S Jaishankar on India’s foreign policy; All that jazz at Kolkata’s Trincas

It’s time for DevSparks 2024!

Happening today at Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, DevSparks 2024 is bringing together India’s top developers, technologists, enterprise leaders, and industry experts all under one roof to build India's tech future.

Check out our stellar speakers lineup!

In other news, IN-SPACe, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, has released Norms, Guidelines, and Procedures (NGP) to boost the implementation of the Indian Space Policy 2023.

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank is open to funding the space sector in India besides focusing on climate finance to mitigate the associated risks, its Vice President Bhargav Dasgupta said on Friday.

Elsewhere, a new report from Microsoft outlines the company’s efforts towards creating responsible AI platforms. The annual AI transparency report is one of the commitments the company made after signing a voluntary agreement with the White House in July 2023. 

Lastly, May the Fourth be with you!

This weekend, Star Wars – The Phantom Menace celebrates its 25th anniversary. But one might ask if it’s still worth the watch!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Foreign policy, ft. MEA Minister S Jaishankar
• All that jazz at Kolkata’s Trincas
• Inside Nappa Dori’s timeless products

Here’s your trivia for today: Which spacecraft was the first one to leave the Solar System?

Interview

Foreign policy, ft. MEA Minister S Jaishankar

India’s foreign policy has evolved over the past few decades, with the core tenet of protecting the country’s interests on the global stage. It has a direct impact not just on your groceries and necessary purchases but also on your daily life and job prospects.

“Every Indian should care about foreign policy because it is going to impact every Indian,” says S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India. 

Navigating world:

• A rise in inflation and a price rise in daily consumables, from vegetables to milk and even grocery, invariably follows a rise in fuel prices. “Here is the connection between foreign policy and price rise. It would have cost stability,” the Minister says.
• Post-pandemic, the West is increasingly looking East to de-risk from China. And India is a strong contender in that race.
• The Minister says that diplomacy opens new doors. For example, due to our strategic relations, India can buy aircraft from America, oil from Russia, and missiles from Israel.

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Music

All that jazz at Kolkata’s Trincas

As one of Park Street’s most identifiable landmarks, Trincas vies for your attention. 

Amid the jarring billboards crowding the street, this tea room-turned-restaurant bar is a throwback to the times past. Trincas is a reminder of its heydays when some of the finest musicians—from jazz virtuoso Benny Rozario and his boys to the legendary Usha Uthup crooning popular English songs in her trademark Kanjeevaram saree and a jumbo bindi, graced its stage. 

A legacy:

• In 1959, Cinzio Trinca sold his business to Omi Puri and Ellis Joshua—who converted Trincas into a nightclub that served food, drinks, and organised live shows. That's how the music scene took off. 
• Since August 2021, Willie Walters’ Jazz Quartet has been gracing Trincas’ iconic stage for two-hour jazz sessions every weekend.
• Besides jazz, Trincas has a live Hindi band every evening that plays from 6-9 pm, while the western band takes over from 9-11 pm. 

Splurge

Inside Nappa Dori’s timeless products

In a country where brands take pride in their ornate embroidery and maximalism, Gautam Sinha’s Nappa Dori distinguishes itself with minimalism. 

Nappa Dori’s design philosophy relies heavily on simplicity, sophistication, and functionality—blending aesthetics with practicality and cultural significance—and is often compared with Scandinavian and Japanese designs.

Luxe:

• Starting with a bunch of handbags, belts, wristbands, and trunks, Sinha managed to grow the brand, expand the product portfolio, and Nappa Dori’s geographical presence. 
• Nappa Dori has stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Dubai, and London’s luxury shopping hub, Covent Garden.
• Inspired by French, English, and East European cuisine, Cafe Dori was launched in 2017 to make Nappa Dori an experiential store. Sinha says the flagship store in Delhi, accompanied by the cafe, has been a pivotal moment in the journey.

News & updates

• Buyback: Apple shares jumped nearly 7% on Friday as the iPhone maker's record stock buyback plan—an additional $110 billion in share repurchases, its largest ever—and promise of sales growth brought back investors who have shunned the stock on concerns over weak demand and increased competition in China.
• Tesla vs Tesla: Elon Musk's Tesla has sued an Indian battery maker for infringing its trademark by using the brand name "Tesla Power" to promote its products, seeking damages and a permanent injunction against the company from the Delhi High Court.
• Launches: NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island in the US to increase the number of authorised rocket launches at the site by almost 200%. The proposed changes could ease congestion at other spaceports, which have felt the strain of a rapid increase in launch capacity.

Which spacecraft was the first one to leave the Solar System?

Answer: Voyager 1

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