The Spider We'd All be Jealous Of
☕ India’s Morning Briefing: Wed, November 12
Hello, and welcome to the brief.
Good morning, friends.
The capital is reeling from a major blast, JLN is soon to be demolished and Bihar sees record turnaround. Don’t miss the spider news btw.
Welcome to the 153rd edition of The India Brief
Do not miss the deep dive in the end.
1. The National Lead (Security & Politics)
💥 NIA Takes Over Delhi Red Fort Blast Probe
MHA hands probe to NIA; signals terror attack
Death toll climbs to 13; blast from Hyundai i20
FIR under UAPA; occupant linked to Pulwama doctor
Delhi CM announces ₹10 lakh ex gratia
UK updates travel advisory for Delhi
Well, that escalated quickly. The MHA classifying this as terror before the smoke has even cleared isn’t just a procedural step.
The Signal: The second-order effect of the MHA’s “terror” designation is narrative control. It federalises the crime, silences local political bickering, and legally activates the state’s full security apparatus under the UAPA. 🔗
🗳️ Bihar Concludes Election with Record 66.91% Turnout
Highest voter turnout since 1951
Female turnout: 71.6%; Male turnout: 62.8%
Phase 2 polling: 68.76%; Kishanganj highest🔗
📊 Exit Polls Predict Decisive NDA Victory in Bihar
Summary of 9 polls; projects NDA retains power
Projection: ~147 seats for NDA; ~90 for MGB
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj; 0-1 seat impact🔗
🧪 Gujarat ATS Busts Terror Plot Using Ricin Toxin
3 arrested, including Hyderabad-based doctor
Accused of making ricin; from castor beans
Seized: Glock pistols, bullets, castor oil
Ricin. Someone’s been watching Breaking Bad. This is a terrifying departure from the usual IED/AK-47 plots.
And Then What?: A chemical/biological plot, even if foiled, triggers a second-order panic. This forces security agencies to pivot from checkpoint-based screening (for bombs) to intelligence-based screening (for chemists), a much harder and more invasive problem. 🔗
2. The Market & The Money (Economy & Corporate)
📈 Sensex Rises 336 Points, Nifty Nears 25,700
Sensex closes at 83,871; Nifty at 25,695
Gains for 2nd straight session
Reason: positive global cues; US Senate bill to end shutdown
Our market rallied because a bunch of politicians 8,000 miles away finally agreed to do their jobs. The Delhi bomb did not really get the markets down. Interesting. This is what ‘globally integrated’ means. The Sensex is now a barometer of global risk appetite as much as Indian health. 🔗
📉 Bajaj Finance Crashes 8% Despite Healthy Profits
Stock tanks; despite 22% profit rise
Trigger: Lowered AUM growth guidance for FY26
Company cited “growing stress”; in MSME & mortgage loans 🔗
3. The Daily Grind (Society & Environment)
😷 Delhi Air Quality Hits ‘Severe’ Again
24-hour average AQI; hits 425
CAQM invokes Stage-III of GRAP (Graded Response)
Banning non-essential construction; BS-III/IV vehicles
Schools (up to Class 5); told to go hybrid
Delhi Metro (DMRC); adds 60 extra trips
First time this season; prompts emergency measures
Ah, November. The air you can see. Right on schedule, Delhi has officially become a gas chamber.
Find the Pattern: This is a ritual. Every November, stubble burning + meteorology + Diwali = a crisis. The “emergency” GRAP-III measures are also part of this annual historical pattern: a flurry of reactive bans that manage headlines but solve none of the root causes. 🔗
⚽️ Indian Footballers Issue “Desperate” Plea for ISL
Top players; (Chhetri, Jhingan) post joint statement
Plead with AIFF; to resume paused ISL season
Crisis: AIFF received zero bids; for league’s commercial rights
“Our frustration and anger has turned into desperation.” That is not something you want to hear from your national team captain.
The Bottom Line: The ISL is on the verge of collapse because no one bid for the rights. The “currency” (profit) isn’t there. This exposes the fragile, unsustainable financial model of every sport in India not named ‘cricket’. 🔗
🏟️ Delhi’s JLN Stadium to Be Demolished for ‘Sports City’
Iconic stadium; revamped for 2010 Commonwealth Games
Will be “dismantled”; to build new sports city
New facility; to include lodging for athletes
Find the Pattern: This is the “Ozymandias Pattern.” We build massive, expensive monuments to a single moment (the 2010 Games), only to tear them down 15 years later. It’s a spectacular waste, driven by a need for “new” icons rather than sustainable “use.” 🔗
4. The Silver Lining (Uplifting News)
💸 PhysicsWallah IPO Raises ₹1,563 Crore from Anchors
Edtech unicorn’s IPO; opens today
Anchor book 13x oversubscribed
Backed by major funds; (Fidelity, Goldman, ICICI)
A profitable edtech company? Going public? The Byju’s era is officially, spectacularly over.
The Signal: The incentive for investors has shifted 180 degrees. The “growth at all costs” edtech bubble has burst. This massive anchor book signals that the market is now rewarding profitable, sustainable growth. Fundamentals are back in fashion. 🔗
📚 India Observes National Education Day
Celebrated on Nov 11; birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
India’s first Education Minister
Schools hold seminars, workshops; to promote literacy
A day to remember the man who had the unenviable job of trying to build IITs and UGC from scratch in a brand new country.
