Airlines in India, from Indigo to Akasa, are on a spree to expand their fleet. Around a thousand more aircrafts will be flying the Indian skies in the coming few years. Usually, each aircraft usually requires a crew of at least ten or more pilots. This means we will need close to 10,000 pilots. But we already have 10,000 pilots waiting to be hired. The problem is no airline wants to hire them. Why? Tune in to find out. Recommendation Airlines want pilots. Pilots want jobs. Why are thousands unem...
Sep 05, 2023•10 min•Ep. 116
Last month, Unacademy did something very unsusal. It introduced a new policy, restricting how much its educators can engage online. Ever since, Unacademy has either suspended or sent show cause notices to at least 50-60 of its teachers. But Unacademy relied on its teachers to bring in students. It wanted them to be popular so it encouraged its teachers to work on methods to hack social media. It made them its sales force. What made it make this U-turn and restrict the personal social media accou...
Sep 03, 2023•9 min•Ep. 115
Between 2018 to 2021, incidents related to breach of cybersecurity in the auto industry rose by 228%. In the next few years, this number is only expected to get worse. In India though, it is not much of a concern yet due to the low penetration of EVs so far. But it won't remain that way for long without proper safeguards in place. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 is a step in the right direction, but it has a long way to go. Tune in. Recommendation Ola Electric woke up and ch...
Aug 31, 2023•9 min•Ep. 114
A few months ago, multiple Hotstar executives had told The Ken the same thing. “IPL or no IPL, cricket is going to be the platform’s most important customer-acquisition funnel this year.” It seems Disney Star is holding on to that strategy. The Asia Cup is going to be streamed for free on Disney Hotstar from today onwards. Even after losing the IPL's digital streaming rights, Disney+Hotstar is the leader of the Indian OTT space in terms of subscriber numbers. But OTT is a complex business and ju...
Aug 30, 2023•12 min•Ep. 113
The mattress industry in India this year is valued at around $2.5 billion and growing at a CAGR of 10%. Up to 9 million mattresses are sold in the country every year. Among the top brands in the mattress market is Sleepwell, owned by Sheela Foam, the largest manufacturer of Polyurethane Foams (PU) in Asia Pacific. Despite having a fourth of the market share and conditions ripe for innovating and growing, the company had been in a limbo of sorts. Until last month, when it announced it was acquiri...
Aug 27, 2023•9 min•Ep. 112
Over the course of a year or so, we’ve seen how one by one, the chances of Byju's survival have been narrowing down. However, there’s one thing that could possibly save it from falling apart: Aakash, the offline coaching chain that Byju’s had acquired in 2021 for a staggering $950 million. Now, with its IPO upcoming in mid-2024, the struggling edtech giant has a lot riding on Aakash's success. But Byju’s is turning out to become quite the troublesome partner for Aakash, no thanks to its aggressi...
Aug 24, 2023•11 min•Ep. 111
For the longest time, despite being a giant steel-to-software conglomerate, Tata’s consumer goods game was nowhere close to India's top FMCG companies. Ever since 2019 though, when it decided to merge Tata Chemicals and Tata Beverages as Tata Consumer Products Ltd, the FMCG arm has been on a roll. In the recent financial year alone, it introduced more than 30 new products. Meanwhile, Tata Consumer’s shares have more than tripled. The Nifty FMCG index also almost doubled. What changed? Tune in to...
Aug 22, 2023•11 min•Ep. 110
Last week, the edtech unicorn Unacademy fired Karan Sangwan, a law teacher for asking students to vote for educated candidates during elections in one of his video tutorials on YouTube. According to the edtech, Sangwan had breached the code of conduct by sharing his 'personal opinion.' While this case is of a slightly different nature pertaining to one individual, Unacademy's relationship with its educators in general hasn't been great either. With dwindling sales and a funding crunch, edtechs l...
Aug 20, 2023•11 min•Ep. 109
A March 2022 report from the World Health Organization said that over 17% of households in India incur catastrophic health expenditures every year. And it results in the impoverishment of around 55 million people. Anyway, it's just about 37% of the population that actually has any form of health insurance. In such circumstances, if the rate at which a health insurance company denies claims begins to rise, it is a matter of concern. Star Health, one of India's leading health insurers, had the hig...
Aug 17, 2023•10 min•Ep. 108
Reliance controls just 3% of India’s retail market. You might think it's a tiny share. But 80% of the retail industry is unorganised. And overall, the retail sector in our country is worth nearly 900 billion dollars. So to control even 3% of it is a big deal. But it is refining and petrochemicals that is the Reliance's biggest business. Why is it then that since the last three years, Reliance Retail is being made to headline the conglomerate's annual report? Tune in. Free Read: Lenskart’s CEO an...
