TMS Ep473: Google vs CCI, wearables export, FII buying, Chandrayaan-3

The rivalry between two US giants, Google and Amazon, is finding echoes in Indian courts now. On July 14th, the Supreme Court will hear the cross-pleas of Google and the Competition Commission of India or CCI. Google -- which was slapped with a fine of over Rs 1,300 crore for its alleged anti-competitive practices a few months ago -- has accused CCI of “protecting” Amazon’s interests. So what is this allegation about? And why is Google attacking the CCI? 

India’s wearables industry too is coming of age. And the country is likely to become the world’s largest market for wearables by the end of 2023. It comes at a time when markets like North America and China are going through a difficult phase and signs of saturation have begun to emerge. But Apple still leads the global wearables market with a 20 per cent market share, followed by South Korea’s Samsung and China’s Xiaomi. Indian manufacturer Noise is at fourth spot. With stiff competition at the top, can India become a global wearables powerhouse? 

Moving on to markets, a buying spree of foreign institutional investors have unleashed the bulls onto Dalal Street in the past few weeks. At a time when markets trade near record high levels, will foreign investors continue to remain bullish on Indian equities? That apart, can new FPI disclosure norms by Sebi impact flows in the near-term? 

And it is not just the benchmark indices. The Indian space agency too is aiming for the moon. Almost four years after its attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon’s surface failed, ISRO is ready for another shot at the moon with Chandrayaan-3. What is this mission? And why do we need it? Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more.