A busy year for RBI and Indian fintechs; Cultural events of 2025

Hello,

An AI apocalypse is in the making. 

According to Prof Geoffrey Hinton, who this year was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his work in AI, there’s a 10%-20% chance of AI leading to human extinction within the next three decades.

Often touted as a “godfather” of AI, the British-Canadian computer scientist shortened the odds of AI wiping out humanity, warning the pace of change in the technology is “much faster” than expected.

Nonetheless, the advancements continue. 

After focusing on renewable energy for years, major tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, are turning to nuclear power for its ability to provide massive energy more efficiently and sustainably to keep up with the energy demands of their data centres and AI models.

Did you know?: Data centres powering AI and cloud computing could soon grow so large that they could use more electricity than entire cities!

Amidst this growing AI competition, Sundar Pichai has a message for his employees: Stakes are high in 2025! Here’s all that he said.

ICYMI: The global economy outlook for 2025 in charts. 

Lastly, Squid Game 2 is out on Netflix, and it opened to mixed reviews. With Season 3 coming out next year, here’s what critics had to say!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A year of reckoning for fintechs
• Cultural events of 2025
• Inside Manam Theatre Festival

Here’s your trivia for today: How much confetti drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

Yearender

A year of reckoning for fintechs

The Indian fintech space has grown into one of the world's largest ecosystems, bringing numerous innovations that have made payments and financial services accessible to millions. However, these advancements come with considerable challenges.

The RBI's supervisory returns reveal a staggering 29,082 instances of credit/debit card and internet-based fraud in FY23-24—an alarming 334% increase compared to the previous fiscal year, which reported 6,699 such instances. Measures to address these issues are a work in progress.

Measured approach:

• In January, Paytm Payments Bank faced significant regulatory action when it was barred from onboarding new customers and forced to halt all banking services due to non-compliance with KYC norms. Paytm’s stock plummeted immediately and bottomed out at nearly Rs 317 per share over the following months.
• The RBI revised its framework for NBFCs facilitating peer-to-peer lending to curb malpractice and enhance transparency in the sector. The updated regulations prohibit NBFC-P2Ps from assuming any credit risk, either directly or indirectly.
• In October, the RBI took action against DMI Finance and Navi Finserv due to concerns over their pricing policies. Sources indicate that Navi’s interest rates, which were as high as 35%, were a key point of contention.

Yearender

Cultural events of 2025

While religious festivals serve as a window to many Indian communities, they barely scratch the surface of what lies beneath. A slew of art and cultural immersions offer a sneak peek into the region's art and craft, music, dance, and cuisine.

Wondering where to head in 2025? Bookmark these cultural festivals across India. From Gujarat’s Rann Utsav to Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival, and everything in between—a world awaits you!

Key gateways:

• Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has become a popular open-air art gallery to spotlight street art, installations, theatre, and concerts. From heritage walks in south Mumbai to literature events in the iconic David Sassoon Library, besides food walks and stalls, there’s much to explore at Kala Ghoda.
• Rajasthan’s theatrics get amplified during the Maru Mahotsav, a three-day cultural festival held in February. Located in the Sam Sand Dunes, 42 km from Jaisalmer, the event is a primer to the state’s unique culture.
• The Chandrabhaga beach, in close proximity to the ancient sun temple of Konark, transforms into a playground every December for artists across the world to showcase their creativity using sand as a medium. That's what the International Sand Art Festival is all about.

Art and Culture

Inside Manam Theatre Festival

An exploration of identity across different segments of society marked the second edition of the month-long Manam Theatre Festival in Hyderabad. Through solo performances, mythology plays, and children’s theatre, the festival explored the central theme of identity, based on gender, sexuality, age, conventions, and social milieu.

The selection of plays had something for everyone, including a special section for children.  

In the limelight:

• There were performances by five theatre groups, including a collaboration with the Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival for a week-long performance for the younger audience.
• Children’s theatre comprised two plays by the Gillo Repertory Theatre–Mister Jeejeebhoy and the Birds and The Ghost of the Mountains (a story from Ladakh). These were preceded by a workshop by Shaili Sathyu, Barkha Fatnani, and Purva Pathak of Gillo Repertory Theatre on 'making theatre for children'.
• The festival also presented He, a movement-based play by El-Salvadorian playwright Rodrigo Calderon, which explored themes of homosexuality, nostalgia and strife.

News & updates

• Licence: The US FAA issued a commercial space launch license for Blue Origin's New Glenn launch. Jeff Bezos' rocket company entered a highly competitive area it has long sought to join, as the US Department of Defense picked it, along with Elon Musk's SpaceX and Boeing-Lockheed JV United Launch Alliance.
• Halt: US President-elect Donald Trump urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.
• Obituary: Osamu Suzuki, an ingenious penny pincher who led Japan’s Suzuki Motor for more than four decades and played a key role in turning India into a flourishing auto market, has died aged 94. He died on December 25 of lymphoma, said the company, which he steered ambitiously, during his time as either chief executive or chairman, out of its primary market of minivehicles.

How much confetti drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

Answer: Over 1 tonne.

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