Aug 15, 2023•11 min•Ep. 107
Beets are a superfood today. Tomorrow it'll be lemons. The internet is rife with misinformation especially about food and health related stuff. There are hundreds of influencers on your feed telling you what’s good for you. But who’s telling you what’s bad and what doesn't work? Maybe a keto diet worked for your friend but not for you. Take Dr Cyriac Abby Philips who goes by The Liver Doc on Twitter. Recently, he claimed there is no point in taking multivitamins. He is a de-influencer and there ...
Aug 13, 2023•12 min•Ep. 106
After a delay of almost a year Ola Electric finally released its financials this week. The company was valued at $5 billion last year and so far it has raised nearly $800 million from investors, including Softbank. With a 40% market share, it is the leader of the two-wheeler EV market in India. It has already sold over 250,000 vehicles. Ola Electric has set up 600 experience centres around the country where people can go take test rides. But the company only has 200 service centres. Its lack of ...
Aug 10, 2023•10 min•Ep. 105
Known for its high-end EV models, earlier this year, Tesla went on a cost-cutting spree. Six months ago, though, the EV maker was on the verge of shutting down its office in India. But last week, the company took up a sprawling office space in Pune on a five-year-long lease. And last month, it was reported that Tesla plans to set up a factory in India with a yearly capacity of 5 lakh EV units. Now, at a time when there is a general fall in EV prices, it is admittedly chasing growth—even if it co...
Aug 08, 2023•11 min•Ep. 104
The voice of the gig worker is getting louder, and it's coming to a point where neither delivery companies nor the government can afford to ignore it for much longer. Last month, the Rajasthan government came up with a new law that aims to establish a welfare board and a dedicated social security fund for platform-based gig workers in the state. One could say the new law sets a precedent for gig workers across the country. However, that is so only if you take it at face value. Once you look beyo...
Aug 06, 2023•11 min•Ep. 103
UPI or the Unified Payments Interface has revolutionised the way we use money. So much so that we don't think twice about freely accept financial connections with strangers. Since its launch seven years ago, 300 million users in India are on the UPI platform freely carrying out financial transactions. But did you know that your bank can block your account without a warning or any explanation? And what's worst, you could even come under the radar of law enforcement authorities like the cyber crim...
Aug 03, 2023•12 min•Ep. 102
Once upon a time, not too long ago actually, Byju's was the world’s most valuable edtech. Now, though, it's in a big mess. And that’s putting it mildly. However, Byju’s employees got the worst end of the stick because of all the company has been going through. The Ken spoke to employees who told us they were fired arbitrarily without notice. In fact, they said they are being forced to resign. And like that wasn't enough to deal with, some companies have specifically told recruiters not to look a...
Aug 01, 2023•11 min•Ep. 101
Last month, the global tech giant Microsoft India saw its revenue hit $3 billion, much closer to its $5 billion target by 2025. A Mumbai based sales leader told The Ken that in 2022, Microsoft India grew twice the growth of Microsoft globally. Behind the company's success was Anant Maheshwari who had been leading it for the last seven years. Described as an aggressive salesman and hard taskmaster, while he took the Microsoft India to new heights, his leadership style left a section of employees ...
Jul 30, 2023•11 min•Ep. 100
Nine years ago, Urban Company (then UrbanClap) disrupted the market and eventually went on to become Asia's largest home services marketplace. Last year, the US$2 billion company was ranked as one of the top-rated platforms for gig workers in Fairwork India Ratings. But just a year later now, Urban Company partners are are protesting nationwide against the platform's arbitrary and unfair policies. Meanwhile, customers are growing increasingly unhappy with the services. The company is also grappl...
Jul 27, 2023•13 min•Ep. 99
The fintech sector has been buzzing after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted credit lines on UPI a few months ago. From what we know so far, banks are likely to gain the most out of it. But a credit line-backed UPI product will also change how customers use credit. While they might continue to choose credit cards for high-value purchases, for smaller purchases like groceries and clothes, they could very well start looking at the new product. The whole rewards system which had been helping...
Jul 25, 2023•10 min•Ep. 98
In the first half of this year, from January to June, Tata Motors had 3/4th of the passenger EV market share despite relentless competition from the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra and other newer rivals. Its revenue for FY23 stood at almost $8 billion. The not-so-secret secret behind this success Tata Motors' its Xpres-T EV sedan—the go-to for cab companies and fleet operators that are looking to switch to greener alternatives. Xpres-T could easily to capture the cab market except Tata Motors ...
