Afleveringen
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The world’s “most respected” test of school education—the Programme for International Student Assessment or PISA—began this March. 90 countries are on the list including China, Vietnam and some of the poorest nations in the world. But India? We’re sitting this one out. In fact, India hasn’t touched PISA in 16 years!
The last time it did, in 2009, India ranked 72nd out of 73 countries. Only Kyrgyzstan did worse. Ever since, the country has been quietly working behind the scenes to fix its education system through a slow and steady effort to modernise how students are tested. The government set up Parakh, an ambitious body under NCERT, to bring all of India’s 69 school boards on the same level and align with global standards.
But can a country as huge and diverse as India really move away from rote learning to a system that values real-world problem solving and critical thinking?
Tune in.
If you have any thoughts or questions about this episode, send them to us as texts or voice notes on Daybreak’s WhatsApp at +918971108379.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.
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The Life insurance Corporation of India or LIC is now stepping into a sector where more than 860 million Indians or nearly 60% of the population still has no coverage. The insurer signalled its big move into health insurance in March this year with a major acquisition—49% of Manipal Cigna, a private health insurer, in a deal valued at over ₹3,500 crore.
And here’s where things get really interesting.
This is LIC we are talking about. It doesn’t need to chase quarterly returns or exist to make shareholders rich. It exists to do things, to fix things and show up when the government needs a nudge—or a battering ram. And in a country where trust, access, and affordability in healthcare are still broken concepts for most, a battering ram could be exactly what’s needed.
In this episode, we are look at LIC’s entry into health insurance and how the rest of the sector is bracing itself. Because if LIC gets this right, it won’t just be another player in the market. It could be the market.
If you have any thoughts or questions about this episode, send them us as texts or voice notes on Daybreak’s WhatsApp at +918971108379.
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.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Ather Electric once pioneered the electric two wheeler segment. But now it has fallen behind its competition like Ola Electric and TVS Motor in terms of market share.
To make matters worse, its recent IPO saw a lukewarm response from investors. One thing is clear -- up until now, Ather’s focus has been on building superior products, loaded with features and a smooth user experience. But to take things to the next level, Ather will have to build a more compelling narrative.
How did it get here? What's next for the EV maker?
Tune in.
Daybreak is looking for a talented audio journalist with at least two years of experience. Check out the role here.
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.
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Earlier this month, India’s largest third party logistics company, Delhivery, acquired its biggest rival Ecom Express in a $165 million distress sale. The acquisition could not have come at a better time for both parties.
Things have been tough for Ecom for some time now. The company, in fact, called off its IPO plans just this February, about six months after filing the papers and ended up laying off hundreds of its employees.
Meanwhile, Delhivery has been soldiering some tough times too. By acquiring its floundering rival, Delhivery seems to be going all out to claw back some business. But is that enough?
Tune in.Daybreak is looking for a talented audio journalist with at least two years of experience. Check out the role here.
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.
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Mahindra’s new EVs the XEV 9e and BE6 were marketed as software wrapped in metal. They promised the future. Things like augmented reality heads up display, auto park assist, a triple screen dashboard, an in car camera, and a digital key based on near field communication.
But now, that long list of cutting edge features is proving to be a real bottleneck for the company. The Ken spoke to at least a dozen frustrated buyers of Mahindra’s new electric twins, who haven’t yet received their cars despite promised deliveries.
Why? Well, the reason apparently is a software update. Buyers have found that the digital keys they were handed at the showrooms just wouldn’t work. Touchscreens were freezing, Cameras were glitching. The list goes on.
Tune in.Daybreak is looking for a talented audio journalist with at least two years of experience. Check out the role here.
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.
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In January this year, Netradyne, the logistics AI startup, became India’s first unicorn of 2025 after it raised $90 million in series D funding.
You see, it did not take it long to realise that its sweet spot is the long-distance trucking segment. It serves over 3,000 customers across eight countries, including the likes of Amazon, Shell, Indian Oil and Greenline Mobility. And it all began with one rather primitive prototype. Of course, now it has morphed into a compact device with a built-in GPU, up to four cameras, and a disembodied voice alerting drivers not to crash the vehicle.
