Today's Edition

SEBI’s new closing norms leave markets to catch up

The regulator’s shift to an auction-based close was meant to curb manipulation and mirror global markets. Instead, it has run into thin participation that is only amplifying distortions and volatility.

Charu Singh

Internet

A rare peek into Careem’s 2026 financials

The popular super app startup is seeing widening losses, Dubai’s financial zone wants more wealth and Aramco’s big quarter.

Maanav D J

Chaos

Formula 1’s Middle East conundrum

From cancelled races to scrambled calendars, the Iran conflict is testing an over two-decade partnership that powered the sport’s growth.

Maanav D J

Explore Archive

In Brief

NCDEX moves beyond farms with equities, MFs and non-agricultural contracts · 20 May

Emaar posts solid Q1 financials amid Iran war · 11 May

BSE blames rival bourse for lacklustre exchange-agnostic trading · 08 May

NSE signals IPO on track across valuation scenarios · 06 May

The Middle East Edition

Dispatches from our Gulf desk

BNPL apps Tabby and Tamara make it to UAE credit reports

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

Can the UAE stay ahead in the AI data centre race?

Latest Stories

Internet

Meesho takes another swing at kirana tech

Its acquisition of Kirana Club signals an attempt to find a new growth engine, but grocery retail has been a challenge for even well-funded players.

Muskaan Gupta

Business

India’s one-sided leverage trading is a spooky business

While nowhere close to the KOSPI rout, India’s significant leveraged stock bubble poses some real risks to investors.

Charu Singh

Business

Fractal Analytics wants to get paid for results that nobody can predict

The newly listed enterprise AI firm is hoping to attract clients by offering outcome-based pricing for the software it provides, but there’s no saying if it will find enough takers.

Anas Ali

Internet

Zepto’s IPO dilemma: valuation vs survival

The quick-commerce startup weighs a valuation cut or finding alternative funding to stay afloat as investor appetite for loss-making businesses weakens.

Hiral Goyal

Business

HUL recovers under Priya Nair but it needs better volumes

Investors expect the FMCG major to get back on the growth track in the quarters ahead, but protecting margins at the same time could be tough.

Devika Singh

Internet

Meesho takes another swing at kirana tech

Its acquisition of Kirana Club signals an attempt to find a new growth engine, but grocery retail has been a challenge for even well-funded players.

Muskaan Gupta

Business

India’s one-sided leverage trading is a spooky business

While nowhere close to the KOSPI rout, India’s significant leveraged stock bubble poses some real risks to investors.

Charu Singh

The Middle East Edition

Dispatches from our Gulf desk

BNPL apps Tabby and Tamara make it to UAE credit reports

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

Can the UAE stay ahead in the AI data centre race?

In Brief

NCDEX moves beyond farms with equities, MFs and non-agricultural contracts · 20 May

Emaar posts solid Q1 financials amid Iran war · 11 May

BSE blames rival bourse for lacklustre exchange-agnostic trading · 08 May

Read All Stories

On The
Record

Essential perspective on journalism from one of its best practitioners.

Explore Stories

Fountain pen on annotated manuscript — On The Record

Demystifying the world of freelance journalism

In a failing news ecosystem, independent journalists keep the story alive. A sneak peek into how they do things to get the best results and the challenges they face.

Think editing is a waste of time? Think again

In the fast-changing world of news, editors at the copy desk continue to be gatekeepers of quality and accuracy.

What’s the best way for newsrooms to handle corrections?

At a time when journalism is rotting away, corrections are truly a saving grace. How newsrooms handle them says a lot about their credibility.

Latest Newsletters

A wealth of knowledge from India's top writers curated for you by The Morning Context.

Internet

A rare peek into Careem’s 2026 financials

The popular super app startup is seeing widening losses, Dubai’s financial zone wants more wealth and Aramco’s big quarter.

Maanav D J

Business

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

The emirate’s financial centre has surpassed the 10,000-company mark, Lucid Motors has a new investor, and digital assets are having a great week.

Harveen Ahluwalia

Internet

A rare peek into Careem’s 2026 financials

The popular super app startup is seeing widening losses, Dubai’s financial zone wants more wealth and Aramco’s big quarter.

Maanav D J

Business

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

Harveen Ahluwalia

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Spotlight

Internet

Emergent’s ARR is all smoke and mirrors

The AI startup’s $100 million ARR claim does not quite add up even as Dream11—forced out of real-money gaming—prepares to take its massive user base into stockbroking.

Ashish K. Mishra

Business

The anti-jugaad story of Royal Enfield

What four years at the legendary motorcycle maker taught me about India’s most celebrated delusion.

Venki Padmanabhan

Internet

Emergent’s ARR is all smoke and mirrors

The AI startup’s $100 million ARR claim does not quite add up even as Dream11—forced out of real-money gaming—prepares to take its massive user base into stockbroking.

