Viral Thakker

Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer at Credibl | Advisor - Byufuel & NRoute | Ex Deloitte South Asia Lead- Sustainability. Previously - Strategy, AI & Analytics

[Richard Rossow @RichardRossow]

India's Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and NISE drop a map highlighting the potential scale of floating solar power, state by state. 102 GW total across India.

https://t.co/pFB7YOuHHc

[Shashikant Kore @kshashi]

Manu Joseph provides two reasons for rampant wrong side driving in India - Intentional latitude given to drivers and dehat-ification.

His swipe at the facade of swanky airports made me chuckle.

He argues the problem is fixable as Delhi Metro has shown.

Only if we can get our political leaders and policy makers suspend their fascination for headline-grabbing big initiatives for a short time and focus on micro things that can drastically improve lives of citizens.

[Harsh Gupta Madhusudan @harshmadhusudan]

We should significantly increase incentives for EVs of all kinds: 4w, 2w, CV. And for battery indigenisation. We are good on solar and wind for now but we need more storage and more end uses. Coal gasification, green hydrogen, electric cooking and ethanol blending are other ideas worth pushing - and government is right to do it. We need multiple ideas, not one. This Iran war should motivate us to dramatically reduce energy dependence on others.

[Sanjeev Sanyal @sanjeevsanyal]

One more borderline racist opinion piece from @TheEconomist ...... here making fun of the Indian "uncle". Now, north Indians like making fun of the proverbial "phuphaji" - the bane of every family wedding. In Bengal, it is the eternally annoyed "pishi". I am sure other parts of India have their equivalent. However, the Economist is trying to convert this into some sort of political Gen Z thing by mocking the older generation. This is a serious cultural misunderstanding. We make fun of "phupha-ji" as a default - and this was true of all previous generations. Even phuphajis make fun of phuphajis. The journalist at Economist is trying to force fit their "angry, white male" stereotype that is a staple of the Western Left in their home market; tone deaf and contrived when applied to India.

[Gaurav Mashruwala @GMashruwala]

Nature gives us everything we need — now it’s our turn to give back.
This World Environment Day, let’s move beyond celebration and take real steps toward protection, preservation, and sustainability. Because the Earth we enjoy today is a gift we hold in trust for future.

[Assaad Razzouk @AssaadRazzouk]

India's coal power is going into a structural decline because: batteries
>Cumulative tendered energy storage capacity skyrocketed to 90GW
>Monster 3.37 GWh battery array in Gujarat was just operationalized, making it world’s largest single-location battery storage deployment outside of China, with plans to hit 10 GWh next year and an incredible 50 GWh by 2031
>State-owned utility NTPC just issued an EPC tender for a monster 7.8 GWh battery installation in Rajasthan, a size unprecedented in global BESS procurement history
>From right now until 2027, a massive deployment of 2-hour, 2-cycle battery configurations is underway across major solar hubs (like Gujarat and Rajasthan) to aggressively crush morning and evening peak demand windows
>As India charges 500GW clean energy by 2030, it's on track to deploy 61 GW / 218 GWh of grid-scale storage

The entire growth in India’s electricity demand through 2030 will be completely absorbed by renewables and storage, and total coal generation in 2030 will drop below 2020 levels: India is rapidly moving to substitute 27GW of planned "zombie" coal plants with clean capacity and battery storage to save the Indian power system $6b/year in reduced costs

When a single country has over 60 GWh of projects in active execution and another 80 GWh under tendering, the "baseload coal" argument is dead on arrival

Wires are chewing pipelines

[Archaeological Survey of India @ASIGoI]

Excavations at Bhirrana, conducted between 2003- 2006, revealed four cultural phases — Period IA (Hakra Ware Culture, 7500-6000 BCE), Period IB (Early Harappan, 6000- 4500 BCE) , Period IIA (Transitional/Early Mature Harappan, 4500-3000 BCE) , and Period IIB (Mature Harappan, 3000-1800 BCE). The findings reflected gradual development of settlement patterns, architecture, craft activity, and urban planning.

