Dear Express Explained reader, With the fourth case of monkeypox confirmed in India (in a man in Delhi), there is some concern about a new outbreak of disease among sections of the Covid-scarred population. Well, there is nothing to worry — not yet, at least. Anonna Dutt explained the nature of the spread of the disease and the reasons why this outbreak is very different from Covid-19. Separately, she interviewed Dr R Gangakhedkar, one of the country's top epidemiologists and the specialist who led India's initial response to the coronavirus epidemic, for some very relevant and important insight on the transmission of the disease and the futility of considering a mass vaccination programme for India at this stage. (Too few cases, extremely low CFR, and uncertainty about the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccine against the virus.) Do read. There has been some excitement about the return of the cheetah to India — a first batch of eight cats are planned to be flown from Namibia to their new home in Madhya Pradesh, followed by another 12 from South Africa. The seemingly exciting initiative, however, faces major hurdles, which the government itself acknowledges. Jay Mazoomdaar took a hard look at the plan to import African cheetahs, and juxtaposed it with India's policies on conserving some other animals, including the Asiatic lion, for long living an isolated, vulnerable existence in Gir national park. India's forex reserves have fallen from a peak of $642.45 billion on September 3 last year to $572.71 billion as of July 15. With these numbers as the starting point, Harish Damodaran looked at the way in which India has accumulated its forex kitty over the past three decades, and found some interesting - and unconventional - patterns. While on the subject of curious macroeconomic patterns, do also check out Udit Misra's piece on the United States economy, which is experiencing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, even as its unemployment rate is at the lowest level in half a century. Also, does the aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve put the US economy at risk of recession? Finally, I'd like to flag something that will be of great general interest to many of you - an analysis of a trend that you may have noticed if you are interested in cars. Diesel is no longer the mainstay mileage buster for many automakers — petrol is back. And nudged by tough BS6 emission norms, manufacturers are offering mild and strong hybrid options in their vehicles, and using tech tweaks to stretch out every litre of petrol that the vehicle burns. The results are exciting and the impact could be far-reaching. Do read Anil Sasi's piece on the return of petrol and the rise of the hybrids. Stay safe and stay aware. Keep reading The Indian Express Explained. Some of our content is now behind a paywall, so if you haven't subscribed to The Indian Express yet, this may be the perfect time to do so. Click here to subscribe. Sincerely, Monojit (monojit.majumdar@expressindia.com) If you received this newsletter as a forward, you can subscribe to it here | Do read our Explained articles here | 
