BUSINESS
Byju’s governance failures should force a regulatory overhaul of the startup ecosystem
Till such time as the notional value of the company kept going up, the alarm bells were muted. Between 2019 and 2022, Byju’s valuation climbed from $5.5 billion to $22 billion even though there was clear evidence that all wasn’t well within
BOOKS
Book Review: India’s mittelstand is robust and raring to go, notes 'Beyond Three Generations'
While family businesses constitute about 75% of the Indian economy a whopping 90% of them are MSMEs. The new book 'Beyond Three Generations: The Definitive Guide to Building Enduring Indian Family Businesses' profiles a dozen such enterprises, their business dimensions and what such firms should not do.
BUSINESS
Ola Electric’s IPO plans prove that EVs trump ride-hailing as an investment
Over the past five years, Ola has exited several markets and shuttered down many different lines of business such as Ola Money and Ola Foods. Aggarwal is now left with two main lines, the ride-hailing and the EVs
TRENDS
Rising olive oil prices throw light on the plight of farmers in war-torn Palestine
Olive oil's rising prices: Drought in Spain and cutting of olive trees in Gaza are contributing to the global price rise. Beyond the economics, though, it is the story of the olive farmer in the West Bank that is most poignant. For many of them olive oil harvesting is the only source of income and a bond with their antiquity.
BUSINESS
Did Infosys lose from Murthy’s insistence on keeping family away from the business?
This isn’t the first time the 77-year-old doyen of the Indian IT industry has referred to the issue of keeping family members of the founders away from the company, a rule that he, along with the others, was instrumental in instituting at the company
TRENDS
Byju's & Paytm woes: Rockstar founders need to accept the limits of their power
When star startups fall: It takes extraordinary skills to build a market leader like Byju’s or Theranos or China Evergrande or Paytm or WeWork. But perhaps these companies became victims of their founders’ success and the adulation they received.
BUSINESS
IT employees need to relook job contracts to safeguard their interests
The dice seems loaded against IT sector employees, layoffs, non-competes, no-poach restrictions, campus offers that are put on hold and more. The least they can do is to know what they are getting into
TRENDS
From 'Banegi Apni Baat' with Irrfan Khan to 'Tara', Zee was once the voice of a changing Indian society
Indian serials of the 1990s reflected a society clamouring for openness and freedom. Many of these serials were on Zee back then.
BUSINESS
Success in non-cigarettes business a mixed blessing for ITC
The company’s transition journey, which started in earnest in 2017 with a strategy reset dubbed ITC Next with the objective of reducing dependence on tobacco in its overall portfolio, has been extremely successful
TRENDS
Belt and Road struggles of Indian men
Short history of men's belts as utilitarian objects to hold the pants up, symbols of valour, a sword / tool belts for hanging and carrying useful things, and even indicators of skill levels.
BUSINESS
Sony needs to introspect on why it signed up to a merger of unequals
What was Sony thinking when in December 2021 it agreed to a deal that displayed misaligned priorities
TRENDS
At 95, Tintin's charm is undimmed
Tintin in the 21st century: The Blue Lotus cover by Herge was bought for $3.9 million in 2021 and the original of King Ottokar’s Sceptre went under the hammer for $12 million in 2016. Over half a million copies are still sold in France every year, and in Tamil Nadu, Prakash Publishers has a fresh translation for diehard comics aficionados.
BUSINESS
Boeing-Airbus duopoly is a pain for customers and a lesson for competition regulators
The duopoly of Boeing and Airbus has meant that the Indian airline industry has to depend entirely on them despite recent signs of shoddy production standards. This is a nightmare for competition regulators.
INDIA
The big challenge for leaders is knowing when to quit
It is the old cliché, you should go when people ask why and not when.
BUSINESS
BYD’s battle with Tesla offers a glimpse of the EV market’s future
BYD’s success comes at a time when American car manufacturing is already in retreat across the world. But while its ascent to the top isn’t a surprise, the pace at which it has done so is
TRENDS
100 years of EM Forster's A Passage to India: Viewing India through the lens of a Raj era classic
A Passage to India is a powerful assay into the muddled relations between the rulers and the ruled. Today, the passage of Forster’s book has come full circle.
BUSINESS
The Green Pivot: Booming EV sales are good for car companies but not so much for the climate
The laudable desire to save the planet from fossil fuel emissions as seen in the customer rush to buy EVs doesn't extend to using clean, convenient, and reasonably priced, public transport systems
TRENDS
Punjab’s crippling debt is an insult to the Partition era refugees who drove its success
Punjab’s accumulated debt in the past year-and-a-half has crossed Rs 47,000 crore, and its outstanding debt is now nearly 50 percent of its GDP. This is a state whose GDP per capita rank was No. 1 till about 1981.
TRENDS
Year Ender 2023 | Book lists are so last century
Year end lists of books read has enshrined itself in our minds and socio-cultural spaces as the intellectual ornament to be flashed to show supremacy. Yet even the best editors can't agree on which books to read and why.
BUSINESS
As Sajjan Jindal battles sexual harassment charges, the ball is in the board’s court
Hopefully, the Singhania family dispute will soon get resolved and Jindal will be cleared of the charges. But what happens in the interim? Should the two step down till such time as their personal issues are sorted?
TRENDS
Paint the town peach fuzz, says Pantone
For the last two decades the Pantone Color Institute based in New Jersey, US, has provided annual colour prompts to industry to tweak merchandise colours in its bid to marry business and marketing in one fell swoop.
BUSINESS
Sony faces Hobson’s choice with Zee merger
Does it go ahead with the deal and wait for the legal challenges to play out, is the question
TRENDS
KBC contestant Alolika Guha’s joie de vivre is the only life hack we need
Kaun Banega Crorepati TV show contestant Alolika Bhattacharjee Guha’s infectious laughter and joyful banter with show host and actor Amitabh Bachchan prove that money can't buy you happiness.
BUSINESS
The woes of Indian airlines threaten more pain for fliers
Despite a healthy growth in passenger traffic, Indian airlines are expected to close FY24 with losses of Rs 7,000 crore according to rating agency ICRA