Jul 23, 2023•10 min•Ep. 97
Yesterday, Netflix announced that it will be starting password sharing restrictions in India. The OTT giant will only allow users on the same internet connection to access a particular account. Anybody who is not a part of what its calling "Netflix Household" will not be able to access content. While move did not come as a surprise since Netflix has already implemented it in many countries like the USA already, that it is using the same strategy in India, a market it has been struggling with for...
Jul 20, 2023•12 min•Ep. 96
Pharmeasy, once the highest-valued Indian healthcare startup, is planning to raise money in a new round of funding at a 90% markdown from its previous valuation. From $5.6 billion to $500 million. All because Pharmeasy had to take another debt to pay off its previous debt. The second time though, interest rates were not zero. What's going on? Tune in. Recommendation Byju’s is looking like a hedge fund The tail of acquisitions wagging India’s funding dog Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of ...
Jul 18, 2023•13 min•Ep. 95
From Rs 400 per piece in 2019, the shares of Reliance Retail, went up to Rs 4000 by 2021 in the unlisted market. Reliance Retail is India’s largest operator of supermarkets, apparel outlets, and electronics stores. And its shares were the hottest cake in the grey market for a while. Many investors expected it go go for a public listing until a little more than a week ago when Mukesh Ambani threw in a surprise. The company said it would effectively cancel the holdings of its minority investors an...
Jul 16, 2023•12 min•Ep. 94
Delivery partners who work for Swiggy or Zomato are paid per order. The fee which includes variables like base fee, surcharge, etc, depends on how many kilometers they’ve travelled from pickup to delivery destination. These payments though, are never consistent and gig workers, who make our lives so convenient, struggle with earning a stable income. So when Zomato says on their bill under the delivery partner fee, 'fully goes to them for their time and effort,' we appreciate it thinking the mone...
Jul 14, 2023•11 min•Ep. 93
Ad scams in India using tech platforms like Google, Meta, or even e-marketplaces such as Olx are becoming increasingly common and dangerously creative. People have been losing anything from a few thousands to even a few crore rupees to cyber crime syndicates who have proficient, tech-savvy members. The amount of money consumers have reported losing to fraud that originated on social-media platforms has skyrocketed since 2017. Last year alone, people reported losing more than $1.2 billion to frau...
Jul 12, 2023•12 min•Ep. 92
For many years, finfluencers have been enjoying an almost no-holds barred party in the Indian market since they operate outside Sebi's regulatory ambit. While there is no doubt about the importance of their role in combating India's rampant financial illiteracy, many often give advice that is generic, underplaying risks, and overplaying returns. After reviewing several complaints, two weeks ago, Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch was asked about Sebi's views on regulating influencers once again....
Jul 10, 2023•10 min•Ep. 91
Credit card companies, in their rush to sell more and more cards use a whole gamut of attractive offers—the most popular one being free access to airport lounges. Thanks to this and the sharp rise in domestic air travellers, last year, airport lounges saw of football of over 8.5 million people. What was once an exclusive service became a top-selling feature, even for non-premium cards issued by banks. Lounge access became overused and an expensive bill to foot for credit card issuers. Earlier la...
Jul 06, 2023•10 min•Ep. 90
Since November 2022, when Paytm shares dropped to an all-time low, the fintech giant has been on a steady recovery path. If all goes well, its share price may cross Rs 1000 soon. But what's even more interesting is the sharp jump in its loan distributions in FY23. In the March quarter of the same year, Paytm distributed nearly 12 million loans worth over 1.5 billion dollars. And last Friday, Paytm’s parent company even announced a partnership with Shriram Finance, an NBFC that's known for its de...
Jul 04, 2023•12 min•Ep. 89
On Thursday, Kotak Institutional Equities, released a note and turns out, Zomato managed to maintain its lead over Swiggy with a 55% market share in the year 2022. Swiggy is at 45%. Swiggy and Zomato have been constantly win the bigger share in India’s $5 billion food delivery market. But it was Swiggy that had the portion share just three years ago. Inherently, both the food delivery companies are quite different from each other. And it is this difference that's been giving Zomato an edge latel...
Jul 03, 2023•11 min•Ep. 88
ICICI's stock has tripled since 2018—the year when ICICI’s current CEO Sandeep Bakhshi took over. Loans and deposits are growing strong, margins are healthy, and investors can’t seem to get enough of the blue-chip company. Bakshi joined at a time when the bank was reeling from the after-effects of his predecessor Chanda Kochchar's controversial exit. The bank was experiencing a high rate of attrition and employees needed reassurance and stability. Bakshi gave them just that. He revamped the bank...
Jun 29, 2023•14 min•Ep. 87
