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After completing 12th class, students reach a crucial stage of choosing their professional career, and the real struggle starts from here. Choosing the right university and getting admission to their dream college or university paves the way for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Today, students and parents are smarter and more aware. They not only search for colleges and universities that offer them a degree but also look for &nbsp;<a href="https://www.culko.in/">engineering and management programs</a> with placements that provide students with a practical approach, opportunities in reputed companies, relevant industry exposure, and skill development that helps them succeed in the long run. The expectations of students from higher education have changed, especially in the fields of engineering and management.&nbsp;The employment sector is changing alongside shifts in company demands. It has become vital for colleges and universities to stay relevant to industry demands and provide students with much-needed exposure to artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and smart technology.&nbsp;Companies now seek professionals who are multitaskers, quick learners, adaptable, and capable of applying knowledge practically. Other parameters that companies take into account while hiring include effective communication and a proactive approach. This is the reason the education sector is also changing the way it teaches students of this generation.&nbsp;Engineering and management colleges in Uttar Pradesh have understood the importance of practical learning and the development of skill sets needed to stay relevant to the industry. With fewer opportunities available in the market, students are inclined toward universities that provide internships, practical training, and placement in good companies.&nbsp;In this changing scenario, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a strong option for students looking for colleges that can prepare them to meet modern demands.&nbsp;How Engineering and Management Education is Evolving in Uttar Pradesh&nbsp;The education system has started changing dramatically in recent times. With the advent of AI, colleges have reshaped their curriculum, integrating specialised AI courses into their existing programs. Today, the focus of students has shifted toward career growth, so they look for colleges that can help them build a place in these competitive times. Some of the factors that students take into account while choosing a college are employment opportunities, internships, practical-based learning, modern infrastructure with lab facilities, experienced faculty, comprehensive technology support, skill development programs, and global certifications.&nbsp;This shift has increased the demand for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.culko.in/">best university in Uttar Pradesh for engineering and management</a>. Companies want degree holders to be job-ready from the beginning, possessing qualities like technical proficiency, teamwork, communication skills, and practical experience. These days, students prefer universities like Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh (CU UP) that provide practical experience and integrate technical learning with AI in academics.&nbsp;What Makes a University Strong for Engineering and Management?&nbsp;Industry-Oriented Curriculum Technology and digital innovation industries are changing rapidly, making it vital for universities to regularly update their curriculum to keep students aligned with current market needs. The engineering programs at prominent universities in Uttar Pradesh, like Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, include nearly 30-40% AI integration, which is the need of the hour. The curriculum introduces students to technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, tech-enabled operations, data analytics, and more. In the management programs, around 22% AI integration is included, which helps students understand digitised business models, analytics, and modern practices in the management field. This supports students who are searching for a future-ready education in engineering and management.&nbsp;Learning Beyond Traditional ClassroomsOne of the biggest changes in modern education is the shift in focus toward real-life learning experiences. Students learn more effectively through practical learning rather than by only studying theory. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh includes nearly 40-50% experiential learning in its engineering programs through laboratories, fieldwork, internship programs, practical projects, and technical competitions.&nbsp;Students gain practical knowledge through advanced labs such as the AI &amp; ML Lab, IoT &amp; Robotics Lab, Smart Grid &amp; Renewable Energy Lab, Cybersecurity Lab, EV Technology Lab, Civil Engineering Design Lab, workshops, and more.&nbsp;Students focus on learning professional software and tools that include MATLAB, Simulink, Python, TensorFlow, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, ETABS, ANSYS, LabVIEW, Multisim, IBM SPSS, Power BI, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi.&nbsp;In today’s competitive industries, a practical learning environment helps students build the skills required for engineering and management careers. Placements and internships matter the most nowadays, serving as deciding factors when parents and students choose a university. Good placements are a reflection of how well a university prepares students for professional careers. Engineering colleges in UP with good placements and management colleges in Uttar Pradesh with placement support are considered premier choices that fulfil all these important criteria. Universities that provide good placements, hands-on experience, avant-garde technology, and robust infrastructure are every student’s priority. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh places significant emphasis on providing employment and making students industry-ready. Engineering students undergo two mandatory summer industrial training stints and a six-month internship during their final year. These internships help students come to terms with the real world and understand workplace culture, practical operations, teamwork, and real-world problem-solving before they get their degree. Management students also get internship opportunities. PG students undergo internships after Semester II; on the other hand, undergraduate students undergo internships after Semester IV. This helps students get the right exposure at the right time. Recently, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh's MBA students secured internships with companies like Vodafone, Lenovo, Taggd, and Berger Paints.&nbsp;Industry Collaborations add Real Value to the student’s profile&nbsp;Modern education without industry collaboration offers less value. When universities work closely with companies to educate students, learners gain exposure to real-world industry practices and skill-based learning. Management programs at Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, include collaborations with leading companies such as Grant Thornton Bharat, SAS, PwC, NSE Academy, and IBM. These collaborations provide multiple benefits to students, including early industry exposure, a better understanding of professional work environments, practical skill development, corporate certifications, career-focused training, a curriculum designed around industry needs, and participation in events and workshops. Engineering students also benefit through lectures by industry experts, technical sessions, project mentoring, industry competitions, IEEE-led technical activities, and more. This is one reason why Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is gaining attention among students looking for industry-oriented engineering programs and career-focused management programs in India.&nbsp;Importance of Experienced Faculty&nbsp;&nbsp;Good and experienced faculty play a major role in shaping a student’s academic and professional journey. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh has experienced faculty members and senior academicians from IIT and NIT backgrounds. Their academic knowledge and industry exposure help students understand concepts more practically. Students also benefit by interacting directly with industry experts and professionals who share insights about current market trends, innovation, and new career opportunities. These experienced mentors improve students’ confidence and help them in their overall development.&nbsp;Certifications That Help in Accessing New Career Opportunities&nbsp;&nbsp;Today, certifications build careers by serving as vital additions to academic degrees. Companies give priority to students with practical skill sets and globally recognised certifications. Students at Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are trained to acquire certifications offered by elite organisations, improving their technical knowledge and employment prospects. These include certifications from Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM SkillsBuild, AWS Academy, SAS, and NSE Academy. The university also offers value-added programs in areas that help students stay aligned with the current industry. Some of these programs are AI for Engineers, Industry 4.0 Modules, Robotics &amp; IoT Bootcamps, EV Technology Basics, Solar PV System Training, and Data Analytics for Engineers.&nbsp;Global Exposure and International Collaborations&nbsp;Global exposure and international collaboration are essential today as modern careers become increasingly globalised. Students benefit immensely when universities provide international avenues. Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, focuses on this, establishing academic collaborations and global exposure initiatives with foreign universities. These collaborations add value to students and help them gain greater learning experiences, exposure to an international academic framework, an understanding of the global business environment, improved communication skills, cultural awareness, and enhanced career opportunities.&nbsp;Focus on Research and Innovation&nbsp;&nbsp;Research and innovation form a core component at CU UP when it comes to career-oriented courses, keeping both engineering and management education aligned with a changing world. Some of the engineering and management research areas include:&nbsp;Engineering Research Areas&nbsp;<ul><li>Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning</li><li>Smart Grid Optimisation</li><li>EV Charging Systems</li><li>Renewable Energy</li><li>Robotics and Automation</li><li>Structural Health Monitoring</li><li>Advanced Materials</li><li>Cybersecurity</li></ul>Management Research Areas<ul><li>Financial Technologies</li><li>Data Analytics</li><li>Digital Business</li><li>And more.</li></ul>Courses Designed for Future Careers&nbsp;Students understand the importance of staying aligned with today's professional world, so they prefer courses that combine academic learning with practical skills. Some of the popular programs offered at the Chandigarh University UP campus include BTech, BBA, LLB, MBA, and more. These help develop different skill sets, managerial acumen, communication abilities, and problem-solving capabilities. These programs help students grow in their careers and are job-oriented, career-focused, and industry-oriented.&nbsp;

<h2>Why are Students and Parents Focusing on Career-oriented Universities?</h2>

The definition of quality education has changed a lot in recent times. Earlier, students focused on degrees and percentiles. Today, their focus is shifting from these parameters to adding new skills that are relevant to today’s time and help them become industry-ready. Universities with strong placement support in UP understand the importance of internship, practical training, certifications, soft skill training, technical expertise, and communication skills, and thus, they focus on helping the students develop these skills, which help them in getting good placement opportunities.&nbsp;Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, is gaining attention because it focuses on both education and career development. The university puts a lot of emphasis on practical learning, AI integration, industry exposure, internships, certifications, and placement support, making it one of the most preferred options among engineering and management colleges in Uttar Pradesh.&nbsp;(Disclaimer: This article is from the Brand Desk. User discretion is advised.)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Find out why Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a top choice for Engineering and Management programs, featuring an industry-oriented curriculum with AI integration, mandatory internships, advanced labs for experiential learning, experienced faculty from IIT/NIT backgrounds.

After completing 12th class, students reach a crucial stage of choosing their professional career, and the real struggle starts from here. Choosing the right university and getting admission to their dream college or university paves the way for them. Today, students and parents are smarter and more aware. They not only search for colleges and universities that offer them a degree but also look for engineering and management programs with placements that provide students with a practical approach, opportunities in reputed companies, relevant industry exposure, and skill development that helps them succeed in the long run. The expectations of students from higher education have changed, especially in the fields of engineering and management. The employment sector is changing alongside shifts in company demands. It has become vital for colleges and universities to stay relevant to industry demands and provide students with much-needed exposure to artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and smart technology. Companies now seek professionals who are multitaskers, quick learners, adaptable, and capable of applying knowledge practically. Other parameters that companies take into account while hiring include effective communication and a proactive approach. This is the reason the education sector is also changing the way it teaches students of this generation. Engineering and management colleges in Uttar Pradesh have understood the importance of practical learning and the development of skill sets needed to stay relevant to the industry. With fewer opportunities available in the market, students are inclined toward universities that provide internships, practical training, and placement in good companies. In this changing scenario, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a strong option for students looking for colleges that can prepare them to meet modern demands. How Engineering and Management Education is Evolving in Uttar Pradesh The education system has started changing dramatically in recent times. With the advent of AI, colleges have reshaped their curriculum, integrating specialised AI courses into their existing programs. Today, the focus of students has shifted toward career growth, so they look for colleges that can help them build a place in these competitive times. Some of the factors that students take into account while choosing a college are employment opportunities, internships, practical-based learning, modern infrastructure with lab facilities, experienced faculty, comprehensive technology support, skill development programs, and global certifications. This shift has increased the demand for the best university in Uttar Pradesh for engineering and management. Companies want degree holders to be job-ready from the beginning, possessing qualities like technical proficiency, teamwork, communication skills, and practical experience. These days, students prefer universities like Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh (CU UP) that provide practical experience and integrate technical learning with AI in academics. What Makes a University Strong for Engineering and Management? Industry-Oriented Curriculum Technology and digital innovation industries are changing rapidly, making it vital for universities to regularly update their curriculum to keep students aligned with current market needs. The engineering programs at prominent universities in Uttar Pradesh, like Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, include nearly 30-40% AI integration, which is the need of the hour. The curriculum introduces students to technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, tech-enabled operations, data analytics, and more. In the management programs, around 22% AI integration is included, which helps students understand digitised business models, analytics, and modern practices in the management field. This supports students who are searching for a future-ready education in engineering and management. Learning Beyond Traditional Classrooms One of the biggest changes in modern education is the shift in focus toward real-life learning experiences. Students learn more effectively through practical learning rather than by only studying theory. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh includes nearly 40-50% experiential learning in its engineering programs through laboratories, fieldwork, internship programs, practical projects, and technical competitions. Students gain practical knowledge through advanced labs such as the AI & ML Lab, IoT & Robotics Lab, Smart Grid & Renewable Energy Lab, Cybersecurity Lab, EV Technology Lab, Civil Engineering Design Lab, workshops, and more. Students focus on learning professional software and tools that include MATLAB, Simulink, Python, TensorFlow, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, ETABS, ANSYS, LabVIEW, Multisim, IBM SPSS, Power BI, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi. In today’s competitive industries, a practical learning environment helps students build the skills required for engineering and management careers. Placements and internships matter the most nowadays, serving as deciding factors when parents and students choose a university. Good placements are a reflection of how well a university prepares students for professional careers. Engineering colleges in UP with good placements and management colleges in Uttar Pradesh with placement support are considered premier choices that fulfil all these important criteria. Universities that provide good placements, hands-on experience, avant-garde technology, and robust infrastructure are every student’s priority. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh places significant emphasis on providing employment and making students industry-ready. Engineering students undergo two mandatory summer industrial training stints and a six-month internship during their final year. These internships help students come to terms with the real world and understand workplace culture, practical operations, teamwork, and real-world problem-solving before they get their degree. Management students also get internship opportunities. PG students undergo internships after Semester II; on the other hand, undergraduate students undergo internships after Semester IV. This helps students get the right exposure at the right time. Recently, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh's MBA students secured internships with companies like Vodafone, Lenovo, Taggd, and Berger Paints. Industry Collaborations add Real Value to the student’s profile Modern education without industry collaboration offers less value. When universities work closely with companies to educate students, learners gain exposure to real-world industry practices and skill-based learning. Management programs at Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, include collaborations with leading companies such as Grant Thornton Bharat, SAS, PwC, NSE Academy, and IBM. These collaborations provide multiple benefits to students, including early industry exposure, a better understanding of professional work environments, practical skill development, corporate certifications, career-focused training, a curriculum designed around industry needs, and participation in events and workshops. Engineering students also benefit through lectures by industry experts, technical sessions, project mentoring, industry competitions, IEEE-led technical activities, and more. This is one reason why Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is gaining attention among students looking for industry-oriented engineering programs and career-focused management programs in India. Importance of Experienced Faculty Good and experienced faculty play a major role in shaping a student’s academic and professional journey. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh has experienced faculty members and senior academicians from IIT and NIT backgrounds. Their academic knowledge and industry exposure help students understand concepts more practically. Students also benefit by interacting directly with industry experts and professionals who share insights about current market trends, innovation, and new career opportunities. These experienced mentors improve students’ confidence and help them in their overall development. Certifications That Help in Accessing New Career Opportunities Today, certifications build careers by serving as vital additions to academic degrees. Companies give priority to students with practical skill sets and globally recognised certifications. Students at Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are trained to acquire certifications offered by elite organisations, improving their technical knowledge and employment prospects. These include certifications from Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM SkillsBuild, AWS Academy, SAS, and NSE Academy. The university also offers value-added programs in areas that help students stay aligned with the current industry. Some of these programs are AI for Engineers, Industry 4.0 Modules, Robotics & IoT Bootcamps, EV Technology Basics, Solar PV System Training, and Data Analytics for Engineers. Global Exposure and International Collaborations Global exposure and international collaboration are essential today as modern careers become increasingly globalised. Students benefit immensely when universities provide international avenues. Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, focuses on this, establishing academic collaborations and global exposure initiatives with foreign universities. These collaborations add value to students and help them gain greater learning experiences, exposure to an international academic framework, an understanding of the global business environment, improved communication skills, cultural awareness, and enhanced career opportunities. Focus on Research and Innovation Research and innovation form a core component at CU UP when it comes to career-oriented courses, keeping both engineering and management education aligned with a changing world. Some of the engineering and management research areas include: Engineering Research Areas Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Smart Grid Optimisation EV Charging Systems Renewable Energy Robotics and Automation Structural Health Monitoring Advanced Materials Cybersecurity Management Research Areas Financial Technologies Data Analytics Digital Business And more. Courses Designed for Future Careers Students understand the importance of staying aligned with today's professional world, so they prefer courses that combine academic learning with practical skills. Some of the popular programs offered at the Chandigarh University UP campus include BTech, BBA, LLB, MBA, and more. These help develop different skill sets, managerial acumen, communication abilities, and problem-solving capabilities. These programs help students grow in their careers and are job-oriented, career-focused, and industry-oriented.

Find out why Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a top choice for Engineering and Management programs, featuring an industry-oriented curriculum with AI integration, mandatory internships, advanced labs for experiential learning, experienced faculty from IIT/NIT backgrounds.

What makes Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh a top choice for engineering and management programs

On June 19, 2026, the Nifty IT index fell over 6% to a three-year low of 26,634.50, erasing approximately Rs 1.7 lakh crore in market capitalisation in a single session. Infosys dropped 8.19% to a five-year low. TCS sank 6.52% to near a six-year low. The trigger was Accenture's weak quarterly guidance, outsourcing bookings down 14.7% year-on-year, full-year revenue growth forecast trimmed. For most people scrolling through the news, it was a stock market headline. But for anyone with a mutual fund, a property in an IT city, or a home loan, the effects of this crash are already working their way into your monthly budget, whether you realise it or not.&nbsp;How A Stock Crash Enters Your Household Budget&nbsp;In their book The Economy Is Personal, authors Anisha Sircar and Dr. Nupur Pavan Bang, published by Westland Books, break down how large economic forces like inflation, interest rate cycles, and fiscal policy changes do not stay inside government chambers or stock exchange screens. They flow directly into household budgets, reshaping what families spend, save, borrow, and invest. The book traces these connections step by step, from how a shift in India's economic growth rate changes what a salaried professional can afford on an EMI, to how a change in the repo rate alters the real returns on a fixed deposit. The Nifty IT crash is a textbook example of exactly the kind of chain reaction the book is built to help readers understand.&nbsp;Your SIP Is More Exposed Than You Think&nbsp;Millions of Indian retail investors run SIPs in large-cap mutual funds, Nifty 50 index funds, and Nifty IT index funds, all of which carry heavy weightings in TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Tech. When these stocks fall 5% to 8% in a single day, your fund's NAV falls with them. Sircar and Bang explain in The Economy Is Personal how investment decisions that feel routine, like a monthly SIP set on auto-debit, are in fact directly tied to sectoral and macroeconomic shifts that most retail investors never track. The book walks readers through how to assess where their money is actually going when they invest, and why understanding the economic forces behind a sector's rise or decline is as important as the act of investing itself.&nbsp;The Real Estate Domino You Are Not Watching&nbsp;India's IT sector is the single largest driver of residential and commercial real estate demand in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai. When hiring freezes hit, relocations drop. When relocations drop, vacancy rates rise and rents soften. When rents soften, property valuations follow. If you own a flat in Whitefield or Gachibowli purchased at peak IT-boom prices, the Nifty IT crash is a leading indicator for your asset value. The Economy Is Personal covers precisely this kind of chain, how economic growth in one sector inflates property prices during a boom, and how a reversal in that growth deflates them, directly affecting household net worth and the financial decisions families make around their largest asset.&nbsp;Why Your EMI And Your FD Are Connected To This Crash&nbsp;If the IT sector's structural slowdown contributes to broader economic softening, the Reserve Bank of India may respond with rate cuts to stimulate demand. That sounds like good news for borrowers, your home loan EMI could drop. But as Sircar and Bang detail in the book, interest rate changes cut both ways: the same rate cut that reduces your EMI also reduces the returns on your fixed deposits, your savings account, and the debt component of your mutual fund portfolio. The book explains how interest rate cycles are one of the most direct channels through which macroeconomic policy enters a household's cash flow, changing what your loan costs and what your savings earn at the same time, often in ways that leave the net effect on a family's finances far less obvious than either headline suggests.&nbsp;The Spending Squeeze That Starts With A Headline&nbsp;IT professionals in Indian metros account for an outsized share of consumer spending — on cars, electronics, dining, travel, and premium services. When job uncertainty rises, that spending pulls back. Restaurants in Koramangala notice it. Car dealerships in Hinjewadi notice it. The book's approach to economic literacy is built around exactly this kind of cause-and-effect chain: it starts with Indian economic history and works forward through budgeting, risk, and investment, using real cases to show how a policy decision or a market event in one part of the economy ripples into the daily financial life of ordinary people. The gap between Accenture's bookings number in New York and the footfall at a mall in Hyderabad is not abstract, it is a sequence that runs directly through household budgets across India.&nbsp;Why This Matters More Than The Headline&nbsp;The Nifty IT crash is being covered as a markets event. Its real significance is personal — it touches the monthly NAV of your mutual fund, the rental yield on your investment property, whether the RBI cuts or holds rates at its next meeting, and whether the businesses around you that depend on IT-sector spending can sustain themselves. The Economy Is Personal was written to help readers in modern-day India make exactly these connections, to understand inflation, interest rates, fiscal policy, and economic growth not as textbook concepts, but as the forces actively shaping their expenditure, savings, borrowing, and investments every month. If there is a single day in 2026 that proves why that understanding matters, it is June 19.

The Nifty IT crash wiped Rs 1.7 lakh crore on June 19. Here's how it directly affects your SIP, property value, EMI, and household spending.

