In this week’s wrapup, we talk about dark tourism, TRAI’s new telco rules, surrogate advertising, India’s internship conundrum and the AI bubble.

Here’s a recap.

What drives us to sites of tragedy

Have you ever thought about why some people are drawn to places filled with eerie history? From the Paris Catacombs to India’s landslide-hit areas in Wayanad, ‘dark tourism’ is gaining traction worldwide.

But what drives this curious fascination with visiting sites associated with death and disaster? And how do locals feel about it? We wrote about it in Monday’s newsletter. You can read it here.

Why telcos hate TRAI's new rules

Imagine this. You’re midway through an important call, and suddenly, poof! No signal. That’s what happened to thousands of Reliance Jio and Airtel users across India last month. What started as a tech glitch quickly escalated into a nationwide outage, affecting everything from social media scrolls to serious business operations.

Now, TRAI is stepping in with strict new rules to help fix this, and telcos aren’t too happy about it. But the real kicker? Telcos are pointing fingers at the government, saying it’s not just their fault. So, what’s going on? Click here to read Tuesday’s newsletter and get the full scoop.

Can brands survive a surrogate advertising ban?

Ever noticed those blue paan shops selling Kamla Pasand Elaichi? Well, guess what? It might just be a clever trick called surrogate advertising to promote gutka (chewing tobacco)! Alcohol or tobacco brands often advertise products that may not be widely or readily available for sale to improve brand awareness and get around strict ad bans. From organising music festivals to selling elaichi (cardamom) that may seldom exist, these companies are finding sneaky ways to stay in the spotlight. But authorities are catching on, and a crackdown might be on the horizon.

Will brands be able to survive it, though? Head over to Wednesday's newsletter to find out.

India's internship conundrum

The government is revving up to keep its employment promises from the Union Budget for FY25. And we’re saying this because it has already kickstarted discussions with 20 companies to offer internships to young Indians over the next five years. The grand plan is to get 500 companies on board and skill up young India for the workforce.

But while the plan looks great on paper, is this massive internship plan really practical? From funding concerns to the actual capacity of companies, there’s a lot more to this story. And that’s exactly what we wrote about on Thursday. Click here to read it.

Why the AI boom won't burst like the dot com bubble

The AI gold rush just hit a bump!

For context, in 2022, Nvidia and other tech giants soared, with Nvidia even briefly topping the charts as the world’s most valuable company. But just when it seemed like AI was unstoppable, Nvidia lost $1 trillion in value, and the tech elite took a major hit.

So, is this the burst of the AI bubble we’ve been fearing, or just a temporary setback? Dive into Friday’s newsletter to unravel the truth behind the hype and what’s really going on.

Finshots Weekly Quiz 🧩

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That’s it from us this week. Have a great weekend!

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