The Ken reporter Abhirami G found herself in the backseat of one of Netradyne’s test cars in Bengaluru's Whitefield neighbourhood. The driver of the car was a Netradyne employee. And as he weaved through the traffic, the company’s signature always-on surveillance cameras didn’t just watch his every move, but also apparently “understood” and “analysed”. As he drove, he was generating the precious training data that powers the company’s bread and butter. Apart from making roads safer, this whole system also doubles up as a driver’s best legal defence in times of trouble. The company’s executive Vice president of Engineering Teja Gudena said that on multiple occasions, it has saved drivers from liability by proving their innocence in accidents.
Apart from its new-found unicorn status, it reportedly managed to clock Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in 2023. It also currently has a stronghold in the US and other major global markets. Reaching all of these milestones within nine years is pretty remarkable. But despite all that success, Netradyne is now grappling with an existential crisis. Because now, driverless vehicles are no longer science fiction, they are a logistical inevitability. And that leaves Netradyne in a rather tricky spot.
Tune in.
This episode was first published on Feb 13, 2025
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. -
In this episode we fill you in on three standout stories from the past week.
First, what ITC’s acquisition of 24 Mantra means for the larger organic food market;
Next, Musk’s latest attempt to save Tesla;
And finally, why Blusmart’s unravelling was an eventuality we all chose to ignore.
Check out the newsletter and podcast mentioned in this episode:
The latest edition of Trade Tricks
The Nutgraf: Blusmart and the dogs that didn’t bark -
On 9 April, as the world reeling from the tariff standoff between America and China, one Indian company quietly made history.
The stocks of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company Indigo, India’s top budget airline, hit an all-time high. For a brief moment, Indigo wasn’t just India’s largest airline—it became the most valuable airline in the world. More than Delta even.
Back home though, meanwhile, a different story has been playing out. Thousands of Indian flyers have been complaining online about broken luggage, rude crew, overbooked flights. When cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted his frustration about Indigo’s service, more than a thousand people replied to his tweet with their own horror stories.
Has Indigo stopped caring about its passengers?
But why would it? It flies nearly 9 million people a month.
The clues, as it turns out, lie inside a grey building in Gurgaon that my colleague Rounak Kumar Gunjan visited recently.
This is Indigo's training centre called iFly where hundreds of young trainees, often barely in their twenties, are taught how to serve tea at 30,000 feet.
Tune inDaybreak 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.
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Here’s the thing about the Indian carbonated beverage market – for decades now it has been a two, sometimes three horse race dominated by everyone’s favourite black coloured colas. Pepsi, Coca Cola and Thums Up.
But in the last year or so, a 160-ml bottle of cumin-flavoured soda has managed to do what very few bottled beverages could. It has challenged the Indian beverage industry’s holy trifecta – the Coca-Cola-Pepsi-Parle Agro trio.
The crazy thing is, this isn’t some massive global brand that has just entered the Indian market. It’s a seven year old desi brand launched by three cousins in Punjab that was largely unknown until about a year ago. We are talking about Lahori Zeera.
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.
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In 2021, Ashni and Avni Bayani, the scions of industrialist Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, launched their own venture – a startup studio called Think 9 Consumer Technologies.
The concept was simple – they would incubate new brands across categories like apparel, beauty, health and wellness and food; and then use common teams for marketing, technology and even product development.
Why? Well, according to an executive from the startup studio, the end goal is to be able to build them into sizable businesses in 5-7 years and then exit. It’s called the roll-up modelled and it was pioneered by a US-based consumer good company called Thrasio.
For the Bayani sisters, this isn’t just another venture. It’s a full blown comeback. You see around the time they launched Think9 Consumer Technologies, their father’s business empire – the Future Group – was falling apart. It eventually went bankrupt in 2022 and sold everything lock, stock and barrel to Reliance Industries.So the sisters have a point to prove. But unfortunately not everything is working in their favour.
For starters the roll up model they based their business on has been stuttering for some time now. Remember Thrasio? Well it filed for bankruptcy just last year.
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.
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On 19 March, the Indian government slashed incentives for UPI transactions by more than half to Rs 1,500 crore for FY25.
