TRENDS
Shrinking middle class, falling incomes: Indian companies need to reassess market potential
In the past, India’s consumer class has rebounded smartly from adverse economic events. The problem this time around is that with jobs being lost and small and medium businesses shutting down perhaps for good, a rebound may not be so swift or sure
BUSINESS
Mumbai’s iconic dabbawalas could use a smart impact investor
The dabbawala’s model is entirely self-sustaining and intrinsically profitable. There is no scope for losses
TRENDS
What Neem Karoli Baba and Larry Brilliant taught us in their battle against smallpox
The disease was so contagious that every single patient infected seven others. Eliminating it meant tracking down each and every one of the victims.
BUSINESS
The noise around CEO salaries in India is highly misplaced
Instead of worrying about how much CEOs are making, we should be questioning them for how much they are earning for their companies and their shareholders
TRENDS
Bill and Melinda Gates divorce: Instead of berating tycoons for their philanthropy, ask them for stock
In 2006, Warren Buffett gifted 10 million of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2019, the Azim Premji donated $21 billion to the Azim Premji Foundation; part of it in Wipro shares. Both endowments have grown substantially, thanks to rising stock prices.
BUSINESS
Review of Wadhawan’s proposal in DHFL case would place resolution process in jeopardy
Wadhawan’s offer is a diversionary tactic after the CoC in January declared Piramal Enterprises as the preferred bidder and the Reserve Bank of India stamped its approval
TRENDS
Video meetings have turned the lens on what lies behind us
From carefully curated backgrounds to pre-recorded options, experts are cropping up everywhere to show us ways to strike a balance between ambience, aesthetic, and right virtue signalling.
BUSINESS
Cairn’s belligerence puts Indian government in a quandary
It continues to be a mystery why a government that prides itself on its departure from the past in every other area of social and political life, is so committed to fighting this retrospective tax dispute that predates its term and has only brought prolonged litigation.
TRENDS
What companies can learn from Liverpool’s growth stall
A slump after a spectacular success is a fairly common occurrence - across individuals, teams, institutions and even companies. The reasons for this 'growth stall' are usually internal.
BUSINESS
Ready and willing, 5G market awaits Indian telcos
In a sign of how soon the market expects users to embrace the new technology, research firm Counterpoint expects 5G smartphone shipment in India to hit 38 million in 2021 itself
TRENDS
Remembering Russi Mody, corporate India’s original maverick
Rustomji Homusji Mody joined Tata Steel as an office assistant. By the time he left, he had quadrupled the company's production capacity and set the tone for India's nascent human resources practice.
BUSINESS
Digital growth can provide momentum to India’s economic turnaround
The rapid embrace of technology across sectors ranging from education to healthcare shows that it is eminently possible for the digital economy to become the pace setter for a return to growth
TRENDS
Will the pandemic lead to big cities losing some of their lustre?
Will more people choose the less complicated life of the village now? Or could the pandemic trigger the big declutter in cities, with better infrastructure for those whose priorities are different?
BUSINESS
Why there aren’t more Happiest Minds waiting in the wings
In order to sight the next Happiest Minds, we may need to look elsewhere, at firms which are differently configured from traditional IT services companies
TRENDS
India needs its moonshot diviners
When the best individuals and companies chase radical - seemingly impossible - ideas to solve problems that affect millions, even billions, of people, that's called a moonshot.
BUSINESS
As Citibank retreats, new MNCs extend their reach
Citibank represents an old business model that is facing intense competition from new, more nimble, technologically advanced players
TRENDS
The European Super League may have been stillborn, but its seeds will linger
The white-faced hypocrisy of it is that many of the clubs that were seeking a guaranteed existence in the European Super League on the basis of their past glories may never have got here had a similar system been in place even 20 years ago
TRENDS
Are you who your mail address says you are?
An ill-considered email address can have lasting consequences. Here's what not to do when signing up for a new mail account.
BUSINESS
India should make a strategic investment in vaccine manufacturers
Despite the current hype, vaccines aren’t a hugely profitable area of pharmaceuticals
TRENDS
Work from home and rest in office
With WFH here to stay, companies must devise ways to separate the home and office again.
BUSINESS
The battle for the COVID-19 vaccine market has just started
The commercial implications of a sizeable portion of humanity taking an annual shot of the vaccine are huge
TRENDS
Why don't cars in India come with Indian names?
The short answer: most car makers believe that the aspirational values that come with buying an automobile in India are best addressed by foreign-sounding names.
BUSINESS
Courtroom win is only a small part of Tata-Mistry battle
After the courtroom win, the Tata group holds all the aces, but it should exercise its power judiciously
TRENDS
Is it time to consign the Olympic Games to history
The lack of transparency in the ballooning budgets for the Olympic Games, as well as the misallocation of this money to an extravaganza that ruins cities for local communities, is, unfortunately, a part of the legacy of what was once supposed to be an event to celebrate excellence and bring people together
