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Satvik Raman

Why Industries Cluster: The Alang Story
Economy & Policy

On a 10-kilometre stretch of Gujarat coastline, nearly one-third of the world’s old ships come to be broken down. The story of Alang shows why entire industries crowd into…

Satvik Raman
Jul 26, 2026

The Bill Parents Always Pay First
Corporate Actions

Two massive private equity deals just landed in Indian classrooms. The reason has everything to do with a concept called inelastic demand.

Satvik Raman
Jul 19, 2026

The Art of Letting Go: What the Sunk Cost Fallacy Teaches Us About Micromax’s Second Act
Corporate Actions

Micromax once ruled India’s smartphone market, then lost it all to a Chinese wave it never saw coming. The story of what the company did with its factories after that is a…

Satvik Raman
Jul 12, 2026

Embedded Finance: Why Payments Are the Gateway to Everything
Money & Markets

Meta is about to write a $900 million cheque for a loss-making Indian fintech. The real question is not why CRED needs the money. It is why one of the world’s biggest…

Satvik Raman
Jul 5, 2026

When No One Cashes Out: The Hidden Signal Behind Jio’s ₹37,700 Crore IPO
Corporate Actions

Jio is about to go public in what could be the biggest IPO in Indian history. But the most telling detail isn’t the size of the issue. It’s that none of its biggest…

Satvik Raman
Jun 28, 2026

The Cheesy Connection: What a Protein Shortage Teaches Us About Supply and Demand
Money & Markets

Protein prices have climbed nearly 90% in a year, and the reason is not a factory catching fire or a bad harvest. It is a structural mismatch between soaring demand and a…

Satvik Raman
Jun 21, 2026

India’s Credit Boom: What the Rise in Personal Loans Tells Us About the New Indian Consumer
Money & Markets

India’s retail credit market has grown explosively in the past five years. Personal loans, consumer durables loans, and buy-now-pay-later schemes have transformed how…

Satvik Raman
Jun 14, 2026

Electric Vehicles in India: The Race to Electrify the World’s Second-Largest Two-Wheeler Market
Corporate Actions

India’s EV market is growing faster than almost any other in the world, led by two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Ola Electric, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, and dozens of…

Satvik Raman
Jun 7, 2026

India’s Jobs Challenge: Why the World’s Most Youthful Nation Struggles to Create Enough Work
Economy & Policy

India’s demographic dividend could become a demographic disaster if it cannot absorb its young workforce. This post explores the employment challenge, the structural reasons…

Satvik Raman
May 31, 2026

The Rupee’s Long Walk to One-Fifty
Economy & Policy

The rupee has hit a record low of 96 to the dollar, and people are seriously asking if it could fall all the way to 150. Here is what is actually driving that fear, and how…

Satvik Raman
May 24, 2026

Borrowed Names, Borrowed Time
Corporate Actions

Jyothy Labs spent 15 years turning Pril into one of India’s top dishwash brands. Then Henkel AG walked in and asked for it back. The story of how a licensing deal quietly…

Satvik Raman
May 23, 2026

The Metal That Empties India’s Wallet
Economy & Policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked millions of Indians to skip buying gold, even for weddings. The economics behind that one request reveal exactly how a beloved metal…

Satvik Raman
May 17, 2026

Buying Your Way to the Top: The Logic Behind Corporate Acquisitions
Corporate Actions

India’s largest pharma company just agreed to spend $11.75 billion to buy an American rival. This is not just a business headline. It is a window into how the world’s…

Satvik Raman
May 10, 2026

The Physics of Cash Flow: How Empty Bank Accounts Ground Airlines
Money & Markets

A business can look huge and successful on the outside while suffocating from a lack of actual cash on the inside. Discover how the ongoing SpiceJet crisis perfectly…

Satvik Raman
May 3, 2026

India’s Mutual Fund Boom: How Millions of First-Time Investors Changed the Market
Money & Markets

India’s mutual fund industry crossed ₹60 lakh crore in assets under management in 2024. Behind that number is a revolution — tens of millions of first-time investors…

Satvik Raman
Apr 26, 2026

The Global Companies Choosing India: What the New Wave of Foreign Investment Means
Economy & Policy

Apple, Samsung, Foxconn, Micron, and dozens of other global companies have made significant investment commitments in India. This post examines why the shift is happening…

