TMSEp528: Super-app WhatsApp, Chinese TV market, OCI cards and more

After hooking over 40% of India’s population over the last ten years, WhatsApp is now planning to capitalise on its massive popularity. Its parent company Meta is all set to roll out WhatsApp Flows in India. It will enable users to make in-chat purchases from businesses, without having to switch between apps. So where is WhatsApp heading to? Will it become India’s first super-app? 

Do you know that WhatsApp is banned in neighbouring China? It could have been as big a market for Meta as India is. Moving on, Chinese electronics brands are facing some tough competition in India. The market share of Chinese TVs has been sliding for a while now. While Indian electronic wearables also continue to bleed their Chinese competitors. Abhijeet Kumar looks for the latest trends and finds out the reasons behind this phenomenon. 

Indian financial markets meanwhile are in the grip of unease. The surge in crude oil prices and fear of global interest rates remaining high for some time have unnerved the equity markets. Add to this the ongoing diplomatic rift between India and Canada and you get a recipe for high volatility. But, what exactly does this geopolitical tension mean for the markets and how much of an impact can it have? 

Staying with the theme of India-Canada rift, reports of New Delhi mulling cancelling registration of some Overseas Citizenship of India or OCI cardholders for carrying out pro-Khalistan activities are doing the rounds now. But what are OCI cards? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.