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04/05/2025 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

Bharat Shining: India’s farms are its biggest trade weapon

Despite low yields, debt, and climate change, India should be an agricultural powerhouse.In some ways, the country is on its way to attain that status. One figure tells this story: in the five years leading up to 2022, the number of Indians who couldn’t afford a healthy diet—that’s an intake of 2,330 kilocalories from six different food groups a day—went down by 16%, outpacing the global decline. India’s increasingly abundant food production doesn’t just address needs at home. It also gives the country an edge in global trade.Even though India’s share of global farm exports is just 2.2%, there are signs that this will grow. In the decade leading up to FY24, for instance, India’s farm exports more than doubled to over $48 billion. There’s incredible untapped potential. See how Brazil exported $54 billion worth of farm goods to China in 2023. India’s outbound shipments to the US, its largest trading partner, amounted to just one-tenth of that amount. The fact that India isn’t subjected to high tariffs from the US puts it in a position to develop a more favourable trade relationship in the future. So, where does India’s agriculture sector go from there? Seetharaman G explains in this week’s free edition of Make India Competitive Again. Read this edition: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/bharat-shining-indias-farms-are-its-biggest-trade-weapon/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/bharat-shining-indias-farms-are-its-biggest-trade-weapon/ ) Subscribe to the Make India Competitive Again newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ ) Check out The Ken Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to the latest edition: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-ken-premium/id6744577070 ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-ken-premium/id6744577070 )

04/05/2025

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6 分鐘
01/06/2025 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

India’s wi-fi rebellion comes for Airtel-Reliance Jio’s turf

Wi-fi is a miracle. Not because it lets you go online wherever it’s offered, but because there’s no bureaucratic headache whenever users connect to a network. This is only possible because of what’s called “unlicensed spectrum” that governments leave open. In India, more is about to be added to it. Call it the first real systemic reform for wi-fi in the country. The plan is hardly new. It’s rooted in a roadmap developed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in 2023. And it’s an outcome that tech companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft have been lobbying hard for. After all, if the goal is to give hundreds of millions of people in India a fast internet connection wherever they are—at home or at bus stops, in schools or in shops—then licensed mobile networks just can’t do the whole job on their own. But India’s telcos are not thrilled about this development. They want that space for future 5G expansions. Sumit Chakraborty explains the conflict in this week’s Make India Competitive Again, as read by Brady Ng. Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/indias-wi-fi-rebellion-comes-for-airtel-reliance-jios-turf/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/indias-wi-fi-rebellion-comes-for-airtel-reliance-jios-turf/ ) Subscribe to the Make India Competitive Again newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ )

01/06/2025

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15 分鐘
11/05/2025 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

100 mn diabetics. Still no country for insulin

India had as estimated 101 million diabetics in 2023, with another 136 million people in pre-diabetic state. Among them, 11 million people are on insulin therapy. It’s a market worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore with Novo Nordisk as the leader, controlling 60%. Two other MNCs—Sanofi and Eli Lilly—control another 25%. All three companies are phasing out their insulin products in the country. One pair of entities stand to benefit from those departures: the Bengaluru-based Biocon Group and its new commercial partner, Eris Lifesciences. Even though Biocon is India’s largest pharmaceutical company, it never had more than 10% share of the country’s insulin market. The MNCs consistently kept Biocon’s influence in India in check, so the firm took its insulin business overseas, to countries such as Malaysia, Mexico, and the United States. But the vacuum at home will change things for Biocon-Eris very soon. Seema Singh and Sudeshna Ray cover this development in this week’s edition of Make India Competitive Again. Read this edition: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/100-mn-diabetics-still-no-country-for-insulin/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/100-mn-diabetics-still-no-country-for-insulin/ )Subscribe to the Make India Competitive Again Newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ ) Download our app and subscribe to The Ken: * iOS: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/the-ken/id1282944688 ( https://apps.apple.com/in/app/the-ken/id1282944688 ) * Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ken.core&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ken.core&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 )

11/05/2025

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9 分鐘
16/02/2024

Why Licious had to lay off after all

While most startups were facing a reckoning earlier last year with mass layoffs, Licious, the meat delivery platform, was sitting proud, unaffected. Both the founders, Hanjura and Gupta, were giving interviews talking about how their company had made no job cuts and how they did not want that kind of bad karma. It became the anomaly in a market that was seeing a bloodbath that going on all around. But to be honest, the strategy of not laying off, didnt really help Licious. In fact, it saw some of its top talent at leadership positions leave the company. And now, as it turns out, it may not be all good karma for Licious founders after all. The company has laid off 80 of its employees as a part of what its calling an operational reset. What’s going on? Tune in. Recommended read: California users Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories 🚨The Ken's Zero Shot podcast is hosting a live event! This is a speculative yet realistic discussion built around one premise: what happens when AI agents take off in India? How will they rewire existing habits, business models and profit pools? Since nobody knows for sure, we won't pretend to have all the answers. Instead we are going to break the narrative. Click here for details.