Ashish K. Mishra

Business

The anti-jugaad story of Royal Enfield

Venki Padmanabhan

Middle East

Internet

BNPL apps Tabby and Tamara make it to UAE credit reports

Etihad Credit Bureau will now be incorporating buy now, pay later data from two of the largest fintechs in the Mideast in credit reports.

Maanav D J

Business

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

The emirate’s financial centre has surpassed the 10,000-company mark, Lucid Motors has a new investor, and digital assets are having a great week.

Harveen Ahluwalia

Internet

Can the UAE stay ahead in the AI data centre race?

From India to Europe, governments are piling in to build centres to support (and profit from) the AI boom. What does the UAE have that others don't?

Maanav D J

Internet

BNPL apps Tabby and Tamara make it to UAE credit reports

Etihad Credit Bureau will now be incorporating buy now, pay later data from two of the largest fintechs in the Mideast in credit reports.

Maanav D J

Business

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

Harveen Ahluwalia

Internet

Can the UAE stay ahead in the AI data centre race?

Maanav D J

Best of Internet Coverage

Internet

A rare peek into Careem’s 2026 financials

The popular super app startup is seeing widening losses, Dubai’s financial zone wants more wealth and Aramco’s big quarter.

Maanav D J

Internet

Meesho takes another swing at kirana tech

Its acquisition of Kirana Club signals an attempt to find a new growth engine, but grocery retail has been a challenge for even well-funded players.

Muskaan Gupta

Internet

Zepto’s IPO dilemma: valuation vs survival

The quick-commerce startup weighs a valuation cut or finding alternative funding to stay afloat as investor appetite for loss-making businesses weakens.

Hiral Goyal

Internet

India’s lab-grown diamond startup glut

Brands are struggling amid plunging prices of lab-grown diamonds, poor margins, intense competition, shaky global demand and a domestic market where tradition continues to shape buying decisions.

Ananya Upadhyaya

Internet

Bistro is (not really) Eternal’s answer to Toing or Ownly

Bistro may look like a response to Swiggy and Rapido’s 'budget' food delivery apps, but the similarities end at affordability—the playbooks are fundamentally different.

Hiral Goyal

Internet

A rare peek into Careem’s 2026 financials

The popular super app startup is seeing widening losses, Dubai’s financial zone wants more wealth and Aramco’s big quarter.

Maanav D J

Internet

Meesho takes another swing at kirana tech

Muskaan Gupta

Internet

Zepto’s IPO dilemma: valuation vs survival

Hiral Goyal

Internet

India’s lab-grown diamond startup glut

Ananya Upadhyaya

Internet

Bistro is (not really) Eternal’s answer to Toing or Ownly

Hiral Goyal

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Best of Public Markets coverage

Business

SEBI’s new closing norms leave markets to catch up

Charu Singh

Business

The Biyanis take another shot at modern retail with Broadway

After building and then losing India’s biggest retail empire, Kishore Biyani and family are now scripting a discreet retail comeback with departmental store Broadway. Can they get the economics right this time around?

Devika Singh

Business

SEBI’s new closing norms leave markets to catch up

Charu Singh

Business

The Biyanis take another shot at modern retail with Broadway

Devika Singh

Business

India’s one-sided leverage trading is a spooky business

Charu Singh

Business

Fractal Analytics wants to get paid for results that nobody can predict

Anas Ali

Business

HUL recovers under Priya Nair but it needs better volumes

Devika Singh

Business

Dubai’s financial hub posts record numbers, despite the Iran war

Harveen Ahluwalia

Best of Chaos Coverage

Chaos

India’s jet engine gap turns into a strategic fault line

The country's fighter jet roadmap rests on imported propulsion, leaving its military plans hostage to cost shocks, delays and geopolitics.

Sushant Singh

Chaos

NEET and the military shortcut risks long-term damage

The government’s reliance on the armed forces may help it address a credibility crisis, but risks weakening civilian institutions.

Sushant Singh

Chaos

Why (so many) Indians have stayed put in the UAE amid Iran war

Remittances show that many non-resident Indians may not want an immediate out, even as the threat of war looms large. We take a look at what is making them stay in the country.

Maanav D J

Chaos

Ten military lessons India must learn from the US-Israel war on Iran

The war in West Asia offers a preview of how India’s next conflict could unfold—fast, multi-domain, drone-saturated and under a nuclear shadow. New Delhi must learn quickly.

Sushant Singh

Chaos

India's modest climate targets: smart diplomacy or missed opportunity?

A 10-percentage-point gap between what India plans domestically and what it promises the UN tells you everything about its climate strategy.

Azman Usmani

Chaos

India’s jet engine gap turns into a strategic fault line

The country's fighter jet roadmap rests on imported propulsion, leaving its military plans hostage to cost shocks, delays and geopolitics.

Sushant Singh

Chaos

NEET and the military shortcut risks long-term damage

Sushant Singh

Chaos

Why (so many) Indians have stayed put in the UAE amid Iran war

Maanav D J

Chaos

Ten military lessons India must learn from the US-Israel war on Iran

Sushant Singh

Chaos

India's modest climate targets: smart diplomacy or missed opportunity?

