News
The week ahead, in charts
Summary
- The International Day of Yoga will be observed globally this week. Days will start getting shorter with the summer solstice
Every Monday, Mint’s Plain Facts section features key data releases and events to look for in the coming week. The International Day of Yoga will be observed globally this week. Days will start getting shorter with the summer solstice. The UK will release monthly inflation numbers as consumer prices remain a headache in the country. In cricket, the final match of the Ranji Trophy will take place this week.
International Day of Yoga
On Tuesday, countries around the world will come together to celebrate the eighth year of the International Day of Yoga. The main event in India will be held in Mysuru, Karnataka.
The ancient Indian practice of yoga has grown in popularity all over the world because of its benefits for keeping the body and mind fit. In recent years, it has rapidly grown to become a significant part of the tourism and wellness sector. According to Allied Market Research, the global yoga market size is predicted to increase at an annual pace of 9.6% between 2021 and 2027. Yoga is also becoming increasingly popular among Indians, shows data on Google searches for various fitness trends.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Yoga for Humanity". After a two-year gap, India will be hopeful of record attendance as it had achieved at several such events held in the past.
UK inflation
The consumer price inflation in the UK surged to a 40-year high of 9% in April, a leap from 7% in March, putting pressure on household budgets. Oil and gas prices have remained high because of the Russia-Ukraine war, with petrol and diesel prices rising to a record mark during the month. The central bank upped the ante in the fight against inflation by raising the rate for the fifth time since December last week. Policy makers have a tough task ahead of achieving an inflation target of 2%, especially when the Bank of England foresees it to be in double digits by the fourth quarter of this year. Inflation data for May is due to be released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an unexpected weak gross domestic product data in April is raising fears of an economic slowdown as a fallout of the war.
Summer Solstice
The northern hemisphere will see its longest day of the year on summer solstice on Tuesday. This day marks the beginning of the astronomical summer, but for India it marks the peak. This summer has been particularly harsh across India, with power demand touching a record 210.8 GW on 9 June as several states dealt with heat waves.
Days will start getting shorter from then on, but temperatures may not offer much relief until the monsoon covers the entire country. The southwest monsoon is expected to gather steam this week, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The summer solstice occurs when the sun reaches its highest point as it crosses the sky. The north pole will be tilted more towards the sun than on any other day of the year. The southern hemisphere will welcome the winter solstice on the same day.
The solstice has historically held cultural significance in many societies and the phenomenon is celebrated in countries such as the UK even today.
Ranji Trophy
The final match of India’s premier first-class cricket tournament, the Ranji Trophy, between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh will start on Wednesday at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.
A total of 38 teams played the tournament. Madhya Pradesh qualified by beating Bengal in the semifinal, while Mumbai qualified by beating Uttar Pradesh.
Mumbai boasts of the most Ranji Trophy titles (41) in history and has featured in 46 of the 86 finals so far. In its quarterfinal against Uttarakhand, Mumbai also set a record for the highest margin of victory (725 runs). Madhya Pradesh will be vying for a fifth title and has reached the final for the first time since 1998-99.
The tournament was scheduled to begin in January, but was postponed because of the covid-19 pandemic’s third wave in early January. It was then agreed to be held in two phases in view of the 2022 Indian Premier League season.
IKEA store in Bengaluru
Swedish furniture giant Ikea will foray into Bengaluru with its first flagship store in the city set to open on Wednesday. This will be the company’s third store in India, after Hyderabad and Mumbai. Spread over 10.6 acres and with over 7,000 furnishing products, the store would have 1,000 direct employees and would employ 1,500 indirectly, the company had said earlier. Ikea commenced its e-commerce operations in Bengaluru with a shopping website and an app in 2021. Last month, the company named Anje Heim as market manager for the Karnataka division. Apart from the IT city, the company operates online retail in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Gujarat. In December 2021, the company announced an investment plan of Rs10,500 crore in its India operations to scale up its presence, of which, the company injected Rs850 crore in February this year. Ikea had opened its first Indian store in 2018.