Period IA revealed the earliest occupation consisting of subterranean circular dwelling pits dug into the virgin alluvium. Nine pits of varying dimensions were excavated, serving habitation, industrial, sacrificial, and refuse-related functions. The pit walls and floors were plastered with yellow alluvium, while reed-impressed earth fragments reflected wattle-and-daub construction techniques. Crucible fragments with traces of molten copper indicated early metallurgical activity. The phase also yielded Hakra Ware, Mud Applique Ware, Incised Ware, Black Burnished Ware, Bi-Chrome Ware, Black-on-Red Ware, and Plain Red Ware decorated with chevrons, criss-cross patterns, wavy lines, geometric designs, festoons, and pipal leaf motifs.

Period IB marked the transition from pit dwellings to mud-brick architecture with house complexes, rooms, courtyards, and chullahs. Antiquities recovered included shell seal fragments, copper arrowheads, terracotta figurines, rattles, sandstone pounders, and beads made of carnelian, agate, jasper, and lapis lazuli.

Period IIA reflected increasing urbanization with standardized mud-bricks, streets, pathways, platforms, hearths, and circular fire-pits indicating organized settlement planning.

Period IIB represented a fortified urban settlement with gateways, drains, paved streets, verandahs, courtyards, kitchens, chullahs, circular tandoors, and circular sunken mud-brick structures containing decarbonized husk and decomposed grains, suggesting storage or industrial activity. Crucibles with copper slag confirmed continued metallurgical activity. Important discoveries included steatite seals depicting a three-headed composite animal and a horned deity, along with a painted caricature resembling the famous dancing girl figurine of the Harappan civilization.

[John Hagel @jhagel]

A new process for mining lithium-rich rock could slash costs and pollution—and decentralize global lithium production https://t.co/exlABPOa9K

[Richard Rossow @RichardRossow]

India's Principal Scientific Advisor (@PrinSciAdvGoI) releases an expert report "Mega Science Vision-2035 / Climate Research."

Laying out key gaps in understanding climate change & adaptation.

Includes 8 big action areas.

https://t.co/eyUuk0a8CQ

[Ministry of Culture @MinOfCultureGoI]

This 4,500-year-old terracotta dice from the Indus-Saraswati Civilization is a powerful reminder of India’s living heritage. Dicing is also mentioned as a popular game in Rig and Atharva Vedas (two of the four sacred Vedic scriptures).

From symbols and craftsmanship to rituals, yogic practices, and collective memory, numerous elements of ancient Indian civilization continue to thrive in the daily social and religious life of Indian society across regions and communities.

Civilizational inheritance is not just about geography or ruins, it is defined by living customs, symbols, rituals, and unbroken cultural consciousness. India is the enduring living continuity of the Indus-Saraswati Civilization.

#IndusSaraswatiCivilization #AncientIndianHeritage

[Raghunath Mashelkar @rameshmashelkar]

In 365 years, only 5 Engineering Scientists from India have been elected as Fellow of Royal Society (FRS). @royalsociety

Two of them are Guru–Shishya - Prof. Sharma and me.

We had the privilege of signing in the same book that Sir Isaac Newton signed.👇

We had an inspiring conversation with Prof A. B. Pandit on our research journeys, how the power of ideas mattered over the minuscule budgets in resource scarce India then.

Here it is
https://t.co/IuH7xzzlD3

@csir_ncl @CSIR_IND @IndiaDST @DBTIndia @PrinSciAdvOff @PuneIntCentre @insa_academy @amitabhk87 @aparanjape @dinakholkar @kvijayraghavan @shekhar_mande

[yajnadevam @yajnadevam]

Is Pashupati Shiva?

Retweet for visibility @authoramish

https://t.co/dNLeTFPXYF

[Amitabh Kant @amitabhk87]

Freight and trucks are most polluting and account for 40% of the mobility gas emissions in India.
Freight and trucks are also the most strategic, segment of the transition. Energy independence cannot be achieved without addressing freight. The transition must begin with urban freight and short-haul (early moving use cases) routes, supported by depot-based charging and battery swapping.
Diesel will exit freight not because alternatives are convenient, but because CAFE policy must mandate and make the transition inevitable.

[Ember @ember_energy]

In Q1 2026, 300 GWh worth of renewable energy was wasted due to grid bottlenecks in India 🇮🇳 34 GWh of that was in March alone and could've powered 5 million urban homes.