On June 19, 2026, the Nifty IT index fell over 6% to a three-year low of 26,634.50, erasing approximately Rs 1.7 lakh crore in market capitalisation in a single session. Infosys dropped 8.19% to a five-year low. TCS sank 6.52% to near a six-year low. The trigger was Accenture's weak quarterly guidance, outsourcing bookings down 14.7% year-on-year, full-year revenue growth forecast trimmed. For most people scrolling through the news, it was a stock market headline. But for anyone with a mutual fund, a property in an IT city, or a home loan, the effects of this crash are already working their way into your monthly budget, whether you realise it or not. How A Stock Crash Enters Your Household Budget In their book The Economy Is Personal, authors Anisha Sircar and Dr. Nupur Pavan Bang, published by Westland Books, break down how large economic forces like inflation, interest rate cycles, and fiscal policy changes do not stay inside government chambers or stock exchange screens. They flow directly into household budgets, reshaping what families spend, save, borrow, and invest. The book traces these connections step by step, from how a shift in India's economic growth rate changes what a salaried professional can afford on an EMI, to how a change in the repo rate alters the real returns on a fixed deposit. The Nifty IT crash is a textbook example of exactly the kind of chain reaction the book is built to help readers understand. Your SIP Is More Exposed Than You Think Millions of Indian retail investors run SIPs in large-cap mutual funds, Nifty 50 index funds, and Nifty IT index funds, all of which carry heavy weightings in TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Tech. When these stocks fall 5% to 8% in a single day, your fund's NAV falls with them. Sircar and Bang explain in The Economy Is Personal how investment decisions that feel routine, like a monthly SIP set on auto-debit, are in fact directly tied to sectoral and macroeconomic shifts that most retail investors never track. The book walks readers through how to assess where their money is actually going when they invest, and why understanding the economic forces behind a sector's rise or decline is as important as the act of investing itself. The Real Estate Domino You Are Not Watching India's IT sector is the single largest driver of residential and commercial real estate demand in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai. When hiring freezes hit, relocations drop. When relocations drop, vacancy rates rise and rents soften. When rents soften, property valuations follow. If you own a flat in Whitefield or Gachibowli purchased at peak IT-boom prices, the Nifty IT crash is a leading indicator for your asset value. The Economy Is Personal covers precisely this kind of chain, how economic growth in one sector inflates property prices during a boom, and how a reversal in that growth deflates them, directly affecting household net worth and the financial decisions families make around their largest asset. Why Your EMI And Your FD Are Connected To This Crash If the IT sector's structural slowdown contributes to broader economic softening, the Reserve Bank of India may respond with rate cuts to stimulate demand. That sounds like good news for borrowers, your home loan EMI could drop. But as Sircar and Bang detail in the book, interest rate changes cut both ways: the same rate cut that reduces your EMI also reduces the returns on your fixed deposits, your savings account, and the debt component of your mutual fund portfolio. The book explains how interest rate cycles are one of the most direct channels through which macroeconomic policy enters a household's cash flow, changing what your loan costs and what your savings earn at the same time, often in ways that leave the net effect on a family's finances far less obvious than either headline suggests. The Spending Squeeze That Starts With A Headline IT professionals in Indian metros account for an outsized share of consumer spending — on cars, electronics, dining, travel, and premium services. When job uncertainty rises, that spending pulls back. Restaurants in Koramangala notice it. Car dealerships in Hinjewadi notice it. The book's approach to economic literacy is built around exactly this kind of cause-and-effect chain: it starts with Indian economic history and works forward through budgeting, risk, and investment, using real cases to show how a policy decision or a market event in one part of the economy ripples into the daily financial life of ordinary people. The gap between Accenture's bookings number in New York and the footfall at a mall in Hyderabad is not abstract, it is a sequence that runs directly through household budgets across India. Why This Matters More Than The Headline The Nifty IT crash is being covered as a markets event. Its real significance is personal — it touches the monthly NAV of your mutual fund, the rental yield on your investment property, whether the RBI cuts or holds rates at its next meeting, and whether the businesses around you that depend on IT-sector spending can sustain themselves. The Economy Is Personal was written to help readers in modern-day India make exactly these connections, to understand inflation, interest rates, fiscal policy, and economic growth not as textbook concepts, but as the forces actively shaping their expenditure, savings, borrowing, and investments every month. If there is a single day in 2026 that proves why that understanding matters, it is June 19.

The Nifty IT index crashed over 6% on June 19, wiping approximately Rs 1.7 lakh crore in market value. Most people treated it as a stock market story. But if you have a SIP, own property in an IT city, or carry a home loan, this crash is already reshaping your household budget.

'SIP, rent and your EMI': What the Rs 1.7 lakh crore Nifty IT crash actually means for your money

Elon Musk's SpaceX recently made financial history with what was described as the world's largest ever IPO, raising $75 billion and debuting at a valuation of $1 trillion. The listing transformed the global space technology sector and triggered a sharp rise in the company's stock price, pushing Musk's personal wealth beyond the trillion-dollar mark.&nbsp;Against this backdrop, India is preparing for what could become its largest stock market listing. Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries, has filed draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering that could raise about $4 billion, or nearly ₹37,700 crore.<h2>What is Jio Platforms planning?</h2>Jio Platforms Ltd, which houses India's largest telecom operator along with several digital businesses, submitted its Draft Red Herring Prospectus on Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp;The IPO is structured entirely as a fresh issue of shares, meaning the company will retain all funds raised through the offering. The draft filing states that the IPO will consist of a fresh issue of up to 270 million shares with a face value of ₹10 each. The final price will be determined through the book-building process under SEBI regulations.&nbsp;<h2>Why is the IPO significant?</h2>At an implied valuation of nearly ₹9.5 trillion, the proposed listing could surpass the National Stock Exchange's own planned public issue, which is expected to raise around ₹30,000 crore.&nbsp;The offering would also mark the first public listing of a consumer-facing Reliance business. It comes a decade after Reliance Jio's launch in 2016, which reshaped India's telecom sector through free voice services and affordable mobile data.&nbsp;This would be Reliance Industries' second major listing in recent years after the demerger and stock market debut of Jio Finance in August 2023.&nbsp;For FY26, Jio Platforms reported revenue of ₹1.47 trillion and profit after tax of approximately ₹30,000 crore.&nbsp;Notably, the IPO does not include any offer for sale by existing investors. Shareholders such as Meta, Google, KKR, Silver Lake and General Atlantic, which together invested about $20 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020, will continue to hold their stakes. Collectively, these investors own 30.89 per cent of the company, while Reliance Industries holds 66.43 per cent.&nbsp;“This is a deeply emotional moment for me, for the entire Reliance family, and millions of its shareholders,” Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, 69, told shareholders at the company's 49th annual general meeting on Friday, describing the Jio Platforms IPO as the group's “most important value-creation milestone this year.”&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-secures-major-role-at-fatf-all-about-the-watchdog-that-previously-put-pakistan-on-the-grey-list-1781896040812">India secures major role at FATF: All about the watchdog that previously put Pakistan on the grey list</a>&nbsp;<h2>What comes next for Jio?</h2>Alongside the IPO plans, Jio Platforms outlined its future growth strategy. Managing Director Akash Ambani said the company intends to build an indigenous low-earth-orbit communications satellite constellation while also leasing capacity from leading global satellite operators to expand broadband connectivity in underserved regions.&nbsp;Reliance also highlighted its growing focus on artificial intelligence. Akash Ambani said Jio plans to launch an AI agent integrated directly into its network later this year, removing the need for users to download separate applications.

Jio Platforms has filed draft IPO papers with Sebi for a public offering worth up to $4 billion (₹37,700 crore), which could become India's largest-ever stock market listing.

Elon Musk's SpaceX recently made financial history with what was described as the world's largest ever IPO, raising $75 billion and debuting at a valuation of $1 trillion. The listing transformed the global space technology sector and triggered a sharp rise in the company's stock price, pushing Musk's personal wealth beyond the trillion-dollar mark. Against this backdrop, India is preparing for what could become its largest stock market listing. Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries, has filed draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering that could raise about $4 billion, or nearly ₹37,700 crore. What is Jio Platforms planning? Jio Platforms Ltd, which houses India's largest telecom operator along with several digital businesses, submitted its Draft Red Herring Prospectus on Friday. The IPO is structured entirely as a fresh issue of shares, meaning the company will retain all funds raised through the offering. The draft filing states that the IPO will consist of a fresh issue of up to 270 million shares with a face value of ₹10 each. The final price will be determined through the book-building process under SEBI regulations. Why is the IPO significant? At an implied valuation of nearly ₹9.5 trillion, the proposed listing could surpass the National Stock Exchange's own planned public issue, which is expected to raise around ₹30,000 crore. The offering would also mark the first public listing of a consumer-facing Reliance business. It comes a decade after Reliance Jio's launch in 2016, which reshaped India's telecom sector through free voice services and affordable mobile data. This would be Reliance Industries' second major listing in recent years after the demerger and stock market debut of Jio Finance in August 2023. For FY26, Jio Platforms reported revenue of ₹1.47 trillion and profit after tax of approximately ₹30,000 crore. Notably, the IPO does not include any offer for sale by existing investors. Shareholders such as Meta, Google, KKR, Silver Lake and General Atlantic, which together invested about $20 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020, will continue to hold their stakes. Collectively, these investors own 30.89 per cent of the company, while Reliance Industries holds 66.43 per cent. “This is a deeply emotional moment for me, for the entire Reliance family, and millions of its shareholders,” Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, 69, told shareholders at the company's 49th annual general meeting on Friday, describing the Jio Platforms IPO as the group's “most important value-creation milestone this year.” Also Read: India secures major role at FATF: All about the watchdog that previously put Pakistan on the grey list What comes next for Jio? Alongside the IPO plans, Jio Platforms outlined its future growth strategy. Managing Director Akash Ambani said the company intends to build an indigenous low-earth-orbit communications satellite constellation while also leasing capacity from leading global satellite operators to expand broadband connectivity in underserved regions. Reliance also highlighted its growing focus on artificial intelligence. Akash Ambani said Jio plans to launch an AI agent integrated directly into its network later this year, removing the need for users to download separate applications.

Jio Platforms has filed draft IPO papers with Sebi for a public offering worth up to $4 billion (₹37,700 crore), which could become India's largest-ever stock market listing.

After SpaceX's biggest-ever IPO, Jio Platforms targets India's largest listing | Know all about it

In India, like in much of the rest of the world now, talking about Artificial Intelligence makes one suddenly feel important. But is India AI-ready? The Asian giant is slowly coming to terms with and addressing its AI problem. It has several aspects, but the main gaps are in software, hardware and infrastructure. The AI skill gap among youth is tied to slow curriculum updates from primary school to college. AI regulation is still evolving. India's traditional IT sector is bleeding as global AI tools eat up the work it used to bill for. Slow AI adoption by these firms is making things worse. Here is a snapshot of India's AI problem.<h2>Where India stands on AI readiness</h2>International benchmarks place India in the middle. The IMF's AI Preparedness <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/AI_PI@AIPI/ADVEC/EME/LIC/SSQ ">Index </a>put India at 0.49 and ranked it <a href="https://indiaai.gov.in/article/imf-s-new-ai-preparedness-index-tracks-174-economies-including-india">72nd</a> of 174 economies, trailing China (0.63, rank 31), Singapore (0.80), Indonesia (0.52), and the US (0.77). The IMF warned AI could affect about 24 per cent of jobs in emerging economies like India's. India ranks higher on talent metrics. The Stanford <a href="https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index">AI Index</a> 2025 noted India leads on AI hiring rate, at about 33 per cent annually.<h2>India's AI compute and hardware gaps</h2>Global breakthroughs in hardware, software, frontier models, agentic AI and chip design are the result of two decades of work, if not more, mainly in the US and China. India's AI-related compute was near zero until recently. Under the IndiaAI Mission, national common <a href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2132817">compute</a> crossed roughly 34,000 GPUs by 30 May 2025: initial 18,417 GPUs plus 15,916 new units, according to <a href="https://ddnews.gov.in/en/indiaai-mission-gets-boost-as-compute-capacity-tops-34000-gpus/">state media</a>. A <a href="https://ai.icai.org/articles_details.php?id=258">third tender </a>took the cluster past 38,000 units, including 1,050 Google Trillium TPUs.At the AI Impact Summit in February, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pledged 20,000 more sovereign GPUs, lifting public <a href="https://www.aicerts.ai/news/indias-gpu-infrastructure-expansion-adds-20000-sovereign-gpus/">capacity</a> up to 58,000 units. The government now <a href="https://explainx.ai/blog/india-sovereign-ai-status-indiaai-mission-2026">targets</a> 100,000 public GPUs by December 2026. Private deployments by Reliance, Tata and hyperscalers would match that, pushing total national capacity past 200,000 by year-end.&nbsp;Access to compute remains cheap in India. Subsidised <a href="https://www.abhs.in/blog/indiaai-mission-34000-gpus-cheap-compute-developers-2026">rates</a> run around 65 to 150 rupees per GPU-hour, roughly 42 per cent below market. But here is the catch: Not a single one of those GPUs is designed or <a href="https://explainx.ai/blog/india-sovereign-ai-status-indiaai-mission-2026">made in India</a>. They are mostly NVIDIA H100, H200 and Blackwell cards.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pm-modi-outlines-india-s-ai-vision-at-vivatech-2026-invites-global-tech-giants-to-invest-1781782086496">PM Modi outlines India's AI vision at VivaTech 2026, invites global tech giants to invest</a><h2>Frontier AI models and AI chips: India lags behind</h2>India trails on frontier models and advanced chips despite the buildout. India lags in producing large-scale frontier models mainly due to a lack of access to advanced chips, the scale of modern data centres, and the complexity of training the models across India's multiple languages. Vaishnaw said India aims to <a href="https://goelite.com/blogs/indias-ai-push-big-bets-gaps-remain-reality-check">attract</a> $200 billion in data-centre investment. Reliance is building a 1-gigawatt data centre, expandable to 2GW, in Gujarat on NVIDIA Blackwell processors, at an estimated $20–30 billion cost.&nbsp;<h2>How much of India's AI infrastructure is actually sovereign?</h2>India's current AI infrastructure is mostly foreign-funded and foreign-chip-dependent. Foreign companies have, or are planning to, <a href="https://introl.com/blog/india-ai-infrastructure-revolution-10b-investment-opportunities-2025 ">invest</a> in AI in India. Microsoft pledged $17.5 billion for India on December. Google committed $15 billion for an AI hub in October. Amazon Web Services committed $12.7 billion through 2030.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/satya-nadella-raises-alarm-ai-power-could-be-concentrated-in-few-big-models-1781539947519/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/satya-nadella-raises-alarm-ai-power-could-be-concentrated-in-few-big-models-1781539947519/embed</a><h2>Chip import dependence and slow fabrication: India's weak points</h2>India meets close to 85 to 90 per cent of its chip needs through <a href="https://www.ibef.org/research/case-study/india-s-semiconductor-push-building-a-robust-chip-manufacturing-ecosystem ">imports, </a>and forms only about 3 per cent of the global market. More than 60 per cent of imported chips come from China and about a fifth from Japan. India is strong in design, holding about 20 per cent of the global semiconductor design workforce, but weak in fabrication and <a href="https://thefederal.com/category/business/made-in-india-semiconductor-chips-commercial-launch-2026-230852">commercialisation</a>. &nbsp;The fabrication gap will not close fast. <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chip/centres-semiconductor-push-could-cut-chip-imports-by-usd20-bn-mckinsey">McKinsey </a>noted that India is pushing for fabrication at nodes above 14 nanometres by 2030, while sub-10-nanometre technology will take longer. High capital costs, limited access to advanced manufacturing technology, and supply-chain gaps in high-purity gases, special chemicals and ultrapure water are among the reasons. The India Semiconductor Mission's roughly $9.1 billion commitment has catalysed about <a href=" https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-chip-supply-chain-ai-future/ ">$18.2 billion </a>in investment. But the real movement is mainly in packaging and legacy nodes, not AI chips.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/forget-building-ai-india-is-yet-to-build-its-first-fully-indigenous-computer-or-mobile-phone-1781750813969">Forget building AI, India is yet to build its first fully indigenous computer or mobile phone</a><h2>India's AI factories: A snapshot</h2>Indian Budget 2026-27 allocated 8,000 crore rupees to the newly launched semiconductor mission, the largest single-year outlay yet. On the ground, the progress results are only starting to show. Micron's assembly and test facility in Sanand, Gujarat, which reached initial commercial production and was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on February 28, is India's first modern high-volume <a href="https://www.insightfulpost.com/india-semiconductor-mission-2026-chip-fabs/">chip facility</a>. But it <a href="https://www.abhs.in/blog/india-micron-sanand-semiconductor-production-2026.">handles </a>assembly and packaging of memory, not wafer fabrication. Kaynes Semicon's OSAT facility in Sanand opened in March. The <a href="https://www.abhs.in/blog/india-semiconductor-mission-2-tata-micron-2nm-dholera-2026">Tata</a>–PSMC fab at Dholera targets first silicon by the end of this year, with capacity for 50,000 wafers a month. &nbsp;None of these <a href=" https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/29/india-semiconductor-investments-fab-facility">plants</a> targets AI chips.<h2>AI vs jobs: What India's Chief Economic Advisor said about the nation's AI situation</h2>AI, robotics and automation threaten entry-level service jobs, as millions of Indians with traditional degrees enter the job market each year. The remarks of India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran in the past few weeks are noteworthy in this scenario. He said AI is a growth and stability question, not just a jobs question. In his view, AI cannot be adopted passively and must be deliberately aligned with creating jobs at <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/national/ai-must-create-mass-jobs-in-india-says-chief-economic-adviser">mass scale</a>. Calling it a decision about the future of growth and social stability, he said the window is “open but not indefinite”. In his <a href="https://www.newsonair.gov.in/india-can-lead-globally-by-aligning-ai-adoption-with-mass-employability-through-education-reform-cea-v-anantha-nageswaran">view</a>, India can lead globally only by aligning AI adoption with mass employability through education reform, pedagogy change and stronger foundational skills. India must create at least 8 million jobs each year for the next 10 to 12 years to reach developed-nation status by 2047, he said.But are Indian youth learning the AI skills required to enter such a job market? That's a story for another day.&nbsp;

India is expanding AI infrastructure and compute capacity but still faces gaps in chips, frontier models, skills, fabrication and jobs. AI adoption, education reform and investment are critical, right now.

In India, like in much of the rest of the world now, talking about Artificial Intelligence makes one suddenly feel important. But is India AI-ready? The Asian giant is slowly coming to terms with and addressing its AI problem. It has several aspects, but the main gaps are in software, hardware and infrastructure. The AI skill gap among youth is tied to slow curriculum updates from primary school to college. AI regulation is still evolving. India's traditional IT sector is bleeding as global AI tools eat up the work it used to bill for. Slow AI adoption by these firms is making things worse. Here is a snapshot of India's AI problem. Where India stands on AI readiness International benchmarks place India in the middle. The IMF's AI Preparedness Index put India at 0.49 and ranked it 72nd of 174 economies, trailing China (0.63, rank 31), Singapore (0.80), Indonesia (0.52), and the US (0.77). The IMF warned AI could affect about 24 per cent of jobs in emerging economies like India's. India ranks higher on talent metrics. The Stanford AI Index 2025 noted India leads on AI hiring rate, at about 33 per cent annually. India's AI compute and hardware gaps Global breakthroughs in hardware, software, frontier models, agentic AI and chip design are the result of two decades of work, if not more, mainly in the US and China. India's AI-related compute was near zero until recently. Under the IndiaAI Mission, national common compute crossed roughly 34,000 GPUs by 30 May 2025: initial 18,417 GPUs plus 15,916 new units, according to state media. A third tender took the cluster past 38,000 units, including 1,050 Google Trillium TPUs. At the AI Impact Summit in February, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pledged 20,000 more sovereign GPUs, lifting public capacity up to 58,000 units. The government now targets 100,000 public GPUs by December 2026. Private deployments by Reliance, Tata and hyperscalers would match that, pushing total national capacity past 200,000 by year-end. Access to compute remains cheap in India. Subsidised rates run around 65 to 150 rupees per GPU-hour, roughly 42 per cent below market. But here is the catch: Not a single one of those GPUs is designed or made in India. They are mostly NVIDIA H100, H200 and Blackwell cards. Also read: PM Modi outlines India's AI vision at VivaTech 2026, invites global tech giants to invest Frontier AI models and AI chips: India lags behind India trails on frontier models and advanced chips despite the buildout. India lags in producing large-scale frontier models mainly due to a lack of access to advanced chips, the scale of modern data centres, and the complexity of training the models across India's multiple languages. Vaishnaw said India aims to attract $200 billion in data-centre investment. Reliance is building a 1-gigawatt data centre, expandable to 2GW, in Gujarat on NVIDIA Blackwell processors, at an estimated $20–30 billion cost. How much of India's AI infrastructure is actually sovereign? India's current AI infrastructure is mostly foreign-funded and foreign-chip-dependent. Foreign companies have, or are planning to, invest in AI in India. Microsoft pledged $17.5 billion for India on December. Google committed $15 billion for an AI hub in October. Amazon Web Services committed $12.7 billion through 2030. https://www.wionews.com/videos/satya-nadella-raises-alarm-ai-power-could-be-concentrated-in-few-big-models-1781539947519/embed Chip import dependence and slow fabrication: India's weak points India meets close to 85 to 90 per cent of its chip needs through imports, and forms only about 3 per cent of the global market. More than 60 per cent of imported chips come from China and about a fifth from Japan. India is strong in design, holding about 20 per cent of the global semiconductor design workforce, but weak in fabrication and commercialisation. The fabrication gap will not close fast. McKinsey noted that India is pushing for fabrication at nodes above 14 nanometres by 2030, while sub-10-nanometre technology will take longer. High capital costs, limited access to advanced manufacturing technology, and supply-chain gaps in high-purity gases, special chemicals and ultrapure water are among the reasons. The India Semiconductor Mission's roughly $9.1 billion commitment has catalysed about $18.2 billion in investment. But the real movement is mainly in packaging and legacy nodes, not AI chips. Also read: Forget building AI, India is yet to build its first fully indigenous computer or mobile phone India's AI factories: A snapshot Indian Budget 2026-27 allocated 8,000 crore rupees to the newly launched semiconductor mission, the largest single-year outlay yet. On the ground, the progress results are only starting to show. Micron's assembly and test facility in Sanand, Gujarat, which reached initial commercial production and was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on February 28, is India's first modern high-volume chip facility. But it handles assembly and packaging of memory, not wafer fabrication. Kaynes Semicon's OSAT facility in Sanand opened in March. The Tata–PSMC fab at Dholera targets first silicon by the end of this year, with capacity for 50,000 wafers a month. None of these plants targets AI chips. AI vs jobs: What India's Chief Economic Advisor said about the nation's AI situation AI, robotics and automation threaten entry-level service jobs, as millions of Indians with traditional degrees enter the job market each year. The remarks of India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran in the past few weeks are noteworthy in this scenario. He said AI is a growth and stability question, not just a jobs question. In his view, AI cannot be adopted passively and must be deliberately aligned with creating jobs at mass scale. Calling it a decision about the future of growth and social stability, he said the window is “open but not indefinite”. In his view, India can lead globally only by aligning AI adoption with mass employability through education reform, pedagogy change and stronger foundational skills. India must create at least 8 million jobs each year for the next 10 to 12 years to reach developed-nation status by 2047, he said. But are Indian youth learning the AI skills required to enter such a job market? That's a story for another day.