Azman Usmani

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Startups

Internet

Zepto’s IPO dilemma: valuation vs survival

The quick-commerce startup weighs a valuation cut or finding alternative funding to stay afloat as investor appetite for loss-making businesses weakens.

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Bistro is (not really) Eternal’s answer to Toing or Ownly

Bistro may look like a response to Swiggy and Rapido’s 'budget' food delivery apps, but the similarities end at affordability—the playbooks are fundamentally different.

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Zepto’s IPO dilemma: valuation vs survival

The quick-commerce startup weighs a valuation cut or finding alternative funding to stay afloat as investor appetite for loss-making businesses weakens.

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Bistro is (not really) Eternal’s answer to Toing or Ownly

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Comeback to collapse: how FreshMenu came undone

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Swiggy Instamart has a people and strategy problem

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Rapido’s Ownly is a serious risk to Zomato-Swiggy duopoly

Hiral Goyal

Internet

Pratilipi has 20 million stories but no big hits. Can microdramas deliver one?

Hiral Goyal

Internet

A high-risk, unfinished, cash-guzzling Zepto comes to public markets

Hiral Goyal

Education Technology

Internet

Allen Career Institute is in flux and nowhere close to an IPO

Four years after Bodhi Tree’s investment, the test-prep giant remains caught between a slowing legacy business and growth bets that are still in their infancy.

Muskaan Gupta

Internet

Can Bhanzu break India's edtech curse?

The math learning platform is growing fast and expanding globally. Success will depend on how smartly it can manoeuvre the very pitfalls that have crippled peers.

Muskaan Gupta

Internet

Allen Career Institute is in flux and nowhere close to an IPO

Four years after Bodhi Tree’s investment, the test-prep giant remains caught between a slowing legacy business and growth bets that are still in their infancy.

Muskaan Gupta

Internet

Can Bhanzu break India's edtech curse?

Muskaan Gupta

Internet

Ronnie Screwvala is stretching upGrad to mean more

Bhuvana

Business

Varkey Group’s GEMS bets on Saudi Arabia to revive global ambitions

Maanav D J

Internet

Seekho and the parable of how entertainment consumed edtech

Pradip K. Saha

Internet

Physics Wallah carries the baggage of the industry it’s meant to redeem

Pradip K. Saha

Internet

How Reliance’s $180 million bet on Embibe came to naught

Pradip K. Saha

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State of Unicorns

State of the Unicorns

How ShopClues faded without a fight

The fall of this e-commerce giant within a decade of its launch was marked by blind optimism, a total disregard for customers and a massive failure to read the tea leaves.

Muskaan Gupta

State of the Unicorns

Drools has come a long way. Just not long enough to beat Pedigree

From starting life as a mere offshoot of a poultry company to achieving unicorn status, Drools has quietly rewritten the rules of India’s pet food market. But competition remains a challenge.

Muskaan Gupta

State of the Unicorns

Porter just became a unicorn. Now comes the hard part

The on-demand company has entered the billion-dollar valuation club, thanks to its smart intra-city play. The segment is now hotting up, with both startups and legacy players joining the race.

Muskaan Gupta

State of the Unicorns

India’s pre-owned vehicle startups fail the internet business test

We look at Spinny, a unicorn, to demonstrate how the used-car business is a graveyard of ideas pretending to be internet-first or internet businesses only to realize years later that the soul of the business lies in brick and mortar.

Muskaan Gupta

State of the Unicorns

The forgotten lessons of Hike-Part III

We look at Hike’s failed super app bet, its messaging flop show and where the company stands today.

Harveen Ahluwalia

State of the Unicorns

The forgotten lessons of Hike—Part II

We take a look at the company’s trajectory from a messaging platform to a super app and its rise to prominence.

Sethu Pradeep

State of the Unicorns

The forgotten lessons of Hike—Part I

A three-part series that documents the rise and decline of the original Indian social media company.

Sethu Pradeep

Conglomerates

Business

Akasa, Air India Express or SpiceJet: plenty on offer for Adani’s airline play

A regulatory easing could see the billionaire’s conglomerate move from running airports to owning an airline—an idea he is warming up to, with multiple options open.

Prince M. Thomas

Business

Airtel’s Q4 performance adds to Jio IPO headwinds

FY26 numbers show that Airtel is stealing a march on its larger rival on most counts and is unrelenting in its ambition, casting a cloud on Jio’s valuation.

Ujval Nanavati

Business

Akasa, Air India Express or SpiceJet: plenty on offer for Adani’s airline play

A regulatory easing could see the billionaire’s conglomerate move from running airports to owning an airline—an idea he is warming up to, with multiple options open.

Prince M. Thomas

Business

Airtel’s Q4 performance adds to Jio IPO headwinds

Ujval Nanavati

Business

A mixed bag of a year for Reliance Industries

Ujval Nanavati

Business

Reliance’s growth engines may be losing steam

Ujval Nanavati

Business

Conglomerates, duopolies and domination hamper India