Diwakar Raghunathan

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[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

History in the making!!! What makes it doubly amazing is that two people broke the 2 hr barrier on the same day !

[Larry Madowo @LarryMadowo]

BREAKING VIDEO: Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe becomes the first person ever to win a regular marathon in under two hours, setting a new world record at the London Marathon in 1:59:30!

Kenyans invented running™

[The Kaipullai @thekaipullai]

In Mar 2026, Chennai finally witnessed the completion of something monumental and epoch making that it defies belief. It saw the opening of a project that was so incredible that it took longer than the Great Wall of China, the Brihadeeshwara temple and the Pyramids of Giza to complete it.

I am talking about the Chennai MRTS railway or as Chennai people call it, the "Flying Railway"

The first proposal for this was made in the year 1984, the year in which Indira Gandhi was Assassinated.

For some reason, the construction started in 1991.

From that time to its completion in 2026

India moved from a social economy to an open economy

Television opened up
We went from paying the cost of the Kohinoor diamond for 100 hours of internet at 1 kbps, to getting unlimited 200 Mbps internet for 500 bucks a month.
Payments moved from cash, to online to mobile phones.
Google was established and scaled to a $3 Trillion company.
Shopping moved from market to internet to get anything you want at home in 10 mins.
We went from waving hands to get taxis to summoning them to our doorstep with a phone
Phones went from things that could kill people if it fell upon them to ones which are more sophisticated than TVs.
Movies went from movie screens to mobile phones.
Saki Naka went from being jammed to ultra jammed
Vijaykanth went from being an actor to a successful politician to a failed politician and then died.
Rajnikanth and Kamal announced a movie together
Kids who were born in Velachery, grew up, finished college, got jobs, got married, had kids and their kids are now in school.
DMK went from Karunanidhi to Stalin to Udayanidhi and now to Inbanidhi
Vijay went from being an average looking son of a producer who wants to act to being a political contender
China went from being a steam engine driven railways to a country with a high speed rail network which is longer than India's railway network
An Ambani went bankrupt
Tata elected someone other than Tata to head Tata.
Global warming happened
Pakistan went from being a poor beggar to an ultra poor beggar

The entire world has changed in the 35 years that it took for us to build a 25 km railway.

I am still in disbelief that how a country with great ambitions can take 35 years to build a 25 km railway.

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

For $100, a lab can now read every single gene in your body. All 20,000+ of them. Every disease you're likely to get. Every drug that will or won't work on you. Every condition you could pass to your kids. All of it, sitting in a file, for less than your monthly AI bill.

That number used to be $2.7 billion. The Human Genome Project took 13 years and 20+ institutions across multiple countries to sequence one genome. In 2007, sequencing one person's DNA still cost $1 million. By 2014, Illumina got it down to $1,000, and the industry treated it like landing on the moon.

Now, a San Diego startup just hit $100.

The company is called Element Biosciences. Founded in 2017 by three senior people who quit Illumina, the company that dominated gene sequencing for two decades. The CEO, CTO, and VP of biochemistry all walked out and started competing with their former employer. Element has raised $680 million, is valued at $1 billion, and Illumina is suing them for patent infringement. Element is suing back for antitrust. Both cases are in federal court.

Their machine is called VITARI. Size of a mini fridge. $689,000. For comparison, Illumina's equivalent costs $1.25 million. VITARI reads 10 billion DNA sequences per run and produces a full human genome in about 36 hours. The $100 price doesn't even require running the machine at full capacity.

Quick reality check: the $100 number is the per-genome cost at scale. A UCSD genomics director said most labs today still pay around $400. Think of it like Costco pricing for DNA. But even $400 versus $2.7 billion is a 6.75-million-x cost drop in 23 years. Nothing in the history of technology has fallen this fast. Not computing. Not solar. Not storage. DNA sequencing has been outpacing Moore's Law since 2008.

The UK is already running a pilot to sequence 100,000 newborns at birth to screen for 200+ rare but treatable conditions. When a genome costs less than a pair of shoes, every country will face the same question. And right behind it comes the harder ones: who stores that data, who gets to see it, and what happens when your insurance company wants access before covering you.

We went from needing a billion-dollar government project to needing a mini fridge.