India is expanding AI infrastructure and compute capacity but still faces gaps in chips, frontier models, skills, fabrication and jobs. AI adoption, education reform and investment are critical, right now.

India's AI problem: Gaps in compute, hardware, infrastructure, chips affect readiness

Choosing a private university in UP today is about more than reputation — it’s about industry exposure, future-ready courses, and employability. Institutions like Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are redefining higher education with AI-driven learning and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.culko.in/">strong placement</a> ecosystems.&nbsp;What do you look for while choosing a university? The brand name? Facilities? Placement opportunities? Faculty? Your future depends on this decision, and choosing a university is about far more than simply getting a degree. Institutions like Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are part of a new wave of universities equipped to prepare students for the demands of the future.&nbsp;They are reshaping higher education through industry exposure, AI-integrated learning and a stronger focus on employability. &nbsp;<h2> Looking Beyond Rankings and Reputation and why Practical Learning Matters More Than Ever</h2> Competition in the job market is growing, and it is important for students to look beyond brochures and rankings. Students today must find universities that can genuinely prepare graduates for the future.&nbsp;This shift is also changing the way students evaluate higher education. Gone are the days when one could rely solely on the reputation of a college. Placements, internships, corporate exposure and practical skills have become just as important. Universities that once relied purely on traditional teaching methods are now expected to offer real-world learning experiences connected to emerging industries and technologies.&nbsp;Competition in the job market is growing, and it is important for students to look beyond brochures and rankings. Students today must find universities that can genuinely prepare graduates for the future. This shift is also changing the way students evaluate higher education.&nbsp;Gone are the days when one could rely solely on the reputation of a college. Placements, internships, corporate exposure and practical skills have become just as important.&nbsp;Responding to these evolving expectations, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh is focused on bridging academic excellence with industry relevance through strong placement support, experiential learning opportunities, and exposure to emerging technologies. This industry-connected approach positions the university among institutions that are redefining higher education through real-world learning experiences aligned with future career demands.&nbsp; &nbsp;<h2> Courses That Match Tomorrow’s Careers</h2>Students today want programs that reflect the demands of modern workplaces. Courses in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cloud Computing, FinTech and Business Analytics are attracting growing interest because they align with rapidly expanding career opportunities. Universities that combine classroom learning with live projects, case studies and practical application are increasingly standing out among students searching for career-focused education in UP.&nbsp;Students today want programs that reflect the demands of modern workplaces. Courses in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cloud Computing, FinTech and Business Analytics are attracting growing interest because they align with rapidly expanding career opportunities.&nbsp;Recognising this shift, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh is building an industry-oriented academic ecosystem that blends future-ready curriculum with live projects, case studies, hands-on learning, and practical application. This strong focus on experiential education is helping the university stand out among students searching for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.culko.in/">career-focused programs in UP</a> designed to meet evolving industry needs.&nbsp;<h2> The Growing Importance of Industry Partnerships</h2>&nbsp;Industry collaboration has also become a major differentiator. Chandigarh University UP, for instance, has developed academic partnerships with organisations such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, Deloitte NSE Academy &amp; more to create programmes that reflect current industry needs. Such collaborations help students gain exposure to professional tools, certifications and workplace expectations before they even graduate.<h2> Building Career Confidence Beyond the Classroom</h2>&nbsp;&nbsp;Equally important is the support students receive outside the classroom. At Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, career mentoring, communication training, aptitude preparation and internship opportunities are strongly emphasised. Many students are now choosing universities that offer strong placement ecosystems across sectors including engineering, management, healthcare, IT and media.<h2> Internship Outcomes That Reflect Industry Readiness</h2>&nbsp;&nbsp;At Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, the emphasis on internship-driven learning is visible through outcomes already emerging from its programs. MBA students have secured internships with companies including Vodafone, Lenovo, Taggd and Berger Paints, while 21 students were selected by Berger Paints during a single hiring cycle.<h2> Smart Campuses for Future-Ready Learning</h2>Modern learners expect smart classrooms, advanced laboratories, innovation centres and digitally enabled learning environments that mirror the workplaces they aspire to join, and Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh offers all of these. AI Labs, Data Science Labs and Simulation Labs are increasingly becoming essential components of future-ready campuses.<h2> Encouraging Innovation and Leadership</h2>&nbsp;Beyond academics, students are also drawn to universities that encourage innovation, creativity and leadership. Participation in hackathons, startup incubation, workshops and research initiatives gives students confidence and practical exposure that traditional classrooms often cannot provide. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s growing involvement in AI-led innovation conversations, including participation at the AI Impact Summit 2026, reflects how universities are evolving alongside technological change.<h2> Choosing a University That Shapes Long-Term Success</h2>&nbsp;Let us accept that choosing the right university can shape the course of a career. Students across Uttar Pradesh are seeking institutions that can equip them with industry knowledge, practical skills, and the confidence to adapt in a fast-changing professional world. The universities that succeed will be those that prepare students not only for their first job, but for meaningful and sustainable careers in the years ahead. (Disclaimer: This article is from the Brand Desk. User discretion is advised.)

Competition in the job market is growing, and it is important for students to look beyond brochures and rankings. Students today must find universities that can genuinely prepare graduates for the future.

Choosing a private university in UP today is about more than reputation — it’s about industry exposure, future-ready courses, and employability. Institutions like Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are redefining higher education with AI-driven learning and strong placement ecosystems. What do you look for while choosing a university? The brand name? Facilities? Placement opportunities? Faculty? Your future depends on this decision, and choosing a university is about far more than simply getting a degree. Institutions like Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are part of a new wave of universities equipped to prepare students for the demands of the future. They are reshaping higher education through industry exposure, AI-integrated learning and a stronger focus on employability. Looking Beyond Rankings and Reputation and why Practical Learning Matters More Than Ever Competition in the job market is growing, and it is important for students to look beyond brochures and rankings. Students today must find universities that can genuinely prepare graduates for the future. This shift is also changing the way students evaluate higher education. Gone are the days when one could rely solely on the reputation of a college. Placements, internships, corporate exposure and practical skills have become just as important. Universities that once relied purely on traditional teaching methods are now expected to offer real-world learning experiences connected to emerging industries and technologies. Competition in the job market is growing, and it is important for students to look beyond brochures and rankings. Students today must find universities that can genuinely prepare graduates for the future. This shift is also changing the way students evaluate higher education. Gone are the days when one could rely solely on the reputation of a college. Placements, internships, corporate exposure and practical skills have become just as important. Responding to these evolving expectations, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh is focused on bridging academic excellence with industry relevance through strong placement support, experiential learning opportunities, and exposure to emerging technologies. This industry-connected approach positions the university among institutions that are redefining higher education through real-world learning experiences aligned with future career demands. Courses That Match Tomorrow’s Careers Students today want programs that reflect the demands of modern workplaces. Courses in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cloud Computing, FinTech and Business Analytics are attracting growing interest because they align with rapidly expanding career opportunities. Universities that combine classroom learning with live projects, case studies and practical application are increasingly standing out among students searching for career-focused education in UP. Students today want programs that reflect the demands of modern workplaces. Courses in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cloud Computing, FinTech and Business Analytics are attracting growing interest because they align with rapidly expanding career opportunities. Recognising this shift, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh is building an industry-oriented academic ecosystem that blends future-ready curriculum with live projects, case studies, hands-on learning, and practical application. This strong focus on experiential education is helping the university stand out among students searching for career-focused programs in UP designed to meet evolving industry needs. The Growing Importance of Industry Partnerships Industry collaboration has also become a major differentiator. Chandigarh University UP, for instance, has developed academic partnerships with organisations such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, Deloitte NSE Academy & more to create programmes that reflect current industry needs. Such collaborations help students gain exposure to professional tools, certifications and workplace expectations before they even graduate. Building Career Confidence Beyond the Classroom Equally important is the support students receive outside the classroom. At Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, career mentoring, communication training, aptitude preparation and internship opportunities are strongly emphasised. Many students are now choosing universities that offer strong placement ecosystems across sectors including engineering, management, healthcare, IT and media. Internship Outcomes That Reflect Industry Readiness At Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, the emphasis on internship-driven learning is visible through outcomes already emerging from its programs. MBA students have secured internships with companies including Vodafone, Lenovo, Taggd and Berger Paints, while 21 students were selected by Berger Paints during a single hiring cycle. Smart Campuses for Future-Ready Learning Modern learners expect smart classrooms, advanced laboratories, innovation centres and digitally enabled learning environments that mirror the workplaces they aspire to join, and Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh offers all of these. AI Labs, Data Science Labs and Simulation Labs are increasingly becoming essential components of future-ready campuses. Encouraging Innovation and Leadership Beyond academics, students are also drawn to universities that encourage innovation, creativity and leadership. Participation in hackathons, startup incubation, workshops and research initiatives gives students confidence and practical exposure that traditional classrooms often cannot provide. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s growing involvement in AI-led innovation conversations, including participation at the AI Impact Summit 2026, reflects how universities are evolving alongside technological change. Choosing a University That Shapes Long-Term Success Let us accept that choosing the right university can shape the course of a career. Students across Uttar Pradesh are seeking institutions that can equip them with industry knowledge, practical skills, and the confidence to adapt in a fast-changing professional world. The universities that succeed will be those that prepare students not only for their first job, but for meaningful and sustainable careers in the years ahead. (Disclaimer: This article is from the Brand Desk. User discretion is advised.)

Competition in the job market is growing, and it is important for students to look beyond brochures and rankings. Students today must find universities that can genuinely prepare graduates for the future.

How to choose the right private university in UP for career-focused education

The broader AI market is being called a bubble by some and a revolution by others. But there is a separate question worth asking specifically about Meta: is this stock, right now, a bubble of its own making, inflated by hype around an AI bet that has yet to show a measurable intelligence of its own?&nbsp;The Capex Number That Shocked Wall Street&nbsp;When Meta reported its Q1 2026 earnings, the headline revenue numbers were strong, $56.31 billion in quarterly revenue, a 33% year-on-year jump, with advertising revenue of $55.02 billion driving almost all of it. But what moved markets was something else entirely: Meta announced it was raising its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion. That is up from its January guidance of $115 to $135 billion, and represents an increase of over 60% compared to what it spent the previous year. Meta's stock fell 8 to 10% in early trading the following day. Investors were not celebrating the revenue beat. They were staring at a capex number that is, by any measure, staggering.&nbsp;The Human Cost Nobody Is Pricing Into Meta's Stock&nbsp;There is another dimension to Meta's AI story that Wall Street is largely ignoring: the catastrophic real-world consequences of deploying a cheap, low-quality AI system at billion-user scale with essentially no human oversight left to catch its errors. Meta has systematically laid off its human content moderation teams, the people who used to review appeals, reinstate wrongly banned accounts, and apply judgment to edge cases. What has replaced them is an AI system that creators, journalists, and small business owners across the world describe as erratic, opaque, and unaccountable. Accounts with years of original content, verified identities, and legitimate income streams are being terminated or restricted without warning and without any realistic path to appeal, while some reporting that fake accounts with blue tick verification badges continue to operate freely on the same platforms. The engineers building this system, referred to internally in some circles as working in conditions resembling a content gulag, are reportedly producing training tasks so rudimentary they resemble puzzles designed for toddlers. That is the training data feeding an AI that is now making consequential, life-altering decisions about whether a creator's account survives, whether a small business keeps its primary sales channel, whether a journalist's archive disappears overnight. The gap between the simplicity of what is going into Meta AI and the seriousness of what it is doing to real people is not a technical footnote. It is a liability, legal, reputational, and financial, that does not yet appear anywhere in Meta's $145 billion capex plan.&nbsp;Spending More Than It Earns On AI, With No Cloud To Show For It&nbsp;The core problem with Meta's AI spending is structural. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are also pouring hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure, but each of them has a cloud computing business that can immediately monetise that infrastructure by selling compute capacity to other companies. Meta has no such business. Its revenue is almost entirely advertising. That means every dollar it spends building data centres and buying Nvidia chips is a bet that AI will eventually make its ads more targeted, its platforms more engaging, and its users more sticky. That may well happen. But right now, it is a hypothesis, not a revenue line.&nbsp;The Zuckerberg ROI Quote That Should Concern Investors&nbsp;When Meta's Q1 2026 earnings call touched on what all this AI spending was actually delivering in terms of return on investment, Mark Zuckerberg's response was notable. Asked about measurable ROI from the AI build-out, Zuckerberg reportedly described it as "a very technical question." For a company spending $145 billion in a single year on capital projects, that answer is not reassuring. And the earnings quality underneath the headline numbers is softer than it appears: Meta's reported GAAP EPS of $10.44 was significantly inflated by a one-time $8.03 billion tax benefit linked to the Trump administration's tax policy. Strip that out and the underlying EPS was approximately $7.31, a number that tells a much more cautious story about actual profitability growth.&nbsp;Michael Burry's Warning&nbsp;The investor made famous by The Big Short, Michael Burry, has specifically flagged Big Tech's accounting treatment of AI hardware as a concern. His argument is that companies including Meta are extending the stated useful life of their computing assets, primarily Nvidia chips, which reduces annual depreciation charges and makes earnings look better than they are. Burry's estimates suggest Meta could be overstating its earnings by as much as 20.8% by 2028 if this accounting treatment continues. Whether or not that proves correct, the concern highlights that Meta's profitability picture may be softer than its headline numbers suggest.&nbsp;Where The Stock Stands&nbsp;Meta's stock hit an all-time high of $796.25 per share in August 2025. As of mid-June 2026, it is trading at $577.22, a decline of approximately 27.5% from that peak. At a market capitalisation of around $1.46 trillion and a business that remains almost entirely dependent on advertising revenue, Meta is not cheaply priced for a company whose AI bet has yet to prove itself operationally as well ass financially. The AI market at large may or may not be a bubble. But Meta's specific combination of enormous spending, advertising-only revenue, unproven AI returns, and a moderation crisis affecting millions of real users makes it a stock with a bubble story entirely its own.

Meta is spending $145 billion on AI in 2026 with no cloud business to monetise it. Its stock is down 21% from its ATH. Here's why Meta could be a bubble all on its own.

The broader AI market is being called a bubble by some and a revolution by others. But there is a separate question worth asking specifically about Meta: is this stock, right now, a bubble of its own making, inflated by hype around an AI bet that has yet to show a measurable intelligence of its own? The Capex Number That Shocked Wall Street When Meta reported its Q1 2026 earnings, the headline revenue numbers were strong, $56.31 billion in quarterly revenue, a 33% year-on-year jump, with advertising revenue of $55.02 billion driving almost all of it. But what moved markets was something else entirely: Meta announced it was raising its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion. That is up from its January guidance of $115 to $135 billion, and represents an increase of over 60% compared to what it spent the previous year. Meta's stock fell 8 to 10% in early trading the following day. Investors were not celebrating the revenue beat. They were staring at a capex number that is, by any measure, staggering. The Human Cost Nobody Is Pricing Into Meta's Stock There is another dimension to Meta's AI story that Wall Street is largely ignoring: the catastrophic real-world consequences of deploying a cheap, low-quality AI system at billion-user scale with essentially no human oversight left to catch its errors. Meta has systematically laid off its human content moderation teams, the people who used to review appeals, reinstate wrongly banned accounts, and apply judgment to edge cases. What has replaced them is an AI system that creators, journalists, and small business owners across the world describe as erratic, opaque, and unaccountable. Accounts with years of original content, verified identities, and legitimate income streams are being terminated or restricted without warning and without any realistic path to appeal, while some reporting that fake accounts with blue tick verification badges continue to operate freely on the same platforms. The engineers building this system, referred to internally in some circles as working in conditions resembling a content gulag, are reportedly producing training tasks so rudimentary they resemble puzzles designed for toddlers. That is the training data feeding an AI that is now making consequential, life-altering decisions about whether a creator's account survives, whether a small business keeps its primary sales channel, whether a journalist's archive disappears overnight. The gap between the simplicity of what is going into Meta AI and the seriousness of what it is doing to real people is not a technical footnote. It is a liability, legal, reputational, and financial, that does not yet appear anywhere in Meta's $145 billion capex plan. Spending More Than It Earns On AI, With No Cloud To Show For It The core problem with Meta's AI spending is structural. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are also pouring hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure, but each of them has a cloud computing business that can immediately monetise that infrastructure by selling compute capacity to other companies. Meta has no such business. Its revenue is almost entirely advertising. That means every dollar it spends building data centres and buying Nvidia chips is a bet that AI will eventually make its ads more targeted, its platforms more engaging, and its users more sticky. That may well happen. But right now, it is a hypothesis, not a revenue line. The Zuckerberg ROI Quote That Should Concern Investors When Meta's Q1 2026 earnings call touched on what all this AI spending was actually delivering in terms of return on investment, Mark Zuckerberg's response was notable. Asked about measurable ROI from the AI build-out, Zuckerberg reportedly described it as "a very technical question." For a company spending $145 billion in a single year on capital projects, that answer is not reassuring. And the earnings quality underneath the headline numbers is softer than it appears: Meta's reported GAAP EPS of $10.44 was significantly inflated by a one-time $8.03 billion tax benefit linked to the Trump administration's tax policy. Strip that out and the underlying EPS was approximately $7.31, a number that tells a much more cautious story about actual profitability growth. Michael Burry's Warning The investor made famous by The Big Short, Michael Burry, has specifically flagged Big Tech's accounting treatment of AI hardware as a concern. His argument is that companies including Meta are extending the stated useful life of their computing assets, primarily Nvidia chips, which reduces annual depreciation charges and makes earnings look better than they are. Burry's estimates suggest Meta could be overstating its earnings by as much as 20.8% by 2028 if this accounting treatment continues. Whether or not that proves correct, the concern highlights that Meta's profitability picture may be softer than its headline numbers suggest. Where The Stock Stands Meta's stock hit an all-time high of $796.25 per share in August 2025. As of mid-June 2026, it is trading at $577.22, a decline of approximately 27.5% from that peak. At a market capitalisation of around $1.46 trillion and a business that remains almost entirely dependent on advertising revenue, Meta is not cheaply priced for a company whose AI bet has yet to prove itself operationally as well ass financially. The AI market at large may or may not be a bubble. But Meta's specific combination of enormous spending, advertising-only revenue, unproven AI returns, and a moderation crisis affecting millions of real users makes it a stock with a bubble story entirely its own.

Meta is spending up to $145 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 alone. Its stock has already dropped 21% from its all-time high. Revenue is growing fast but profits are not keeping pace.&nbsp;

5 reasons why 'Meta' could be the BIGGEST BUBBLE of AI era

India's Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V. Anantha Nageswaran has delivered a blunt warning to India's youth: the edge that software engineers and MBA graduates once enjoyed is no longer guaranteed. Speaking on an ANI podcast, Nageswaran said the era of white-collar dominance is fading and called on Indians to radically change how they view trade professions such as plumbing, carpentry, welding, and electrical work.&nbsp;“The globalising world gave a certain advantage for your software, computer science, or MBA education, but that era is over,” Nageswaran said.&nbsp;The CEA took direct aim at India's deep-rooted cultural bias against manual trades. “If you are a welder, a plumber, an electrician, and a carpenter etc. India doesn't consider it a diploma; we call it a diploma. We kind of made it unacceptable, unrespectable, and unfashionable. That needs to change,” he said.&nbsp;Nageswaran contrasted India's attitude with that of countries that have achieved sustained economic success. He pointed to Switzerland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and China as nations that place high social respectability on trade skills, treating them as central to economic development rather than as secondary choices for those who could not secure a degree.&nbsp;His core argument was that trade skills carry a unique resilience against automation. “These are the areas where, in fact, the technological advance cannot take away your employability. So you should equip yourself with trade skills,” he said. “It's about trade skills. It's about soft skills which AI cannot easily replace, where human presence is required.”&nbsp;To illustrate his point, Nageswaran used the example of a chef. “You are actually sitting on a gold mine as a chef. You cannot be replaced by AI,” he said. “You have learned the skill that cannot be replicated by technology. So you are going to be a most respected professional in the years to come.”&nbsp;The remarks come at a time when India's job market is undergoing rapid disruption from artificial intelligence, with several entry-level white-collar roles in IT, finance, and back-office operations facing consolidation or elimination. Nageswaran's comments signal a shift in how India's top economic policymakers are thinking about employment, skills, and the future of work in an AI-driven economy.

India's Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran says the era of MBA and software education advantage is over and urges youth to embrace trade skills AI cannot replace.

