Before Trump, Modi Can Agree on India Buying F-35s, US Needs to Shed its S-400 Phobia; Stalin, Amit Shah Spar Over Delimitation

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK

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Over to Siddharth Varadarajan for today’s Cable

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Snapshot of the day

February 26, 2025

Siddharth Varadarajan

One billion Indians – our total population is 1.4 billion – have no money to spend on any discretionary goods or services, a report by Blume Ventures has said. It estimates that between 130 and 140 million Indians make up the potential market for start-ups and businesses, while another 300 million are “aspirant” consumers but are unwilling to spend money, Nikhil Inamdar reports. Blume has also noted that the Indian consumer class is not growing as much as those who are able to spend are getting richer. Released on Saturday, the report came days ahead of a visit by European Union officials to India to review negotiations for a free trade deal. As the EU eyes trade deals, India risks becoming a consumerist playground for the West while its own masses remain impoverished.

There is a “high probability” that Prime Minister Modi will visit Moscow as a guest of the Victory Day parade on May 9, the TASS Russian state-owned