16/02/2024

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11 分鐘
08/01/2025 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

24. The future was electric cars. Until it wasn't (Premium Subscribers Only)

In 2023, two-wheelers and three-wheelers in India experienced growth of around 37% and 66%. Electric four-wheelers also promised to go down the same path because in that same year, there was a significant increase in sales of electric four-wheelers, 113%. Now, of course, this is from a lower base, but the signs were clear. The conventional wisdom or the narrative has been petrol and diesel cars are going to become a relic of the past. And if you're an automaker and if you're not investing billions of dollars in developing battery technology or newer models with all of this stuff, you are seen as out of touch with reality. Essentially, electric cars were inevitable. In 2024, something changed. Demand and sales for electric cars have fallen all over the world. For the first time in almost 12 years, Tesla's sales dropped by 1.1%. And India is also no exception. If you look at 2024 numbers, in fact, until October 2024, sales of electric four-wheeler cars in India were actually declining. They had gone down if you compare year-on-year numbers all of these months. By the end of the year, it sort of increased a little bit which was helped by a sale of one specific model called MG Windsor and some price cuts. But in this episode, we're going to pose two questions: Number one, why did electric cars become less attractive? And two, what will make electric cars inevitable again and by when? Our first guest is Dr Amitabh Saran, founder and CEO of Altigreen Propulsion Labs. Saran used to work at companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Philips, NASA, and Hewlett Packard before turning to entrepreneurship. Our second guest is Awadhesh Jha, executive director of Glida India, formerly known as Fortum Charge and Drive India, which is a leading charging solution provider in India. In fact, if you live in Delhi, you will see Glida charging points all over Delhi. Jha has a long history in power. He used to be a deputy director at the Central Water Commission. Also, he was the vice president of Hindustan Powerprojects Limited, where he administered hydropower development in one of the remotest parts of the country, the Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. Welcome to episode 24 of Two by Two. – Take the survey here: Two by Two: Events in India vs abroad - https://theken.typeform.com/to/pchJxlaj – This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. If you liked this episode of Two by Two, please share it with people who would be interested in listening to the episode. And if you have more thoughts on the discussion, we'd love to hear your arguments as well. You can write to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com

08/01/2025

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1 小時 14 分鐘
19/06/2025

Inside Kalyan Krishnamurthy’s fight to steady Flipkart as lieutenants flee

In this episode, we turn the spotlight on one of the most powerful yet elusive figures in Indian e-commerce: Kalyan Krishnamurthy, the everywhere-all-the-time CEO of Flipkart. Flipkart, backed by Walmart, was once India’s great e-commerce hope. But lately, the tides have been turning. Walmart is flying high, outperforming Amazon globally, dominating grocery delivery, and raking in ad dollars with a valuation that’s outshining even Apple. But six years after buying Flipkart, Walmart’s patience is wearing thin. Profits still remain elusive. And Krishnamurthy who has been recognised as a wartime CEO is starting to look more like a general losing his command. Flipkart’s getting squeezed from every side. Meesho, the social commerce platform, has captured the small cities. Amazon still owns the metros. And in the quick-commerce madness, it's all about Zepto, Blinkit, Instamart. Flipkart’s barely in the game. Now some of this chaos is kind of self-inflicted. For example, Flipkart’s foray into travel with the Cleartrip acquisition. Senior leaders are leaving, morale is shaken, and few inside the company believe the endgame is anywhere in sight. The Ken reporter Nuha Bubere went behind the scenes and the pressure was palpable. Tune in. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.Want to attend The Ken's next event on health, fitness and wellness? Buy tickets here. Here's your chance to help us shape the conversation: https://theken.typeform.com/to/bZhqWl2g 🚨The Ken's Zero Shot podcast is hosting a live event! This is a speculative yet realistic discussion built around one premise: what happens when AI agents take off in India? How will they rewire existing habits, business models and profit pools? Since nobody knows for sure, we won't pretend to have all the answers. Instead we are going to break the narrative. Click here for details.

