x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Daybreak

Business news is complex and overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be. Every day of the week, from Monday to Friday, Daybreak tells one business story that’s significant, simple and powerful. Hosted from The Ken’s newsroom by Snigdha Sharma and Rahel Philipose, Daybreak relies on years of original reporting and analysis by some of India’s most experienced and talented business journalists.

news business news

All Episodes

10:23

47 million in India lost life insurance in one year....

Daybreak ·

2025/07/09

47 million Indians just lost their life insurance coverage. But not one of the country’s biggest insurers seem bothered.In this episode, we look at the silent collapse of credit-linked life insurance—policies that were once bundled with microloans and quietly protected millions of low-income borrowers. But now, that model is breaking down.Blame mounting defaults, shaky microfinance lending, and a post-pandemic spike in death claims. As lenders pull back and insurers retreat, entire

en

9:28

From Manipal to Shapoorji, India's private credit...

Daybreak ·

2025/07/08

Private credit is having a moment in India. Hardly a week goes by without a blockbuster deal. Whether it’s Deutsche Bank’s $3.4 billion debt package, KKR’s $600 million loan to Manipal, or a fresh round of financing for Shapoorji Pallonji.But beneath the surface, pressure is building.As interest rates fall and competition heats up, yields are tightening. Banks, once sidelined, are eyeing a comeback. They are realising they should once again lend to companies they gave up to non-bank lenders

en

11:33

Whitehat Jr taught Karan Bajaj a few lessons. Now...

Daybreak ·

2025/07/07

After swearing off startups post a $300 million exit, Karan Bajaj is back with Complement 1, a healthtech venture offering personalised coaching for cancer patients. But this isn’t just a pivot, it’s a whole new playbook.This time, it’s personal: Bajaj’s mother had cancer, and he says this is the product he wishes she had.Built for the American market, Complement 1 is taking a B2B route, targeting insurers, employers, and cancer centres. But early traction has been tough. Unlike edtech,

en

11:02

Does Reliance really know what it wants from e-commerce?

Daybreak ·

2025/07/06

Ajio was supposed to be Reliance Retail’s e-commerce success story. While other digital bets like Jiomart, Dunzo, and Urban Ladder struggled to find their footing, Ajio surged ahead powered by aggressive discounts, brand partnerships, and the deep pockets of India’s largest retailer.But behind the scenes, the momentum was already beginning to crack.Today, we go inside the fashion platform’s sharp pivot. Over the past year, Ajio has gone through major leadership reshuffles, mass layoffs, and

en

12:47

The Centre cleared the road for bike taxis. Karnataka...

Daybreak ·

2025/07/03

Karnataka’s bike taxi ban has thrown Bangalore’s commute into chaos.Since June 16, services like Rapido, Ola, and Uber Moto have been off the roads, thanks to a High Court-backed state ban. But for thousands of gig workers and commuters, bike taxis were more than a convenience, they were a lifeline. As protests intensify and surge pricing spikes, this episode unpacks the policy deadlock, the Centre’s new guidelines, and why even women commuters are asking for the ban to be lifted.Tune in

en

11:09

Inside India's rare earth magnet emergency and how EV...

Daybreak ·

2025/07/03

Rare-earth magnets, made from elements like neodymium and praseodymium, are essential to EV motors. But nearly all of them come from China. And since April, not a single shipment has arrived. Maruti Suzuki has already slashed production. TVS and Bajaj are counting down to a July deadline. Others, like Mahindra and Omega Seiki, saw this coming and started building workarounds.This isn’t just a supply chain issue. It’s a geopolitical move. China controls over 90% of rare-earth processing and

en

9:20

Reliance Trends, Pantaloons, and the shopping spree...

Daybreak ·

2025/07/01

Post-pandemic, retail giants like Reliance and Aditya Birla Fashion were ready to bounce back and they weren’t being very subtle about it. Reliance Retail for instance opened nearly 6000 stores across fashion, groceries, electronics just in FY22 and FY23. But the retail dream of a booming post-Covid shopping spree that companies had sold themselves never really happened. Soon these companies had to hit rewind. Thousands of jobs were gone and hundreds of stores had to be closed down. Turns

en

14:58

Why Sebi-registered advisors are now an endangered...

Daybreak ·

2025/07/01

Everybody wants to invest, but not everyone knows how. There just aren’t many who can point investors in the right direction.Registered investment advisors, or RIAs—either individuals or corporates licensed by the stock-market regulator—are an endangered species in India. While the country had about 192 million demat accounts as of March 2025, there were only about 941 advisors. That’s one advisor for over 200,000 investors. Pressure much?You’d think the problem goes away if there were more

en

13:55

How Croma became the victim of Tata Digital's endless...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/30

Over the last four years, Croma has found itself in a curious spot. On paper, it’s Tata Digital’s crown jewel—contributing over half of its revenue and crossing ₹18,000 crore in sales last year. But behind the scenes, it’s also become Tata Digital’s favourite testing ground.From sudden team transfers — like its entire marketing team being moved to Tata Digital overnight — to shifting strategies, Croma has borne the brunt of Tata’s endless experimentation. The result? Cracks in its business

en

12:09

Bata's premium problem in a Prada-priced world

Daybreak ·

2025/06/26

While Prada walks the ramp in Kolhapuris, here in India, Bata, the brand that once defined middle-class respectability, can barely find its footing. Bata which was once a household name, a back-to-school essential, a symbol of quality without fuss, is now finding itself squeezed. Too expensive for the value-hunting Zudio crowd and not fancy enough for the Birkenstock and Crocs-wearing folks.Which is why Sandeep Kataria’s recent resignation as global CEO feels like a full circle moment

en

12:31

The humble category manager is now a quick-commerce...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/26