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@RaghavNC Mall road

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@whizkidd A good scenario would be a hsr that takes about 6 hrs (keeping average speeds at 225-250kmph). If that can be combined with wash and change rooms at the end stations, it can open up interesting possibilities.

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@lordmiles Reminds me of this

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@InsideLucysHead But it was low hanging fruit !!!

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@deepakshenoy @metahacker_ @geniusparadox Yes, i missed that. Really boils down to how many hours he works everyday. 50km per day is also a lot to cycle (at 7-8 hrs everyday). An e-cycle is probably a better option that goes upto 25kmph but costs a lot upfront for a gig worker to afford.

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@deepakshenoy @metahacker_ @geniusparadox The author claimed ₹250 for fuel. At a mileage of 40km/ltr, that's still 100km. That's quite a lot to cycle. Every day. In our weather.

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

Used to drink from this in Delhi in the 90s as kids while playing cricket. Can't imagine doing that now

[Chirag Barjatya @chiragbarjatya]

When I came to Mumbai for the first time in 2011, my friends who were doing articleship invited me to stay over. As soon as I entered, I asked for water due to the humid weather, and the friend went to the kitchen, filled a glass with tap water, and gave it to me.

I was shocked. Coming from Rajasthan we had a separate water line that too we drank after filtering it with several cloth filters and boiling. In Mumbai, a friend asked me to drink tap water directly. I just couldn’t comprehend it.

Cut short to today, in which city can you drink tap water directly? Especially after the Indore and Gujarat cases, can you?

[Shereen Bhan @ShereenBhan]

Last week @airindia completed the sale and transfer of a B737-200 that had been sitting, grounded and largely forgotten, since 2012. The twist? The airline says it didn’t even know the plane officially belonged to them until airport staff in Kolkata pointed it out asking the airline to remove the plane! What a story! @madeehamedia reports @CNBCTV18News @CNBCTV18Live #AirIndia #AviationNews #Aviation

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

This is fascinating. A bird weighing just 120gms does a non stop flight of 3000kms !!! Flying day and night relying on the sun and stars for directions. Amazing stuff !!!

[Supriya Sahu IAS @supriyasahuias]

Woohoo .. both Apapang and Alang have successfully crossed over, while Ahu is just about to reach...three Amurs, one breathtaking migration and a million people watching in awe ..@sureshwii #AmurFalconMigration

[Roads of Mumbai @RoadsOfMumbai]

These are not traffic lights, but red street lights!

How on earth do these lights get approved on a highway where there are traffic lights also below these?

Why is it so difficult for our babus to install basic warm or white street lights?

📍: Majiwada Junction, Ghodbunder Rd

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

The good part about England hosting the WTC final next 3 editions is that it will be a neutral venue for both the finalists

[Will Macpherson @willis_macp]

England in line to host the next three World Test Championship finals. Confirmation expected at ICC meeting in Singapore next month https://t.co/UHJgRiMbUb

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@Dr_Harsimran95 @tsriram @EurekaForbes @toi @jagograhakjago I think it's better not to take AMC. If you don't have amc, they respond faster as I think they see some revenue potential. In case of amc, they know that they already have your money and so can take you for granted

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

.@EurekaForbes

The leading company when it comes to taking their customers for granted. Absolutely disgusting behaviour by them when it comes to keeping up their commitment on AMC.
#Fraud
@toi
@jagograhakjago

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@Dr_Harsimran95 @tsriram @EurekaForbes @toi @jagograhakjago I don't think they give a damn about their customers

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@jhuranimeeta @EurekaForbes @toi @jagograhakjago @pratikpota Addressed after some 10-12 days of multiple escalations and complaints. Still need to replace the filter/candle. It is indeed really sad.

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@EurekaForbes @toi @jagograhakjago When was the technician assigned and when is he supposed to visit ???

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@EurekaForbes @toi @jagograhakjago Spoke to your franchise RK Enterprises in Chennai. Someone called Rajkumar who was downright rude and said he can't send anyone and stopped picking up the phone

[Diwakar Raghunathan @rdiwakar]

@EurekaForbes @toi @jagograhakjago We received this msg one week back : Dear Customer,

Your complaint number is WO-041224-57248504. Our technician will visit within the next 24 working hours to attend to your service request. - Eureka Forbes