After it launched in 2016, UPI very quickly became the backbone of India’s digital economy–thanks to demonetisation, and well, the pandemic. Most importantly, it was the radical decision to keep it free that fuelled its growth. No merchant fees. No transaction costs. But the zero-MDR policy came at a price because payment processors lost more than 2500 crore last year alone. And with the new budget cut, it will get worse.
The system is clearly showing signs of strain.
While UPI continues to post record volumes—18 billion transactions in March alone—many are asking an uncomfortable question:
Can India maintain its digital payments miracle without letting the infrastructure collapse under its own weight?
Tune in.
Do you think people will stop using UPI if there is a small fee involved?
Send your answers to us as texts or voice notes on Daybreak’s WhatsApp at +918971108379.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.
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In this episode, we dive into a topic that is as daunting as it is exciting — the future of careers.
First, we talk about a troubling trend in workplaces today — the rise of the unwilling retiree;
Next, we share some of the lessons learnt by students who graduated during economic downturns in the past.
Check out the stories and newsletters mentioned in this episode:
Why more 40-somethings are becoming unwilling retirees
Lessons from past students who graduated during economic downturns
The Ken is hosting a subscriber event! Join Two by Two hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan and three distinguished guests as they discuss broken career ladders, shortening career spans, and collapsing organisational structures. Buy tickets here.
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What happens when India’s biggest streaming platform decides it’s no longer satisfied with just airing Koffee with Karan and cricket? And it now wants to take on YouTube and Instagram?You get Sparks–an ambitious experiment by Jiohotstar that’s is set on winning over Gen Z viewers, one short video at a time.
In February, right before the IPL kicked off, Jiohotstar launched Sparks. It is a free, creator-led platform of bite-sized episodes featuring the likes of Tanmay Bhat, Zakir Khan, Ranveer Brar, and Elvish Yadav. On paper, it might sound like just another experiment with content. But it is actually a marked product shift the platform is making after its merger with Disney’s India business. And at the heart of this strategic move is a 25-member team that includes former top executives from YouTube and Instagram.
But let’s be real. This is like David trying to beat not one, but two Goliaths, that too on their home turf. Add to that the fact that this is a space where the rules are always shifting, creators are supremely loyal, and content never sleeps
In today's episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by The Ken reporter Rounak Kumar Gunjan who dug deeper to find an answer to one big question: can a streaming giant reinvent itself as a scroll-worthy destination?Tune in.
If you have any thoughts or questions about this episode, send them us as texts or voice notes on Daybreak’s WhatsApp at +918971108379.
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.
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In a little over a decade, Lenskart has gone from being just India’s biggest online eyewear retailer to becoming one of Asia’s biggest omnichannel eyewear giants. Needless to say, business has been booming. And the company is now inching towards its next big step – an IPO.
But in the midst of all its success, it appears Lenskart may have rubbed some people the wrong way. The catch is that these are the very people who helped it get to this point in the first place – the franchise owners that operate hundreds of its stores across the country.
You see, for the last few years, many of them have had observed a similar, pretty disturbing pattern. They’ll set up their stores with Lenskart’s blessings. And then things start getting weird.
Tune in.
Check out our new podcast Make India Competitive Again —
Spotify
AppleThe Ken is hosting a subscriber event! Join Two by Two hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan and three distinguished guests as they discuss broken career ladders, shortening career spans, and collapsing organisational structures. Buy tickets here.
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Back in 2019, an ed-tech called Scaler Academy decided to do for tech education what Masters’ Union did for the traditional MBA.
The tech-upskilling platform launched in 2019 with a simple pitch: take AI, machine learning, and data science courses, get placed at top tech firms, and make a lot more money.But five years later, that formula is breaking down. The very thing Scaler trained people in—AI—is making it redundant.
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 is hosting a subscriber event! Join Two by Two hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan and three distinguished guests as they discuss broken career ladders, shortening career spans, and collapsing organisational structures. Buy tickets here. -
Welcome to the world of consulting in 2025. AI is everywhere—from writing reports and making decks to crunching numbers. But you’d think the likes of McKinsey, Bain, and BCG would be worried about AI, right? Because AI reduces the knowledge gap between them and their clients. Turns out, instead of resisting it, they’re going all in.
