Saptarishi Dutta

SIZE MATTERS

Here’s how the BJP surpassed China’s Communists to become the largest political party in the world

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, second left and Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan, left upon arrival at a hotel in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Xi landed in Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Wednesday for a three-day visit expected to focus on India's need to improve worn out infrastructure and reduce its trade deficit. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now the world’s largest political organisation, or so his party claims. With 88 million registered members, the right-wing…

Modi's Moment

Manu Balachandran & Saptarishi Dutta

March 31, 2015

EN ROUTE

In three years, Jeff Bezos’ big bet on India will deliver the goods for Amazon

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, poses as he stands on a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

This story has been updated. Asia’s third largest economy is poised to add to the bottom line of the world’s largest online retailer. Launched in…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 27, 2015

#GIVEITBACK

How Australia knocked India out of the Cricket World Cup—in two charts

Australian team mates react after an official replay showed that India's Ravindra Jadeja (2nd L) was run out by Steve Smith during their Cricket World Cup semi-final match in Sydney, March 26, 2015.

The crowd of over 40,000 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, mostly Indians, must have known that fireworks were in order. After all, Australia is the…

Manu Balachandran & Saptarishi Dutta

March 26, 2015

After cows and bullet-proof cars, now order your next yacht online

A man stands next to a miniature model of a boat on display at the Samira Mumbai International Boat Show February 28, 2008. The three-day show, which begins on Friday, will showcase international brands from the leisure boating industry. REUTERS/Arko Datta

With more and more Indians taking to the internet to shop, it seems there is nothing that e-commerce companies don’t want to sell today. India’s…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 20, 2015

KEEP SHIPPING

Forget flash sales—Flipkart and Snapdeal have a new obsession

A general view of the storage hall at the 70,000 square metre warehouse floor in Amazon's new distribution center in Brieselang, near Berlin November 28, 2013. Germany's antitrust watchdog has dropped an investigation into Amazon after the world's biggest Internet retailer agreed to stop forcing third-party merchants to offer their cheapest price when selling products on its platform. Andreas Mundt, the president of the German cartel office, said it had decided to set aside the case against Amazon after the company agreed to cancel that demand from the terms and conditions of its contracts with merchants. "Making pricing demands to your own competitors cannot be justified in any circumstances, not even with the undeniable advantages of an online market place." REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

Flash sales and discounts are passé. Two of India’s largest e-commerce companies are now obsessing over an entirely different challenge: Putting their supply chain and…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 19, 2015

TICK. TOCK.

India’s largest mobile payment company is sitting on a ticking time bomb

A man pulls out his credit card to make a purchase at a shop in Colombo June 11, 2013. Sri Lanka's central bank has told commercial banks to cut the interest rate charged on credit card advances by 4 percentage points in a bid to reduce other lending rates, the deputy governor said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

In 2009, Paytm was incubated by Noida-headquartered One97 as a mobile wallet to help consumers conveniently pay for cellphone bills and movie tickets. Today, it…

Made in India

Shelly Walia & Saptarishi Dutta

March 13, 2015

LEAN IN

Infosys is taking on the biggest problem in tech: Getting women to the top

Infosys Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka speaks during the announcement of the company's quarterly financial results at the company's headquarters in the southern Indian city of Bangalore October 10, 2014. Infosys Ltd wants to revive growth through automation and artificial intelligence, Sikka said on Friday, boosting investors' confidence in India's second largest IT exporter after it posted a forecast-beating quarterly profit. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

Vishal Sikka wants to transform Infosys. Ever since he took over as the CEO in June 2014, Sikka has brought new clients on board, revived…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 10, 2015

BUG BOUNTY

No one can beat Indians when it comes to finding flaws on Facebook

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes a question during a news conference at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California May 26, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Clearly, India is a country of software engineers. With 112 million users, India has the maximum number of Facebook users after the US—and many of…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 10, 2015

PARCHED

India is already facing a water crisis—and it is only going to get worse

A crow drinks water from a tap on a hot day in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh April 27, 2009. REUTERS/Ajay Verma

Water scarcity has begun early in India. Corporations and farmers have been guzzling surface water, groundwater levels have been reducing, and the amount of pollutants…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 03, 2015

It’s not just the Delhi bus rapist—even India’s college students believe women invite rape

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest outside a court in New Delhi January 21, 2013. India's Supreme Court will hear a petition on Tuesday by one of the five men charged with the gang rape and murder of a student in a bus to shift the case out of the capital on grounds that the atmosphere was too surcharged to ensure a fair trial. Last month's assault on the 23-year-old woman on a New Delhi bus triggered an outpouring of anger and grief and calls for swift punishment for the five men and a juvenile who will be separately tried. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

The 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in New Delhi shook the nation. Many young boys and girls from schools and colleges…

Saptarishi Dutta

March 03, 2015

NOT TONIGHT

People in Delhi don’t feel safe staying out late—and it’s hard to blame them

Demonstrators wait to board a bus during a protest in New Delhi February 7, 2013. Dozens of demonstrators on Thursday night took a bus which the protesters said was the last bus from Shivaji Stadium bus terminal, to demand for the availability of safer public transportation for women in the city during late night hours. Picture taken February 7, 2013. REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal

“What is the latest time in the day that you feel safe returning home alone?” This seemingly simple question throws light on how safe do…

Saptarishi Dutta

February 27, 2015

ALL THINGS TECH

How one of the world’s largest railways is using technology to reinvent itself

A passenger looks through the window of a train as he waits for electricity to be restored at a railway station in New Delhi July 31, 2012. Grid failure hit India for a second day on Tuesday, cutting power to hundreds of millions of people in the populous northern and eastern states including the capital Delhi and major cities such as Kolkata. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

With a track length of 116,000 kilometre and 23 million daily passengers (pdf), India has one of the world’s largest railway networks. But this massive…

Modi's Moment

Saptarishi Dutta

February 26, 2015