Satvik Raman
Apr 19, 2026

Vande Bharat and Beyond: How India Is Reinventing Its Railways
Economy & Policy

Indian Railways is the world’s fourth-largest rail network and carries 23 million passengers a day. The modernisation drive — Vande Bharat trains, station redevelopment…

Satvik Raman
Apr 12, 2026

Why Prices Keep Rising: The Economics of Inflation, Explained Plainly
Money & Markets

Why does a cup of chai cost more this year than last year? The answer involves central banks, supply chains, farmers, and the delicate art of keeping an economy at the right…

Satvik Raman
Apr 5, 2026

PhonePe’s Journey: How a Flipkart Side Project Became India’s Most-Used App
Corporate Actions

PhonePe started as an experiment inside Flipkart and now processes over a billion transactions a month. Its story is the story of how UPI transformed Indian finance — and…

Satvik Raman
Mar 29, 2026

The Port That Could Change India’s Place in Global Trade
Economy & Policy

India is betting billions on port-led industrial development. The Sagarmala project, Vadhavan port, and India’s ambition to become a global maritime hub are reshaping how…

Satvik Raman
Mar 22, 2026

India’s Startup Decade: From Fragile Dreams to a $350 Billion Ecosystem
Corporate Actions

A decade ago, building a tech company in India felt like swimming against the tide. Today, India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. This post traces that…

Satvik Raman
Mar 15, 2026

The Women Behind India’s Self-Help Group Revolution
Economy & Policy

India’s self-help group movement has quietly become one of the world’s largest financial inclusion experiments. Tens of millions of women are part of groups that save…

Satvik Raman
Mar 8, 2026

How UPI Became the World’s Most Successful Digital Payments System and Where It Goes Next
Money & Markets

India’s Unified Payments Interface processed over 100 billion transactions in 2024, making it one of the world’s busiest payment systems. This post explores how UPI got…

Satvik Raman
Mar 1, 2026

Swiggy, Zomato, and the Battle for India’s Food Delivery Future
Corporate Actions

Swiggy went public in late 2024, creating a rare moment where both major Indian food delivery rivals were listed companies. This post looks at how the industry has evolved…

Satvik Raman
Feb 22, 2026

Why the Rupee Has Been Falling and What It Means for You
Money & Markets

The Indian rupee has been depreciating against the US dollar for years, and 2025-26 brought fresh pressure. This post explains what causes a currency to fall, why this…

Satvik Raman
Feb 15, 2026

India’s Green Energy Bet: The World’s Most Ambitious Clean Power Experiment
Economy & Policy

India has committed to some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets of any large country in the world. This post explores how India got here, the progress being made…

Satvik Raman
Feb 8, 2026

Budget 2026: What the Government Decided and What It Means for You
Economy & Policy

On February 1, 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget. This post breaks down the key decisions — on taxes, spending, and economic priorities —…

Satvik Raman
Feb 1, 2026

How Paytm Survived the Most Difficult Year in Its History
Corporate Actions

In early 2024, the Reserve Bank of India took severe action against Paytm Payments Bank. The stock crashed, the business model was upended, and many wrote off the company.…

Satvik Raman
Jan 25, 2026

What Trump’s New Tariffs Mean for India’s Export Ambitions
Economy & Policy

The United States imposed sweeping new tariffs in early 2026, and India’s exporters found themselves navigating a more complicated world. This post explains what these…

Satvik Raman
Jan 18, 2026

What India’s Budget Will Have to Answer in 2026
Economy & Policy

Union Budget 2026 is weeks away. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget in February, and the expectations from multiple constituencies are high. This…

Satvik Raman
Jan 11, 2026

The Rise of Jio Financial: Can Mukesh Ambani Build India’s Next Big Bank?
Corporate Actions

Jio Financial Services, the financial arm of Reliance Industries, has been building out its product suite since its demerger and listing in 2023. By early 2026, it has…

Satvik Raman
Jan 4, 2026

Indian Stocks in 2025: A Year That Started in Correction and Ended With Comeback
Money & Markets

2025 was a year of two halves for Indian stock markets. The Sensex and Nifty fell sharply in early 2025, unsettling millions of first-time investors who had entered the…

Satvik Raman
Dec 28, 2025

India’s Semiconductor Dream: How Far Has It Come and How Far Does It Have to Go?
Economy & Policy

In 2025, the first chips from India’s nascent semiconductor manufacturing program are beginning to be produced. The country has invested tens of thousands of crore rupees in…