India's Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V. Anantha Nageswaran has delivered a blunt warning to India's youth: the edge that software engineers and MBA graduates once enjoyed is no longer guaranteed. Speaking on an ANI podcast, Nageswaran said the era of white-collar dominance is fading and called on Indians to radically change how they view trade professions such as plumbing, carpentry, welding, and electrical work. “The globalising world gave a certain advantage for your software, computer science, or MBA education, but that era is over,” Nageswaran said. The CEA took direct aim at India's deep-rooted cultural bias against manual trades. “If you are a welder, a plumber, an electrician, and a carpenter etc. India doesn't consider it a diploma; we call it a diploma. We kind of made it unacceptable, unrespectable, and unfashionable. That needs to change,” he said. Nageswaran contrasted India's attitude with that of countries that have achieved sustained economic success. He pointed to Switzerland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and China as nations that place high social respectability on trade skills, treating them as central to economic development rather than as secondary choices for those who could not secure a degree. His core argument was that trade skills carry a unique resilience against automation. “These are the areas where, in fact, the technological advance cannot take away your employability. So you should equip yourself with trade skills,” he said. “It's about trade skills. It's about soft skills which AI cannot easily replace, where human presence is required.” To illustrate his point, Nageswaran used the example of a chef. “You are actually sitting on a gold mine as a chef. You cannot be replaced by AI,” he said. “You have learned the skill that cannot be replicated by technology. So you are going to be a most respected professional in the years to come.” The remarks come at a time when India's job market is undergoing rapid disruption from artificial intelligence, with several entry-level white-collar roles in IT, finance, and back-office operations facing consolidation or elimination. Nageswaran's comments signal a shift in how India's top economic policymakers are thinking about employment, skills, and the future of work in an AI-driven economy.

India's Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran said on an ANI podcast that the globalisation-driven advantage of software and MBA education is over and urged Indians to respect and embrace trade skills that artificial intelligence cannot replace.

'Respect plumber, carpenter': India's economic advisor says MBA and Software job era is over in AI world

US President Donald Trump confirmed that Apple will collaborate with Intel to design and manufacture semiconductor chips within the United States. Announcing the development on the Truth Social platform, Trump stressed that it is not just important to design chips but to produce chips domestically. Trump also claimed that the US government acquired 10 per cent equity in Intel, helping the company's overall valuation to shoot up to USD600 billion from USD100 billion. Consequently, the US government's holding in the company is now over USD60 billion in just nine months. Trump argued that the United States must rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing base, criticising previous administrations for allowing production capacity to shift overseas, particularly to Taiwan. The partnership would provide Apple with greater supply-chain diversification, as the company currently depends heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for the production of its most advanced chips.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-uk-uae-imposes-social-media-ban-on-under-15s-becomes-first-arab-nation-to-do-so-1781784541127">After UK, UAE imposes Social Media ban on under-15s, becomes first Arab nation to do so</a><h3>Preliminary agreement</h3>A report by the Wall Street Journal in May said the two companies had reached a preliminary agreement, although specific details remained unclear. The move comes as Washington seeks to strengthen critical technology supply chains and reduce dependence on China amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. "First, we helped bring in Nvidia, and they agreed to build their first level Chips with Intel," Trump said in the Truth Social post and added that Musk also agreed to build the TerraFab in the US. Intel is on the stage of coming up with the most advanced chip node 18A-P that signals customers about readiness for cutting-edge innovation needed for advanced chips. "Our updates and presentations at VLSI signal to Intel Foundry customers and partners that we are fully committed to leading edge process innovation over the long term," said Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and general manager of Intel Foundry. "This is a journey, and while we have more work ahead, we appreciate the opportunity to share the progress we are making with Intel 18A-P and our longer-range R&amp;D," he added.

Trump argued that the United States must rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing base, criticising previous administrations for allowing production capacity to shift overseas, particularly to Taiwan. 

US President Donald Trump confirmed that Apple will collaborate with Intel to design and manufacture semiconductor chips within the United States. Announcing the development on the Truth Social platform, Trump stressed that it is not just important to design chips but to produce chips domestically. Trump also claimed that the US government acquired 10 per cent equity in Intel, helping the company's overall valuation to shoot up to USD600 billion from USD100 billion. Consequently, the US government's holding in the company is now over USD60 billion in just nine months. Trump argued that the United States must rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing base, criticising previous administrations for allowing production capacity to shift overseas, particularly to Taiwan. The partnership would provide Apple with greater supply-chain diversification, as the company currently depends heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for the production of its most advanced chips. Also read: After UK, UAE imposes Social Media ban on under-15s, becomes first Arab nation to do so Preliminary agreement A report by the Wall Street Journal in May said the two companies had reached a preliminary agreement, although specific details remained unclear. The move comes as Washington seeks to strengthen critical technology supply chains and reduce dependence on China amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. "First, we helped bring in Nvidia, and they agreed to build their first level Chips with Intel," Trump said in the Truth Social post and added that Musk also agreed to build the TerraFab in the US. Intel is on the stage of coming up with the most advanced chip node 18A-P that signals customers about readiness for cutting-edge innovation needed for advanced chips. "Our updates and presentations at VLSI signal to Intel Foundry customers and partners that we are fully committed to leading edge process innovation over the long term," said Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and general manager of Intel Foundry. "This is a journey, and while we have more work ahead, we appreciate the opportunity to share the progress we are making with Intel 18A-P and our longer-range R&D," he added.

Trump argued that the United States must rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing base, criticising previous administrations for allowing production capacity to shift overseas, particularly to Taiwan.&nbsp;

Apple to collaborate with Intel for domestic chip production, Trump announces

The just-concluded G7 summit in France had the Iran-US-Israel war as its main focus, overshadowing the rest of its agenda. That's because US President Donald Trump hogged the limelight with talk about the Iran-US peace deal before, during, and after the meeting. The G7 member states exhibited national-interest-focused approaches to the Iran war, similar to the blind men and the elephant story, with each considering the shape of the problem from its own perspective. The US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU), announced by Trump just ahead of the G7 summit, was remotely signed after the gathering. For most of the G7 participants, the war was primarily an economic headache, particularly because of the disruption to energy traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The sharp spikes in global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, which resulted in an increased cost of living in many countries, were at the back of their minds. Here is how G7 member states and guest nations, particularly India, viewed the four-month war and its aftermath.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-us-deal-how-much-did-the-war-cost-america-and-the-world-1781755995140">Iran-US deal: How much did the war cost America and the world?</a><h2>How Trump shaped the G7 atmospherics around Iran</h2>Trump arrived at G7 summit after announcing the Iran-US MoU. After the summit, it was remotely signed by him and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The MoU will pave the way for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen completely, toll-free after mine-clearing.The 14-point "Islamabad MoU", mediated in part by Pakistan, includes:<ul><li>An immediate ceasefire across all fronts, including Lebanon.</li><li>An end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.</li><li>Phased sanctions relief for Iran, subject to its compliance on nuclear issues and support for regional proxy militant groups.</li><li>A 60-day period for nuclear negotiations.</li><li>The clearing of mines by Iran from the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days.</li><li>Oil export waivers for Iran.</li><li>Access for Iran to a $300 billion regional development fund, subject to its behaviour.</li></ul>Even after signing, both the US and Iran gave different public accounts of what had been agreed. More details are expected when the agreement is formally signed in Geneva on Friday.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/7-major-flaws-in-the-us-iran-14-point-peace-plan-1781763856800">7 major flaws in the US-Iran 14-point peace plan</a><h2>G7 economic pressures may have driven the urgency to end the Iran war</h2>The Hormuz blockade halted nearly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade and 20 per cent of LNG flows, including supplies to most G7 nations. Some 20,000 mariners were stranded and 2,000 ships were stuck, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The resulting oil price spikes led to higher inflation and gas prices. The US's allies, most of them also G7 members, pushed for rapid implementation of the agreement to stabilise markets, as their main interest was the economy, not any regime change in Iran.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-peace-deal-iran-days-its-time-to-test-the-implementation-of-agreement-1781754141709/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-peace-deal-iran-days-its-time-to-test-the-implementation-of-agreement-1781754141709/embed</a><h2>How the G7 leaders reacted to Iran peace: All about Hormuz and the economy</h2>Once the peace MoU was announced, the G7 leaders welcomed the agreement primarily for easing economic instability. French President Emmanuel Macron said the war had "terrible consequences for our economies". While France did not do much during the war to help the US, Macron said his country and its partners were "ready to take action very quickly", including observation flights within 48 hours, frigates, and aircraft carrier support already in the region to reopen the strait peacefully.Japan stressed free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, even as it opposed unjustified export restrictions, linking the issue to its own energy security concerns. Macron had invited energy-producing nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the G7 as strategic hedges. Trump met the Emir of Qatar, a top LNG producer, on the sidelines of the summit.<h2>For India, it was concerns over energy prices and seafarer safety</h2>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a special invitee to the G7, was categorical in mentioning the safety of Indian seafarers during his bilateral meeting with Trump. India, a net energy importer, was among the nations badly affected by the energy price shocks caused by the Hormuz blockade.Equally concerning for India were the killings of Indian seafarers operating vessels in international waters.

The Iran-US-Israel war dominated the G7 summit, with member states worried about economic fallout from the Strait of Hormuz blockade. It was not about Iran regime change or democratic ideals anymore.

The just-concluded G7 summit in France had the Iran-US-Israel war as its main focus, overshadowing the rest of its agenda. That's because US President Donald Trump hogged the limelight with talk about the Iran-US peace deal before, during, and after the meeting. The G7 member states exhibited national-interest-focused approaches to the Iran war, similar to the blind men and the elephant story, with each considering the shape of the problem from its own perspective. The US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU), announced by Trump just ahead of the G7 summit, was remotely signed after the gathering. For most of the G7 participants, the war was primarily an economic headache, particularly because of the disruption to energy traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The sharp spikes in global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, which resulted in an increased cost of living in many countries, were at the back of their minds. Here is how G7 member states and guest nations, particularly India, viewed the four-month war and its aftermath. Also read: Iran-US deal: How much did the war cost America and the world? How Trump shaped the G7 atmospherics around Iran Trump arrived at G7 summit after announcing the Iran-US MoU. After the summit, it was remotely signed by him and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The MoU will pave the way for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen completely, toll-free after mine-clearing. The 14-point "Islamabad MoU", mediated in part by Pakistan, includes: An immediate ceasefire across all fronts, including Lebanon. An end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Phased sanctions relief for Iran, subject to its compliance on nuclear issues and support for regional proxy militant groups. A 60-day period for nuclear negotiations. The clearing of mines by Iran from the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days. Oil export waivers for Iran. Access for Iran to a $300 billion regional development fund, subject to its behaviour. Even after signing, both the US and Iran gave different public accounts of what had been agreed. More details are expected when the agreement is formally signed in Geneva on Friday. Also read: 7 major flaws in the US-Iran 14-point peace plan G7 economic pressures may have driven the urgency to end the Iran war The Hormuz blockade halted nearly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade and 20 per cent of LNG flows, including supplies to most G7 nations. Some 20,000 mariners were stranded and 2,000 ships were stuck, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The resulting oil price spikes led to higher inflation and gas prices. The US's allies, most of them also G7 members, pushed for rapid implementation of the agreement to stabilise markets, as their main interest was the economy, not any regime change in Iran. https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-peace-deal-iran-days-its-time-to-test-the-implementation-of-agreement-1781754141709/embed How the G7 leaders reacted to Iran peace: All about Hormuz and the economy Once the peace MoU was announced, the G7 leaders welcomed the agreement primarily for easing economic instability. French President Emmanuel Macron said the war had "terrible consequences for our economies". While France did not do much during the war to help the US, Macron said his country and its partners were "ready to take action very quickly", including observation flights within 48 hours, frigates, and aircraft carrier support already in the region to reopen the strait peacefully. Japan stressed free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, even as it opposed unjustified export restrictions, linking the issue to its own energy security concerns. Macron had invited energy-producing nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the G7 as strategic hedges. Trump met the Emir of Qatar, a top LNG producer, on the sidelines of the summit. For India, it was concerns over energy prices and seafarer safety Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a special invitee to the G7, was categorical in mentioning the safety of Indian seafarers during his bilateral meeting with Trump. India, a net energy importer, was among the nations badly affected by the energy price shocks caused by the Hormuz blockade. Equally concerning for India were the killings of Indian seafarers operating vessels in international waters.

The Iran-US-Israel war dominated the G7 summit, with member states worried about economic fallout from the Strait of Hormuz blockade. It was not about Iran regime change or democratic ideals anymore.

Iran war and G7 nations: Why is it similar to the ‘blind men and the elephant’ story? The Big Question

Oil prices slipped in early trading on Thursday (Jun 18) after the United States and Iran signed an interim deal to end the war in the Middle East. Shortly after the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Tehran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz “instantly” and the American blockade of Iranian ports will end “immediately”. The development would mark the end of the largest energy disruption in history that rattled oil prices and global markets.As of 0005 GMT, Brent crude futures were down by 1.12 per cent, at $78.66 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate fell by 1.28 per cent to $75.81 a barrel.The benchmarks declined once again after briefly rising when US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Jun 17) threatened Iran with a renewed bombing campaign if Iranians “don’t behave”.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/unfair-for-them-not-to-have-some-trump-says-iran-can-have-ballistic-missiles-as-peace-deal-takes-effect-1781755731618">‘Unfair for them not to have some’: Trump says Iran can have ballistic missiles as peace deal takes effect</a>“The sell-off extended as ​energy markets continued to aggressively price in a faster-than-expected return of Iranian barrels ​following the recent US-Iran memorandum of understanding,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said, as quoted by Reuters.The 14-point MoU has started a 60-day negotiation period during which Iran will allow maritime traffic to pass through the Strait of Hormuz toll-free. The deal also calls for the key shipping route to be restored to its full capacity within 30 days.The preliminary agreement leaves several contentious issues unresolved, most notably Iran’s nuclear programme. It also commits the United States and its partners to developing a $300 billion recovery package aimed at rebuilding Iran’s economy and infrastructure.Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/very-difficult-guy-trump-says-netanyahu-nearly-derailed-us-iran-peace-deal-1781514228475"> ‘Very difficult guy’: Trump says Netanyahu nearly derailed US-Iran peace deal</a>Should the deal be fully implemented and the Strait of Hormuz reopened, the current supply crunch could eventually give way to a substantial oil surplus. In its monthly market report released on Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that global oil supplies could exceed demand by 5.05 million barrels per day in 2027 as Middle Eastern exports return to international markets.Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is increasingly considering the possibility of raising interest rates later this year to curb inflationary pressures. Higher borrowing costs could slow economic activity and weigh on fuel consumption, potentially dampening oil demand.Nine of the Fed’s 19 policymakers now expect at least one rate hike this year – a notable shift from three months ago, when none anticipated tighter monetary policy.

Oil prices fell more than 1% after the US and Iran signed an interim deal to end their conflict, with Tehran set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore disrupted energy flows.

Oil prices slipped in early trading on Thursday (Jun 18) after the United States and Iran signed an interim deal to end the war in the Middle East. Shortly after the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Tehran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz “instantly” and the American blockade of Iranian ports will end “immediately”. The development would mark the end of the largest energy disruption in history that rattled oil prices and global markets. As of 0005 GMT, Brent crude futures were down by 1.12 per cent, at $78.66 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate fell by 1.28 per cent to $75.81 a barrel. The benchmarks declined once again after briefly rising when US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Jun 17) threatened Iran with a renewed bombing campaign if Iranians “don’t behave”. Also read | ‘Unfair for them not to have some’: Trump says Iran can have ballistic missiles as peace deal takes effect “The sell-off extended as energy markets continued to aggressively price in a faster-than-expected return of Iranian barrels following the recent US-Iran memorandum of understanding,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said, as quoted by Reuters. The 14-point MoU has started a 60-day negotiation period during which Iran will allow maritime traffic to pass through the Strait of Hormuz toll-free. The deal also calls for the key shipping route to be restored to its full capacity within 30 days. The preliminary agreement leaves several contentious issues unresolved, most notably Iran’s nuclear programme. It also commits the United States and its partners to developing a $300 billion recovery package aimed at rebuilding Iran’s economy and infrastructure. Also read | ‘Very difficult guy’: Trump says Netanyahu nearly derailed US-Iran peace deal Should the deal be fully implemented and the Strait of Hormuz reopened, the current supply crunch could eventually give way to a substantial oil surplus. In its monthly market report released on Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that global oil supplies could exceed demand by 5.05 million barrels per day in 2027 as Middle Eastern exports return to international markets. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is increasingly considering the possibility of raising interest rates later this year to curb inflationary pressures. Higher borrowing costs could slow economic activity and weigh on fuel consumption, potentially dampening oil demand. Nine of the Fed’s 19 policymakers now expect at least one rate hike this year – a notable shift from three months ago, when none anticipated tighter monetary policy.

Oil prices fell more than 1% after the US and Iran signed an interim deal to end their conflict, with Tehran set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore disrupted energy flows.

Crude oil prices fall more than 1% as Hormuz set to reopen after US-Iran peace deal

A delegation from Hyundai Shipbuilding (HD Korea Shipbuilding &amp; Offshore Engineering) met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay in Chennai, regarding the establishment of a proposed shipbuilding project in Thoothukudi, involving an investment of Rs 38,000 crore ($4 billion), with the potential to create 15,000 direct jobs. HD KSOE, one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, had signed an MoU with Government of Tamil Nadu for establishing a state-of-the-art shipbuilding cluster.&nbsp;This meeting in Chennai comes barely a week after the state’s Industries Minister Keerthana visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard and headquarters in South Korea, where she toured the shipbuilding facilities, observed advanced production systems, and held discussions on potential areas of cooperation.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/had-a-great-time-on-last-visit-trump-tells-wion-recalls-massive-india-stadium-event-1781715435397">‘Had a great time on last visit,’ Trump tells WION, recalls massive India stadium event</a>&nbsp;For this project, National Shipbuilding &amp; Heavy Industries Park Tamil Nadu Limited (NSHIPTN) was formed between Tamil Nadu Government’s SIPCOT and the Indian Government’s VOC Port Authority (VOCPA). The first in-principle approval for the establishment of a greenfield shipbuilding cluster has also been obtained from Directorate General of Shipping, Government of India, it was mentioned.&nbsp;During the meeting, Chief Minister Vijay reiterated his government’s commitment to facilitate the timely establishment of this strategic project in Thoothukudi and assured the delegation of proactive institutional support at every stage of project implementation. The delegation reciprocated by briefing the chief minister of the progress made and reaffirmed HD KSOE keen interest in grounding this project at the earliest.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-india-trade-deal-worth-over-6-billion-to-come-into-force-on-july-15-1781712306423">UK-India trade deal worth over $6 billion to come into force on July 15</a>&nbsp;In December 2025, when the DMK government was ruling Tamil Nadu, HD Hyundai, the holding company of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, had signed a preliminary agreement with the state government to build a new shipyard. Back then a company spokesperson had said that the Indian government had earlier suggested five candidate states—including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh—for the project. HD Hyundai selected Thoothukudi, in Tamil Nadu as the most suitable location for the new shipyard, as the temperature and rainfall patterns are similar to those of Ulsan, the South Korean port city that houses HD Hyundai’s shipyards.

Chief Minister Vijay reiterated his government’s commitment to facilitate the timely establishment of this strategic project in Thoothukudi and assured the delegation of proactive institutional support at every stage of project implementation.

A delegation from Hyundai Shipbuilding (HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering) met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay in Chennai, regarding the establishment of a proposed shipbuilding project in Thoothukudi, involving an investment of Rs 38,000 crore ($4 billion), with the potential to create 15,000 direct jobs. HD KSOE, one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, had signed an MoU with Government of Tamil Nadu for establishing a state-of-the-art shipbuilding cluster. This meeting in Chennai comes barely a week after the state’s Industries Minister Keerthana visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard and headquarters in South Korea, where she toured the shipbuilding facilities, observed advanced production systems, and held discussions on potential areas of cooperation. Also Read: ‘Had a great time on last visit,’ Trump tells WION, recalls massive India stadium event For this project, National Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Park Tamil Nadu Limited (NSHIPTN) was formed between Tamil Nadu Government’s SIPCOT and the Indian Government’s VOC Port Authority (VOCPA). The first in-principle approval for the establishment of a greenfield shipbuilding cluster has also been obtained from Directorate General of Shipping, Government of India, it was mentioned. During the meeting, Chief Minister Vijay reiterated his government’s commitment to facilitate the timely establishment of this strategic project in Thoothukudi and assured the delegation of proactive institutional support at every stage of project implementation. The delegation reciprocated by briefing the chief minister of the progress made and reaffirmed HD KSOE keen interest in grounding this project at the earliest. Also Read: UK-India trade deal worth over $6 billion to come into force on July 15 In December 2025, when the DMK government was ruling Tamil Nadu, HD Hyundai, the holding company of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, had signed a preliminary agreement with the state government to build a new shipyard. Back then a company spokesperson had said that the Indian government had earlier suggested five candidate states—including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh—for the project. HD Hyundai selected Thoothukudi, in Tamil Nadu as the most suitable location for the new shipyard, as the temperature and rainfall patterns are similar to those of Ulsan, the South Korean port city that houses HD Hyundai’s shipyards.

Chief Minister Vijay reiterated his government’s commitment to facilitate the timely establishment of this strategic project in Thoothukudi and assured the delegation of proactive institutional support at every stage of project implementation.

HD Hyundai delegation meets CM Vijay over proposed $4bn shipyard in Tamil Nadu

Japan recorded a trade deficit of nearly USD 2.34 billion (378.6 billion yen) in May, marking the first deficit in four months, according to the government data released on Wednesday. However, the deficit of Japan in May was 42.8 per cent lower than the same month of the previous year. The report also indicated that Japan's crude oil imports fell sharply, declining by over 57 per cent in volume amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. Meanwhile, exports significantly surged 17.0 per cent to 9.51 trillion yen on robust demand for semiconductor and other electronic parts, including motor vehicles. The Finance Ministry of Japan stated that imports have risen 12.5 per cent from a year earlier to 9.89 trillion yen, on purchases of communication devices. On the other hand, the data revealed that the oil import of Japan plunged &nbsp;57.3 per cent to 4.73 million kilolitres as the West Asia conflict disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/what-is-the-per-capita-income-of-g7-nations-and-where-does-india-stand-1781703447882">What is the per capita income of G7 nations and where does India stand?</a><h3>Japan's alternative ways during conflicts</h3>In response, Japan has stepped up efforts to secure fuel from alternative suppliers, including the United States, after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28 effectively shut down the key maritime route. Imports of U.S. crude oil rose 24.0 per cent to 576,000 kilolitres. Earlier this week, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) increased its short-term policy rate from 0.75 per cent to 1.0 per cent, marking its highest level since 1995. The decision was approved by a 7-1 vote of the Policy Board and took effect on Wednesday. The interest rate on the complementary deposit facility, which applies to current account balances held by financial institutions excluding required reserves, was raised to 1.0 per cent. Meanwhile, the basic loan rate under the complementary lending facility remained unchanged at 1.25 per cent.

