Daybreak

With the advent of plastic in the 1980s, the once-flourishing jute industry of India saw a slow demise. But lately, the tables seemed to have turned.Countries are implementing more stringent ESG rules forcing global retailers like Ikea, Walmart, Tesco, etc to look for alternatives to plastic bags. India being the largest producer of jute is suddenly in focus. More than $120 million worth of jute bags were exported in the last financial year alone.However, neighbouring Bangladesh, also one of the leading producers of jute is quickly catching up.Tune in to find out more.Recommended reading: Walmart and Ikea are why a British-era industry is back in vogueDaybreak 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.

When the govt launched Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the idea was to build the world largest e-commerce platform to check the monopoly of giants like Amazon and Flipkart. You could think of ONDC as the UPI of e-commerce. From ride-sharing and food delivery, to groceries, the platform can be used to buy and sell anything. Lately, ONDC has been doing some interesting things with pricing. For example, someone ordered food on it for a price that was 45% lower than Swiggy. This, obviously, got thinking. Could ONDC kill the likes of Swiggy and Zomato and others?While there is no exact answer to that because of a bunch of factors, what made us more curious was this: Do we want ONDC to win? And if it does then what could be the consequences?Tune in to find out.Recommended reading: Why everyone wants a piece of India’s open e-commerce platform  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 government of India launched a $3 billion dollar production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles to boost manufacturing, especially EV manufacturing, within India in 2022.It was a win-win for both—EV makers had been eagerly waiting for beneficial subsidies and the government could use it to push domestic private investments and create jobs in the sector. But more than a year has passed and the funds remain untouched. Not a single company selected under the scheme has qualified for the incentives, let alone received them. Tune in to find out what's going on.Recommended reading: Rajiv Bajaj has the last sigh on EV subsidiesDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform.Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

For almost two decades, India was a stagnant market for one of the leading tech companies of the world. But in 2021, things changed and Apple's sales graph in India began to rise upwards.By 2022, Apple sole over 7 million iPhones in the country. And then in April, Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated India’s first Apple retail store in Mumbai. But compared to markets like the US and China, Apple's numbers in India are far from substantial. Yet, the company is looking to give Its Indian customers a premium experience, even if the sales don’t yet justify it. Tune in.Recommended reading: Indians’ love for the iPhone is stronger than ever. But Apple retailers are not happy Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform.Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

A year and a half ago, Sony’s India unit—Sony Pictures Networks—announced a merger with rival Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Ever since, Sony Liv's subscriber base grew from 18 million to over 33 million. With good original stories and unique non-fiction shows, alongside a strong partnerships strategy, Sony has been able to close the gap on market leaders such as Hotstar. Zee meanwhile has a formidable arsenal of regional content.The combined strengths of the two platforms, Sony and Zee, now threaten to change the pecking order of the country's OTT sectorTune in.

Not long ago, being a fintech company in India meant having a promising future. Because people would always needed to make payments which is why it was assumed that building better products around these needs would ensure good business.But it was not how things panned out. And the story of Instamojo, a promising fintech company is testament to that.After 11 years of being in the business, it has decided it does not want to be a payments company anymore. 

In 2016, Jio invested more than $50 billion to roll out a 4G network across India. The move disrupted the telco sector leaving Airtel down at the second place. The other rivals didn't make itThe telecom sector was left in the hands of a duopoly. Now, there is a new war between these two giants and it is over home broadband.In fact, the crown they’re fighting for is to be the go-to service provider for not just broadband but the whole works—a complete suite of entertainment, gaming, and home-surveillance services. What are they up against and how are they prepping to win?Tune in.Recommended reading: Jio, Airtel brace for another epic price war. And it’s not for mobile usersDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

From amazing salary hikes and other perks being served on a silver platter just a year or two ago to now, when companies are using salary benchmarks to figure out whether they have overvalued employees—the startup ecosystem in India is going through a churn.In fact, as many as a quarter of startup professionals might be what HR and hiring professionals are terming as 'unhireables' at this point.Former overvalued startups that had gone on hiring sprees are now doing all they can to correct their mistakes while employees are resisting, waiting for things to settle with fingers crossed.Tune in.Recommended reading: India’s startup workplaces confront the rise of the ‘unhireables’Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform.Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

What makes Dunzo unique is that one could never imagine a company its size to have the kind of influence it does.In 2022,  a $200 million funding  from Reliance Retail sent the quick-commerce startup flying high. It began expanding its dark stores and even ran advertisements in IPL.But the IPL led boom did not last long. The same year, the number and volume of orders began to decline.Dunzo was forced to recalibrate its focus and rethink its strategy. 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, analytical business stories.

India's youngest detect unicorn is on a relentless expansion spree. So much so that its investors want it to slow down.From establishing itself as the leader of NEET-JEE test preparation, Physics Wallah (PW) wants to dip its toes in a bunch of other areas—from banking and defence to civil services now. Not to forget short-term skilling courses and even tie-ups with schools.Despite this hyper growth phase coming after PW became the only profitable edtech unicorn in the last financial year, cracks are appearing on its armour now.Tune in.Recommended reads:India’s youngest edtech unicorn Physics Wallah is making an audacious gamblePhysicswallah vs the popstarDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.