Satvik Raman
Dec 21, 2025

The RBI Cut Rates Again. Here Is What That Means for Your Loan and Your Savings.
Money & Markets

The Reserve Bank of India reduced its benchmark policy rate in December 2025, the second cut in its current easing cycle. For ordinary borrowers and savers, a rate cut has…

Satvik Raman
Dec 14, 2025

How Apple Making iPhones in India Changes the Country’s Industrial Story
Corporate Actions

Apple’s manufacturing expansion in India reached a significant milestone in 2025, with India now accounting for a meaningful share of global iPhone production. This post…

Satvik Raman
Dec 7, 2025

Why India Imports So Much From China Even When Relations Are Tense
Economy & Policy

India-China diplomatic relations have had a turbulent few years, with a border standoff in the Himalayas followed by gradual normalisation. Yet through all of this, India’s…

Satvik Raman
Nov 30, 2025

Why India Just Opened Its Insurance Sector to Full Foreign Ownership
Economy & Policy

India has amended its Insurance Act to allow 100% foreign direct investment in the insurance sector, up from the previous 74% cap. The move has significant implications for…

Satvik Raman
Nov 23, 2025

Groww Goes Public: What Happens When India’s Most Popular Investment App Lists on the Stock Exchange
Corporate Actions

Groww, the Bengaluru-based investment platform that introduced millions of young Indians to mutual funds and stock trading, filed for an IPO in late 2025. The listing would…

Satvik Raman
Nov 16, 2025

The Life and Death of a Banknote: How the RBI Manages Currency
Money & Markets

Why do some banknotes disappear while new ones appear in our wallets? This post explores the fascinating life cycle of currency and how the RBI keeps India’s cash system…

Satvik Raman
Nov 8, 2025

OFS vs Fresh Issue IPOs: Understanding the Two Sides of a Public Listing
Corporate Actions

Using the Lenskart IPO as an example, this post explains in simple terms the difference between Offer for Sale (OFS) and Fresh Issue IPOs, and how each affects investors and…

Satvik Raman
Nov 1, 2025

The Three Economists Who Proved That Good Ideas Are Worth More Than Gold
Money & Markets

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their work on how innovation drives long-run economic growth. This post…

Satvik Raman
Oct 26, 2025

LG Electronics Is Coming to Dalal Street. Here Is Why That Is a Big Deal.
Corporate Actions

LG Electronics India filed for one of the largest IPOs of 2025, seeking to list its Indian subsidiary on the BSE and NSE. The listing would make LG India one of the biggest…

Satvik Raman
Oct 19, 2025

How Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Became the Biggest Believer in Yes Bank
Money & Markets

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation made a series of investments in Yes Bank that ultimately gave it a significant minority stake in one of India’s most closely…

Satvik Raman
Oct 12, 2025

The Company That Holds Every Share You Have Ever Bought
Corporate Actions

When the National Securities Depository Limited filed for an IPO in September 2025, most retail investors had never heard the name. Yet NSDL quietly holds custody of nearly…

Satvik Raman
Oct 5, 2025

The Bengaluru Metro Fare Hike That Divided a City
Economy & Policy

Bengaluru’s metro operator raised fares significantly in September 2025, the first major revision since the Namma Metro launched. Ridership dropped, commuters complained…

Satvik Raman
Sep 28, 2025

The Snack Empire That Started in a Cinema Canteen
Corporate Actions

Balaji Wafers is a Rs 5,000 crore snack brand that most people outside Gujarat have never heard of. Yet in western India, it outsells Pepsi’s Lays on local shelves. This is…

Satvik Raman
Sep 21, 2025

IPOs Unboxed: How Companies Go Public
Corporate Actions

A guide to what IPOs are, why companies chase them, who wins big, what’s up with listing day gains, and the truth behind the grey market — starring Urban Company’s…

Satvik Raman
Sep 13, 2025

For the First Time in 30 Years, the World’s Central Banks Trust Gold More Than America’s Debt
Money & Markets

Something extraordinary happened quietly in global finance this year. The world’s central banks now collectively hold more gold than US Treasury bonds — a threshold not…

Satvik Raman
Sep 7, 2025

Goods and Services Tax (GST): is now also Good and Simple Tax
Economy & Policy

This post explains the concept of Goods and Services Tax (GST), why it was introduced, how it works, and why the Indian government is now moving from four slabs to two.…

