In this week’s wrapup, we discuss IRDAI’s latest consultation paper that could change how insurance is sold in India, India’s black mass problem with battery recycling, what happens if countries disappear underwater because of sea-level rise, and how hospitals actually make money. Just four stories this week because we took the day off yesterday.

IRDAI wants to change how insurance is sold

Insurance regulator IRDAI has recently proposed a few changes that could fundamentally alter how insurance is sold in India. It wants to tighten commissions, reduce insurers’ distribution expenses and also bring back commission caps.

That could hit insurance distributors hard. But here’s the interesting bit. IRDAI isn’t just trying to hurt distributors. It’s responding to a bigger problem that has plagued the insurance industry for years — mis-selling and low insurance penetration.

So what exactly is IRDAI proposing and could customers actually benefit from the changes? Read Monday’s newsletter to find out.

India's black powder problem with battery recycling

India wants to become less dependent on other countries for critical minerals. And one way to do that is to recover them from something we already have plenty of — old batteries.

But there’s a strange problem brewing around a powder called black mass, which is produced when used lithium-ion batteries are shredded. The government wants to keep more of it in India, but recyclers have their own reasons for sending it abroad. And that creates a rather interesting dilemma for India’s plans to build a domestic battery recycling ecosystem.

So what exactly is going on? Find out in Tuesday’s newsletter here.

What if the Maldives disappeared?

The Maldives disappearing beneath the sea sounds like something from a futuristic movie. But rising sea levels could put entire countries and coastal regions at risk.

And the consequences go far beyond losing a few beaches in the form of disrupted trade, damaged infrastructure, expensive insurance, falling property values and even questions about what happens to a country when its physical territory disappears.

Which is why the UN has now taken a serious step towards addressing this with its first-ever draft declaration on sea-level rise. But what exactly happens when a country loses its land? And can a country continue to exist without it? That’s what we broke down in Wednesday’s newsletter. You can read it here.

What actually makes a hospital profitable?

Hospitals may look like straightforward businesses, but their economics are anything but simple.

A hospital has to keep expensive infrastructure running whether or not every bed is occupied. And even when two patients spend the same amount of time in the same bed, they can generate very different revenue depending on the treatment they need. There are many other factors too.

But now, with the Supreme Court questioning steep medicine mark-ups, another important revenue stream could come under pressure. So, how does a hospital really make money? We broke it down in Thursday’s newsletter here.

Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 🧠

As you probably already know, the Finshots Weekly Quiz has a new avatar. If you missed out on it in the last few months, don’t worry. Click here to check out the rules and set a reminder to participate consistently starting next month!

But for now, it’s time to announce the winners. First up, the winner of Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 for September 2026. Drumroll, please… 🥁 Dhruv Bhatia! Congratulations.

Next, let’s move on to the top scorers from our previous weekly quiz. There were a whole bunch of you who participated, and many of you ended up with the same scores. So we’re calling you Bulls, Bears, Unicorns, Blue Chips, and Rising Stars. Here’s how the leaderboard looks right now:

If your name has been featured on the leaderboard, then congratulations! If not, don’t lose hope. If you attempted last week’s quiz, keep at it and answer all the weekly quizzes this month. You never know when the turntables! Click on this link to take this week’s quiz, which is open till 12 noon, Friday, 9th of October, 2026. The more answers you get right, the better your chances of appearing on the Finshots Weekly Quiz leaderboard. We’ll publish it every Saturday in the Weekly Wrapup. And the winner will be announced in the first week of November.

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