Designing luxury couture for celebs; Shattering gender bias in architecture

Hello,

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the FY25 Budget on July 23. 

That’s good news for the Indian stock market which may jump as much as 20% for the entire year owing to government spending and infrastructure building, according to a Bloomberg survey. 

Meanwhile, quick commerce unicorn Zepto expects a multifold growth in revenue to Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the next 5-10 years. Co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha said it can grow by solely focusing on the grocery and household essentials market, which is expected to get to about $850 billion by FY29.

In other news, the government is doubling down on renewable energy.

It has laid out a new set of guidelines to bolster testing facilities, infrastructure, and institutional support for green hydrogen, backed by a Rs 200-crore investment through National Green Hydrogen Mission.

And lastly, the ongoing Wimbledon has been quite eventful—from Carlos Alcaraz’s five-set win, Andy Murray bowing out of the tournament, to the court erupting in applause for Sachin Tendulkar.

Indians have been making their presence felt since the 1950s. Meet Ramanathan Krishnan, fondly called the ‘King of Indian tennis’.

He was the first Indian to win a junior Wimbledon title, and remains the only Indian to reach the last four in the singles category in any slam.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Designing for celebrities
• Shattering gender bias in architecture
• Saving Chhattisgarh’s forests

Here’s your trivia for today: Which state has the highest tribal population in India?

Interview

Designing for celebrities

Designer brothers Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra, co-creators of the luxury couture label Shantnu & Nikhil, are synonymous with high-end celebratory outfits. The duo has dressed the who’s who of the Indian film industry—Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Ranveer Singh, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Alia Bhatt, and Abhishek Bachchan, among many others.

Creative minds:

• The Spring-Summer 2014 collection by Shantnu & Nikhil—Shadows Within—was a turning point in their journey. The Mehra brothers introduced the concept of a drape kurta for the first time in the Indian fashion industry.
• With the concept of making gender-fluid clothing, Shantanu & Nikhil launched S&N by Shantnu & Nikhil, a ready-to-wear bridge brand in 2020. The inspiration for the designs has its roots in their childhood and home lives, Nikhil says.
• Shantanu & Nikhil have also designed cricket jerseys for the IPL team Mumbai Indians in collaboration with Adidas for over a decade.

Woman Entrepreneur

Shattering gender bias in architecture

Vipul B Varshneya's interest in architecture and design led her to start her own company, STHAPATI, in 1989.

The firm has built individual dwellings to large-scale urban developments like airport terminals and public transportation infrastructure. It is also well known for its heritage conservation efforts.

Brick by brick:

• Post Bhuj earthquake, the firm constructed nearly 1,000 houses across various categories and provided homes for the affected families.
• Varshneya studied and drew inspiration from cold-climate airports, notably those in Russia, to devise innovative methods while designing the architecture of Leh airport.
• “While designing, I aimed to understand the topography, climate, and the local community to design spaces that are both disaster-resilient and future-proof,” explains Varshneya.

Social impact

Saving Chhattisgarh’s forests

Alok Shukla is the founding member of the Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (Save Hasdeo Aranya Resistance Committee), a grassroots movement led by forest-dwelling villagers to resist unchecked industrialisation—particularly coal mining—in Hasdeo Aranya Forest in Chattisgarh.

In May this year, the 43-year-old was conferred the Goldman Environmental Prize—known popularly as the ‘Green Nobel’.

Affinity for land:

• After graduating from college, Shukla joined the fight for ‘Jal, Jungle, Zameen, Izzat aur Adhikar’ (water-forest-land-respect-political rights) by the tribal communities to protect the dense, reserve forests that covered most coal blocks in the region. 
• In 2013, Shukla brought more than 25 villages together to step up their resistance with Hasdeo Bachao Andolan, which over the years, garnered solidarity from Chattissgarh’s film community, social media users, artists, musicians, and the media.  
• “When people weren’t coming to us, we took the movement to them,” says Shukla. “Our peaceful, persistent and improvised ways to unite people from all walks of life to our cause created a groundswell of resistance.”

News & updates

• Truce: Apple has approved the Epic Games Store app for iPhones and iPads in the EU. This approval comes after several rejections. Apple clarified that the issue was with the Epic Sweden AB Marketplace and not the already approved Fortnite app.
• Misuse: Nintendo has responded to concern over the inappropriate use of its characters online and said it would take “appropriate action” against anything that would make some players “feel uncomfortable”.  This “inappropriate” use of Nintendo's characters “poses the risk of damaging” the company's brand, a shareholder noted.
• Meme trade: Shares of headphone maker Koss soared for the second session in a row on Friday, closing at $13.35 a share, after trading as high as $18.50 early in the day, as social media posts speculated that a post by meme stock influencer Keith Gill indicated his interest in the company.

Which state has the highest tribal population in India?

Answer: Madhya Pradesh. It has a population of more than 1.6 crore Schedule Tribes, according to the 2011 census.

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