BUSINESS
Vodafone-BSNL merger could be disastrous, as the Air India experience shows
Merging two loss-making entities does little to solve the underlying problems, as seen from the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines
BUSINESS
The start of a succession plan at the Aditya Birla group
Kumar Mangalam Birla has a long way to go but the early elevation of Ananya and Aryaman Birla to key board positions challenges the scions to help the textiles-aluminum-cement dependent conglomerate find its feet among new-age businesses
TRENDS
Why do we love lists so much?
Psychologists say the human brain processes information better if it is placed in a hierarchical pattern, which probably explains why we have a list for just about everything.
BUSINESS
Boom in luxury car sales in India a sign of rising consumer confidence
While sales of mainstream vehicles is expected to be tepid, the luxury car market is riding a boom
TRENDS
Hindenburg and the relevance of company names
Hindenburg Research's website says it is so named after what it considers one of the world’s worst man-made and avoidable accidents.
BUSINESS
Budget 2023: A budget that keeps the spotlight on resource building
To the extent that this annual exercise is a window into the government's thinking and vision for the future, Budget 2023, dares to be different
TRENDS
Hockey debacle highlights Indian sports teams’ tendency to choke
Burden of expectation - from being favourites to win or playing at home - can sometimes make athletes forget years of training and thousands of hours of practice.
BUSINESS
No apparent synergy between BPCL and its planned BeCafes
A completely unrelated diversification into food and beverages, where its chances of winning are close to non-existent, defies logic
TRENDS
Harish Chandra, and the semisimple Lie in mathematics
Born 100 years ago in Kanpur, Harish Chandra (1923-83) trained to be a physicist and ended up being one of the greatest mathematicians of his age.
BUSINESS
GoMechanic fiasco may be the end of honeymoon for Indian startups
The GoMechanic episode casts a dark shadow over all participants in the fray including deep-pocket investors, Sequoia and Tiger Global, the media which rushed to celebrate their unrealised success and, of course, the founders who may have even ignored warnings of financial irregularities from their auditors
BUSINESS
What just happened at Cognizant
The exit of Brian Humphries as chief executive officer (CEO) and the simultaneous appointment of Stephen Rohleder as the new chairman, replacing Michael Patsalos-Fox, at the $19.4 billion Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp is a development of significant import
LUXURY-LIFESTYLE
World's most expensive fish lunch? The bluefin tuna that became a pricey meal
Plus, other animals that cost a fortune.
BUSINESS
The Green Pivot: India needs a dual market strategy to exploit sustainability sector opportunity
With the green market size still in its infancy in India, companies must also look abroad to attain viable size
BUSINESS
Can Budget 2023 help Indian companies become global superpowers?
The government and companies must work in tandem to build up globally competitive champions. Over to the Budget 2023-24
TRENDS
Exasperating he may be, but Elon Musk is a true iconoclast
PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink and OpenAI (Chat GPT): Elon Musk is behind all of these ventures with the potential to change the world as we know it.
TRENDS
Air India crew betrayed lack of training in dealing with unruly bladders
Air India had built a reputation for tolerating passenger misbehaviour, changing that culture is one of the biggest challenges before the Tata Group
BUSINESS
Chanda Kochhar’s sullied legacy also includes ICICI Bank’s underperformance
Chanda Kochhar will go down in corporate history as part of a long list of chief executives whose financial misdemeanours hobbled the companies they headed
TRENDS
Pursuing Pelé: My story of the legend
With the ball at his feet, Pelé, who passed away yesterday, wove magic on the field. The debate on who's the GOAT was settled long before current contestants even entered the fray. Instead of mourning, just imagine a Maradona's XI vs Pelé's XI, a match made in heaven.
BUSINESS
Why work when you can startup?
The flux in the job market has raised the viability of entrepreneurship as a career path for many young Indians
BUSINESS
Arrests of Venugopal Dhoot, others revive hope in ICICI-Videocon case
This week’s arrests by the CBI therefore goes some way in alleviating fears that the case is being handled with kid gloves
TRENDS
Stupas, caves and forts: A trip down Bhopal for a sense of our collective past
Bhimbetka, the mount where Bhim used to sit when in exile, was where early man shielded himself from the elements and drew animals and hunting scenes, as if to keep record of his daily travails.
TRENDS
Curse of the magazine cover hits Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried isn’t the only celebrity tycoon who’s found out that the covers of business magazines are the slippery slopes to doom.
BUSINESS
Why Narayana Murthy is wrong even when he is right
Would Infosys have lost or gained on growth had it allowed the sons and daughters of the five founders to join the business in leadership capacities?
TRENDS
Can Indian football learn anything at all from the FIFA World Cup?
India has a 100-year history of football, and some of the oldest competitions in the sport. What else will it take for India to send a team to the football World Cup?
