week also saw the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates after a gap of four years. This week, investors will watch out global macros as the UK is slated to release their retail inflation data on March 23. US President Biden is also expected to meet European leaders at the NATO conference on March 24 to discuss ways of punishing Russia. 

Not just the markets, but the dissemination of correct information has also suffered in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Both sides have been using manipulated media to further their interests. Recently, deep-fake videos of presidents of both sides hit social media. In one video, Russian President Vladimir Putin was purportedly seen declaring peace. While in the older one, the Ukrainian president was talking of surrendering to Russia. But this is not something new. Let’s understand what deepfake is and more in this episode of the podcast.

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