Japan recorded a USD 2.34 billion trade deficit in May, its first in four months, despite exports rising 17%. Crude oil imports plunged 57.3% as Strait of Hormuz disruptions hit supplies, prompting Japan to boost fuel purchases from the United States.

Japan recorded a trade deficit of nearly USD 2.34 billion (378.6 billion yen) in May, marking the first deficit in four months, according to the government data released on Wednesday. However, the deficit of Japan in May was 42.8 per cent lower than the same month of the previous year. The report also indicated that Japan's crude oil imports fell sharply, declining by over 57 per cent in volume amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. Meanwhile, exports significantly surged 17.0 per cent to 9.51 trillion yen on robust demand for semiconductor and other electronic parts, including motor vehicles. The Finance Ministry of Japan stated that imports have risen 12.5 per cent from a year earlier to 9.89 trillion yen, on purchases of communication devices. On the other hand, the data revealed that the oil import of Japan plunged 57.3 per cent to 4.73 million kilolitres as the West Asia conflict disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Also read: What is the per capita income of G7 nations and where does India stand? Japan's alternative ways during conflicts In response, Japan has stepped up efforts to secure fuel from alternative suppliers, including the United States, after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28 effectively shut down the key maritime route. Imports of U.S. crude oil rose 24.0 per cent to 576,000 kilolitres. Earlier this week, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) increased its short-term policy rate from 0.75 per cent to 1.0 per cent, marking its highest level since 1995. The decision was approved by a 7-1 vote of the Policy Board and took effect on Wednesday. The interest rate on the complementary deposit facility, which applies to current account balances held by financial institutions excluding required reserves, was raised to 1.0 per cent. Meanwhile, the basic loan rate under the complementary lending facility remained unchanged at 1.25 per cent.

Japan recorded a USD 2.34 billion trade deficit in May, its first in four months, despite exports rising 17%. Crude oil imports plunged 57.3% as Strait of Hormuz disruptions hit supplies, prompting Japan to boost fuel purchases from the United States.

Japan experiences USD 2.34 billion trade deficit in May, shortfall narrows 42.8% YoY

The G7 comprises the richest democracies in the world, which makes it obvious why China is not in the gathering. The G7 leaders have been careful to avoid turning their summits into explicit anti-Beijing positioning, unlike how they openly confront and criticise a former member, Russia. Yet, the Asian power is the elephant in the room.&nbsp;<h2>Security concerns over China are an undercurrent in the G7</h2>Individually and collectively, G7 members are worried about China’s expanding military capabilities and its actions with regard to Taiwan, the South China Sea and the wider Indo-Pacific region. China's growing influence in strategic regions is a challenge to the existing security order established by the US-led Western democracies. China’s deepening partnerships with countries viewed as strategic rivals of the West, most notably Russia and North Korea, contribute to G7 strategic calculations. For the United States and some of its allies, Chinese military modernisation and its confident foreign policy raise questions about deterrence and regional stability.Even as they are averse to open confrontations with China, the European members of the G7 are seeking to reduce strategic vulnerabilities with regard to Beijing. They want to ensure that economic ties with Beijing do not create excessive dependence or undermine long-term economic security.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g7-s-new-reality-india-brazil-and-other-middle-powers-are-becoming-impossible-to-ignore-1781523212514">G7's new reality: India, Brazil and other middle powers are becoming impossible to ignore</a><h2>Rare earths: The China dependency problem</h2>Critical minerals are one of the central themes for G7 members. They are seeking ways to reduce dependence on China’s dominance in rare earth processing and supply chains. Beijing’s recent export restrictions on rare earth-based magnets exposed the vulnerability of Western industries, with everything from electric vehicles and renewable energy to defence manufacturing affected.France, the current G7 summit host, has traditionally pushed for a joint approach focused on diversifying mineral supply chains and preventing future supply shocks, which is largely about China, albeit without naming it directly.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/g7-summit-2026-zelensky-holds-talks-with-trump-and-rubio-at-g7-1781670445727/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/g7-summit-2026-zelensky-holds-talks-with-trump-and-rubio-at-g7-1781670445727/embed</a><h2>The “economic coercion” debate reflects concerns over China</h2>G7 trade discussions have criticised “economic coercion” and export restrictions, particularly those affecting critical minerals. This has been widely interpreted as a reference to China without directly naming the country. The broader concern is that dependence on Chinese manufacturing and raw materials is becoming a strategic vulnerability for G7 nations.The US has already moved towards creating a Western critical minerals bloc to reduce reliance on China. This includes price supports, subsidies and mechanisms to encourage mining outside China. However, European allies of the US have raised concerns over costs, governance and whether Washington should control such a system.This exposes an irony: while the G7 wants to counter China’s state-backed industrial model, its members are still debating whether to adopt interventionist tools similar to those used by the US or continue more transactional engagements with China.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-indo-pacific-command-changes-to-pacific-command-amid-g7-summit-what-message-is-it-sending-the-big-question-1781681959591">US Indo-Pacific Command changes to Pacific Command amid G7 summit. What message is it sending? The Big Question</a>&nbsp;<h2>G7, China and the AI race</h2>China’s shadow is appearing indirectly in the global AI race too. While the G7 discussed technology governance, there is concern about dependence on technology ecosystems dominated by US and Chinese players. It is not just China but also the US that controls much of the infrastructure and standards underpinning the AI-led technological era.<h2>China and G7 membership</h2>China was never part of the original G7 and is very unlikely to become a member. Today, its absence raises questions about whether the G7 still reflects the real balance of global economic power. Excluding China may preserve G7 unity around democratic principles, but it also limits the group’s ability to address contemporary global realities.The G7 summits are increasingly exposing a paradox: some of the biggest conversations revolve around Beijing’s economic power. The summit’s core anxieties are all connected to China’s rise. One wonders whether the G7 can manage global economic challenges while leaving out the world’s second-largest economy.&nbsp;

Despite being the second-largest economy, China is not part of the G7, which comprises the world's richest democracies. But China is the underlying theme of many of G7's discussions on security, critical minerals, trade, AI and economic security

The G7 comprises the richest democracies in the world, which makes it obvious why China is not in the gathering. The G7 leaders have been careful to avoid turning their summits into explicit anti-Beijing positioning, unlike how they openly confront and criticise a former member, Russia. Yet, the Asian power is the elephant in the room. Security concerns over China are an undercurrent in the G7 Individually and collectively, G7 members are worried about China’s expanding military capabilities and its actions with regard to Taiwan, the South China Sea and the wider Indo-Pacific region. China's growing influence in strategic regions is a challenge to the existing security order established by the US-led Western democracies. China’s deepening partnerships with countries viewed as strategic rivals of the West, most notably Russia and North Korea, contribute to G7 strategic calculations. For the United States and some of its allies, Chinese military modernisation and its confident foreign policy raise questions about deterrence and regional stability. Even as they are averse to open confrontations with China, the European members of the G7 are seeking to reduce strategic vulnerabilities with regard to Beijing. They want to ensure that economic ties with Beijing do not create excessive dependence or undermine long-term economic security. Also read: G7's new reality: India, Brazil and other middle powers are becoming impossible to ignore Rare earths: The China dependency problem Critical minerals are one of the central themes for G7 members. They are seeking ways to reduce dependence on China’s dominance in rare earth processing and supply chains. Beijing’s recent export restrictions on rare earth-based magnets exposed the vulnerability of Western industries, with everything from electric vehicles and renewable energy to defence manufacturing affected. France, the current G7 summit host, has traditionally pushed for a joint approach focused on diversifying mineral supply chains and preventing future supply shocks, which is largely about China, albeit without naming it directly. https://www.wionews.com/videos/g7-summit-2026-zelensky-holds-talks-with-trump-and-rubio-at-g7-1781670445727/embed The “economic coercion” debate reflects concerns over China G7 trade discussions have criticised “economic coercion” and export restrictions, particularly those affecting critical minerals. This has been widely interpreted as a reference to China without directly naming the country. The broader concern is that dependence on Chinese manufacturing and raw materials is becoming a strategic vulnerability for G7 nations. The US has already moved towards creating a Western critical minerals bloc to reduce reliance on China. This includes price supports, subsidies and mechanisms to encourage mining outside China. However, European allies of the US have raised concerns over costs, governance and whether Washington should control such a system. This exposes an irony: while the G7 wants to counter China’s state-backed industrial model, its members are still debating whether to adopt interventionist tools similar to those used by the US or continue more transactional engagements with China. Also read: US Indo-Pacific Command changes to Pacific Command amid G7 summit. What message is it sending? The Big Question G7, China and the AI race China’s shadow is appearing indirectly in the global AI race too. While the G7 discussed technology governance, there is concern about dependence on technology ecosystems dominated by US and Chinese players. It is not just China but also the US that controls much of the infrastructure and standards underpinning the AI-led technological era. China and G7 membership China was never part of the original G7 and is very unlikely to become a member. Today, its absence raises questions about whether the G7 still reflects the real balance of global economic power. Excluding China may preserve G7 unity around democratic principles, but it also limits the group’s ability to address contemporary global realities. The G7 summits are increasingly exposing a paradox: some of the biggest conversations revolve around Beijing’s economic power. The summit’s core anxieties are all connected to China’s rise. One wonders whether the G7 can manage global economic challenges while leaving out the world’s second-largest economy.

Despite being the second-largest economy, China is not part of the G7, which comprises the world's richest democracies. But China is the underlying theme of many of G7's discussions on security, critical minerals, trade, AI and economic security

G7 summit: How China is the elephant in the room

For the first time since the start of the war in West Asia, oil prices have slipped below the $80-a-barrel mark. This comes after the United States and Iran announced that they have reached an agreement to end the war. International benchmark Brent crude settled at $78.96 a barrel on Tuesday, down 5.1 per cent, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 5.8 per cent to $76.05. The sharp decline came as markets grew increasingly confident that the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, may soon return to normal operations.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/let-the-oil-flow-crude-prices-down-to-81-15-as-us-iran-announce-immediate-end-to-hostilities-truce-trump-mojtaba-khamenei-1781483972835">'Let the oil flow': Crude prices down to $81.15 as US, Iran announce 'immediate end' to hostilities</a><h2>US to ease sanctions on Iranian oil?</h2>The oil price slide accelerated to over five per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington could ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports as part of the broader agreement to end the conflict. Such a move would allow Tehran to resume large-scale sales of crude and refined petroleum products, potentially increasing global supplies at a time when traders had been bracing for prolonged disruption.The Strait of Hormuz is at the centre of the crisis. After the war started on February 28, Iran moved to restrict maritime traffic in the waterway which handles roughly a fifth of the world's oil trade.While a formal peace agreement has yet to be signed, early signs of normalisation are already emerging. Iranian media reported that three oil tankers and two cargo vessels had successfully transited the strait, a development that helped calm markets.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g7-hot-mic-moment-catches-us-ally-s-difficult-trump-confession-here-s-what-happened-macron-zelensky-russia-war-1781663838986">G7 Summit hot-mic moment catches US ally's 'difficult' Trump confession. Here's what happened | WATCH</a>That does not mean the crisis is over. Shipping companies and energy analysts continue to warn that restoring full operations will take time. Insurance costs remain elevated, vessel traffic has not returned to pre-war levels and questions remain about the long-term implementation of the ceasefire.<h2>Inflation expected to fall</h2>The easing of oil prices has also boosted hopes that inflation pressures could begin to moderate. European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record close in the United States.&nbsp;Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.

Oil prices have fallen below $80 a barrel for the first time since the war began after the US and Iran announced a peace agreement. Markets were further encouraged by reports that Washington could ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports, boosting hopes of increased global supply.

For the first time since the start of the war in West Asia, oil prices have slipped below the $80-a-barrel mark. This comes after the United States and Iran announced that they have reached an agreement to end the war. International benchmark Brent crude settled at $78.96 a barrel on Tuesday, down 5.1 per cent, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 5.8 per cent to $76.05. The sharp decline came as markets grew increasingly confident that the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, may soon return to normal operations. Also read | 'Let the oil flow': Crude prices down to $81.15 as US, Iran announce 'immediate end' to hostilities US to ease sanctions on Iranian oil? The oil price slide accelerated to over five per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington could ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports as part of the broader agreement to end the conflict. Such a move would allow Tehran to resume large-scale sales of crude and refined petroleum products, potentially increasing global supplies at a time when traders had been bracing for prolonged disruption. The Strait of Hormuz is at the centre of the crisis. After the war started on February 28, Iran moved to restrict maritime traffic in the waterway which handles roughly a fifth of the world's oil trade. While a formal peace agreement has yet to be signed, early signs of normalisation are already emerging. Iranian media reported that three oil tankers and two cargo vessels had successfully transited the strait, a development that helped calm markets. Also read | G7 Summit hot-mic moment catches US ally's 'difficult' Trump confession. Here's what happened | WATCH That does not mean the crisis is over. Shipping companies and energy analysts continue to warn that restoring full operations will take time. Insurance costs remain elevated, vessel traffic has not returned to pre-war levels and questions remain about the long-term implementation of the ceasefire. Inflation expected to fall The easing of oil prices has also boosted hopes that inflation pressures could begin to moderate. European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record close in the United States. Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.

Oil prices have fallen below $80 a barrel for the first time since the war began after the US and Iran announced a peace agreement. Markets were further encouraged by reports that Washington could ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports, boosting hopes of increased global supply.

Oil drops below $80 for first time since war began as US-Iran peace hopes grow

China's rare-earth export quantity has increased only 2.2 per cent year-on-year during the first five months of 2026; however, export value increased 44.9 per cent, showing significantly higher prices and broader global demand for the strategic minerals. China has exported 25,378 tonnes of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds during January-May 2026, as compared with nearly 24,832 tonnes in the corresponding period last year, according to data published by the General Administration of Customs of China. However, the export value rose sharply to USD 243.63 million, which marks an increase up to 44.9 per cent over the year-ago period. In May 2026 alone, China exported 5,490.4 tonnes of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds, which stood with a shipments reaching value of USD 63.08 million. Customs data showed that export volumes remained relatively unchanged, but the value of exports rose significantly, highlighting the growing strategic importance of rare earth materials in industries such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced electronics and defence manufacturing.&nbsp;Also read:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/will-focus-now-on-ukraine-do-whatever-i-can-says-trump-at-g7-summit-1781608500726"> ‘Will focus now on Ukraine, do whatever I can,’ says Trump at G7 Summit</a><h3>Beijing's domination over rare-earth production in the world</h3>China continues to dominate global rare-earth production and processing, supplying critical materials essential for a broad range of high-tech and clean-energy applications. The figures come at a time when governments and industries worldwide are intensifying efforts to secure reliable rare-earth supplies, diversify procurement sources and reduce reliance on highly concentrated supply chains.&nbsp;The significant spike in export value reflects rising global prices and intense demand from the electric vehicle, renewable energy, and defense sectors. China dominates the global supply chain, controlling approximately 70% of mining and over 90% of refining. Beijing has leveraged this dominance through multiple rounds of strict export controls that include dual-use and Military bans, licensing requirements and technology restrictions.

China has exported 25,378 tonnes of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds during January-May 2026, as compared with nearly 24,832 tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

China's rare-earth export quantity has increased only 2.2 per cent year-on-year during the first five months of 2026; however, export value increased 44.9 per cent, showing significantly higher prices and broader global demand for the strategic minerals. China has exported 25,378 tonnes of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds during January-May 2026, as compared with nearly 24,832 tonnes in the corresponding period last year, according to data published by the General Administration of Customs of China. However, the export value rose sharply to USD 243.63 million, which marks an increase up to 44.9 per cent over the year-ago period. In May 2026 alone, China exported 5,490.4 tonnes of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds, which stood with a shipments reaching value of USD 63.08 million. Customs data showed that export volumes remained relatively unchanged, but the value of exports rose significantly, highlighting the growing strategic importance of rare earth materials in industries such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced electronics and defence manufacturing. Also read: ‘Will focus now on Ukraine, do whatever I can,’ says Trump at G7 Summit Beijing's domination over rare-earth production in the world China continues to dominate global rare-earth production and processing, supplying critical materials essential for a broad range of high-tech and clean-energy applications. The figures come at a time when governments and industries worldwide are intensifying efforts to secure reliable rare-earth supplies, diversify procurement sources and reduce reliance on highly concentrated supply chains. The significant spike in export value reflects rising global prices and intense demand from the electric vehicle, renewable energy, and defense sectors. China dominates the global supply chain, controlling approximately 70% of mining and over 90% of refining. Beijing has leveraged this dominance through multiple rounds of strict export controls that include dual-use and Military bans, licensing requirements and technology restrictions.

China has exported 25,378 tonnes of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds during January-May 2026, as compared with nearly 24,832 tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

China's rare-earth export value jumps 45% despite modest growth in volume

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined other Global South leaders at the 52nd G7 summit currently underway in Évian-les-Bains, France. Besides India, France's presidency invited Brazil, Kenya, Egypt, and South Korea as G7's outreach partners. Modi framed his attendance at the gathering of the richest democracies as speaking "for the aspirations of the Global South". Over the past few years, India has positioned itself as a voice bridging developmental gaps and raising the concerns of developing nations at various fora such as the G20, the UN, and the Voice of the Global South Summit. But the real question is, will G7 listen to Global South?<h2>A sour note on South Africa</h2>South Africa was reportedly excluded from Évian under pressure from US President Donald Trump over alleged anti-white racism in the country. The absence is notable because South Africa has been a regular participant in G7 outreach engagements including at the summits in Japan (2023) and Italy (2024). This is being seen as a signal that the G7 outreach is selective and politically gated.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/g7-summit-26-leaders-gather-for-the-high-stakes-summit-in-evian-les-bains-1781604737068/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/g7-summit-26-leaders-gather-for-the-high-stakes-summit-in-evian-les-bains-1781604737068/embed</a><h2>What are the Global South economies demanding?</h2>India is at the forefront of a long-running campaign for permanent UN Security Council seats for nations in the Global South. It is also seeking reforms of international monetary institutions so that global governance reflects today's realities. Modi's agenda at the G7 centres around a more inclusive international order.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g7-summit-2026-modi-g7-summit-what-is-g7-and-how-it-differs-from-g20-and-brics-why-it-still-matters-in-the-changing-world-wion-decodes-1781256938652">G7 Summit: What is G7 and how it differs from G20 and BRICS? Why it still matters in the changing world | WION Decodes</a><h2>Development financing: Global South demands, but who will deliver?</h2>Developing nations want the G7 to support debt restructuring, improve coordination among public and private creditors, and expand debt-for-climate swaps. They are seeking cheaper capital, as interest rates on loans are far higher for emerging economies than for advanced ones. This has to be seen against the backdrop of UN estimates that trillions of dollars are needed annually to meet the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Climate commitments are another issue, with developing countries arguing that wealthy nations have not provided sufficient funding for the clean energy transition and climate adaptation.<h2>Trump vs the rest: A transatlantic fracture looms large</h2>The G7 is not cohesive, with most members having issues with the Trump-led US on trade, security, and people-to-people relations. Trump has been trigger-happy in berating traditional allies, including those in the G7, particularly on issues of trade and conflicts involving Iran and the Russia–Ukraine war. This leaves seven divergent partners on global issues. As chair, France appears to have avoided naming climate change as a priority issue, possibly to avoid clashing with the Trump administration. If commitments are diluted like this to keep the US happy, it would leave emerging economies dissatisfied, with no concrete outcomes for them.Note that the US holds the 2026 G20 presidency. The American focus is on growth, energy supply chains, and technology, not necessarily the development-and-equity framing that the Global South seeks.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g7-s-new-reality-india-brazil-and-other-middle-powers-are-becoming-impossible-to-ignore-1781523212514">G7's new reality: India, Brazil and other middle powers are becoming impossible to ignore</a><h2>At best, the G7 would deliver only incremental gains for the Global South</h2>There may be some guarantees and easier access to existing finance from multilateral development lenders. However, global governance reforms, large-scale concessional capital, and robust climate finance may prove difficult to achieve through consensus.This G7 summit is best described as "Trump-constrained". While there will be rhetoric about partnerships with the Global South, there may not be any definitive binding commitments. The talks might still keep the Global South engaged, but not win it over.

