Nazara’s net profits up 31%; Postcards from Paris

Hello,

India is ready to be a semiconductor hub.

On the sidelines of the Semicon India 2023 conference in Gandhinagar, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said that the world wants to partner with India for the country to grow its footprints in the semiconductor ecosystem.

The first 'made in India' chips are likely to go into products such as servers and data centres and mobile phones down the road, he added.

At the same event’s inauguration on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that technology firms will be given 50% financial assistance for setting up semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the country.

Earlier this week, US-headquartered chip maker AMD too announced plans to invest around $400 million in India over the next five years, as it looks to expand its design centre operations in Bengaluru. At the time, AMD CTO and EVP Mark Papermaster said that the company is committed to driving innovation in the country, supporting India’s ‘Semiconductor Mission’.

ICYMI: A journey through some of the world’s oldest photographs taken.

Lastly, Architectural Digest explores 11 of the world’s most fascinating abandoned islands.

Verdict: Spooky and sinister.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Nazara’s net profits up 31%
• Postcards from Paris
• Instagram-preneurship

Here’s your trivia for today: Which was the longest-running Olympic Games in history?

Gaming

Nazara Technologies Q1 net profits up by 31%

Gaming firm Nazara Technologies posted a 31% year-on-year rise in net profit for the first quarter of FY24 at Rs 20.9 crore, up from Rs 15.9 crore in the year-ago period.

Playing it right:

• Revenue rose 14% to Rs 254.4 crore from Rs 223.1 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) increased by 10% to Rs 33.1 crore.
• Nitish Mittersain, Founder, CEO and Joint MD of Nazara, said sports media platform Sportskeeda, in which Nazara has 67% stake, continues to deliver a strong performance with 52% growth YoY in revenue and 55% in EBITDA.
• Earlier this month, the board of directors of the gaming firm approved the company's move to raise Rs 750 crore, through an issue of equity shares and other equity-linked instruments.

Travel and Leisure

Postcards from Paris

Paris is a bundle of contrasts and contradictions. Eloquent art in galleries juxtaposes with street art that’s equally fascinating. It is also the place where fine dining co-exists with roadside kiosks that dish out fresh crepes and cinnamon churros. 

Around the City of Love:

• There is always something to do—with so many places to wander around, shops and shows to check out, and pretty cafés at every corner where one can sip rosé at leisure or grab a coffee on the go.
• Unlike what Emily in Paris shows you, Parisian fashion isn’t pretentious or outlandish. It’s classic and sensible—with clean lines, neutral tones, and elegant silhouettes.
• Paris is busy all right, but it also moves at its own pace—here’s where people surge with the tide and also slip out stealthily to catch a moment’s breath. 

Social Media

Entrepreneurship via Instagram Lives

'Ankita Jain ki Wednesday Shopping Live'—a popular live session on Instagram is known for promoting various products. Content creator Ankita Jain helps women entrepreneurs sell their products by showcasing them on her Instagram page.

Showcasing efforts:

• Jain, a mother of two from Hyderabad, started these live sessions in 2020 and has about 80K followers on Instagram.
• She began by selling Magnetic Tiles and Blocks—an educational toy for tweens. Although the toy costs around Rs 15,000 in India, Jain received it at one-third the price from a friend in China.
• Jain holds her Instagram live sessions every Wednesday and Saturday at 3 pm and 10 pm for an hour.

News & updates

• Liftoff: SpaceX’s most powerful operational rocket successfully carried the world’s largest commercial communications satellite into orbit high above Earth. Falcon Heavy took off with the massive payload from the company’s launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• New high: Elon Musk said monthly users of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), reached a "new high"—over 540 million. Musk's post on X about the user figures comes as the company goes through organisational changes and a drop in advertising revenue.
• Deleted: Facebook removed content related to Covid-19 in response to pressure from the Biden administration, reveal internal company communications reviewed by WSJ. Emails show executives discussing how they managed users’ posts about the origins of a pandemic.

Which was the longest-running Olympic Games in history?

Answer: The 1908 Summer Olympics, held in London. It lasted for a total of 187 days.

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