What Warren Buffett sees in Japan Inc
In late September, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested $6.5bn in five Japanese trading houses that are well over a century old. “Berkshire’s investment in 5% each of Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo, though small relative to his investment firm’s $140bn mound of cash, was its biggest outside America. It said its stakes could increase […]
Spotlighting V-Mart Retail
This month we place the spotlight on another portfolio company, V-Mart Retail, the largest affordable fashion apparel retailer in tier 2, 3 and tier 4 cities of the north-eastern Hindi heartland. V-Mart commands one of the best RoCEs in Indian retail (pre-tax average RoCE of 28% over FY17-20) and has delivered net earnings CAGR of […]
Healthy gut, improved mood? The link between your microbiome and mind
The presence of bacteria in our intestines which help in digestion has been well-known but now with a breakthrough in technology that helps detect these bacteria better, there is a new field of research emerging, one that seems to establish links between gut-health and mental health, suggesting that the benefits of eating nutritious food may […]
The making of an open source dictionary
We could not have done a better contextual introduction to this piece than the author’s own: “This is not a post on fintech, or even technology for that matter. This is the story of a product of tenacity, selflessness, and passion; a product that will transcend and outlive most technology we know of. This is […]
Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress
Covid is causing increasing stress levels among working professionals who were already under the pump given rising competitive dynamics of the corporate world. Increasingly, psychologists and performance coaches are recommending rhythmic breathing techniques to handle stress, something that has been an integral part of ancient wellness fields such as Yoga too. In this piece, the […]
This Overlooked Variable Is the Key to the Pandemic
The Covid infection data for India is showing reasons to cheer with the active case count now declining for two weeks. The already high recovery rate has meant that the daily recovery number is now higher than the daily new case number bringing this decline in active case count. Whilst the latter could be due to insufficient […]
Behind the new rules for NGOs to get foreign funds, a clear political message – fall in line
The front pages of Indian newspapers contain so much news on cricket and Bollywood that one would be forgiven for thinking that little else is happening in the country. In the midst of the mainstream media’s focus on inane chatter, the Indian Parliament passed on 23rd September an important law, The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, […]
Standing Tall – Lessons in leadership from Satish Dhawan
The late Satish Dhawan did much to make the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) the premier science research centre in India. He also modernised the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and laid the foundations for the powerhouse that the ISRO has become today. On the birth centenary of this legendary technocrat, Ram Guha’s essay on […]
For more content on our strategy, visit the archives GO TO ARCHIVES