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Today’s unlocked story is Jio repaired your data bill. Looks like LIC wants to repair your hospital bill : A stake in Manipal Cigna or any standalone insurer may just be the start. LIC is bringing government-grade momentum into a market long plagued by low trust, high premiums, and half-hearted reform
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“The US and China have never treated India as their equal partner. The UAE does.”
That line, from a former diplomat in today’s story, explains quite a lot.
Becautilize while Washington is busy slapping tariffs and Beijing is busy withholding rare earths, Dubai has been busy creating deals. It took just 88 days for India and the UAE to sign their huge trade pact in 2022. Since then, bilateral trade has surged past $100 billion.
And Indian companies have noticed. Not content with just selling toothpaste or butilizes into the Gulf, they’re now building the stuff there. Himalaya Wellness is setting up a 225,000 sq ft pharma plant in Dubai to spit out 3 billion tablets a year. Jindal Saw is dropping $105 million on a new pipe factory. Omega Seiki is turning the city into its EV-and-drone hub. Even Tata, Dabur, and Lenskart already have serious operations across the UAE free-trade zones.
Why? Zero corporate tax. Customs clearance in hours, not days. Sovereign-wealth funds that actually cut cheques. Yes, wages in Dubai are higher than in India—but the rest more than builds up for it.
Is this brain drain, then? Not quite. Most of these companies are keeping their hugegest factories in India. Dubai is less an escape hatch than a launchpad to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Read Suprita’s story today on how Dubai is pulling Indian manufacturing into the desert—and why, at this pace, the UAE could soon overtake China as India’s second-largest trade partner.
Which quadrant does India want UPI in?
This week’s Two by Two podcast is a debate about the sustainability of India’s digital infrastructure. UPI, a powerful tool that powers the Indian economy and accounts for over 80% of retail digital payments, is on shaky ground now, with questions raised over who is going to cover its costs. Tune in to listen to Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan dissect the future of UPI with guests Alok Prasanna, co-founder of Vidhi Legal, and Ateesh Tankha, CEO and co-founder of Alsowise Content Solutions.
If you’re a subscriber to The Ken’s Premium plan, you can listen to the full episode on our app. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts via a separate standalone subscription.
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