An island paradise in Bengaluru; The textile GST conundrum

Hello,

The effect of tariffs on the global economy is all everybody’s talking about. Now, so is the US appeals court. 

A divided appeals court ruled that most of US President Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal, but allowed the tariffs to remain in place through October 14 to give the administration a chance to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

In particular, this concerns the legality of the reciprocal tariffs imposed in April, as well as a separate set of tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico. 

That could potentially throw a wrench in the current US approach with using levies as an international economic policy tool. The uncertainty around global trade, however, is here to stay, from the looks of it. 

Meanwhile, Meta has some questions to answer of its own. Namely, where does a person’s right to use of their public image begin and end?

Some old ghosts have resurrected for the tech giant with regards to intellectual property rights, after a Reuters report found that Meta had appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities, including Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson, to create dozens of flirty social-media chatbots without their permission. 

The publicity rights question aside, the company is adding new teenager safeguards to its artificial intelligence products to curb provocative chatbot behaviour. 

A prompt response? Or a bandaid on a larger issue? 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• An island paradise in Bengaluru
• The textile GST conundrum 
• Automation via English as code

Here’s your trivia for today: What animal did Australia famously launch a military campaign against in 1932?

Travel and Leisure

An island paradise in Bengaluru

Located just off Mysuru Road and adjacent to the famous amusement park, The Isle by Wonderla is a boutique retreat that offers a quieter side of the brand. 

For many, Wonderla is synonymous with rides, slides, and family outings. The Isle, on the other hand, is all about slowing down, trading the thrill of roller coasters for the stillness of water and open skies. In short, it’s perfect for a weekend escape for the city’s burned-out urbanites.

Slowing life down:

• Spread across 4.5 acres, the resort has 39 themed stays ranging from private pool cottages, hammock suites, dome-shaped starlight rooms, and glamping tents.
• Developed with an investment of about Rs 39 crore, The Isle is positioned as a premium experiential resort, built for urban families, long-stay guests, weddings, and corporate retreats.
• Some of the highlights of The Isle are Oasis, the poolside bar, and Spice Cove, a 62-seater open multi-cuisine restaurant with a focus on pan-Asian specialities. For wellness seekers, the Therapy Tree Spa offers a calming space with treatments inspired by local ingredients and traditions.

Analysis

The textile GST conundrum 

India’s handloom and handicrafts economy, employing over 35 lakh weavers and artisans—72% of them women (according to the 2019–20 Handloom Census)—is at the centre of a growing campaign to scrap the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Nearly 1,000 stakeholders—from artisan groups and weaver organisations to social enterprises—have written to the Ministry of Finance, the GST Council, and the Ministry of Textiles urging that the tax, introduced in 2017, be rolled back, arguing it has placed an unsustainable burden on a “fragile sector”.

A fragile economy:

• In their letter, the stakeholders highlight that prices of handwoven sarees or dupattas are inflated by the time they reach an exhibition stall, owing to GST, pushing them further out of reach of middle-class customers who form the bedrock of this market.  
• For artisans, the GST burden is not just about paperwork. Monthly filings, penalties for late submissions, and rising costs for machinery taxed at 18% have pushed smaller enterprises to shut shop, industry stakeholders say in the letter. 
• The letter makes three key recommendations, including a complete removal of GST on handlooms and handicrafts, scrapping interstate GST, and Simplified Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN) codes to distinguish genuine handmade goods from machine-made imitations.

Startup

Automation via English as code

For decades, businesses have chased automation, only to hit roadblocks such as high costs, steep learning curves, and deployments that dragged on for months.  San Jose-based Kognitos, founded by former Nutanix CTO Binny Gill, claims it can eliminate those friction points by letting employees automate processes using plain English commands instead of programming code. 

The startup’s “English as code” approach tackles some of the biggest hurdles in enterprise automation such as the shortage of technical talent and the unpredictability of generative AI. 

News & updates

• Penalty: Alphabet's Google is set to face a modest EU antitrust fine in the coming weeks for allegedly anti-competitive practices in its adtech business. The decision by the European Commission follows a four-year long investigation triggered by a complaint from the European Publishers Council. 
• Fast track: Intel said on Friday it amended the CHIPS Act funding deal with the U.S. Department of Commerce to remove earlier project milestones and received about $5.7 billion in cash sooner than planned.
• Coal power: Adani Group’s power unit and Torrent Power Ltd secured separate contracts worth a combined $3.7 billion from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to build coal-fired power plants, underscoring the country’s growing reliance on the fossil fuel to meet its energy needs.

What animal did Australia famously launch a military campaign against in 1932?

Answer: Emus. Despite the deployment of soldiers with machine guns, the emus, being fast and elusive, proved difficult to kill, and the operation was largely unsuccessful.

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