Satvik Raman
Aug 30, 2025

Demergers: Breaking up to build value
Corporate Actions

We often talk about mergers and acquisitions, where companies come together to grow bigger. But sometimes, the opposite happens — companies break up into smaller pieces and…

Satvik Raman
Aug 23, 2025

Mergers & Acquisitions: Lessons from Tata Motors’ Iveco Buy
Corporate Actions

This post breaks down the difference between mergers and acquisitions using the recent €3.8 billion Tata Motors–Iveco deal as a case study. We’ll explore what each term…

Satvik Raman
Aug 16, 2025

Why Companies Use ESOPs: From Basics to Elon’s New Tesla Deal
Corporate Actions

We explain ESOPs, RSUs, vesting schedules, and performance pay—and decode why Tesla just granted Elon Musk $29 billion in stock to keep him onboard.

Satvik Raman
Aug 9, 2025

Tariffs: The Price Tag on Borders
Economy & Policy

Tariffs are back in the headlines, with the U.S. slapping a sweeping 25% duty on several Indian goods. But what exactly are tariffs, and why do countries impose them in the…

Satvik Raman
Aug 2, 2025

What Does a Depository Actually Do?
Money & Markets

Behind every share you own, there’s a digital vault keeping it safe — that’s what a depository does. We explore how depositories like NSDL and CDSL form the invisible…

Satvik Raman
Jul 28, 2025

Tesla Has Finally Arrived in India. But Will Anyone Buy It?
Corporate Actions

Nine years after Elon Musk first promised to bring Tesla to India, the company finally opened its first showroom in Mumbai on July 15, 2025. But there is no factory planned…

Satvik Raman
Jul 20, 2025

India Exports Electricity. So Why Do Homes Still Face Power Cuts?
Economy & Policy

India produces more electricity than it consumes and is now a net exporter of power to neighbouring countries including Bangladesh and Nepal. And yet, millions of Indian…

Satvik Raman
Jul 13, 2025

The Paint War That Landed India’s Biggest Paint Company in Court
Corporate Actions

Asian Paints has dominated India’s decorative paint market for decades with over 50% market share. But when the Aditya Birla Group launched Birla Opus in 2024 and began…

Satvik Raman
Jul 6, 2025

Why Iran Can Never Really Close This Waterway
Economy & Policy

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman. About 20 percent of the world’s oil travels through it every single day. Iran has repeatedly…

Satvik Raman
Jun 29, 2025

The Wall Street Firm That SEBI Put Under Its Microscope
Money & Markets

Jane Street is one of the most profitable trading firms in the world — a secretive quantitative hedge fund known for its brilliant mathematicians and massive profits. In…

Satvik Raman
Jun 22, 2025

India Is Quietly Becoming the World’s Anti-Drone Supplier
Economy & Policy

As drone warfare has become central to modern conflicts — from Ukraine to the Middle East — demand for counter-drone technology has exploded. India has quietly built up…

Satvik Raman
Jun 15, 2025

The Tiny Magnets That Could Stall India’s Electric Cars
Economy & Policy

China controls 90 percent of the world’s supply of rare earth magnets — the components that power electric motors in EVs, wind turbines, and defence systems. In 2025, China…

Satvik Raman
Jun 8, 2025

How Germany Quietly Replaced Japan as the World’s Biggest Lender
Money & Markets

For 34 years straight, Japan held the title of the world’s largest creditor nation — meaning it lent more to the world than it borrowed. In 2025, Germany took that crown.…

Satvik Raman
Jun 1, 2025

India Is About to Let Private Companies Build Nuclear Power Plants
Economy & Policy

For 65 years, only the government could run nuclear reactors in India. A new amendment to the Atomic Energy Act could change that, allowing private companies — and even…

Satvik Raman
May 25, 2025

Why India’s Biggest Conglomerate Quietly Walked Away from a Paint Company
Corporate Actions

Reliance Industries, India’s largest conglomerate, sold its entire stake in Asian Paints — a position it had held for 17 years. At the same time, Asian Paints is facing…

Satvik Raman
May 18, 2025

The World’s Most Famous Investor Just Said Goodbye
Corporate Actions

Warren Buffett, 94, announced he is stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway — the company he built into a $1 trillion empire over six decades. He is handing the reins to…

Satvik Raman
May 11, 2025

The Water Agreement India Just Paused With Pakistan
Economy & Policy

After the Pahalgam terror attack killed 26 tourists in Kashmir, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty — a landmark 1960 agreement that had survived three wars between the…