19/06/2025

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21 分鐘
07/08/2025

Biden said 'please' till 2024. Trump's saying 'penalty' in 2025

Just a year ago, U.S. officials publicly encouraged India to buy discounted Russian oil to help stabilise global markets during the Ukraine war. But fast forward to 2025, and the U.S, under President Trump, has slapped India with the highest tariffs in the world: 50% on its exports. Trump has accused India of funding Putin’s war machine. So what changed? In this episode, we break down how India went from energy partner to trade target for doing exactly what the U.S. once asked. We also look at the double standards: America’s own imports from Russia and its backing of Israel in Gaza. Tune in. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories. 🚨The Ken's Zero Shot podcast is hosting a live event! This is a speculative yet realistic discussion built around one premise: what happens when AI agents take off in India? How will they rewire existing habits, business models and profit pools? Since nobody knows for sure, we won't pretend to have all the answers. Instead we are going to break the narrative. Click here for details.

07/08/2025

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11 分鐘
01/10/2025 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

AI product differentiation, living with robots, world models, and extreme leverage

Welcome to Zero Shot, The Ken’s podcast where Praveen, Brady, and Rohin connect from Bengaluru and Hong Kong to dive into the big ideas and latest developments in artificial intelligence. In this episode, the hosts attempt to figure out whether AI companies can truly differentiate their products when interfaces look identical, and whether the launch of OpenAI’s Pulse feed and Perplexity Search API matter to these strategies. Hear about how AI is moving off the screen and into physical space via humanoid robots. This isn’t the development of just another product category; it’s a solution to a demographic time bomb. Find out about world models, which are supposed to help artificial intelligence understand and interact with the physical world. They’re meant to lead to the next big breakthrough in AI—going from “book smart” to “street smart”—but the road ahead is long. Finally, financial commitments in the AI sector are staggering and depend on immensely optimistic revenue projections. Hear how wild the numbers are. This episode of Zero Shot was mixed and mastered by Rajiv CN, The Ken’s resident sound engineer. If you want to send us critiques, ideas, or just want to say hi, write us at zeroshot@the-ken.com ( zeroshot@the-ken.com ). ***** Fancy yourself joining the Zero Shot team? Praveen, Brady, and Rohin are looking for a researcher-producer to join Zero Shot. You’d have to be super interested in AI, business, and tech. You’d need to be incredibly intellectually agile. You should be comfortable working with all three of us, each with our own interests and idiosyncrasies. You’d be expected to help us research, schedule, produce, and even publish columns and podcasts. You’d need to forecast the puck even better than us. We’re looking for young and ambitious people with 1–3 years of experience. Write to zeroshot@the-ken.com ( zeroshot@the-ken.com ) with a note introducing yourself and why we should email you back for a conversation. If you don’t hear from us, it’s because we weren’t convinced. The role will be full-time and based in Bengaluru. ***** Bonus Reading: There Are More Robots Working in China Than the Rest of the World Combined ( https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/business/china-factory-robots.html )China has embarked on a campaign to use more robots in its factories, transforming its manufacturing industries and becoming the dominant maker What Are ‘World Models’? The Key to the Next Big AI Leap ( https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/world-models-ai-evolution-11275913 )To develop knowledge beyond text and videos, AIs must have realistic virtual playgrounds where they can make mistakes and learn AI groups bet on world models in race for ‘superintelligence’ ( https://www.ft.com/content/ae1c6de2-691e-448d-8bf3-8837cc1e6efb )Google DeepMind, Meta and Nvidia are developing systems that aim to better understand the physical world Debt Is Fueling the Next Wave of the AI Boom ( https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/debt-is-fueling-the-next-wave-of-the-ai-boom-278d0e04 )For aspiring AI players like Oracle, much rides on debt and hope Spending on AI Is at Epic Levels. Will It Ever Pay Off? ( https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-bubble-building-spree-55ee6128 )Tech companies pour hundreds of billions into data centers, taking on heavy debt, but current revenue is relatively tiny; echoes of dot-com bubble $2 trillion in new revenue needed to fund AI’s scaling trend ( https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/20252/%242-trillion-in-new-revenue-needed-to-fund-ais-scaling-trend---bain--companys-6th-annual-global-technology-report/ ) Bain & Company’s 6th annual Global Technology Report The AI boom is unsustainable unless tech spending goes ‘parabolic,’ ( https://fortune.com/2025/09/23/ai-boom-unsustainable-tech-spending-parabolic-deutsche-bank/ ) Deutsche Bank warns: ‘This is highly unlikely’

