From India's trillion-dollar dream to Apple's plans for the country, here are our most-read stories of the week

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1) The trillion-dollar dream

There is a shift in India's boardrooms. Efforts are being made to make a slow but steady stride towards making the nation a manufacturing powerhouse. The endgame is to reach a $1 trillion merchandise export target by the end of this decade. The walk uphill is not going to be easy. According to the estimates, to meet this goal, India needs to compound growth at 12 percent in dollar terms or 15-16 percent in rupee terms. We have traditionally exported petroleum products, gems and jewellery, textiles, cotton, minerals, tea, coffee and buffalo meat. Will this traditional path suffice? Or new contenders such as speciality chemicals, pharma, EV components, semiconductors, industrial machinery and so on will take on this new challenge? Read more here
 
2) Apple makes in India

If were to continue the manufacturing discussion, it is difficult to ignore the recent trip by Apple CEO Tim Cook to India. The launch of the first official Apple retail stores in India was a hot ticket event for fans, celebs, and the media. Although the event marked 25 years of Apple's products being available in the country, it was also a big step for the Cuppertino-based company's India push. Apple has been eyeing expanding in India since 2016 when Cook first met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, with three contract manufacturers, two retail stores and several other manufacturing plants in the wings, Apple is all set to make the most of India's lower costs of production and rising demand. Read more here
 
3) Grounded

Manufacturing can't survive without good supply chain management and Wadia group's GoAir had to bear the brunt when their engine provider Pratt & Whitney refused to replace or repair the engines of its aircraft—bringing the airline's functions to a grinding halt. The airline had deliberately kept away from heavy turbulence and headwinds for almost two decades. Its tenure in the Indian aviation sector saw companies like Kingfisher and Jet Airways fold because of mismanagement. It also saw the rise of IndiGo and the Tata group's duopoly in the Indian skies. But Nusli Wadia's little outfit kept soaring—and even had the ambitions of upping the domestic market share to 20 percent, until May 3 when it abruptly announced bankruptcy. Here's a look at the airline's downfall and the path ahead. Read more here
 

Discover

 
1) QJ Motor SRC500 on Forbes India Momentum

If you are looking at the QJ Motor SRC500 for the first time, it will quickly remind you of a standard Royal Enfield bike. That is where half of its work is done if the ambition is to sink teeth into Enfield's pie in the market. But looks are not everything, are they? To be something in a market dominated by Enfield, the SRC500 needs to be adept in a lot of situations to be considered a competent, capable cruiser. Is it? This quick review on Forbes India Momentum shall help you decide. Watch here
 
2) Call for a pause

Four months after ChatGPT—a chatbot capable of human-like conversation—burst onto the scene, amassing millions of users within weeks, its maker OpenAI released GPT-4, an even more powerful version of the technology. Soon after, worried tech leaders, including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed a letter calling for an immediate pause in the development of large language models more powerful than GPT4, for at least six months. Why are they so worried? And how realistic is it to coordinate such a pause? Watch here
 
3) The big picture

Across more than two decades, GE Aerospace's Indian team has made significant contributions to every important engine platform the company has developed. In the new episode of Daily Tech Conversation Podcast, Alok Nanda, CTO of GE South Asia and CEO of GE's India Technology Center, talks about the next decade of growth of the aviation and aerospace industry: A lot of it will happen in India. He also gives his perspective on where the industry is headed in sustainable aviation, ranging from the development of planet-friendly fuels to using AI to more accurately estimate when engines need repair. Listen to it here
 
4) Reading the fine print

When Vick Rana returned from the US in 1993 and joined his father's business of manufacturing air coolers and electric motors, perks of behaving like an obedient son included a car, an expansive office, a cushy lifestyle, and an inflated sense of entitlement. But Jr Rana soon realised, at the end of the day, the business belonged to his father and to be able to leave his imprint on the business, he needs to set up a new shop. In 1997 he started a trading company in Hong Kong. Serendipity brought Disney to his doorstep. Rana grabbed the opportunity with both hands and began his journey to set up Skoodle—a high-quality, affordable toy and stationery brand. A lot happened between 1997 to 2023. Here's a quick trip down memory lane. Read more here