Satvik Raman
May 4, 2025

The Electric Scooter Startup That Bet Everything on Going Public
Corporate Actions

Ather Energy, one of India’s most respected electric two-wheeler startups, opened its IPO on April 28, 2025, aiming to raise nearly three thousand crore rupees. But the…

Satvik Raman
Apr 27, 2025

India and America’s Race to Write a Trade Deal
Economy & Policy

After Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, India moved quickly to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. Indian officials flew to Washington in the 90-day…

Satvik Raman
Apr 20, 2025

The Week the Market Changed Its Mind Three Times
Money & Markets

One week after Liberation Day sent markets crashing, Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries. Stock markets bounced back with one of the biggest…

Satvik Raman
Apr 13, 2025

The Day Trump Tried to Rewrite the Rules of Global Trade
Economy & Policy

On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on almost every country in the world. Markets crashed. Trading partners threatened retaliation. It…

Satvik Raman
Apr 6, 2025

The App That Was Supposed to Fix Dating Is Running Out of Matches
Corporate Actions

Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge were supposed to transform how people find partners. For a few years, they did. But in 2025, the companies behind these apps are reporting falling…

Satvik Raman
Mar 30, 2025

Why America’s Trade War Spooked India’s Tech Companies
Money & Markets

In March 2025, Indian IT stocks like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro saw heavy selling by foreign investors. The trigger? Fears that Trump’s tariffs could slow down the American…

Satvik Raman
Mar 23, 2025

The Oil Club That One Member Wants to Leave
Economy & Policy

The UAE has been making quiet noises about wanting more freedom from OPEC, the cartel that has controlled oil production for decades. What is OPEC, why does membership…

Satvik Raman
Mar 16, 2025

The Stock Market That Wants to Stay Open All Night
Money & Markets

NASDAQ, one of the world’s biggest stock exchanges, has proposed keeping the US markets open 24 hours a day, five days a week. No more waiting for the opening bell. But is…

Satvik Raman
Mar 9, 2025

The Gold That Nobody Has Seen in Decades
Economy & Policy

The United States claims to hold the world’s largest gold reserve, locked away in a vault in Kentucky called Fort Knox. But Elon Musk and Donald Trump want to know if it’s…

Satvik Raman
Mar 2, 2025

The Sport That Is Taking India by Storm
Corporate Actions

Pickleball arrived in India a few years ago. Almost nobody knew what it was. By 2025, the number of active players in India had grown by 275% in three years. Startups are…

Satvik Raman
Feb 23, 2025

When a Bank Gets Its Own Numbers Wrong
Money & Markets

In February 2025, IndusInd Bank disclosed that it had been accounting for a category of foreign exchange derivatives incorrectly for years — and in a way that understated…

Satvik Raman
Feb 16, 2025

Why Goldman Sachs Is Betting on India’s Stock Exchange
Money & Markets

Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s most powerful investment banks, recently told its clients that BSE — Bombay Stock Exchange — was among its top investment picks. Not a…

Satvik Raman
Feb 9, 2025

What India’s Budget Tells Us About Its Priorities
Economy & Policy

On February 1, 2025, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget. For ordinary citizens, the most noticed change was the income tax revision…

Satvik Raman
Feb 2, 2025

The Startup That Shocked Silicon Valley
Economy & Policy

In January 2025, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup called DeepSeek released a model that matched or exceeded the performance of the best American AI models — at a…

Satvik Raman
Jan 26, 2025

Why Meta Stopped Being the Truth Police
Corporate Actions

In January 2025, Meta announced that it was ending its fact-checking programme on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Instead, it would shift to a ‘community notes’ model…

Satvik Raman
Jan 19, 2025

India’s New Love for Digital Gold
Money & Markets

Indians have always loved gold. But now they are buying it differently. In 2024, the amount of money flowing into Gold ETFs — digital units that track the price of gold…

Satvik Raman
Jan 12, 2025

The Visa That Built Silicon Valley
Economy & Policy

In late December 2024, a fierce debate erupted in America about the H-1B visa — a programme that allows US companies to hire specialised workers from abroad. Elon Musk and…

Satvik Raman
Jan 5, 2025

The Weight-Loss Drug That Could Reshape Healthcare
Economy & Policy

Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have helped millions of people lose significant weight. Their makers claim these drugs could dramatically reduce healthcare costs by…