01/10/2025

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1 小時
13/10/2025 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

The great Indian GCC makeover

It started with a satellite dish arriving on a bullock cart. Back in 1985, that scene outside Texas Instruments’ new Bengaluru office quietly marked the birth of India’s first multinational R&D centre and opened the doors for hundreds more to follow. They were all looking for a slice of India’s vast, educated, English speaking, and most importantly, affordable, talent pool. GE. CitiGroup. JP Morgan. Motorola. Just like that, India’s back office revolution began. These centres weren’t the sleek innovation hubs we know today. Not yet. They were built for efficiency, process, and most importantly, output. Imagine rows of cubicles, long hours and precise deliverables. Four decades later, those once-humble “back offices” employ millions and look nothing like they used to. Today, there are nearly 2,000 GCCs across India. They employ over 2 million professionals and generate more than $40 billion in annual revenue. The kind of work they do has also completely transformed. Few things capture that shift as vividly as the physical workplaces they now inhabit. Think yoga studios, digital twins of storefronts, and world-class design. In the latest episode of 90,000 Hours, we explore how India’s GCC workplaces tell the story of their post-Covid glow-up. Tune in. Have thoughts about this episode? Write to Rahel (rahel@the-ken.com) Credits: Written and produced by Rahel PhiliposeEdited by Rajiv CN

13/10/2025

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31 分鐘
23/07/2025

How Chanda Kochhar was found guilty

On July 22, 2025, a court found former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar guilty of accepting a ₹64 crore bribe from Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot. The bribe was allegedly routed through her husband’s company, NuPower Renewables, just a day after ICICI sanctioned a ₹300 crore loan to Videocon in 2009. In today's episode, we trace the complete timeline, from the first whistleblower alert in 2016 to the 11,000-page CBI chargesheet and the 2022 arrests of the Kochhars. We also look at how internal governance failures and unchecked conflicts of interest allowed this to unfold inside one of India’s largest private banks. Tune in. 🎓 Are you an Indian student in the US or recently graduated? Tell us what your journey’s been like: Take the survey Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories. 🚨The Ken's Zero Shot podcast is hosting a live event! This is a speculative yet realistic discussion built around one premise: what happens when AI agents take off in India? How will they rewire existing habits, business models and profit pools? Since nobody knows for sure, we won't pretend to have all the answers. Instead we are going to break the narrative. Click here for details.

23/07/2025

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12 分鐘

You’ll spend 90,000 hours at work in your lifetime. How do you make that time count? 90,000 Hours is a weekly podcast from the newsroom of The Ken that helps you navigate today’s changing world of work, where the traditional 40-year career is gone, entry-level jobs are being replaced by artificial intelligence, and staying relevant means constantly reinventing yourself. Hosted by Rahel Philipose and Vidhatri Rao, the show features conversations with the people creating, breaking, and rewriting the way we work.

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事業
The audio edition of The Ken’s Make India Competitive Again newsletter, spearheaded by Seetharaman G. Every Wednesday, our editors and reporters read the latest edition and chronicle what India is doing, will do, and should do—to not just survive but thrive in the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump.

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商業新聞
The Two by Two podcast is a premium business podcast from The Ken that investigates, discusses and breaks down the most important business stories around you. Hosted from The Ken's newsroom by business journalists Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Two by Two will feature guests and experts from across the industry and academia to talk about issues no one else is talking about.

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商業
First Principles is a weekly interview podcast comprising authentic, candid, and insightful conversations between some of India’s most accomplished founders and business leaders, and Rohin Dharmakumar, The Ken’s CEO & co-founder. From personal philosophies, mental models and decision making frameworks, to reading habits, parenting styles or personal interests, each episode will delve into what makes each of these leaders unique.

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創業
Join Brady Ng, Praveen Gopal Krishnan, and Rohin Dharmakumar of The Ken as they discuss the big ideas in artificial intelligence. You’ll get the macro view, explore their experiments in practical applications, go deeper than the news coverage you’ve seen, and hear about the implications of the latest developments. Nothing is off the table.

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