Category managers have shifted from routine e-commerce roles to powerful decision-makers in quick commerce. They now manage the limited shelf space in dark stores and decide which products get visibility on platforms like Instamart, Zepto, and Blinkit. Naturally, brands are aggressively courting them, with over 30,000 requests every month for just 150 slots. From hosting parties to taking them out for drinks, brands are pulling out all the stops. Meanwhile, category managers are urging

en

10:19

Pune-based Loop Health’s big bet — insurance that...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/24

Turns out, in India’s healthcare industry, prevention isn’t just better than cure—it’s also far more investable.The new buzzword making the rounds? Health assurance. Not insurance—assurance.It means what it sounds like. Unlike traditional insurance, which kicks in after you fall sick, health assurance is about keeping you healthy to begin with.A Pune-based startup called Loop Health was the first to introduce India to a variant of the same concept. It positions itself as a corporate broker,

en

13:21

Siddharth Shah and family want to fix your smile....

Daybreak ·

2025/06/24

The rise and fall of Pharmeasy is well documented. Once the poster child of the e-pharmacy boom, it reached a dizzying valuation of 5.6 bn USD at its very peak. But unfortunately, as we all know now, it didn’t last. Today the company is worth just 450 million USD – which, is a 90 per cent drop. From aggressive acquisitions to regulatory hurdles, and a failed IPO, Pharmeasy’s journey has been a cautionary tale of overreach.But the brains behind the operation – Siddharth Shah – isn’t done

en

8:47

Can Tata Build Your Next iPhone?

Daybreak ·

2025/06/22

Tata Electronics is assembling iPhones in Karnataka, aiming to become a key player in Apple’s global supply chain. In this episode, we look at how the company is scaling by adding factories, hiring thousands of workers, and investing heavily in automation. But it’s also facing high attrition, rising debt, and pressure to meet Apple’s strict standards. Can Tata turn its manufacturing push into a long-term win?Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first

en

21:24

Inside Kalyan Krishnamurthy’s fight to steady...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/19

In this episode, we turn the spotlight on one of the most powerful yet elusive figures in Indian e-commerce: Kalyan Krishnamurthy, the everywhere-all-the-time CEO of Flipkart. Flipkart, backed by Walmart, was once India’s great e-commerce hope. But lately, the tides have been turning.Walmart is flying high, outperforming Amazon globally, dominating grocery delivery, and raking in ad dollars with a valuation that’s outshining even Apple. But six years after buying Flipkart, Walmart’s

en

13:42

Paying the price of going global — Meesho, Razorpay,...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/19

For the longest time, getting accepted to Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley startup accelerator was like getting a golden ticket for your startup. It was suddenly on the map not just in India but in Silicon Valley, too. For Indian founders who made it, the story of success began with a journey west. Set up in Delaware, impress YC, and get some of that Silicon Valley shine. But what happens when that dream starts looking more like a detour than a destination?Earlier this week, the online

en

9:36

Why Info Edge can’t love Zomato eternally

Daybreak ·

2025/06/17

In a recent, 10-page note recapping its investing journey, Info Edge (India) founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani proudly, and justifiably, called Zomato and Policybazaar “breakout successes”, “winners”, and “outliers”.A few days earlier, Zomato, now renamed Eternal, had released its sobering financials for the three months ended March. So what’s Infoedge doing about it? Apart from its own businesses – spanning recruitment, real estate, matrimony and education – it owns roughly 12.5% each of

en

12:23

India’s luxury watch craze is ticking up. This...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/17

Indians are hungry for luxury watches. Just in 2024, even as exports of Swiss watches declined globally, they surged 25 per cent in India. Interestingly, the player winning in this fast-growing market is not a legacy business house like Tata or Reliance, rather it is little-know Chandigarh-based retailer, Ethos. What sets it apart is the strong relationships it has built with ultra-luxury watch makers over the decades. How does it do it? Tune in. Want to attend The Ken's next event on

en

9:23

Cricbuzz might boost Dream11’s reach but it's Times...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/15

Dream Sports, the company behind Dream11, just bought a piece of Cricbuzz from Times Internet for $50 million. It also bought a stake in Willow TV, a cricket broadcaster in the U.S.As you probably know, Dream11’s core business is fantasy sports. But no thanks to new taxes and regulatory friction, their business isn’t looking so good lately. Revenue projections are down, growth is slowing, and they haven’t raised fresh money since 2021.Cricbuzz, meanwhile, has hundreds of millions of

en

14:07

Rapido wants to make food delivery affordable. But...

Daybreak ·

2025/06/12

For nearly a decade, Swiggy and Zomato have fed our hunger and dominated prime real estate on our phone screens, leaving very little room for any serious challengers.Most who tried to break in got their fingers burnt before they even got started. But now, a new player has decided to throw its hat into the ring. This is a player that has some experience taking on titans, though the last time around it was in a completely different space. Rapido – the Bangalore-based startup that quietly

en

585 results

Similar Podcasts

DW Noticias

DW

JIJI English News-時事通信英語ニュース-

時事通信社

Legal AF by MeidasTouch

MeidasTouch Network

Mark Levin Podcast

Cumulus Podcast Network

朝日新聞AJW 英語ニュース（The Asahi Shimbun Asia & Japan Watch）

朝日新聞ポッドキャスト