Satvik Raman
Dec 29, 2024

The Lending App That Promised Too Much
Money & Markets

Peer-to-peer lending platforms promised to revolutionise borrowing in India. Lenders could earn 12-14% returns. Borrowers could access quick, collateral-free loans. By 2024…

Satvik Raman
Dec 22, 2024

The Indian Whisky That Beat Scotland
Corporate Actions

Twenty years ago, if you said ‘Indian single malt whisky’ at a bar in Edinburgh, people would have laughed. In 2004, a whisky named Amrut Fusion from Bengaluru was ranked…

Satvik Raman
Dec 15, 2024

The Banana That Was Worth Six Million Dollars
Corporate Actions

In November 2024, a banana taped to a wall sold at Sotheby’s auction house for six million dollars. The banana itself cost thirty-five cents. What was actually being sold…

Satvik Raman
Dec 8, 2024

How the World’s Biggest Carmaker Lost Its Way
Corporate Actions

In 2017, Volkswagen overtook Toyota to become the world’s largest carmaker. By 2024, it was considering closing three factories in Germany and carrying over €23 billion in…

Satvik Raman
Dec 1, 2024

The Miracle That Was Built on Borrowed Numbers
Economy & Policy

Ireland has the look of an economic miracle: low unemployment, low inflation, a government that spends less than it earns. But economists have a name for what Ireland is…

Satvik Raman
Nov 24, 2024

The Tax That Makes the World Pay
Economy & Policy

After Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election on November 5, the word on every economist’s lips was the same: tariffs. Trump has promised to impose extra taxes of…

Satvik Raman
Nov 17, 2024

The Stock That Found Its True Worth
Money & Markets

In October 2024, a tiny company called Elcid Investments watched its share price jump from ₹3.53 to ₹2,36,250 in a single day. This was not a market miracle or a scam. It…

Satvik Raman
Nov 10, 2024

The Dollar’s Long Shadow
Economy & Policy

In October 2024, world leaders gathered in the Russian city of Kazan for the most consequential BRICS summit in the coalition’s history. What they signed was not just…

Satvik Raman
Nov 3, 2024

The Game Netflix Refused to Play
Corporate Actions

Netflix assembled a team of gaming legends, including the creative director of Halo and the art director of God of War, and then shut the whole studio down without ever…

Satvik Raman
Oct 27, 2024

The Rules That Made Nations Rich or Poor
Economy & Policy

In October 2024, three economists won the Nobel Prize for answering one of the biggest questions in history. Why is India, which was once one of the richest nations on…

Satvik Raman
Oct 20, 2024

The Loan the Gold Could Not Back
Money & Markets

In 2024, auditors at Bank of Baroda discovered that gold loans were being handed out at several branches without any actual gold to back them. What followed was a nationwide…

Satvik Raman
Oct 13, 2024

When Demand Has No Ceiling
Money & Markets

On October 2, 2024, 1.3 crore Indians tried to buy tickets for Coldplay’s Mumbai concerts at exactly the same moment. By 12:15 p.m., the BookMyShow app had crashed, and the…

Satvik Raman
Oct 6, 2024

The Brand That Priced Itself Out
Corporate Actions

Tata Starbucks has over 450 stores across India and ₹82 crore in losses. The company that turned coffee into a status symbol is now learning that status symbols have an…

Satvik Raman
Sep 29, 2024

The Rate That Rules the Rupee
Economy & Policy

On September 18, 2024, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years. That single decision in Washington is now working its way through Indian…

Satvik Raman
Sep 22, 2024

The Key That Was Never Yours
Money & Markets

Hackers stole $230 million from WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange, in a single night. The blockchain was never touched. So what exactly went wrong?

