The Republic of Jugaad
☕ India’s Morning Briefing: Mon, December 08
Hello, and welcome to the brief.
Good morning, friends.
If Sunday felt like a fever dream, you weren’t alone. Between a nightclub inferno in Goa that exposed the charred remains of our safety norms and a coup in Benin that lasted roughly as long as a Zoom meeting, yesterday was heavy. Let’s make sense of the chaos.
Welcome to the 177th edition of The India Brief
Do not miss the deep dive in the end
Tragedy & Aviation
🔥 Inferno in Goa: 25 Dead in Nightclub Horror
• The Tragedy: 25 lives lost; mostly staff and tourists at ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ in Arpora.
• The Cause: Preliminary reports cite cylinder blast or “electric firecrackers”; no safety gear found.
• The Action: Owners/managers booked; CM orders magisterial inquiry and crackdown on illegal clubs.
• The Context: Building lacked valid licence; officials suspended for permitting operation in 2023.
It takes a massacre for the administration to realise that setting off fireworks in a closed room is a bad idea. Safety is just optional paperwork here.
The Bottom Line: Institutional manslaughter. When tourism drives the economy, regulations are ignored until bodies pile up. The crackdown is reactive theatre; the real crime was the permission granted in 2023.
✈️ IndiGo’s Meltdown: The Great Indian Choke Continues
• The Chaos: 650 flights cancelled Sunday; system paralysis enters sixth day.
• The Refund: ₹610 crore returned; Ministry orders clearance by 8 PM Sunday.
• The Trigger: Pilot fatigue norms (FDTL) clashed with tight rosters; DGCA summons CEO.
• The Cap: Govt imposes airfare caps to stop predatory pricing on affected routes.
IndiGo ran a marathon at sprint pace and collapsed. Now pilots are napping, passengers are weeping, and the “on-time” brand is shredded.
The Signal: Structural failure. The “lean” model had zero buffer for safety laws. This disruption exposes the fragility of Indian aviation’s over-reliance on a single monopoly.
Politics & Governance
🐕 Supreme Court Cracks Down on Stray Dogs
• The Order: SC directed Chandigarh admin last month to remove stray dogs from five locations immediately.
• The Plan: Multi-dept strategy; Principals/HODs designated as nodal officers.
• The Deadline: Comprehensive affidavit to be filed; lists of institutions submitted by Dec 5.
• The Shift: Moves from “sterilisation only” to active removal in critical zones.
We have nodal officers for dogs now. If only we had them for potholes or clean air, we might actually get somewhere.
🇮🇳 US Envoy Allison Hooker Visits India
• The Visit: Dec 7-11; Focus on strategic partnership, economy, and emerging tech.
• The Agenda: Meetings in Delhi/Bengaluru; advancing “Trump’s priorities” for Indo-Pacific.
• The Timing: Immediate arrival after Putin’s visit; balancing geopolitical scales.
• The Goal: Deepening defence/commercial ties; ignoring the Russia visit noise.
The Americans are here to ensure we didn’t promise Putin too much. It’s the diplomatic equivalent of a jealous partner checking your phone.
The Signal: Damage control. Washington sends a high-level envoy post-Putin to keep the tech/defence corridor open. New Delhi is successfully playing both sides of Cold War 2.0.
🚩 Gita Chanting Turns Political in Bengal
• The Event: Lakhs gathered for Gita recital at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata.
• The Shift: Turned into BJP show of strength; leaders attacked TMC.
• The Context: Follows laying of mosque foundation stone in Murshidabad by TMC MLA.
• The Optics: Saffron flags/rhetoric dominated the spiritual event.
Chanting verses for votes. In Bengal, even spirituality wears a party colour. The separation of church and state has been erased.
The Signal: Polarisation strategy. BJP is consolidating the Hindu vote by merging cultural events with political mobilization to counter TMC’s minority outreach for 2026.
🚜 Farmer Protests & Rail Roko in Punjab
• The Agitation: Farmers continue protests demanding MSP legal guarantee.
• The Disruption: Rail traffic affected in Punjab; trains diverted/cancelled.
• The Demand: Implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations.
• The Stalemate: Centre remains non-committal; farmers dig in.
It’s December, so farmers are on the tracks. It’s as seasonal as Delhi smog. Until MSP is legislated, this is our annual winter ritual.
The Bottom Line: Economic pain. The agrarian distress is real, but blocking transport infrastructure hurts the economy more than the government. A legislative solution is overdue.
Economy & Corporate
📈 Markets on Fire: Top Firms Add ₹72k Cr
• The Surge: TCS and Infosys lead valuation jump last week.
• The Losers: Reliance, HDFC Bank, SBI saw value erosion.
• The Trend: IT sector rebounds while banking faces heat.
• The Stat: TCS added ₹35,909 Cr; Infosys jumped ₹23,404 Cr.
Tech stocks are back, proving that as long as Americans need code fixed, Bangalore stays open. Banks, however, are taking a nap.
The Bottom Line: Sectoral rotation. Investors are betting on a US soft landing (good for IT) while pulling out of domestic heavyweights. Smart money chases dollar revenue.
💰 IPO Tsunami: December Records
• The Boom: ~25 IPOs expected in Dec; raising approx ₹30,000 Cr.
• The Big Guns: ICICI Prudential AMC (₹10k Cr), Meesho, Fractal Analytics.
• The Context: Follows record-breaking November; primary market overheating.
• The Mood: “Selective yet optimistic” investors; strong confidence.
Everyone is launching an IPO. At this rate, I’m listing “Aditya’s Morning Rants” on the BSE. Valuations are running on pure hopium.