The ones feeling the heat are junior most employees—the consultants. Timelines are shrinking and expectations are going up. Creativity? Who cares about that anymore. A former Bain manager told The Ken about an instance when a senior partner wanted a full client assessment by the next day. Normally, this would take weeks to pull off. The result? Rushed work and fancy words that sound good but don’t really say anything substantial. And worst of all—there is no time to fact-check. There seems to be a real disconnect between what senior leaders think AI can do, and what it actually does.
So what happens when the industry famous for having all the answers is now taking shortcuts using a chatbot? Also, what happens when clients find out?
Q for listeners: If 90% of your job could be done by AI, what would you focus on to stay valuable?Send us your answers as texts or voice notes on Daybreak’s WhatsApp at +918971108379.
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.
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In this episode, we talk about the global trade war that stopped before it started.
First, we talk about US President Donald Trump's decision to reverse the "reciprocal tariffs" on almost every country in the world, except one.
Next, we talk about why India had little choice but to offer concession after concession to the US.
Finally, we unpack the long term and short term impact of the tariffs on the Indian economy.
Check out the newsletters and podcasts mentioned in this episode:
The latest edition of The Nutgraf by Praveen Gopal Krishnan — India is the mark
Two by Two feat Mohit Satyanand — Are Trump's tariffs a crisis or an opportunity for India? -
One of the largest deals to acquire a D2C brand took place in January this year. India’s largest manufacturer of consumer good, Hindustan Unilever acquired the skincare company Minimalist, a 90% shareholding for nearly Rs 3000 crores.
Homegrown startup beauty brands have been on a roll in India. Scores and scores of new age skincare brands have cropped up since the pandemic and all of them harp on the science of it. And their whole appeal is transparency. Transparency about the ingredients that go into each of their products.
Among all of them, Minimalist is the one that really stands out. It is an active ingredients based skincare company that sells things like niacinamide, retinol, Vit C, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid. It launched around the end of 2020, and within a span of eight months, it built a 1000 crore rupee business. What’s even more surprising that the brand has remained in the green, meaning profitable, from the very first month itself.
For years, legacy brands like, HUL, Ponds, and Loreal have been selling products with similar ingredient--the only difference being they either didn't launch them in India or the kept the names hidden away in tiny fonts at the back of the bottles.
It was Minimalist that came around and broke that mould.
And now, seeing the success of brands like Minimalist, legacy brands are rethinking their strategy.
Case in point: Hindustan Unilever
The company’s has been wanting to turn its beauty and well-being portfolio into a “high-growth" premium category for a while now and the acquisition of Minimalist is a big step in that direction.
But how did Minimalist manage something that a giant like HUL couldn't?
Tune in.
**This episode was first published on January 27, 2025
Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!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.
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Indian family businesses contribute more than two-thirds to India’s GDP. 70 per cent. That’s amongst the highest in the world. And that number is expected to go up to as much as 85 per cent in the next 20 years.
Yet, today a lot of these companies are at a crossroads. You see, many of them have realised that they can’t just carry on as they always have. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore. Think of brands like Medimix, or Baidyanath syrups. Iconic names for sure, but they are increasingly being bracketed as “parent’s brands”.
The next gen leaders of these companies have recognised this. They’ve realised that to have a shot at winning they are going to have to break off on their own. That too in a world that looks very different from when their family businesses were first founded.
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.
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For a while now, the new kids on the block in India’s $750 billion mutual fund industry have been trying to really shake things up.
The likes of Navi, Zerodha and Groww have been dreaming of a big disruption. And a couple years ago, they thought they had found the answer to their prayers. A playbook that would catapult their growth.
They were convinced passive investing is the future. They had good reason to believe so. Last year, passive funds won the big game in the US, where—for the first time ever—they overtook active funds in assets under management (AUM). Blackrock and Vanguard built empires on this shift. So, naturally, the question is: why not in India?
Well, things haven't worked out quite how they had hoped.
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.
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