Indian PM Narendra Modi is championing the Global South priorities at G7 summit in France. But will G7 listen to the Global South on development finance, climate funding and governance reforms, amid divisions within the G7 and US-led tensions?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined other Global South leaders at the 52nd G7 summit currently underway in Évian-les-Bains, France. Besides India, France's presidency invited Brazil, Kenya, Egypt, and South Korea as G7's outreach partners. Modi framed his attendance at the gathering of the richest democracies as speaking "for the aspirations of the Global South". Over the past few years, India has positioned itself as a voice bridging developmental gaps and raising the concerns of developing nations at various fora such as the G20, the UN, and the Voice of the Global South Summit. But the real question is, will G7 listen to Global South? A sour note on South Africa South Africa was reportedly excluded from Évian under pressure from US President Donald Trump over alleged anti-white racism in the country. The absence is notable because South Africa has been a regular participant in G7 outreach engagements including at the summits in Japan (2023) and Italy (2024). This is being seen as a signal that the G7 outreach is selective and politically gated. https://www.wionews.com/videos/g7-summit-26-leaders-gather-for-the-high-stakes-summit-in-evian-les-bains-1781604737068/embed What are the Global South economies demanding? India is at the forefront of a long-running campaign for permanent UN Security Council seats for nations in the Global South. It is also seeking reforms of international monetary institutions so that global governance reflects today's realities. Modi's agenda at the G7 centres around a more inclusive international order. Also read: G7 Summit: What is G7 and how it differs from G20 and BRICS? Why it still matters in the changing world | WION Decodes Development financing: Global South demands, but who will deliver? Developing nations want the G7 to support debt restructuring, improve coordination among public and private creditors, and expand debt-for-climate swaps. They are seeking cheaper capital, as interest rates on loans are far higher for emerging economies than for advanced ones. This has to be seen against the backdrop of UN estimates that trillions of dollars are needed annually to meet the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Climate commitments are another issue, with developing countries arguing that wealthy nations have not provided sufficient funding for the clean energy transition and climate adaptation. Trump vs the rest: A transatlantic fracture looms large The G7 is not cohesive, with most members having issues with the Trump-led US on trade, security, and people-to-people relations. Trump has been trigger-happy in berating traditional allies, including those in the G7, particularly on issues of trade and conflicts involving Iran and the Russia–Ukraine war. This leaves seven divergent partners on global issues. As chair, France appears to have avoided naming climate change as a priority issue, possibly to avoid clashing with the Trump administration. If commitments are diluted like this to keep the US happy, it would leave emerging economies dissatisfied, with no concrete outcomes for them. Note that the US holds the 2026 G20 presidency. The American focus is on growth, energy supply chains, and technology, not necessarily the development-and-equity framing that the Global South seeks. Also read: G7's new reality: India, Brazil and other middle powers are becoming impossible to ignore At best, the G7 would deliver only incremental gains for the Global South There may be some guarantees and easier access to existing finance from multilateral development lenders. However, global governance reforms, large-scale concessional capital, and robust climate finance may prove difficult to achieve through consensus. This G7 summit is best described as "Trump-constrained". While there will be rhetoric about partnerships with the Global South, there may not be any definitive binding commitments. The talks might still keep the Global South engaged, but not win it over.

Indian PM Narendra Modi is championing the Global South priorities at G7 summit in France. But will G7 listen to the Global South on development finance, climate funding and governance reforms, amid divisions within the G7 and US-led tensions?

Modi at G7: Global South has a seat at the table, but is anyone listening?

The UK is joining Australia, Indonesia, and a handful of other nations to implement social media restrictions, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing a ban on under-16s' access to platforms like Facebook and Instagram soon. Most bans across nations are age-based, applying mainly to those below 16 or 18. Full nationwide bans for mostly US-based platforms exist in China and Iran. India banned TikTok in 2020. While full nationwide bans cause near-total revenue loss from those markets, limited bans based on age, known as age-gating, do not affect the company's bottom line, as such restrictions target younger, less monetised teen demographics. These restrictions are basically a rap on the knuckle for the firms, and a drop in the ocean when compared to the billion-dollar revenues of Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap and others. Here is why:<h2>Fines and penalties are low compared to social media platform revenues</h2>In Australia, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to AU$49.5 million (US$33.2 million) if they fail to remove under-16 accounts. Against Meta's multi-billion-dollar quarterly profits, this amount is nothing. No major fines have been paid. The country's watchdog, eSafety, is sending monthly notices for six months and will pursue penalties only for systemic breaches. The main cost so far is reputational, from compliance probes on these firms.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-pm-keir-starmer-to-bar-all-under-16s-from-major-social-media-platforms-1781508860388">UK government to bar all under-16s from major social media platforms, Keir Starmer announces</a><h2>Social media bans: Account removals vs actual usage</h2>Platforms revoked access to about 4.7 million under-16 accounts in Australia since the December 2025 ban. Yet usage persists, with surveys showing up to 20 per cent of 13–15-year-olds still accessing TikTok and Snapchat months later, and most prior users retaining access via workarounds like VPNs and fake ages. This, in effect, limits the losses for social media firms both in terms of real users and revenue.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-to-ban-social-media-for-under-16s-proposes-sweeping-online-safety-curbs-1781586711769/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-to-ban-social-media-for-under-16s-proposes-sweeping-online-safety-curbs-1781586711769/embed</a><h2>Is revenue actually lost for companies due to social media bans?</h2>A 2023 Harvard study found social media platforms earned nearly $11 billion in US ad revenue from under-18s in 2022. Snapchat derived 41 per cent of its 2022 US ad revenue from under-18s, TikTok 35 per cent, YouTube 27 per cent, and Instagram 16 per cent. Nobably, the figure is only 1.9 per cent for Facebook and 2 per cent for X. Instagram drew most revenue from 13–17-year-olds , at $4 billion, followed by TikTok, before it was briefly banned in US, at $2 billion.&nbsp;Under-16s are a smaller slice of the user base, but they are key drivers of engagement and future growth.In February this year, Snap CEO called global ad revenue from under-18 impressions "not material."&nbsp;Analysts broadly agree to this: teens are under-monetised as they lack the disposable income advertisers chase. So the short-term financial impacts of bans may be minimal.The bigger boomerang hits creators, who used to earn billions through these platforms in markets like Australia and lose reach when their under-16 audience is cut off.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/is-india-planning-australia-like-social-media-ban-for-children-under-16-what-we-know-1771386744225">Is India planning Australia-like social media ban for children under 16? What we know</a><h2>Cost of compliance is also minimal compared to revenues</h2>Age-verification runs roughly $0.12–$0.65 per check , and can include facial estimation, ID-based, or mobile-based methods. As Australia's six industry codes for age assurance took effect in March, a government analysis estimated AU$53.9 million in initial age-assurance costs across services plus AU$4.5 million annually. For the big tech firms, these amounts are manageable, though the tech can be cumbersome. The cost of running the business will eventually come down as technology matures. Indirect risks such as cybersecurity, data privacy obligations, and breach exposure from collecting age data could remain.In short, the direct business costs to major platforms from age bans look modest. Fines and compliance are nearly negligible against their global revenue. Full bans, like TikTok's in India and the US before reinstatement, are far costlier.

The UK plans an under-16 social media ban. But such age-gating measures might have only a limited financial impact on Meta, TikTok and other social media giants. Fines, compliance costs and teen ad revenue remain relatively small compared to their billion-dollar revenues.

The UK is joining Australia, Indonesia, and a handful of other nations to implement social media restrictions, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing a ban on under-16s' access to platforms like Facebook and Instagram soon. Most bans across nations are age-based, applying mainly to those below 16 or 18. Full nationwide bans for mostly US-based platforms exist in China and Iran. India banned TikTok in 2020. While full nationwide bans cause near-total revenue loss from those markets, limited bans based on age, known as age-gating, do not affect the company's bottom line, as such restrictions target younger, less monetised teen demographics. These restrictions are basically a rap on the knuckle for the firms, and a drop in the ocean when compared to the billion-dollar revenues of Meta, Google, TikTok, Snap and others. Here is why: Fines and penalties are low compared to social media platform revenues In Australia, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to AU$49.5 million (US$33.2 million) if they fail to remove under-16 accounts. Against Meta's multi-billion-dollar quarterly profits, this amount is nothing. No major fines have been paid. The country's watchdog, eSafety, is sending monthly notices for six months and will pursue penalties only for systemic breaches. The main cost so far is reputational, from compliance probes on these firms. Also read: UK government to bar all under-16s from major social media platforms, Keir Starmer announces Social media bans: Account removals vs actual usage Platforms revoked access to about 4.7 million under-16 accounts in Australia since the December 2025 ban. Yet usage persists, with surveys showing up to 20 per cent of 13–15-year-olds still accessing TikTok and Snapchat months later, and most prior users retaining access via workarounds like VPNs and fake ages. This, in effect, limits the losses for social media firms both in terms of real users and revenue. https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-to-ban-social-media-for-under-16s-proposes-sweeping-online-safety-curbs-1781586711769/embed Is revenue actually lost for companies due to social media bans? A 2023 Harvard study found social media platforms earned nearly $11 billion in US ad revenue from under-18s in 2022. Snapchat derived 41 per cent of its 2022 US ad revenue from under-18s, TikTok 35 per cent, YouTube 27 per cent, and Instagram 16 per cent. Nobably, the figure is only 1.9 per cent for Facebook and 2 per cent for X. Instagram drew most revenue from 13–17-year-olds , at $4 billion, followed by TikTok, before it was briefly banned in US, at $2 billion. Under-16s are a smaller slice of the user base, but they are key drivers of engagement and future growth. In February this year, Snap CEO called global ad revenue from under-18 impressions "not material." Analysts broadly agree to this: teens are under-monetised as they lack the disposable income advertisers chase. So the short-term financial impacts of bans may be minimal. The bigger boomerang hits creators, who used to earn billions through these platforms in markets like Australia and lose reach when their under-16 audience is cut off. Also read: Is India planning Australia-like social media ban for children under 16? What we know Cost of compliance is also minimal compared to revenues Age-verification runs roughly $0.12–$0.65 per check , and can include facial estimation, ID-based, or mobile-based methods. As Australia's six industry codes for age assurance took effect in March, a government analysis estimated AU$53.9 million in initial age-assurance costs across services plus AU$4.5 million annually. For the big tech firms, these amounts are manageable, though the tech can be cumbersome. The cost of running the business will eventually come down as technology matures. Indirect risks such as cybersecurity, data privacy obligations, and breach exposure from collecting age data could remain. In short, the direct business costs to major platforms from age bans look modest. Fines and compliance are nearly negligible against their global revenue. Full bans, like TikTok's in India and the US before reinstatement, are far costlier.

The UK plans an under-16 social media ban. But such age-gating measures might have only a limited financial impact on Meta, TikTok and other social media giants. Fines, compliance costs and teen ad revenue remain relatively small compared to their billion-dollar revenues.

UK to join under-16 social media bans, but will it really hurt the companies? The Big Question

Every time a chatbot gives a polished answer or a humanoid robot demo goes viral, there's an invisible workforce behind it - and increasingly, a large part of that workforce is in India. For wages that can work out to just a couple of dollars an hour, Indian workers are doing the repetitive, unglamorous labour of labelling data, correcting AI outputs, and even acting out tasks on camera so robots can learn to mimic them.&nbsp;A Booming But Invisible Industry&nbsp;India's data annotation industry has grown explosively - from roughly $250 million in 2020-21 to a market expected to cross $7 billion by 2030. That growth is being driven almost entirely by demand from US AI labs, which need vast amounts of human-labelled data to train and fine-tune their models. The work itself is mundane: tagging images, transcribing audio, rating chatbot responses, and flagging errors - millions of small tasks that, stitched together, make large AI models usable.&nbsp;The Wage Gap Is Stark&nbsp;While American annotators working on similar tasks for the same companies have reportedly earned between $15 and $25 an hour, workers in India, Kenya, the Philippines and Venezuela doing comparable work have been paid as little as $1 to $3 an hour - a figure that, converted, lands in the range of roughly Rs 100 to Rs 250 an hour. Major US AI labs rarely hire these workers directly; instead, they go through specialist contracting platforms, which in turn route the work to whichever country offers the cheapest labour at any given time. If workers in one country push back on pay, the platforms simply shift the work elsewhere - keeping wages low and workers replaceable.&nbsp;Training The Robots That Could Replace Them&nbsp;Perhaps the most striking part of this story is the newest frontier: humanoid robots. Companies have begun hiring Indian workers - often in factory settings - to wear lightweight cameras and perform everyday tasks, generating ‘egocentric’ video data that is then used to teach robots how to do that same work. One such operation, Egolab.AI - whose India arm is based in Bengaluru - partners with factories across the country, including garment manufacturers, to collect this kind of footage from workers for robotics projects worldwide. In effect, some workers are now being paid small sums to record themselves doing the jobs that the resulting AI and robotics systems may eventually be used to automate.&nbsp;No Safety Net, Constant Surveillance&nbsp;Most of these workers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, which means they fall outside standard protections like minimum wage enforcement, paid leave, or severance. India's existing labour laws, including the Code on Wages, were not designed for piece-rate, task-by-task digital work and struggle to regulate it. On top of low pay, workers describe intense surveillance - every click, keystroke and submission tracked - and a constant fear of being silently removed from a platform for a single mistake, with no manager or appeals process to turn to.&nbsp;The Bigger Picture&nbsp;AI companies in Silicon Valley are valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars, built in large part on the unglamorous, low-paid work happening in places like India. As India positions itself as a hub for the global AI economy - with government summits, mega data centre deals and ambitious adoption targets - this other side of the story rarely gets the same spotlight: a growing number of Indians whose daily work is to make foreign AI systems smarter, faster and more capable, often for a fraction of what the same work pays elsewhere in the world.

Indian workers are paid as little as Rs 100-250 an hour to label data and train AI and robots for US tech giants - often the same systems that could replace their jobs.

Every time a chatbot gives a polished answer or a humanoid robot demo goes viral, there's an invisible workforce behind it - and increasingly, a large part of that workforce is in India. For wages that can work out to just a couple of dollars an hour, Indian workers are doing the repetitive, unglamorous labour of labelling data, correcting AI outputs, and even acting out tasks on camera so robots can learn to mimic them. A Booming But Invisible Industry India's data annotation industry has grown explosively - from roughly $250 million in 2020-21 to a market expected to cross $7 billion by 2030. That growth is being driven almost entirely by demand from US AI labs, which need vast amounts of human-labelled data to train and fine-tune their models. The work itself is mundane: tagging images, transcribing audio, rating chatbot responses, and flagging errors - millions of small tasks that, stitched together, make large AI models usable. The Wage Gap Is Stark While American annotators working on similar tasks for the same companies have reportedly earned between $15 and $25 an hour, workers in India, Kenya, the Philippines and Venezuela doing comparable work have been paid as little as $1 to $3 an hour - a figure that, converted, lands in the range of roughly Rs 100 to Rs 250 an hour. Major US AI labs rarely hire these workers directly; instead, they go through specialist contracting platforms, which in turn route the work to whichever country offers the cheapest labour at any given time. If workers in one country push back on pay, the platforms simply shift the work elsewhere - keeping wages low and workers replaceable. Training The Robots That Could Replace Them Perhaps the most striking part of this story is the newest frontier: humanoid robots. Companies have begun hiring Indian workers - often in factory settings - to wear lightweight cameras and perform everyday tasks, generating ‘egocentric’ video data that is then used to teach robots how to do that same work. One such operation, Egolab.AI - whose India arm is based in Bengaluru - partners with factories across the country, including garment manufacturers, to collect this kind of footage from workers for robotics projects worldwide. In effect, some workers are now being paid small sums to record themselves doing the jobs that the resulting AI and robotics systems may eventually be used to automate. No Safety Net, Constant Surveillance Most of these workers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, which means they fall outside standard protections like minimum wage enforcement, paid leave, or severance. India's existing labour laws, including the Code on Wages, were not designed for piece-rate, task-by-task digital work and struggle to regulate it. On top of low pay, workers describe intense surveillance - every click, keystroke and submission tracked - and a constant fear of being silently removed from a platform for a single mistake, with no manager or appeals process to turn to. The Bigger Picture AI companies in Silicon Valley are valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars, built in large part on the unglamorous, low-paid work happening in places like India. As India positions itself as a hub for the global AI economy - with government summits, mega data centre deals and ambitious adoption targets - this other side of the story rarely gets the same spotlight: a growing number of Indians whose daily work is to make foreign AI systems smarter, faster and more capable, often for a fraction of what the same work pays elsewhere in the world.

Behind every chatbot and humanoid robot demo is an invisible workforce and a huge share of it is in India. Indian workers are labelling data and training AI systems for American tech giants, often the very systems that could one day take their jobs.

'For Rs 250 per hour': How Indians are selling their future to American AI companies

For decades, London's army of analysts, coders, lawyers and consultants formed the backbone of one of the world's great financial capitals. Now, that workforce is shrinking at a pace that has alarmed economists, recruiters and policymakers alike, as artificial intelligence quietly automates away the very jobs that once defined the city's professional class.&nbsp;The Numbers Tell The Story&nbsp;The scale of the shift is stark. Finance analyst vacancies in London have collapsed from more than 350 roles four years ago to roughly 80 today, according to recruitment data cited in recent reporting. White-collar postings now account for only around a quarter of all London job listings, down from nearly half just a few years ago. Corporate lawyers, software developers, management consultants and digital marketing managers have all seen their vacancy counts fall from the hundreds into the double digits.&nbsp;Half The City's Workforce At Risk&nbsp;Research from the Greater London Authority paints an even bigger picture. An estimated 2.4 million London workers, close to half the capital's entire workforce, face some degree of automation risk from AI. Of those, more than 300,000 workers, including bookkeepers, brokers and administrative staff, fall into the high-risk category for displacement, while another 748,000 sit in the next tier of exposure.&nbsp;Banks Are Leading The Cuts&nbsp;Major employers are already acting on this shift. Standard Chartered has outlined plans to eliminate around 8,000 roles as part of AI-driven efficiency measures, while HSBC is reportedly weighing cuts of close to 20,000 jobs. In the hedge fund world, recruiters describe a similar pattern: the layers of junior staff that once supported portfolio managers are disappearing as firms hand a single employee an AI tool instead of building out a full team. Even executive assistant roles are being quietly phased out as AI takes over scheduling and travel booking.&nbsp;The UK Is Losing Jobs Faster Than Anyone Else&nbsp;A Morgan Stanley analysis found that UK firms reported net job losses linked directly to AI of around 8% over the past 12 months, roughly double the international average among comparable economies including the US, Germany, Japan and Australia. The twist is that UK companies are not lagging on AI productivity: gains of around 11.5% roughly matched those seen in the US. But while American firms with similar productivity gains tended to create more jobs than they cut, British employers have largely done the opposite, with more than 40% of executives admitting AI is being used specifically to reduce headcount rather than expand the business.&nbsp;A Generation Locked Out&nbsp;The fallout is landing hardest on younger workers. Software developer and consultant vacancies have fallen 37% since the launch of ChatGPT, compared with a 26% decline across the jobs market as a whole, and UK youth unemployment has climbed to 13.7%, its highest level since 2020. Early-career roles requiring two to five years of experience are among the most exposed, raising concerns that the entry-level pipeline into management is being cut off just as the next generation of workers tries to get a foothold.&nbsp;Taken together, the picture emerging from London is one of a city at the leading edge of AI's disruption of white-collar work, not in some distant future, but right now. Whether London becomes a cautionary tale or a model for managing the transition may depend on how quickly policymakers and employers respond to a workforce shift that, for hundreds of thousands of people, has already begun.

Finance analyst jobs in London have crashed from 350 to 80 in four years. New data shows nearly half the city's workforce faces AI-driven automation risk.

For decades, London's army of analysts, coders, lawyers and consultants formed the backbone of one of the world's great financial capitals. Now, that workforce is shrinking at a pace that has alarmed economists, recruiters and policymakers alike, as artificial intelligence quietly automates away the very jobs that once defined the city's professional class. The Numbers Tell The Story The scale of the shift is stark. Finance analyst vacancies in London have collapsed from more than 350 roles four years ago to roughly 80 today, according to recruitment data cited in recent reporting. White-collar postings now account for only around a quarter of all London job listings, down from nearly half just a few years ago. Corporate lawyers, software developers, management consultants and digital marketing managers have all seen their vacancy counts fall from the hundreds into the double digits. Half The City's Workforce At Risk Research from the Greater London Authority paints an even bigger picture. An estimated 2.4 million London workers, close to half the capital's entire workforce, face some degree of automation risk from AI. Of those, more than 300,000 workers, including bookkeepers, brokers and administrative staff, fall into the high-risk category for displacement, while another 748,000 sit in the next tier of exposure. Banks Are Leading The Cuts Major employers are already acting on this shift. Standard Chartered has outlined plans to eliminate around 8,000 roles as part of AI-driven efficiency measures, while HSBC is reportedly weighing cuts of close to 20,000 jobs. In the hedge fund world, recruiters describe a similar pattern: the layers of junior staff that once supported portfolio managers are disappearing as firms hand a single employee an AI tool instead of building out a full team. Even executive assistant roles are being quietly phased out as AI takes over scheduling and travel booking. The UK Is Losing Jobs Faster Than Anyone Else A Morgan Stanley analysis found that UK firms reported net job losses linked directly to AI of around 8% over the past 12 months, roughly double the international average among comparable economies including the US, Germany, Japan and Australia. The twist is that UK companies are not lagging on AI productivity: gains of around 11.5% roughly matched those seen in the US. But while American firms with similar productivity gains tended to create more jobs than they cut, British employers have largely done the opposite, with more than 40% of executives admitting AI is being used specifically to reduce headcount rather than expand the business. A Generation Locked Out The fallout is landing hardest on younger workers. Software developer and consultant vacancies have fallen 37% since the launch of ChatGPT, compared with a 26% decline across the jobs market as a whole, and UK youth unemployment has climbed to 13.7%, its highest level since 2020. Early-career roles requiring two to five years of experience are among the most exposed, raising concerns that the entry-level pipeline into management is being cut off just as the next generation of workers tries to get a foothold. Taken together, the picture emerging from London is one of a city at the leading edge of AI's disruption of white-collar work, not in some distant future, but right now. Whether London becomes a cautionary tale or a model for managing the transition may depend on how quickly policymakers and employers respond to a workforce shift that, for hundreds of thousands of people, has already begun.

Finance analyst job postings in London have crashed from over 350 to around 80 in just four years. New data shows nearly half the city's workforce faces some level of AI-driven automation risk, and white-collar roles are vanishing faster than anywhere else in the world.

