Good morning. It’s Earlybird here, pouring out your goodie bag full of business, tech, and startup news.

In this edition:

• 👀 RBI’s unexpected pause on rate hikes

• 🤖 India nopes AI regulation

• 📱 Google apps will delete your data, just ask

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close. Source.

• Markets: The Sensex is on an opera-level high note as it jumps up 144 points, while the Nifty hovers around 17,600. This comes after the Reserve Bank of India pulled an Uno reverse card on its previous decision and instead kept interest rates unchanged (more on that in a bit).

TECH

India nopes AI regulation

🤖 Such an interesting day. In a surprising move, the Indian government has decided not to impose regulations on artificial intelligence (AI). Here’s what you need to know:

The decision was announced in a pretty long write up by the Ministry of Electronics and IT that we’ll sum up for you here:

• The government does intend to craft responsible policies that will help build a robust AI industry in India.

• However, it does not plan to propose laws to control AI’s expansion as a “kinetic enabler of the digital economy and innovation ecosystem.”

For and against

• The Indian government's decision not to regulate AI is likely to be seen as a win for the tech industry, which has been calling for a light touch when it comes to regulation.

• However, some experts have warned that the lack of oversight could lead to unintended consequences down the line.

BANKING

RBI unexpectedly hits pause on rate hike cycle

👀 In another unexpected turn of events, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to keep interest rates on hold, pausing its recent cycle of rate hikes. Here are the important bits:

• The decision came as a surprise to many analysts, who had expected the central bank to continue raising rates in order to combat inflation.

• As to why, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das explained that the Indian financial markets have developed in a "orderly manner" and that the country's economy is still robust, adding that it is "necessary to evaluate the cumulative impact of these rate hikes.”

• Das also stressed that should any immediate action be required, RBI is locked and loaded to make any necessary adjustments.

Expert views. The RBI's policy decision, according to RBL Bank economist Achala Jethmalani, appears to be a "hawkish pause" as the MPC becomes data dependent and waits for earlier rate hikes to reflect in deposit and lending rates.

FOOD

Papa John’s is coming to India (again)

🍕 Papa misses India. World-famous pizza chain Papa John's is set to make a big comeback in India, with plans to open 650 stores in the country by 2033.

First of all… that’s a lot. Secondly, who plans pizza ‘til 2033?

Where and when. Bengaluru will be the first to see the foretold return of Papa John’s in 2024. Although Papa John's has previously entered India, its locations were shut down in 2018.

Looking ahead. Overall, the return of Papa John's is generating plenty of excitement and anticipation. The brand also seems quite excited about giving India another go, given the latter’s ever growing food market.

INDIA EDITION: WHAT ELSE IS ON THE BIRDWATCH

• 🔎 RBI’s new webtool hunts for unclaimed deposits. In a bid to improve efforts towards financial inclusion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is developing a centralized web portal to track down unclaimed deposits across different banks.

• ⛏️ Tata Steel on a heavy metal high. Tata Steel India is gaining more ground as it has achieved its highest-ever annual production of 19.9 million tons of metal in FY23.

• 🍭 Bit of hiccup for sugar exports this year. Sugar producers in India are going to have a bittersweet year, as the government is unlikely to permit additional sugar exports due to a slight fall in production.

FUNDING DEALS

Catch up on the Indian funding flows from the past 24hrs:

• Curefoods, one of the foremost cloud kitchen contenders in India, was able to bag Rs 300 crore from its latest funding round, which will lbe used to fuel their growth plans.

• Avanti Finance, the Indian non-banking financial company, was able to snag a hefty $24M in equity funding from Rabo Partnerships and IDH Farmfit Fund.

• Spendflo, a company that helps businesses manage their SaaS contracts, just raised $11M in their latest Series A round led by venture capital firm Omidyar Network India, following a 15x spike in their revenue last year.

WORLD

Headline Explorer

🔪 $66M bonus cut for Credit Suisse execs. Credit Suisse's top execs face the shorter end of the stick after Swiss authorities have slashed up to $66M in bonuses. This move comes as the sunken ship Suisse preps for its forced merger with UBS.

📱 Google apps now bound to delete data, if you ask. Google has made a significant move to tighten its grip on data privacy as it has updated its Play Store policies to include a new requirement for apps to delete user data upon request.

✂️ Will Amazon cut employee stock awards? As Amazon deals with a tough market, the e-commerce giant is reportedly planning to cut employee stock awards amid mass layoffs, raising both concerns and eyebrows amongst its workforce.

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