The British are back - with MBAs this time
☕ India’s Morning Briefing: Fri, Oct 10 2025
Good morning India
Today, the old empire returns to sell missiles & MBAs and a far-right group decided to declare war on... henna artists. It was a weird one. Here’s what you need to know.
Welcome to the 136th edition of The India Brief
1. Economy & Business
🏦 RBI Pilots Turning Your Bank Deposits into Tokens
Reserve Bank of India; to launch deposit tokenisation pilot
Converts bank deposits; into secure digital tokens
Aims to improve; transaction efficiency and safety
The Deeper Take : This is another step in building the “India Stack” – a comprehensive digital public infrastructure. By tokenising deposits, the RBI is laying the groundwork for a more programmable and efficient financial system, which could enable future innovations in fintech and central bank digital currencies. 🔗
🗳️ Bihar Election Promises Escalate Ahead of Polls
RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav promises; one government job per family 🔗
Prashant Kishor’s party; releases first list of 51 candidates 🔗
List features professionals; like doctors, academics, ex-cops
Of the 51: Extremely Backward Classes: 17; Backward Classes: 11; Scheduled Castes - 7; Minority Community - 7; General - 9
NDA & Mahagathbandhan; struggling to finalise seat-sharing deals 🔗
2. Law, Order & Disorder
💊 After 20+ Deaths, Govt Finally Audits Cough Syrup Firms
Central drug authority; begins joint audit of manufacturers
Follows deaths of 22 children; linked to contaminated syrup
WHO informed; toxic chemical DEG found in three products
The Deeper Take: The system is incentivised by volume, not quality control. For small-scale manufacturers, cutting corners on testing raw materials is profitable until a crisis hits. The government, optimising for its “Pharmacy of the World” image, is now forced into a costly reputational recovery mission. 🔗
💊 Hyderabad Police Bust ₹72 Crore Drug Operation
220 kg of Ephedrine seized; by Telangana’s anti-drug agency
Estimated street value; ₹72 crore
Major manufacturing operation dismantled; four arrested
Well apparently, the city’s tech boom isn’t the only start-up culture that’s thriving. 🔗
👮 Haryana Police Chief Charged in IPS Officer’s Suicide
FIR filed against Haryana DGP; for abetment to suicide
Deceased IPS officer; alleged caste-based harassment in note
Note names nine serving IPS officers; and other officials 🔗
3. Geopolitics & High Table Deals
🇬🇧 India & UK Get Serious, Ink Missile and University Deals
Covers trade (CETA); defence (£350M missile deal); tech (AI, 6G)
Nine UK universities; approved to open campuses in India
Ambitious target set; to double bilateral trade by 2030
Also includes; critical minerals; climate finance; counter-terrorism
The Chessboard: So, the old empire is back, but this time they’re selling missiles and MBAs instead of demanding taxes. A post-Brexit Britain needs new friends with deep pockets, and India, aspiring to be a global power, is more than happy to shop, because it gains a powerful western voice backings its UNSC ambitions, subtly counterbalancing Chinese influence. 🔗
📞 PM Modi Congratulates Trump on Gaza Peace Plan
PM Modi calls Trump; congratulates him on “historic” success
Israel & Hamas agree; to phase one of US-brokered peace plan
Leaders also reviewed; India-US trade negotiation progress 🔗
🗣️ Modi Raises Khalistan Issue with UK Prime Minister
Khalistani extremism in UK; discussed in detail during meeting
PM Modi flagged issue; stressed need for action
Foreign Secretary calls visit; a “partnership for the people” 🔗
🇦🇫 Taliban Foreign Minister Lands in New Delhi
UN-sanctioned minister; Amir Khan Muttaqi on week-long visit
First senior Taliban leader; to visit India since 2021 takeover
Raises diplomatic protocol questions; for New Delhi
The Chessboard: This is pure pragmatism. India is engaging with the Taliban not out of endorsement, but to secure its own strategic interests in Afghanistan, from counter-terrorism to monitoring the influence of Pakistan and China in its backyard. 🔗
4. Society & Justice
😠 Far-Right Group Launches “Mehndi Jihad” Campaign
In Muzaffarnagar, UP; Hindu extremist group targets Muslim artists
Women’s wing threatens; men applying henna to Hindu women
Accusation based on; fabricated “love jihad” conspiracy theory