How London could become AI's layoff apocalypse fallout zone

Fox Corporation has agreed to acquire streaming platform Roku in a USD22 billion deal, a move that is expected to strengthen the American media giant as a force to reckon with in the live news and sports as well as streaming industry. Under the agreement, Fox will purchase Roku for USD160 a share through a mix of cash and FOX Class A common stock, according to a company statement. "This is a defining moment for FOX, and a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade," Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO, Fox Corporation, said. As part of the transaction, Roku shareholders will receive $96 in cash and 0.9693 shares of Fox Class A common stock for each Class A and Class B Roku share they own. "In 2020, we acquired Tubi, and under our stewardship, it has become one of the most successful businesses in streaming. Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it," Lachlan added.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-pm-keir-starmer-to-bar-all-under-16s-from-major-social-media-platforms-1781508860388">UK government to bar all under-16s from major social media platforms, Keir Starmer announces</a><h3>What will the acquisition cover?</h3>The companies said Roku will continue to operate as an open, partner-friendly platform while also carrying Fox content. Fox stated that the acquisition will bring together its portfolio of sports, news, entertainment programming, and the Tubi streaming service with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, extensive first-party data, and direct access to more than 100 million streaming households worldwide. The merger is expected to create a major player in the rapidly growing streaming and connected TV industry, combining Fox's vast content library with Roku's technology capabilities and consumer-facing platform. "I'm incredibly proud of what our team has built, and the combination with FOX is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers," Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, said. The transaction is subject to a nod from both Fox and Roku shareholders and US and some non-US regulatory approvals.

Fox said the Roku acquisition will combine its sports, news, entertainment content and Tubi streaming service with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, valuable user data, and access to over 100 million streaming households globally.

Fox Corporation has agreed to acquire streaming platform Roku in a USD22 billion deal, a move that is expected to strengthen the American media giant as a force to reckon with in the live news and sports as well as streaming industry. Under the agreement, Fox will purchase Roku for USD160 a share through a mix of cash and FOX Class A common stock, according to a company statement. "This is a defining moment for FOX, and a natural extension of the deliberate and focused strategy we have been executing for nearly a decade," Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO, Fox Corporation, said. As part of the transaction, Roku shareholders will receive $96 in cash and 0.9693 shares of Fox Class A common stock for each Class A and Class B Roku share they own. "In 2020, we acquired Tubi, and under our stewardship, it has become one of the most successful businesses in streaming. Today, we take the next step: bringing together the most valuable live content portfolio in video consumption with the preeminent streaming platform through which America watches it," Lachlan added. Also read: UK government to bar all under-16s from major social media platforms, Keir Starmer announces What will the acquisition cover? The companies said Roku will continue to operate as an open, partner-friendly platform while also carrying Fox content. Fox stated that the acquisition will bring together its portfolio of sports, news, entertainment programming, and the Tubi streaming service with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, extensive first-party data, and direct access to more than 100 million streaming households worldwide. The merger is expected to create a major player in the rapidly growing streaming and connected TV industry, combining Fox's vast content library with Roku's technology capabilities and consumer-facing platform. "I'm incredibly proud of what our team has built, and the combination with FOX is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers," Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, said. The transaction is subject to a nod from both Fox and Roku shareholders and US and some non-US regulatory approvals.

Fox said the Roku acquisition will combine its sports, news, entertainment content and Tubi streaming service with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, valuable user data, and access to over 100 million streaming households globally.

Fox agrees to buy Roku for $22 billion deal to expand streaming and Live TV reach

The good news is that the US and Iran on Sunday (Jun 14) reached a peace Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to be signed on Friday. But the bad news is, there still appears to be differences over the full reopening timeline for the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump announced the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade. He said the strait will reopen on the signing of the MoU, and added it will be "permanently toll-free." The MoU reportedly covers a drawdown of US forces. But the fog of war continues.<h2>What is the toll vs service charge row on Strait of Hormuz?</h2>Trump and US officials are reportedly insisting on a permanent toll-free passage and immediate reopening of the strait. Iran appears to have agreed to no formal "tolls" but still seeks "service charges" or fees for navigation aid, security, and environmental services. This is not new. Iran had traditionally maintained control and management of the strait, and fees were indeed paid for transit. An Iran-Oman mechanism is currently in place under the new Persian Gulf Strait Authority, requiring vessels to apply and disclose ownership, cargo and insurance. &nbsp; The US and allies are rejecting the fees as violations of international law. This is causing a nomenclature row: 'toll' or ‘service charge’?Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-ceasefire-iran-reveals-roadmap-to-final-us-agreement-and-possible-24-billion-payout-1781487819256">After ceasefire, Iran reveals roadmap to final US agreement and possible $24 billion payout</a><h2>Will US Navy blockade continue?</h2>Trump authorised an immediate removal of the US naval blockade. Upon signing of the MoU, the US Navy will stand down. But this appears to be contingent on the Strait being toll-free and immediate restoration of full international access. Iran is insisting on management of the strait , with no full ceding of control over the chokepoint foreseen in the near future. Israel, the main party to the conflict, is overall sceptical of the Iranian compliance to the MoU, including on the Hormuz terms.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-welcomes-us-iran-deal-to-end-west-asia-conflict-applauds-pakistan-s-mediation-efforts-1781509849926">China welcomes US-Iran deal to end West Asia conflict, applauds Pakistan's mediation efforts</a><h2>When will ship traffic resume in Strait of Hormuz?</h2>The initial reopening of the strait is likely after Friday's signing, but past days have not been hopeful. The strait was partially open to traffic, but ship firms were scared away by the bombings by the US on vessels, which left sailers inlcuidng indians dead. The mine-laying by Iran &nbsp;had complicated matters. Clearing the mines would take at least 30 days. Full normalisation might take another six months, as per some analyst estimates. The lingering distrust, fee disputes, and verification issues are likely to delay full normalisation.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-says-iran-deal-will-bring-peace-to-whole-west-asia-1781503935677/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-says-iran-deal-will-bring-peace-to-whole-west-asia-1781503935677/embed</a>Currently, there is a 60-day window available for the Hormuz reopening. But that will close unless deeper talks are not agreed upon, and held on other issues such as Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. By some analyst estimates, mine clearance could take up to six months. &nbsp;Container traffic may reach 50 per cent of normal by July, and normalise by August. LNG carriers would be the last to normalise, with the window seen at around September.&nbsp; War-risk premiums being paid by the ships, now up to 8 per cent of vessel value, will stay high until insurers see months of incident-free transits.

The Iran-US MoU could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But disputes over toll-free passage, mine clearance timeline, and security situation may delay for months the full resumption of shipping and energy traffic recovery 

The good news is that the US and Iran on Sunday (Jun 14) reached a peace Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to be signed on Friday. But the bad news is, there still appears to be differences over the full reopening timeline for the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump announced the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade. He said the strait will reopen on the signing of the MoU, and added it will be "permanently toll-free." The MoU reportedly covers a drawdown of US forces. But the fog of war continues. What is the toll vs service charge row on Strait of Hormuz? Trump and US officials are reportedly insisting on a permanent toll-free passage and immediate reopening of the strait. Iran appears to have agreed to no formal "tolls" but still seeks "service charges" or fees for navigation aid, security, and environmental services. This is not new. Iran had traditionally maintained control and management of the strait, and fees were indeed paid for transit. An Iran-Oman mechanism is currently in place under the new Persian Gulf Strait Authority, requiring vessels to apply and disclose ownership, cargo and insurance. The US and allies are rejecting the fees as violations of international law. This is causing a nomenclature row: 'toll' or ‘service charge’? Also read: After ceasefire, Iran reveals roadmap to final US agreement and possible $24 billion payout Will US Navy blockade continue? Trump authorised an immediate removal of the US naval blockade. Upon signing of the MoU, the US Navy will stand down. But this appears to be contingent on the Strait being toll-free and immediate restoration of full international access. Iran is insisting on management of the strait , with no full ceding of control over the chokepoint foreseen in the near future. Israel, the main party to the conflict, is overall sceptical of the Iranian compliance to the MoU, including on the Hormuz terms. Also read: China welcomes US-Iran deal to end West Asia conflict, applauds Pakistan's mediation efforts When will ship traffic resume in Strait of Hormuz? The initial reopening of the strait is likely after Friday's signing, but past days have not been hopeful. The strait was partially open to traffic, but ship firms were scared away by the bombings by the US on vessels, which left sailers inlcuidng indians dead. The mine-laying by Iran had complicated matters. Clearing the mines would take at least 30 days. Full normalisation might take another six months, as per some analyst estimates. The lingering distrust, fee disputes, and verification issues are likely to delay full normalisation. https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-says-iran-deal-will-bring-peace-to-whole-west-asia-1781503935677/embed Currently, there is a 60-day window available for the Hormuz reopening. But that will close unless deeper talks are not agreed upon, and held on other issues such as Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. By some analyst estimates, mine clearance could take up to six months. Container traffic may reach 50 per cent of normal by July, and normalise by August. LNG carriers would be the last to normalise, with the window seen at around September. War-risk premiums being paid by the ships, now up to 8 per cent of vessel value, will stay high until insurers see months of incident-free transits.

The Iran-US MoU could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But disputes over toll-free passage, mine clearance timeline, and security situation may delay for months the full resumption of shipping and energy traffic recovery&nbsp;

Iran-US peace deal: Strait of Hormuz reopening uncertain amid ‘toll vs service charge’ row,  mines danger, sailor killings

The Iran-US peace deal reportedly includes unfreezing around $12 billion in Iranian assets initially, and the same amount later. The peace accord announced on Sunday (Jun 14) is set to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, possibly electronically by US President Donald Trump or Vice President JD Vance with top Iranian officials. Iranian and Israeli media reports said the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding would pave the way for releasing $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets over a 60-day negotiation window, half of which would be unfrozen before the signing. Iran said nuclear talks would begin only after funds are released, but a US official rejected this. The overall amount of frozen Iranian assets runs up to $100 billion or possibly more, as per the reporting over the years. Where is this money? Why was it frozen? Here is what we know, based on these reports:<h2>What is the total of Iranian frozen assets in the world?</h2>Iran's total frozen or restricted assets abroad are estimated at around $100 billion. This includes oil revenues in restricted accounts, foreign exchange reserves, banking assets, and other claims. The freezes trace back to multiple waves of mainly US-led sanctions since 1979. It is not yet clear which assets are in the latest release plan, if at all they are unfrozen.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-says-iran-deal-will-bring-peace-to-whole-west-asia-1781503935677/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-says-iran-deal-will-bring-peace-to-whole-west-asia-1781503935677/embed</a><h2>Freezing of Iranian assets dates back to the 1970s</h2>The first major freeze followed the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the US embassy hostage crisis. On 14 November 1979, the then-president Jimmy Carter blocked Iranian government assets under US jurisdiction after Iranian revolutionaries seized the US embassy in Tehran on 4 November. The crisis lasted 444 days, in which 52 Americans were held captive. &nbsp;In 1980 dollar-value terms, nearly $12 billion in Iranian government assets were frozen at the time, mostly in US banks. These included reserves, gold, and other holdings. Most of these were released under the 1981 Algiers Accords, which ended the hostage crisis. Some claims dragged on for decades through bodies such as the Iran-US Claims Tribunal.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-ceasefire-iran-reveals-roadmap-to-final-us-agreement-and-possible-24-billion-payout-1781487819256">After ceasefire, Iran reveals roadmap to final US agreement and possible $24 billion payout</a><h2>Most assets frozen today stem from sanctions imposed after 2018</h2>Much of the money discussed today is linked to 2018 when, in his first term, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal, or JCPOA, signed under Barack Obama. These aimed to curb Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and its regional influence by cutting its oil income. Past releases — in 2015–16 under the JCPOA and a 2023 swap — were temporary and conditional, usually tied to diplomacy.&nbsp;These renewed sanctions cut Iran's access to oil revenues and foreign banking channels. The frozen funds include oil payments held in foreign banks that could not be freely transferred to Iran. Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign brought sweeping sanctions, including secondary sanctions on third countries and banks dealing with Iran. More Iranian-linked funds were restricted over Iran's support of regional proxies and alleged human rights violations.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/enemy-had-no-choice-but-surrender-iran-claims-victory-as-us-agrees-to-permanently-end-war-1781482980593">'Enemy had no choice but surrender': Iran claims victory as US agrees to 'permanently' end war</a><h2>How third countries dealt with Iran's frozen assets</h2>Countries such as South Korea, Japan, India, and others kept buying limited Iranian oil, sometimes under waivers. But US sanctions blocked direct payment to Iran. So banks in these countries held Iranian funds in escrow or restricted accounts, often in local currencies, to avoid US penalties. Only a portion of that has been unfrozen so far. The first phase of the reported MoU involves around $12 billion, largely Iranian money held in foreign financial institutions, including Qatar. A separate pool is the roughly $6 billion moved from South Korea to Qatar in 2023 in a US-Iran prisoner swap. Those funds stayed heavily restricted for humanitarian use in Iran, under US oversight. Iran's access to the Qatar funds was blocked after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the war that followed. The US feared the money could indirectly support Iran-linked activities.<h2>India, China, Japan and Iraq hold oil and gas payment backlogs post-2018</h2>As mentioned, South Korea once held around $6 billion, transferred to Qatar in 2023. India is estimated to hold around $7 billion in Iranian-linked funds. Chinese banks owe Iran tens of billions, though these are generally called restricted rather than frozen. Smaller amounts sit in Japan, Luxembourg, and other European jurisdictions. Some of these have featured in legal disputes unrelated to the nuclear talks, including terrorism-related claims. &nbsp;Iraq's outstanding payments for Iranian energy and electricity could also come into focus if restrictions ease. Some Iran trade funds have previously been routed through Oman for humanitarian purposes.

The proposed Iran-US peace accord could unlock billions in frozen Iranian assets. While there are contradictory reports on whether and when $24 billion will be released, the actual Iranian frozen assets could run into $100 billion or more. Where is the money?

The Iran-US peace deal reportedly includes unfreezing around $12 billion in Iranian assets initially, and the same amount later. The peace accord announced on Sunday (Jun 14) is set to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, possibly electronically by US President Donald Trump or Vice President JD Vance with top Iranian officials. Iranian and Israeli media reports said the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding would pave the way for releasing $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets over a 60-day negotiation window, half of which would be unfrozen before the signing. Iran said nuclear talks would begin only after funds are released, but a US official rejected this. The overall amount of frozen Iranian assets runs up to $100 billion or possibly more, as per the reporting over the years. Where is this money? Why was it frozen? Here is what we know, based on these reports: What is the total of Iranian frozen assets in the world? Iran's total frozen or restricted assets abroad are estimated at around $100 billion. This includes oil revenues in restricted accounts, foreign exchange reserves, banking assets, and other claims. The freezes trace back to multiple waves of mainly US-led sanctions since 1979. It is not yet clear which assets are in the latest release plan, if at all they are unfrozen. https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-says-iran-deal-will-bring-peace-to-whole-west-asia-1781503935677/embed Freezing of Iranian assets dates back to the 1970s The first major freeze followed the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the US embassy hostage crisis. On 14 November 1979, the then-president Jimmy Carter blocked Iranian government assets under US jurisdiction after Iranian revolutionaries seized the US embassy in Tehran on 4 November. The crisis lasted 444 days, in which 52 Americans were held captive. In 1980 dollar-value terms, nearly $12 billion in Iranian government assets were frozen at the time, mostly in US banks. These included reserves, gold, and other holdings. Most of these were released under the 1981 Algiers Accords, which ended the hostage crisis. Some claims dragged on for decades through bodies such as the Iran-US Claims Tribunal. Also read: After ceasefire, Iran reveals roadmap to final US agreement and possible $24 billion payout Most assets frozen today stem from sanctions imposed after 2018 Much of the money discussed today is linked to 2018 when, in his first term, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal, or JCPOA, signed under Barack Obama. These aimed to curb Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and its regional influence by cutting its oil income. Past releases — in 2015–16 under the JCPOA and a 2023 swap — were temporary and conditional, usually tied to diplomacy. These renewed sanctions cut Iran's access to oil revenues and foreign banking channels. The frozen funds include oil payments held in foreign banks that could not be freely transferred to Iran. Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign brought sweeping sanctions, including secondary sanctions on third countries and banks dealing with Iran. More Iranian-linked funds were restricted over Iran's support of regional proxies and alleged human rights violations. Also read: 'Enemy had no choice but surrender': Iran claims victory as US agrees to 'permanently' end war How third countries dealt with Iran's frozen assets Countries such as South Korea, Japan, India, and others kept buying limited Iranian oil, sometimes under waivers. But US sanctions blocked direct payment to Iran. So banks in these countries held Iranian funds in escrow or restricted accounts, often in local currencies, to avoid US penalties. Only a portion of that has been unfrozen so far. The first phase of the reported MoU involves around $12 billion, largely Iranian money held in foreign financial institutions, including Qatar. A separate pool is the roughly $6 billion moved from South Korea to Qatar in 2023 in a US-Iran prisoner swap. Those funds stayed heavily restricted for humanitarian use in Iran, under US oversight. Iran's access to the Qatar funds was blocked after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the war that followed. The US feared the money could indirectly support Iran-linked activities. India, China, Japan and Iraq hold oil and gas payment backlogs post-2018 As mentioned, South Korea once held around $6 billion, transferred to Qatar in 2023. India is estimated to hold around $7 billion in Iranian-linked funds. Chinese banks owe Iran tens of billions, though these are generally called restricted rather than frozen. Smaller amounts sit in Japan, Luxembourg, and other European jurisdictions. Some of these have featured in legal disputes unrelated to the nuclear talks, including terrorism-related claims. Iraq's outstanding payments for Iranian energy and electricity could also come into focus if restrictions ease. Some Iran trade funds have previously been routed through Oman for humanitarian purposes.

The proposed Iran-US peace accord could unlock billions in frozen Iranian assets. While there are contradictory reports on whether and when $24 billion will be released, the actual Iranian frozen assets could run into $100 billion or more. Where is the money?

Iran-US peace deal: Where are the $100 billion Iranian frozen assets? The Big Question

Most taxpayers focus on deductions and exemptions to reduce their tax burden, but several sources of income are entirely tax-free under the Income Tax Act. These include agricultural income, gifts received from relatives, gratuity payments and more. Check the top 7 tax-free income sources.

Most taxpayers focus on deductions and exemptions to reduce their tax burden, but several sources of income are entirely tax-free under the Income Tax Act. These include agricultural income, gifts received from relatives, gratuity payments and more. Check the top 7 tax-free income sources.

Top 7 tax-free income sources every Indian taxpayer should know

UAE-based business management platform Peko has entered into a strategic partnership with Kalp Digital Infastructure Corp to develop next-generation digital infrastructure to strengthen finance and commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The collaboration, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will see Kalp's digital infrastructure integrated into Peko's platform, enabling businesses to access advanced technologies such as permissioned distributed ledger technology (DLT), programmable digital cash, digital asset wallets, tokenisation capabilities and agent-driven commerce solutions.&nbsp;According to the companies, the partnership is designed to make sophisticated financial and digital infrastructure more accessible to SMEs through platforms and institutions they already use, including banks, free zones, government entities and other business ecosystem partners.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/tughlakabad-fire-that-killed-3-was-arson-not-accident-delhi-police-arrest-minor-3-others-1781432578605">Tughlakabad fire that killed 3 'was arson, not accident', Delhi police arrest minor, 3 others</a>&nbsp;Peko, which offers more than 50 integrated business services ranging from invoicing and payroll to company formation, travel and insurance, has established itself as a key operating platform for businesses across the UAE and the wider region. The company also provides white-labelled solutions to financial institutions, free zones and government organisations.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kalp specialises in developing digital infrastructure that can be embedded within third-party platforms, allowing organisations to offer digital asset and programmable finance services under their own brands.&nbsp;Commenting on the partnership, Peko Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kashif Ahmad Khan said the company had always aimed to go beyond simplifying business operations and focus on transforming the underlying infrastructure. "This collaboration with Kalp allows us to bring technologies such as distributed ledgers, programmable money, digital asset wallets and agentic commerce to everyday businesses through the institutions they already trust. It marks an important step towards building a faster, more transparent SME economy that is prepared for the future," Khan said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kalp Co-Founder Tapan Sangal said the partnership would help ensure SMEs play a leading role in the transformation of digital commerce and financial services. "The next decade will fundamentally change how businesses move money and establish trust. SMEs should be at the forefront of that transformation, and our partnership with Peko is intended to make those capabilities available at the scale required by the real economy," Sangal said.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/uttar-pradesh-forms-three-member-sit-to-investigate-ayodhya-ram-temple-donation-dispute-1781401837294">UP govt sets up three-member SIT to probe Ram Temple donation irregularities</a>&nbsp;Mrityunjaya (Jay) Prajapati, Chief Executive Officer of Kalp Digital Infastructure Corp, said the company's focus had always been on creating infrastructure that operates seamlessly behind trusted platforms. "Partnering with a platform of Peko's scale enables our technology, from permissioned ledger systems and programmable cash infrastructure to tokenisation and agentic commerce capabilities, to reach businesses where commerce already takes place. Together, we are helping turn advanced digital asset infrastructure into practical tools for everyday business use," Prajapati said. As part of the initial phase, both companies will assess integration architecture, security frameworks and commercial models before introducing the new capabilities in stages across Peko's ecosystem.

UAE-based Peko has partnered with Kalp Digital Infastructure to integrate advanced DLT, programmable cash, and tokenisation capabilities, enhancing financial and commerce infrastructure for SMEs across global markets.