The Signal: Exit season. PE/VCs are cashing out while retail liquidity is high. A sign of a maturing market, but a bubble warning if quality drops.
🤝 Zoho Opens First Office in Israel
• The Move: Indian SaaS giant Zoho sets up in Tel Aviv.
• The Growth: 24% growth in Israel in 2024; serving IT/Retail.
• The Goal: “Transnational localism”—supporting local partners directly.
• The Vibe: Strengthening Indo-Israel tech corridor beyond defence.
Zoho continues world domination, proving you don’t need VC money to conquer the Middle East. Sridhar Vembu is playing 4D chess.
The Bottom Line: Strategic expansion. Israel is a high-value tech market. Zoho’s entry signals Indian SaaS is mature enough to compete in global innovation hubs.
Tech & Science
🤖 India’s AI Chip Bet: Costs Falling
• The Shift: Competition (Nvidia vs Google) lowering chip costs.
• The Benefit: Domestic AI startups get cheaper compute access.
• The Strategy: Expanding domestic infrastructure for AI mission.
• The Impact: Marginal now, but long-term gain for indigenous LLMs.
Chip wars are heating up, and India might win by buying discounted leftovers. It’s the “Big Billion Days” for supercomputing.
The Deeper Take: Democratisation. As GPU monopolies fracture, India’s cost-sensitive ecosystem gains most. Lower barriers mean moving beyond “wrapper” startups to core innovation.
📡 Space Tech: Satellite Connectivity Mission
• The Proposal: SIA-India calls for National Satellite Connectivity Mission.
• The Goal: Connect 40,000 Gram Panchayats where terrestrial links fail.
• The Context: Critical for digital governance in remote areas.
• The Need: Disaster management and uninterrupted public service.
We land on the Moon but can’t get internet 50km from a city. Satellites are the answer when the fibre guy refuses to dig.
The Bottom Line: Digital divide. Terrestrial networks hit economic limits. Space-based internet is the final mile solution for a truly digital India. very starling of us.
🌍 World Watch: Top Global Stories
🇧🇯 Coup in Benin Foiled: The Sunday Mutiny
• The Attempt: Soldiers announced “coup” on State TV; dissolved govt.
• The Reversal: Govt claims coup “foiled”; loyalist troops regained control.
• The Status: 13 soldiers arrested; President Talon reportedly safe.
• The Trend: Another wobble in West Africa, though failed.
A coup that starts and ends before lunch, is just a disorganised meeting with guns. Benin’s institutions held—barely.
The Chessboard: Contagion. Coups in the Sahel are spreading to coastal democracies. While foiled, this exposes fragility. France and ECOWAS breathe a sigh of relief.
🇸🇾 Syria: One Year After Assad
• The Anniversary: Dec 8 marks 1 year since Assad regime fell.
• The Mood: Celebrations in Damascus; “Fragile new hope” but challenges.
• The Reality: 3 million refugees returned; power improved (8-10 hrs/day).
• The Risk: Former regime elements regrouping in coastal areas.
A year ago, the statue fell. Now comes the hard part: keeping lights on and warlords off. Freedom is messy, but prisons are empty.
The Deeper Take: Holding steady. Return of services bought legitimacy. But the threat of a revanchist insurgency remains the biggest spoiler for 2026.
🇨🇳 China Studies Starlink to Jam It
• The Research: Academics studying jamming mega-constellations like Starlink.
• The Finding:Needs 1,000-2,000 drones to jam signals over Taiwan.
• The Context: Starlink crucial for Taiwan; China sees threat.
• The Threat: Satellite networks first target in future conflicts.
China is figuring out how to turn off the internet for an island. Cyber warfare just got a hardware upgrade.
The Chessboard: Space denial. Modern wars are fought on bandwidth. Neutralising Starlink is a prerequisite for any military action across the strait.
🌟 The Good Stuff: Top Happy News
🔫 Golden Aim: Simranpreet Kaur Brar wins Gold in 25m Pistol at ISSF World Cup; equals Junior World Record.
☀️ Solar Milk: Rural Rajasthan women use solar chillers to save milk, quadrupling income.
⛵ Sailing Dream: Retired Navy officer & family sell everything to travel world on solar-powered boat.
🧠 The Deep Dive: Special Edition
Deep Dive: The Republic of Ram Bharose
If you survived yesterday in India, congratulations. You beat the odds. Between a nightclub in Goa turning into an inferno and an airline turning into a parking lot, it’s becoming clear that “Safety First” is just a sticker we put on things to pass inspection. The tragedy in Arpora wasn’t an accident; it was a scheduled event. When you light firecrackers in a soundproof room decorated with flammable velvet, you aren’t partying; you’re conducting a physics experiment with human lives.
But let’s not pretend this is shocking. In India, regulations are merely suggestions with a price tag. A Fire NOC (No Objection Certificate) isn’t about safety; it’s about how much “objection” the officer has until his pockets are heavy enough. We live in the Republic of Jugaad, where emergency exits are locked to “prevent theft” and fire extinguishers are used as doorstops. We are chasing a $5 trillion economy while standing on infrastructure held together by duct tape and prayers.
The anger you feel? Save it. We’ve been here before. The cycle is efficient: Tragedy, Outrage, Inquiry, Amnesia. We demand world-class cities but vote for third-class governance. Until we stop treating human life as a renewable resource, we are all just waiting for our turn in the lottery of administrative negligence. Stay safe, or at least, stay lucky.
Sign-Off
Question of the Day: If a nightclub operates without a licence for a year in a tourist state, is it a business or a bribe collection centre? And if an airline sells tickets for flights it has no pilots for, is it a service or a Ponzi scheme?
See you tomorrow. - Aditya S.