Satvik Raman
Sep 15, 2024

The Meatball That Moves the Furniture
Corporate Actions

IKEA has only managed to open 4 stores in India and has been losing crores every day. Its plan to turn things around does not involve a new sofa design. It involves Swedish…

Satvik Raman
Sep 8, 2024

The Grocery Bill the RBI Cannot Control
Economy & Policy

India’s central bank has brought core inflation to a four-year low, but stubborn food prices keep getting in the way. Here is the story of why a trip to the fish market is…

Satvik Raman
Sep 1, 2024

The Government’s Expensive Gold Promise
Economy & Policy

India’s Sovereign Gold Bond scheme was meant to wean the country off physical gold and save the government money. Nine years later, soaring gold prices have turned a clever…

Satvik Raman
Aug 25, 2024

The Soap Maker’s Pharma Dream
Corporate Actions

Nirma, the company behind India’s most recognizable detergent jingle, just bought into a pharmaceutical giant. Here is why a soap maker entering pharma is a bigger deal than…

Satvik Raman
Aug 18, 2024

The Ladder With a Broken Rung
Economy & Policy

India has been a middle-income country for nearly two decades. NITI Aayog now has a plan to finally climb out, but the trap it must escape is one that has swallowed entire…

Satvik Raman
Aug 11, 2024

The World’s Cheapest Loan
Economy & Policy

India is on a borrowing spree, but not in US dollars. The new favourite currency for big loans is the Japanese Yen, and the reasons are surprisingly clever.

Satvik Raman
Aug 4, 2024

Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It
Economy & Policy

India’s imports from China just crossed $100 billion, even as the two countries have strained ties. India’s own Economic Survey is now asking how this makes any sense.

Satvik Raman
Jul 28, 2024

The Watchdog That Looked Away
Economy & Policy

PwC audited Evergrande for 14 years and never raised a single concern, even as the company hid $78 billion in fake revenue. China is now asking what auditors are actually…

Satvik Raman
Jul 21, 2024

The 2% Fix for a $7 Trillion Problem
Economy & Policy

French economist Gabriel Zucman wants every billionaire on earth to pay a minimum 2% tax on their wealth. The G20 is listening, but is the idea realistic?

Satvik Raman
Jul 14, 2024

The Billion-Dollar House of Cards
Corporate Actions

Rishi Shah made it onto the Forbes 400 richest list with a reported net worth of $3.6 billion. There was just one problem: almost all of it was built on lies.

Satvik Raman
Jul 7, 2024

Why GST Cannot Fix Your Fuel Bill
Economy & Policy

Raman crosses state lines every trip just to save a few rupees per litre of diesel. His small habit reveals why India’s biggest tax reform cannot actually bring fuel prices…

Satvik Raman
Jun 30, 2024

Who Pays When Big Industry Fails?
Economy & Policy

The UK government just handed Tata Steel £500 million. Here is why sometimes a government has no choice but to write a very large cheque.

Satvik Raman
Jun 23, 2024

Why India’s Gold Lives in London
Economy & Policy

India’s central bank holds hundreds of tonnes of gold inside a vault in London. The RBI just moved some of it back home, and the reason why tells us a lot about how global…

Satvik Raman
Jun 16, 2024

When a Country Prints Too Much Money
Economy & Policy

Zimbabwe has burned through six currencies in 15 years thanks to runaway hyperinflation. Its latest attempt, a gold-backed currency called ZiG, might be the most creative…

Satvik Raman
Jun 9, 2024

The Real Cost of Fake Trades
Money & Markets

Fantasy stock gaming apps let you trade without really losing money. SEBI just decided that is not as harmless as it sounds.

Satvik Raman
Jun 2, 2024

Sand to Silicon: India’s Long Race to Make Its Own Chips
Economy & Policy

Zoho just announced plans to build chips in Tamil Nadu, and Tata is already breaking ground in Gujarat. Here is why making a semiconductor chip is one of the hardest things…

Satvik Raman
May 26, 2024

The Side Door to the Stock Market: How an SME IPO Got Rigged
Money & Markets

An SME IPO turned a small Indian tech firm into a 122 crore rupee payday for its promoter. SEBI’s investigation shows just how easy it has been to rig the side door to the…

Satvik Raman
May 19, 2024

The Economics of ATMs: Why Cash Machines Need a Pay Rise
Economy & Policy

India’s White Label ATM operators are bleeding cash while trying to keep your neighbourhood cash machine running. The economics behind that blinking screen are more fragile…

Satvik Raman
May 12, 2024

The Tax That Comes After Death: Understanding Inheritance Tax
Economy & Policy

One off-hand comment by Sam Pitroda about taxing inherited wealth turned into the biggest political controversy of April 2024. India has actually tried this tax before…

Satvik Raman
May 5, 2024

Lehman Brothers and the Subprime Time Bomb
Money & Markets

Subprime loans powered the housing boom of the early 2000s — until they shook the global financial system. What are subprime loans? And how did they bring down one of Wall…

Satvik Raman
Mar 21, 2024
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