UAE-based business management platform Peko has entered into a strategic partnership with Kalp Digital Infastructure Corp to develop next-generation digital infrastructure to strengthen finance and commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The collaboration, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will see Kalp's digital infrastructure integrated into Peko's platform, enabling businesses to access advanced technologies such as permissioned distributed ledger technology (DLT), programmable digital cash, digital asset wallets, tokenisation capabilities and agent-driven commerce solutions. According to the companies, the partnership is designed to make sophisticated financial and digital infrastructure more accessible to SMEs through platforms and institutions they already use, including banks, free zones, government entities and other business ecosystem partners. Also read: Tughlakabad fire that killed 3 'was arson, not accident', Delhi police arrest minor, 3 others Peko, which offers more than 50 integrated business services ranging from invoicing and payroll to company formation, travel and insurance, has established itself as a key operating platform for businesses across the UAE and the wider region. The company also provides white-labelled solutions to financial institutions, free zones and government organisations. Kalp specialises in developing digital infrastructure that can be embedded within third-party platforms, allowing organisations to offer digital asset and programmable finance services under their own brands. Commenting on the partnership, Peko Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kashif Ahmad Khan said the company had always aimed to go beyond simplifying business operations and focus on transforming the underlying infrastructure. "This collaboration with Kalp allows us to bring technologies such as distributed ledgers, programmable money, digital asset wallets and agentic commerce to everyday businesses through the institutions they already trust. It marks an important step towards building a faster, more transparent SME economy that is prepared for the future," Khan said. Kalp Co-Founder Tapan Sangal said the partnership would help ensure SMEs play a leading role in the transformation of digital commerce and financial services. "The next decade will fundamentally change how businesses move money and establish trust. SMEs should be at the forefront of that transformation, and our partnership with Peko is intended to make those capabilities available at the scale required by the real economy," Sangal said. Also read: UP govt sets up three-member SIT to probe Ram Temple donation irregularities Mrityunjaya (Jay) Prajapati, Chief Executive Officer of Kalp Digital Infastructure Corp, said the company's focus had always been on creating infrastructure that operates seamlessly behind trusted platforms. "Partnering with a platform of Peko's scale enables our technology, from permissioned ledger systems and programmable cash infrastructure to tokenisation and agentic commerce capabilities, to reach businesses where commerce already takes place. Together, we are helping turn advanced digital asset infrastructure into practical tools for everyday business use," Prajapati said. As part of the initial phase, both companies will assess integration architecture, security frameworks and commercial models before introducing the new capabilities in stages across Peko's ecosystem.

UAE-based Peko has partnered with Kalp Digital Infastructure to integrate advanced DLT, programmable cash, and tokenisation capabilities, enhancing financial and commerce infrastructure for SMEs across global markets.

Peko, Kalp join forces to build digital infrastructure for SME finance and commerce

The AI firm Anthropic has barred all foreign nationals from accessing its latest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, as per an order of the United States government citing national security reasons. The company, known for its Claude chatbot, said government agencies had instructed it to prevent all foreign nationals from accessing Fable 5 and Mythos 5.&nbsp;The Mythos AI model is particularly adept at detecting software vulnerabilities, some of which have remained undiscovered for decades. This capability has been used by US authorities and select companies to plug security gaps. The Fable 5 model, released this week, is also based on Mythos technology, but its cybersecurity and biotechnology capabilities are blocked.&nbsp;&nbsp;The US government believes that such AI could become a dangerous cyberweapon in the wrong hands, and rightly so.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mou-will-ensure-end-of-war-on-all-fronts-including-lebanon-iran-s-foreign-minister-abbas-araghchi-1781296154181">MoU will ensure end of war on all fronts, including Lebanon: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi&nbsp;</a><h2>US government’s order to Anthropic sparks debate</h2>&nbsp;However, the US government’s order has sparked a debate about who controls the future of artificial intelligence and whether globalisation is dead.&nbsp;The access curb marks a major shift in how governments regulate artificial intelligence. Until now, restrictions largely focused on chips and hardware used to build and run AI systems.&nbsp;Now questions are being asked about technology sovereignty and whether countries can even rely on AI systems developed elsewhere.&nbsp;&nbsp;Globalisation has been one of the hallmarks of the modern world, as it enabled the free flow of goods, services, capital, technology, and ideas across national boundaries. The internet accelerated it by creating a global digital marketplace where innovation could spread rapidly and benefit people worldwide. The access curbs on advanced AI models show that AI is no longer viewed merely as a commercial product but as a strategic asset.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-govt-funded-foreign-biolabs-many-of-them-worked-on-dangerous-pathogens-reveals-tulsi-gabbard-1781283223008">US govt funded foreign biolabs, many of them worked on dangerous pathogens, reveals Tulsi Gabbard</a><h2>Powerful AI models can affect military capabilities, cybersecurity</h2>&nbsp;&nbsp;Governments recognise that powerful AI models can influence military capabilities, cybersecurity, scientific research, and economic productivity and are trying to protect technological advancements that can be misused.&nbsp;&nbsp;The globalisation concept was built on the principles of openness, international cooperation, and the belief that innovation should spread across borders.&nbsp;Globalisation also has its own challenges, the primary ones being income inequality, job displacement, and environmental concerns.&nbsp;Moreover, it would be premature to say that globalisation is dying or is dead. In fact, globalisation may be evolving and taking a new form. Global economic interdependence still remains strong even as some strategic technologies may be becoming more restricted.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-will-use-iran-s-frozen-funds-to-pay-for-damages-inflicted-on-gulf-allies-scott-bessent-1781205304888">‘US will use Iran’s frozen funds to pay for damages inflicted on Gulf allies’: Scott Bessent</a><h2>AI development depends on global supply chains, talent pools, and collaboration</h2>&nbsp;AI development itself depends on international supply chains, global talent pools, and cross-border collaboration. Researchers and engineers from different countries are contributing to the advancements in computing infrastructure and data science. Complete technological isolation is very difficult to achieve in a highly interconnected world.Both competition and cooperation are evident in the AI industry as nations compete for leadership in the field, but they also collaborate on research, standards, and governance frameworks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Various governments, academic institutions, and private companies from across the globe are heavily involved in international discussions on AI ethics, safety, and regulation. All these happenings suggest that globalisation is not disappearing but adapting to new situations, realities and perceptible threats.

Anthopic’s Mythos model is particularly adept at detecting software vulnerabilities, some of which remained undiscovered for decades. It has been used by US authorities and select companies to plug security gaps. The US believes such AI could become a dangerous cyberweapon in the wrong hands.

The AI firm Anthropic has barred all foreign nationals from accessing its latest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, as per an order of the United States government citing national security reasons. The company, known for its Claude chatbot, said government agencies had instructed it to prevent all foreign nationals from accessing Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The Mythos AI model is particularly adept at detecting software vulnerabilities, some of which have remained undiscovered for decades. This capability has been used by US authorities and select companies to plug security gaps. The Fable 5 model, released this week, is also based on Mythos technology, but its cybersecurity and biotechnology capabilities are blocked. The US government believes that such AI could become a dangerous cyberweapon in the wrong hands, and rightly so. Also Read: MoU will ensure end of war on all fronts, including Lebanon: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi US government’s order to Anthropic sparks debate However, the US government’s order has sparked a debate about who controls the future of artificial intelligence and whether globalisation is dead. The access curb marks a major shift in how governments regulate artificial intelligence. Until now, restrictions largely focused on chips and hardware used to build and run AI systems. Now questions are being asked about technology sovereignty and whether countries can even rely on AI systems developed elsewhere. Globalisation has been one of the hallmarks of the modern world, as it enabled the free flow of goods, services, capital, technology, and ideas across national boundaries. The internet accelerated it by creating a global digital marketplace where innovation could spread rapidly and benefit people worldwide. The access curbs on advanced AI models show that AI is no longer viewed merely as a commercial product but as a strategic asset. Also Read: US govt funded foreign biolabs, many of them worked on dangerous pathogens, reveals Tulsi Gabbard Powerful AI models can affect military capabilities, cybersecurity Governments recognise that powerful AI models can influence military capabilities, cybersecurity, scientific research, and economic productivity and are trying to protect technological advancements that can be misused. The globalisation concept was built on the principles of openness, international cooperation, and the belief that innovation should spread across borders. Globalisation also has its own challenges, the primary ones being income inequality, job displacement, and environmental concerns. Moreover, it would be premature to say that globalisation is dying or is dead. In fact, globalisation may be evolving and taking a new form. Global economic interdependence still remains strong even as some strategic technologies may be becoming more restricted. Also Read: ‘US will use Iran’s frozen funds to pay for damages inflicted on Gulf allies’: Scott Bessent AI development depends on global supply chains, talent pools, and collaboration AI development itself depends on international supply chains, global talent pools, and cross-border collaboration. Researchers and engineers from different countries are contributing to the advancements in computing infrastructure and data science. Complete technological isolation is very difficult to achieve in a highly interconnected world. Both competition and cooperation are evident in the AI industry as nations compete for leadership in the field, but they also collaborate on research, standards, and governance frameworks. Various governments, academic institutions, and private companies from across the globe are heavily involved in international discussions on AI ethics, safety, and regulation. All these happenings suggest that globalisation is not disappearing but adapting to new situations, realities and perceptible threats.

Anthopic’s Mythos model is particularly adept at detecting software vulnerabilities, some of which remained undiscovered for decades. It has been used by US authorities and select companies to plug security gaps. The US believes such AI could become a dangerous cyberweapon in the wrong hands.

US restricts access of Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable to Americans only. Is globalisation dead in the age of AI?

SpaceX's IPO raised $75 billion as it opened its doors to investors to purchase its stock. It is valued at approximately $2.1 trillion following its historic initial public offering on the US stock market. Volume is high, sentiment is euphoric, and the story is irresistible; both SpaceX and Elon Musk are creating history. Everybody wants a piece of the pie; that's the relatively easier part. What will be harder is to get out. The architecture of modern IPO is such that those who bought in early, the VCs, insiders, sitting at the top, are looking to offload that share and waiting for the payday. As veteran hedge fund manager and legendary former Fidelity portfolio manager George Noble puts it, “..your 401(k) is their exit liquidity.”<h2>SpaceX balance sheet&nbsp;</h2>According to the S-1 filing of the company, SpaceX generated $18.67 billion in revenue in 2025, while posting a GAAP net loss of $4.94 billion in the same year. Operating loss was $2.59 billion for the same year. These losses are not shrinking; in Q1 2026 alone, the operating loss hit $1.94 billion. The AI division is where the money disappears. The xAI segment posted a $6.35 billion operating loss in 2025. Capital expenditure for the xAI segment posted a $6.35 billion operating loss in 2025. Capital expenditure for xAI in Q1 2026 alone was $7.22 billion. This is 76 per cent of all Capital expenditure across the company in one quarter. Starlink is the only genuinely profitable business that has been subsidising these losses for months. The cumulative losses in the company's history now sit at $41.3 billion.The company has a total of $29.1 billion in debt, $15.85 billion in cash, which means it has an over $13 billion hole on a net basis, before accounting for the fact that it is burning $9 billion every quarter, and the company has priced its stock at the opening at $135. For context, only three US companies currently trade above $2 trillion: Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. All three are profitable. SpaceX joined that valuation tier on day one while losing nearly $5 billion a year. It is not just selling a product; it's selling AI and a futuristic tech narrative, an idea of Elon Musk's cult of personality.&nbsp;The architecture of the IPO becomes further hard to ignore because just before the filing, SpaceX struck two deals. One with Google and another with Anthropic. The Anthropic deal was before the S-1 filing, while the deal with Google was between the filing and the start of trading. Google agreed to pay $920 million per month for access to roughly 110,000 Nvidia GPUs housed in SpaceX data centres. Anthropic agreed to pay $1.25 billion per month for the Colossus 1 facility in Memphis. Point to note that both deals include termination clauses allowing either party to exit with just 90 days' notice after December 31, 2026. Together, that is $2.17 billion each month, ie, roughly $26 billion annualised revenue.<h2>Fastrack Indexing&nbsp;</h2>This is the most controversial part of the IPO, which many financial analysts are terming as legalised and institutionalised extraction of wealth from one segment of the crowd to another. Shortly after the high-profile IPO, index inclusion kicks in. Because Nasdaq and FTSE Russell fast-tracked SPCX into their major indexes in record time of 15 and 5 days, respectively. &nbsp;Passive index funds and ETFs are legally obligated to buy billions of dollars worth of the stock. Not because any fund manager made a judgment call. Because the rules say they have to.&nbsp;This creates an artificial demand surge that has nothing to do with the company's fundamentals; all pension funds and 401k's which follow the index have to buy in. The price goes up, and retail investors who got in early feel validated. The venture capitalists and insiders wait patiently for the clock to run out.<h2>SpaceX IPO risk factors</h2>According to foundational research on IPO long-run performance by Jay Ritter at the University of Florida, who has covered IPOs since the 1970s, buying at the first-day close, the realistic entry point for retail investors, puts buyers at a structural disadvantage. Investors who buy at the offer price see a three-year market-adjusted return of approximately negative 3.3 per cent. Investors who buy at the first-day close, after the typical day-one pop, start from negative 20.5 per cent.According to Ritter's data, SpaceX sits at the intersection of several risk factors which predicts long term performance. SpaceX’s price-to-sales ratio at the IPO valuation is approximately 94 times. According to Ritter's data set, IPOs with price-to-sales ratios above 40 times have trailed the market by 58 percentage points over three years, despite averaging a 93.6 per cent first-day gain. SpaceX float is 4.3 per cent, while Ritter suggests that floats with less than 5 per cent have a near-perfect record of underperforming in three years since 1980. If the company is unprofitable, then its return is -0.5 per cent. SpaceX is operating at a massive loss. If companies are going public in high-volume years fare worse. The 2026 IPO wave, with SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic together targeting more than $240 billion in combined raises. If the IPO is a first-day pop its a negative sign. The argument in support of SpaceX is that it has a $18.7 billion in real revenue, which is more than Ritter's threshold of $100 million. It has a 33 per cent year-on-year growth, and holds near-monopoly positions in commercial launch and satellite broadband, which reduces the risk but does not eliminate it.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ai-executive-order-voluntary-safeguards-silicon-valley-lobbying-1780571935288">Is it Wall Street vs Silicon Valley - Trump's AI regulation a battle within populists</a><h2>The structural freeze</h2>The S-1 filing states that the sale is limited to SpaceX as an entity. This means that no existing holder, venture fund, early employee, or institutional investor is selling a single share as part of the offering. Every dollar of the $75 billion goes to the company. This guardrail is true for day one. While on the surface it has a 180-day lockup period, &nbsp;the underlying prospectus actually engineered an unusually aggressive, staggered unlocking schedule. Insiders and early venture capitalists become eligible to dump up to 20 per cent of their shares just 6 to 8 weeks after launch, and an additional 10 per cent can be dumped if the stock price stays 30 per cent above its IPO price. Five separate tranches can be dumped on 70, 90, 105, 120, and 135 days, specifically, the time index funds are purchasing the stock. That sounds like investor protection. It is not. It is an orderly queue.The lockup exists not to protect but to prevent a chaotic sell-off that would crater the price before the market fully absorbs retail demand. When retail investors have every legal right to sell directly into the enthusiasm they created, it is structurally painful; many retail platforms impose their own holding restrictions and flipping penalties, fees or restrictions triggered when you sell a newly issued IPO share too quickly. Platforms like Fidelity, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab would freeze investors' ability to participate in future IPOs. While others make the process of selling so cumbersome, with delayed execution, wide spreads, and limited order types during high volatility, that by the time one retailer can sell, the price has already moved against the market.&nbsp;Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren explicitly warned the SEC that this structure could prove "disastrous" for retail investors. What is happening is that the regulations are being loosened for early investors to take their paycheck, and then the door is being shut off as retail investors hold the bag.&nbsp;

SpaceX's historic IPO has propelled the company to a $2.1 trillion valuation, but analysts warn that heavy losses, insider lockups and forced index buying could pose risks for retail investors.

SpaceX's IPO raised $75 billion as it opened its doors to investors to purchase its stock. It is valued at approximately $2.1 trillion following its historic initial public offering on the US stock market. Volume is high, sentiment is euphoric, and the story is irresistible; both SpaceX and Elon Musk are creating history. Everybody wants a piece of the pie; that's the relatively easier part. What will be harder is to get out. The architecture of modern IPO is such that those who bought in early, the VCs, insiders, sitting at the top, are looking to offload that share and waiting for the payday. As veteran hedge fund manager and legendary former Fidelity portfolio manager George Noble puts it, “..your 401(k) is their exit liquidity.” SpaceX balance sheet According to the S-1 filing of the company, SpaceX generated $18.67 billion in revenue in 2025, while posting a GAAP net loss of $4.94 billion in the same year. Operating loss was $2.59 billion for the same year. These losses are not shrinking; in Q1 2026 alone, the operating loss hit $1.94 billion. The AI division is where the money disappears. The xAI segment posted a $6.35 billion operating loss in 2025. Capital expenditure for the xAI segment posted a $6.35 billion operating loss in 2025. Capital expenditure for xAI in Q1 2026 alone was $7.22 billion. This is 76 per cent of all Capital expenditure across the company in one quarter. Starlink is the only genuinely profitable business that has been subsidising these losses for months. The cumulative losses in the company's history now sit at $41.3 billion. The company has a total of $29.1 billion in debt, $15.85 billion in cash, which means it has an over $13 billion hole on a net basis, before accounting for the fact that it is burning $9 billion every quarter, and the company has priced its stock at the opening at $135. For context, only three US companies currently trade above $2 trillion: Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. All three are profitable. SpaceX joined that valuation tier on day one while losing nearly $5 billion a year. It is not just selling a product; it's selling AI and a futuristic tech narrative, an idea of Elon Musk's cult of personality. The architecture of the IPO becomes further hard to ignore because just before the filing, SpaceX struck two deals. One with Google and another with Anthropic. The Anthropic deal was before the S-1 filing, while the deal with Google was between the filing and the start of trading. Google agreed to pay $920 million per month for access to roughly 110,000 Nvidia GPUs housed in SpaceX data centres. Anthropic agreed to pay $1.25 billion per month for the Colossus 1 facility in Memphis. Point to note that both deals include termination clauses allowing either party to exit with just 90 days' notice after December 31, 2026. Together, that is $2.17 billion each month, ie, roughly $26 billion annualised revenue. Fastrack Indexing This is the most controversial part of the IPO, which many financial analysts are terming as legalised and institutionalised extraction of wealth from one segment of the crowd to another. Shortly after the high-profile IPO, index inclusion kicks in. Because Nasdaq and FTSE Russell fast-tracked SPCX into their major indexes in record time of 15 and 5 days, respectively. Passive index funds and ETFs are legally obligated to buy billions of dollars worth of the stock. Not because any fund manager made a judgment call. Because the rules say they have to. This creates an artificial demand surge that has nothing to do with the company's fundamentals; all pension funds and 401k's which follow the index have to buy in. The price goes up, and retail investors who got in early feel validated. The venture capitalists and insiders wait patiently for the clock to run out. SpaceX IPO risk factors According to foundational research on IPO long-run performance by Jay Ritter at the University of Florida, who has covered IPOs since the 1970s, buying at the first-day close, the realistic entry point for retail investors, puts buyers at a structural disadvantage. Investors who buy at the offer price see a three-year market-adjusted return of approximately negative 3.3 per cent. Investors who buy at the first-day close, after the typical day-one pop, start from negative 20.5 per cent. According to Ritter's data, SpaceX sits at the intersection of several risk factors which predicts long term performance. SpaceX’s price-to-sales ratio at the IPO valuation is approximately 94 times. According to Ritter's data set, IPOs with price-to-sales ratios above 40 times have trailed the market by 58 percentage points over three years, despite averaging a 93.6 per cent first-day gain. SpaceX float is 4.3 per cent, while Ritter suggests that floats with less than 5 per cent have a near-perfect record of underperforming in three years since 1980. If the company is unprofitable, then its return is -0.5 per cent. SpaceX is operating at a massive loss. If companies are going public in high-volume years fare worse. The 2026 IPO wave, with SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic together targeting more than $240 billion in combined raises. If the IPO is a first-day pop its a negative sign. The argument in support of SpaceX is that it has a $18.7 billion in real revenue, which is more than Ritter's threshold of $100 million. It has a 33 per cent year-on-year growth, and holds near-monopoly positions in commercial launch and satellite broadband, which reduces the risk but does not eliminate it. Also Read: Is it Wall Street vs Silicon Valley - Trump's AI regulation a battle within populists The structural freeze The S-1 filing states that the sale is limited to SpaceX as an entity. This means that no existing holder, venture fund, early employee, or institutional investor is selling a single share as part of the offering. Every dollar of the $75 billion goes to the company. This guardrail is true for day one. While on the surface it has a 180-day lockup period, the underlying prospectus actually engineered an unusually aggressive, staggered unlocking schedule. Insiders and early venture capitalists become eligible to dump up to 20 per cent of their shares just 6 to 8 weeks after launch, and an additional 10 per cent can be dumped if the stock price stays 30 per cent above its IPO price. Five separate tranches can be dumped on 70, 90, 105, 120, and 135 days, specifically, the time index funds are purchasing the stock. That sounds like investor protection. It is not. It is an orderly queue. The lockup exists not to protect but to prevent a chaotic sell-off that would crater the price before the market fully absorbs retail demand. When retail investors have every legal right to sell directly into the enthusiasm they created, it is structurally painful; many retail platforms impose their own holding restrictions and flipping penalties, fees or restrictions triggered when you sell a newly issued IPO share too quickly. Platforms like Fidelity, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab would freeze investors' ability to participate in future IPOs. While others make the process of selling so cumbersome, with delayed execution, wide spreads, and limited order types during high volatility, that by the time one retailer can sell, the price has already moved against the market. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren explicitly warned the SEC that this structure could prove "disastrous" for retail investors. What is happening is that the regulations are being loosened for early investors to take their paycheck, and then the door is being shut off as retail investors hold the bag.

SpaceX's historic IPO has propelled the company to a $2.1 trillion valuation, but analysts warn that heavy losses, insider lockups and forced index buying could pose risks for retail investors.

Trillion-dollar trap: Hidden risks behind SpaceX's blockbuster IPO that nobody wants to discuss