Find the Pattern: Azad’s vision was foundational: create elite institutions (IITs) to build the nation’s “human capital.” Today’s news (IIM’s new MBA, PhysicsWallah’s IPO) shows that 75 years later, “education” remains India’s single most valuable and explosive economic sector; but now as a business sadly. 🔗
🕷️ Rare Half-Male, Half-Female Spider Discovered
New species; Damarchus inazuma
Body perfectly split; one side orange (male), one side grey (female)
A “gynandromorph”; a significant biological find
A spider that is its own perfect other half. Honestly, good for them. Seems efficient.
The Signal: A find this rare (a perfect gynandromorph) is a biological lottery ticket. It offers scientists a unique natural experiment to study how sex-linked genes develop and express themselves in a single body, potentially unlocking insights into genetics. 🔗
🖥️ Tripura Aims to Be Northeast’s Next IT Hub
MeitY Secretary; launches state’s Cyber Security Policy 2025
Cites “ideal conditions”; for data centres
Strategic location; uses internet connectivity via Bangladesh
Tripura as an IT hub? It’s a bold play, betting that stable power and a cross-border internet cable are enough to lure tech investment.
The Chessboard: This is India’s “Act East” policy meeting the “China Plus One” narrative. By building a data hub in Tripura with a gateway through Bangladesh, India is creating a new, resilient data corridor that bypasses the traditional, congested Mumbai/Chennai routes; through geopolitically complex and potentially unstable routes. 🔗
5. Around The World (International)
US Senate Passes Bill to End 41-Day Shutdown
Longest shutdown; in US history finally nears end
Cost: $11 billion in permanently lost GDP
1.25 million federal workers; unpaid since Oct 1
Final vote in house awaited
And Then What?: The shutdown’s end creates a second-order crisis. The bill passed without the healthcare subsidies progressives demanded, creating a “deep rift” in the Democratic party. This “victory” just guarantees a more fractured and brutal next budget fight. 🔗
Suicide Blast Kills 12 at Court in Islamabad
Attacker detonated; outside District & Sessions Court
At least 12 dead, 30+ injured
Second attack; after militant storming of cadet college 🔗
India Slams EU Carbon Tax as “Protectionism” at COP30
India; speaks for BASIC & LMDC developing nations
Slams EU’s Carbon Border Tax (CBAM)
Calls it “instrument of protectionism”; contradicts UN spirit
India to the EU: “Your ‘climate policy’ looks suspiciously like a ‘tax-on-our-steel’ policy.”
The Bottom Line: This isn’t a climate debate; it’s a trade war. The EU’s “currency” is protecting its expensive domestic steel and cement industries from cheaper Indian imports. The CBAM is just a green-washed non-tariff barrier; or at least this is what India says. 🔗
🌍 UN Climate Yearbook Shows Gaps in Action
2025 Yearbook released; 10 years after Paris Agreement
Good news: Renewable capacity has doubled
Bad news: Deforestation has “worsened”; grid investment “critically low”
The UN’s annual report card is in: “Great effort on solar panels. Complete failure on... trees. See me after class.” 🔗
💸 Trump Floats $2,000 Tariff Checks for Americans
Idea pushed; to send rebates from tariff revenue
Tariffs paid by US businesses; not foreign countries
Comes as US Supreme Court; hears challenges to tariffs
Trump wants to send everyone $2,000, funded by... the tariffs that Americans are already paying for. It’s like taking $100 from your wallet, then giving $20 back as a gift.
Find the Pattern: This is “Bread and Circuses.” It’s a classic populist move from ancient Rome: distract from economic woes (inflation, shutdown) with a direct, tangible handout, and frame it as being paid for by a foreign “enemy.” 🔗
6. The Deep Dive
The Great Indian Education Racket
Yesterday (Nov 11) was National Education Day, marking the birth of India’s first Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. His vision, when facing a newly independent nation with low literacy, was ambitious: “every child should go to school”.
That vision, bless his heart, has morphed into something... stranger. Today, ‘education’ is a bloodsport. A multi-billion-dollar business. We celebrate this day just as an edtech unicorn, PhysicsWallah, raises ₹1,563 crore from anchor investors before its massive IPO. This happens in a country where student suicides are a horrifying norm, and the pressure is so immense that millions of kids attend two schools: the government one from 8-2, and the real one (the coaching centre) from 4-8.
Why? For decades, in a high-population, low-trust economy, a degree from a top-tier institution was the only reliable proxy for skill. This created a perverse incentive: the exam became more important than the education. The system isn’t incentivised to educate; it’s incentivised to filter.
This created the “shadow” industry—not a substitute for school, but a mandatory patch. It’s a high-stakes gamble where the currency is a ‘rank,’ and the cost is debt, childhood, and mental health.
Now, AI is about to flip the entire table. The Industrial Revolution took generations to create new jobs. AI is rewriting the job market in a decade. In 10 years, when AI can do the ‘knowing’ part better than any human, will companies still hire based on the proxy (the degree) or the proof (the skill)? We’re already seeing the shift.
So, what is school for? If it’s just skills, homeschool or a boot camp or actually opening your own startup wins by a longshot. But it’s not, is it? It’s about society. Learning not to be a jerk. Socialising. Values. Figuring out how to exist with other humans. Right now, we’re trapped. We’re running a 20th-century filtering system that produces stressed-out kids, while a 21st-century, AI-driven, skills-based economy is being built next door. If we don’t figure this out, we’ll be a nation with the world’s most-certified, least-skilled workforce, perfectly prepared for a world that no longer exists, all while the business of ‘education’ just gets bigger
Q: Does it bother no one else that education has turned into a “Business” now?
Comment with your thoughts.
Yours,
Aditya S.
Editor, The India Brief
P.S. Today’s curation was fuelled by the faint, metallic taste of Delhi’s morning air. Seriously, someone open a window. Oh, wait.