What’s ‘green’ in green financing?; Inside Mumbai’s housing war
Green financing is becoming essential for businesses, particularly in resource-intensive sectors, to transition responsibly.
Hello,
Sam Altman is again in the news, and this time for his latest fundraising mission.
Since September, according to the Wall Street Journal, Altman has been on a global fundraising initiative and held discussions with major suppliers in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan to boost AI chip production and secure top-priority orders for OpenAI.
ICYMI: Inside the ChatGPT maker’s invite-only, AI video-generating app Sora.
Post its launch Friday, and after users flooded the platform with AI-generated clips of popular brands and animated characters, Altman said the AI company will soon introduce controls allowing the content owners rights to dictate how their characters are used in Sora. The company plans to share revenue with those who permit such use.
Meanwhile, despite being an invite-only app, Sora has grabbed the first spot on Apple’s App Store. Now, do you have an invite to join?
Lastly, Miss Americana Taylor Swift is back with her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl!
The album debuted Friday with midnight album purchase runs, theatre release parties, and glitzy pop-ups that lit up the United States, from New York to Los Angeles.
The new record is set for a massive uptake from her global fan base, despite a mixed reception from the music press.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- What’s ‘green’ in green financing?
- Inside Mumbai’s housing war
- Why do more women opt for C-sections?
Here’s your trivia for today: What was scientist Spencer Silver trying to make when he invented Post-it Notes?
MSME
What’s ‘green’ in green financing?
Green financing is becoming essential for businesses, particularly in resource-intensive sectors, to transition responsibly. Such financing supports investments in energy-efficient machinery, solar-powered equipment, EVs, and waste management solutions—initiatives that can reduce operational costs while contributing to India’s net-zero targets.
A survey of 3,649 MSMEs across more than 100 cities by Kinara Capital found that nearly three out of four respondents (73.2%) were unaware of available green financing solutions. Another 11.2% cited lack of clarity in the process as a deterrent, highlighting that the challenge is one of awareness rather than intent.
More details:
- Despite these awareness gaps, MSMEs demonstrate strong credit readiness. Over half (51.7%) of those who applied for green loans successfully secured funding.
- Nearly half of MSMEs (46.7%) accessed green financing through NBFCs and fintech providers, compared with 24.1% via private banks and 17.5% through national banks. This shift reflects a demand for faster, more flexible, and technology-driven credit solutions.
- Structural gaps in India’s green financing ecosystem continue to limit adoption. According to the Council on Responsible Finance, one major challenge is the lack of consistent definitions of what qualifies as 'green' for MSMEs.
Insights
Inside Mumbai’s housing war
Jai Bhim Nagar came into being as Mumbai’s real estate boom was reshaping the neighbourhood in Powai. It was first constructed in 2007 as a labour camp, sanctioned by the BMC itself, to house workers employed in Powai’s massive real estate surge. Hundreds of Dalit and Bahujan labourers, many of whom built the adjoining Hiranandani towers, made their homes here under a permission granted for ‘temporary labour hutments’.
Mumbai sells itself as Mayanagri, a city of reinvention. For Dalit residents of Powai’s Jai Bhim Nagar, it has meant years of demolitions and displacement. This time, they are fighting back, demanding to be seen and heard.
Fighting back:
- At the heart of this resistance stands Sabki Library, built in the aftermath of the June 2024 demolitions through the solidarity of student–youth groups and Jai Bhim Nagar residents. It has since grown into much more than a room with books.
- Children use it for lessons and art sessions; women gather there to talk about housing, safety, and feminist movements; the wider community comes together for medical camps run by young doctors, and understand legal processes on how to file petitions and document demolitions, and more.
- Tejas, a volunteer with the library, says the space gives people a place to understand the system that is stacked against them and to imagine what justice might look like. For him, Mumbai’s housing story is less about growth than about systemic exclusion.
Insights
Why do more women opt for C-sections?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends C-section rates at the population level to be between 10 and 15%, a number that India has significantly surpassed. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21) pointed out that 21.5% of all births in India were C-sections, up from 17.2% in NFHS-4 (2015-16).
Why is there a surge in C-section deliveries? The fear of labour pain, preference for “auspicious” birth timings, and a growing acceptance of C-sections as a more convenient option are some factors that explain this trend.
News & updates
- Start-up: Naveen Rao, former Head of AI at Databricks, is in talks to raise $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation for a new startup called Unconventional, Inc., that’s building a new type of computer. Andreessen Horowitz will lead the investment, and Lightspeed and Lux Capital are also participating in the deal.
- Monitor: SEBI clarified that it is not considering regulatory oversight of family offices, following a Bloomberg News report that said the watchdog had begun talks on bringing such investment vehicles under its purview. The report said discussions included asking family offices to disclose their entities, assets and investment returns for the first time, as well as creating a separate category to regulate the vehicles.
- Comeback: Shubman Gill was named India's 50-overs captain in place of Rohit Sharma, who was named in the squad along with batting stalwart Virat Kohli for three one-day internationals in Australia this month. Both Rohit and Kohli have quit test cricket and T20 Internationals and are only available for India in the 50-over format.
What was scientist Spencer Silver trying to make when he invented Post-it Notes?
Answer: In 1968, 3M scientist Spencer Silver was working to develop new classes of adhesives when he discovered an acrylic adhesive with unique properties—a pressure-sensitive adhesive with a high level of tack but a low degree of adhesion.
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