Follow the Currency: The group isn’t optimising for women’s safety; it’s optimising for social control. By manufacturing a threat, it justifies enforcing economic and social segregation, thereby increasing its own relevance and power within a polarised community. The currency here is communal purity, not protection. 🔗 🔗
♀️ Karnataka Introduces Statewide Menstrual Leave
State cabinet approves policy; one paid leave day per month for women
Applies to all sectors; government and private, including IT and garments
Aims to promote; workplace inclusivity and women’s well-being 🔗
5. Uplifting News
🛰️ Karnataka Launches India’s First State-Level Space Hub
Centre of Excellence; for space technology launched in Bengaluru
Aims to support 500 startups; and attract $3 billion investment
Public-private partnership; to boost “NewSpace” ecosystem
The Chessboard: This is a classic example of competitive federalism. While the central government shoots for the moon, Karnataka is building the launchpad on the ground. By creating a dedicated hub for space start-ups, the state is betting that the next ISRO won’t be a government agency, but a bunch of engineers in a garage in Bengaluru. 🔗
🎬 Bollywood Is Officially Coming to Britain
Deal announced; for major Indian studios to film in the UK
Yash Raj Films; to bring three major productions in 2026
Expected to create jobs; and boost UK economy
The Deeper Take: Get ready for more chase scenes through the streets of London and dance numbers in the Scottish Highlands. A new deal will make it easier for Bollywood to use the UK as its backlot, which is great news for the British tourism board and fans of cross-cultural cinema. UK using its cultural locations and film infrastructure as a product to attract lucrative foreign productions, which bring in direct investment, create jobs, and function as a massive, free advertisement for tourism. 🔗
6. Global News
🇭🇺 Hungarian Author László Krasznahorkai Wins Nobel Prize
2025 Nobel Prize in Literature; awarded to Hungarian writer
Recognised for “compelling and visionary oeuvre”
Known for long, complex sentences; and bleak, philosophical themes
The Nobel committee has once again chosen an author you’ll feel guilty for not having read. Krasznahorkai is a master of dense, dark, and difficult prose, so get ready for your smartest friends to start talking about him at dinner parties. 🔗
🇨🇳 China Tightens Grip on Rare Earth Exports
Beijing announces; further controls on rare earth exports
Minerals are critical; for high-tech and military manufacturing
Move escalates; technological and trade tensions 🔗
The Deep Dive
The Empire Sells Back
It’s impossible to discuss an India-UK partnership without the ghost of the East India Company rattling its chains in the corner of the room. For centuries, the relationship was defined by extraction and subjugation. Today, that historical pattern has been turned on its head. This isn’t a partnership of equals; it’s one of mutual, hard-nosed necessity, and the power dynamic has fundamentally shifted.
A post-Brexit Britain, cut off from its primary European market, is desperately seeking new, powerful economic partners. It needs India’s vast market, its growing middle class, and its strategic heft in the Indo-Pacific. The UK comes not as a ruler, but as a high-tech vendor and a hopeful investor; déjà vu yet?.
Meanwhile, India is a rising power, confident and assertive. It needs British technology, capital, and, crucially, its political backing for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. New Delhi is not a supplicant but a discerning customer with a multitude of global options.
This role reversal is one of the most significant, if quietest, geopolitical realignments of the 21st century. The former colony is now the prize; the old empire is the one making the sales pitch. The deals for missiles and university campuses are merely the transactional receipts for this profound historical shift.
Question for you
The UK-India relationship is being reframed from colonial history to a pragmatic partnership. Is it possible to truly separate the two, or will the past always cast a shadow over the present?
Stay sharp,
Aditya S.
Editor, The India Brief
P.S. Curated today’s brief while listening to kind of British rock and Indian classical fusion. Felt appropriate.