Battery storage offers a fast fix to absorb the curtailed generation 🔋

https://t.co/xXVmFdIXSZ

[Mihir Vora @theMihirV]

Peeling the net FDI number layers:

Net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows have dramatically declined in the past 3 years

Net Flows are a function of GROSS INflows and GROSS OUTflows

Gross inflows were RISING continuously for many years and have been FLAT for past few years

Gross outflows were FLAT for many years but have RISEN sharply in the past few years

Why?

Outflows have two key components:

1) Indian corporates investing abroad
2) Foreign corporates and Private Equity/ Venture funds repatriating profits back to home country or selling shares (divestment) and taking money out

It is the second component that has risen sharply.

Why?

A lot of money has flowed into India through funds and via corporate investments thru the FDI route. We can see that in the inflow numbers.

Funds have a life of 7-15 years. The stock market boom after 2021 has given them a chance to book profits and generate their IRRs

The rise in valuations since 2021 also led to several foreign companies listing in Indian markets. After listing, a big chunk of money raised was transferred to home country as repatriation & disinvestment

Corporations and funds have come in freely by making commercial decisions. So when they book profits, that is also a commercial decision

The fact that they have gone through a full round of investment, profit generation, divestment and repatriation has clearly demonstrated that India is a free market with rules. It works

So when they see opportunities and valuations attractive enough, the inflow will again accelerate and outflows will reduce. Right now they probably see more options in the US and tech, but everything is dynamic and probably cyclical. That’s the market

So the net FDI number doesn’t look good, but it’s not a indicator or FDI losing confidence in the India story

[Aashish Chandorkar @c_aashish]

90.6% hospital births, 96% plus vaccinations: NFHS-6 reflects India's "accelerated progress" in family health parameters

https://t.co/mOogF6ZNCy

[Pushmeet Kohli @pushmeet]

When I was asked by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to write an essay on my thoughts on how AI will accelerate Science, I felt honored but also felt that it would require a lot of thoughtfulness and diligence to distill my thoughts on paper.

The essay has now been published and I cannot be more thankful to the @americanacad and @GoogleDeepMind teams for their feedback and encouragement during the process.

Key reflections from my essay:
🔭 AI is our newest revolutionary lens: Just as the telescope and microscope expanded our physical perception, AI is extending our cognitive reach, allowing us to decipher the immense complexity of the data-universe.
🧬 The rise of "machine intuition": AI is not just a computational engine. By detecting hidden structures across disciplines—from protein folding to extremal combinatorics—it acts as an ultimate bridge, accelerating the interdisciplinary breakthroughs that modern science depends on.
🏗️ From puzzle-solvers to architects of questions: As we transition toward open-ended, agentic AI systems that actively generate novel hypotheses, the burden of reasoning is shifting. We are evolving from being the solvers of intricate puzzles into the architects of profound scientific questions.
✨ Expanding human potential: AI won't replace scientists; it expands what we can imagine and achieve. Just as the telescope didn't make astronomers obsolete, AI is giving us the stars.

Read the full essay here: https://t.co/LCoF7ds7WZ

[Ministry of Culture @MinOfCultureGoI]

One of the most powerful symbols of India’s unbroken civilizational continuity!

Discovered at Mohenjo-daro in undivided India this steatite seal, about 4,300-year-old, shows a seated figure in yogic posture (widely seen as Shiva-Pashupati) seated in Mulabandhasana, surrounded by animals.

While ancient sites may lie across modern borders, India remains the living custodian of this heritage. The yogic posture, Shaivite symbolism, and spiritual ethos seen in the Pashupati Seal continue to thrive in India’s temples, daily worship of Shiva, yogic traditions, and cultural life even today.

From the Vedic period to contemporary Bharat, this civilizational thread has remained alive and unbroken — deeply embedded in our philosophy, rituals, and collective consciousness.🇮🇳

#PashupatiSeal #IndusSaraswatiCivilization #LivingIndianHeritage

[Shyam Sunder @shyampsunder]

India has officially overtaken the US in EV car sales as a percentage of new car sales.

As fuel prices are being increased in India, we are already at 6%+ in May!

[Amish Tripathi @authoramish]

Indus Valley Script Decoded?

Here is a conversation with Dr Rao (@yajnadevam) on his groundbreaking discovery!