Manu Balachandran

ANY-TIME-SEDITION

Indian Muslims don’t even have the right to pick their cricket teams

Indian cricket fans react as they watch on screen the Champions Trophy finals between India and Pakistan at London's The Oval, in New Delhi, India June 18, 2017.

The Indian police have over the past few days arrested or filed cases against nearly 50 persons, mostly Muslims, for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s victory over…

Manu Balachandran

6 hours ago

GOODBYE TRAVIS

A timeline of events that led to the downfall of Travis Kalanick at Uber

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick attends the summer World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, June 26, 2016.

Uber’s 40-year-old chief executive Travis Kalanick has resigned from the ride-sharing company. On June 20, the New York Times reported that Kalanick, who helped found…

Manu Balachandran

June 21, 2017

NEW KID

Can a former OYO Rooms executive build a rival hotel aggregator that lasts?

A view of entrance to the room of the roadside motel Doux where an operation to recapture Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman concluded on Friday in Los Mochis, in Sinaloa state, Mexico, January 9, 2016. Mexico's government aims to fulfill a request from the United States to extradite the newly-recaptured drug lord Guzman to face drug trafficking charges, sources familiar with the situation said on Saturday.

Much before she was caught by the entrepreneurial bug, Ankita Sheth had already plunged into the world of startups. As the head of acquisitions for…

Manu Balachandran

June 19, 2017

QZ&A

The “I don’t care” attitude of Indian universities is keeping them off global rankings

Master of Business Administration (MBA) students attend a lecture at a classroom at the Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi May 2, 2012. Fiscal constraints have increased the Indian government's reliance on private education institutes leading to a proliferation of private colleges like MDI. The number of management institutes has more than trebled to around 4000 in the last five years, of which at least two-thirds are estimated to be private colleges. Picture taken May 2, 2012. Master of Business Administration (MBA) students attend a lecture at a classroom at the Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi May 2, 2012. Fiscal constraints have increased the Indian government's reliance on private education institutes leading to a proliferation of private colleges like MDI. The number of management institutes has more than trebled to around 4000 in the last five years, of which at least two-thirds are estimated to be private colleges. Picture taken May 2, 2012. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

The Times Higher Education’s (THE) World Reputation Rankings for universities are out. And Indian educational institutions are nowhere in the top tier of the list.…

Manu Balachandran

June 16, 2017

CAR-FREE

In a city with 10 million cars, two IIT grads are helping commuters leave their vehicles at home

Over the past few years, the Delhi government has tried almost everything to bring down the number of cars in the city. From building more…

Manu Balachandran

June 13, 2017

WHO NEEDS HIGHWAYS?

In its march to build highways, India is moving backwards—all for a drink

A bartender prepares a drink for customers at a bar in a luxury hotel in Mumbai November 22, 2008.

The things alcohol can do to you—or your government. Many a regional administration in India is today scrambling to re-designate and downgrade the status of…

Manu Balachandran

June 12, 2017

BATTLEFIELD SCO

Could India and Pakistan’s armies come together with a little help from China?

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during the closing session of the 18th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Katmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014. South Asian heads of state attending their first summit in three years reached a deal on energy sharing Thursday, but failed on two other economic agreements during a retreat where Indian and Pakistan leaders shook hands. (

For nearly seven decades, India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads. The dispute over Kashmir, in particular, has fuelled four wars between the two nuclear-armed…

Manu Balachandran

June 09, 2017

SELF IMAGE

What New Silk Road? Indians think theirs is the most influential country in Asia

Leaders of BRICS countries, from left, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and South African President Jacob Zuma raise their hand for a group photo at the start of their Summit in Goa, India, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. Leaders of five of the world's fast-rising powers are meeting in the southwestern Indian state of Goa for their annual summit at a time when their ability to shape the global dialogue on international politics and finance is increasingly being questioned. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or BRICS, face the tough task of asserting their growing influence as a power group even as they bridge their own trade rivalries to help grow their economies. (AP Photo/ Anupam Nath)

A large number of Indians believe their country is the most influential in Asia. Even as Beijing has taken giant strides in the past few…

Manu Balachandran

June 01, 2017

WIN-WIN

If you truly love Air India, let it fly away

An Air India Airlines Boeing 787 dreamliner takes part in a flying display during the 50th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris, June 14, 2013. The Paris Air Show runs from June 17 to 23.

The Indian government is veering towards finally letting the beleaguered national airline, Air India (AI), fly away. NITI Aayog, a government policy think tank, has…

Manu Balachandran

May 31, 2017

HE'S OFF AGAIN