TRENDS
German magazine's cartoon on India is actually a tribute to the country's uniqueness
Far from belittling India, the cartoon is a celebration of the hubbub of India’s democracy. It also sums up where China finds itself today, thanks to the draconian One Child rule of the 1980s.
BUSINESS
Recent uptrend shows crypto isn’t going anywhere
But to conclude from this that crypto’s existential problems are over would be an oversimplification.
BUSINESS
Go First’s woes follow a familiar industry pattern, its prospects look gloomy
The Wadia-promoted airline started off on a strong wicket, but the industry's long history of underperformance has caught up with it
TRENDS
Bournvita controversy a wake-up call for Big Food
With its ham-handed response, which does nothing to debunk the issue that was raised — ‘high level of added sugar’ — Cadbury only gave fresh legs to the controversy around Bournvita being a possible health hazard
TRENDS
India’s unsung startup heroes need a leg up
Real innovation has been taking place for years in India, in a world of entrepreneurship away from the limelight but where need-based products and technologies are being created.
BUSINESS
Apple’s first stores in India signal a new bonhomie
With $5 billion of iPhone exports out of India, expected to go up to 25 percent of Apple’s entire production line of the smartphone by 2025, India has finally hit the sweet spot in the supply chain of the world’s most valuable company
BUSINESS
Slump in global demand for PCs will hurt China the most
China’s dependency on hardware is a double-edged sword. With the market turning, not just in PCs but in other areas like telecom equipment, it faces the limits of its manufacturing prowess
TRENDS
Soaring airfare, skyrocketing room tariffs: Why I junked that exciting holiday plan
Massive discounts during the pandemic months fuelled dreams of budget holidays. But then as travel restrictions lifted, rates spiked and tore up those carefully budgeted plans.
CRICKET
What the boys of IPL could learn from the Women’s Premier League
There are so many things that the men's game could pick up from the WPL, none more important than the current favourite call of the millennials: calm down uncle!
BUSINESS
How Nvidia rebounded from the tech meltdown
By betting simultaneously on crypto mining, self-driving electric cars and artificial intelligence, a sudden drop in demand from any one of these areas doesn’t have the potential to hurt Nvidia too much
BUSINESS
Akasa’s early success a warning to the big boys of Indian skies
India's aviation market potential makes it an attractive destination for newcomers seeking to grab market share
BUSINESS
Failure to close the deal may be a blessing in disguise for Bisleri & Tata Consumer
Selling Bisleri, a high-volume, low-margin product, didn’t make much sense for the Ramesh Chauhan-led group. The eponymous brand is the clear leader in a booming market
TRENDS
Naatu Naatu’s win at the Oscars and Golden Globes is sweet, but it is still about power
It's not just India's rising soft power, but also our growing "hard power" that is making the world sit up and take notice.
BUSINESS
Current wave of tech layoffs won't be reversed any time soon
Layoffs at tech companies look more permanent than knee-jerk and an added worry is the structural change as their biggest client, banking, tightens its purses
TRENDS
Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse continues a long tradition of banking busts
How did banks go from being custodians of people’s money to the kind of reckless institutions that are now looked upon with suspicion? Perhaps, there never was a reason for the blind faith in banks.
BUSINESS
Mohit Joshi's exit shows how Infosys has become a victim of its own success
The exit of Mohit Joshi and Ravi Kumar within two months means that Infosys will need to restart its succession process. Meanwhile, the IT giant can treat its leavers as brand ambassadors of the company, a la Hindustan Lever
WORLD
What happened in Iraq after the US invasion is a pointer to Ukraine’s looming challenges
The Russia Ukraine war could end by summer this year. Ukraine must be careful with what it wishes for in terms of help from outsiders to rebuild the nation and its economy.
BUSINESS
As Rohit Jawa moves to head the India business HUL’s gain could be Unilever’s loss
Jawa, a 35-year veteran of Unilever, has turned things around in challenging markets like China and Philippines. That should stand him in good stead, as he moves in to replace Sanjiv Mehta.
BUSINESS
Smart investors need to look out for women in leadership positions
Diversity numbers are best for companies like Infosys and HDFC which have also given consistently high returns to shareholders over a sustained period
BUSINESS
Another pivot won’t resolve Blinkit’s existential issues
There’s little to suggest a rapid turnaround in Blinkit’s fortunes, notwithstanding the latest turn. The expansion into home services will bring the struggling company in direct competition with Tiger Global-backed Urban Company while also diffusing its focus from its original quick-commerce mandate
TRENDS
Waiting for the definitive COVID fiction
Fiction gives voice to the marginal, the peripheral, and the subaltern in ways that history doesn’t or can’t. None of the books, in the last couple of years, with COVID as the backdrop, seems to adequately convey the pain and the agony of those nightmarish days.
BUSINESS
Citibank’s failure to build an emotional bond with India will ensure it won’t be missed
The onslaught of new technology by fintech startups, combined with the dynamism of private Indian banks, threw up a level of competition many foreign banks could not handle
TRENDS
Remembering Jamsetji Tata on his 184th birth anniversary
Born on March 3, 1839, in “one of the tiny bylanes in Dasturwad (in Navsari, Gujarat)”, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, was at once a visionary and a builder, a rare combination.
BUSINESS
Annapurna sale ends HUL's branded commodities foray
Inability to make headway in the competitive and low-margin atta and salt markets has seen HUL exit these categories
