The Catalysts
Blogs by Tech Leaders
A titan who made us believe: Kunal Bahl remembers Ratan Tata
I had the honor of having Mr. Tata invest in Snapdeal in 2014, a company I co-founded. It was a significant moment not just because he was a legend in the business world, but because this was his first personal investment in an Indian startup.
Why India's startup ecosystem needs more domestic funds
India's startup ecosystem is thriving due to supportive policies and substantial foreign investments. However, there is a growing need to increase the share of domestic capital to ensure stability and align with national interests, especially in sensitive sectors like defence and AI.
ETtech Opinion | Budget ringfences India growth story: Nykaa CEO Falguni Nayar
The Prime Minister’s package of five schemes and initiatives to accelerate employment, skill development and other opportunities for 41 million youth over the next five years with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore has the potential to increase households' purchasing power.
How data, AI tech and quantum computing are shaping the future of work
Half of global GDP likely to be digitised by 2025. Every key sector in the country now be it BFSI, healthcare or digital natives is embracing AI.Quantum computing will be the next big technology to watch out for with the impact it can make in fields like drug discovery and material sciences.
How video gaming in India is now a ‘Bharat’ phenomenon
The Indian video gaming industry is being catalysed by the exponential growth of India’s IT infrastructure, widespread adoption of smartphones and the proliferation of high-speed internet connectivity. The industry’s evolution is evident in the rising percentage of gamers from non-metropolitan areas, which jumped from 57% in 2022 to 66% in 2023.
India Ahoy! India as a software IPO destination
While the likes of FirstCry and CureFit will continue to go public in India, it’s software firms with global customer bases that are now set to take centerstage.
ETtech Opinion | Open Letter: The RBI and the fintech fallacy
Banking is a balance sheet business built on trust. It is not a tech business. While there is much that tech can do for a bank, it cannot change the fundamental characteristics of money management, lending, and borrowing.
Need more women in AI for inclusive development of the technology
A diverse workforce is better tooled to identify and remove biases, while women also bring to the table a different mental toolkit
By Invite: Inclusive Budget lays strong foundation for viksit Bharat - Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Reflects commitment to sustainable growth, in harmony with people and environment
ETtech Opinion | Catalysing the Indian innovation ecosystem- the RISC-V way
India is at the forefront of enabling a new era of processor innovation with our own indigenous Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Program. RISC-V is a free and open Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) which could be used by startups and entrepreneurs across the world to build their own products and devices.
ETtech Opinion | Culture, technology, resilience: the changing business imperative in challenging times
As per a survey, 89% of respondents cited resilience as one of their most important strategic organisational priorities. It also revealed that 96% of organisations have experienced disruption in the past two years. Hence, the ability to bounce back is crucial for any business to succeed in today's unpredictable global environment.
ETtech Opinion: UPI credit will drive next 200 million credit card users
Banks and fintechs have been working overtime to integrate their cards with the Rupay-UPI network to offer a new source of funds for everyday transactions, especially as most small merchants don’t accept credit card payments.
Rocket Science: Chandrayaan-3’s success to provide a shot in the arm for private investments
India created history as it became the first nation to land on the south pole of the moon — and at 30% of the average cost
ETtech Opinion: Is India ready to walk the tech talk on the world stage?
According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), 7.7 billion transactions were carried out through UPI in July 2023, translating into more than 250 million transactions, on average, per day — remarkable for a country that used cash for 90 per cent of transactions a few years ago.
What the Data Protection Law means to streamline privacy for children
Backed by emotions, drama, hope, the latest version titled Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, was introduced in the lower house of Parliament this week. While it still has a few hoops to jump through, it feels like we are almost there.
ETtech Opinion: The semiconductor manufacturing saga
Many technology enthusiasts are confident that India’s digital infrastructure will be second to none in the world and will indeed be a role model for many emerging countries and even some of the developed economies.
Digital people supply chain in non-tech firms
The digital people supply chain can facilitate the digital transformation of organisations in the non-tech sector.
View: India has the most to gain and lose from generative AI
Generative AI driven job displacement is where policy needs to be developed
ETtech Opinion | Forging the future of digital people supply chain
Latest developments in the tech space and the rise of artificial intelligence have led us to think hard about the changing role and importance of the workforce.
ETtech Opinion | the real significance of ChatGPT
It provides an opportunity to leapfrog existing technologies and work on newer tasks
ETtech Opinion | IT services: how to succeed beyond the banking crises
For Indian technology firms, the longer-term impact could well be positive with minimal medium-term downside risks
ETtech Opinion | Trust, accountability of teams essential to leadership: HCLTech's C Vijayakumar
Debate over how productive people can be while working from home compared to working from offices is a subjective matter.
ETtech Opinion | As a leader, do what the situation demands
In a good situation, it is about looking forward and planning beyond immediate issues. It is about being able to envision the future and set a roadmap.
ETtech Opinion | Digital: a key driver of the Indian economy
During FY23, the economy is projected to grow by 7%, while the latest forecast by the World Bank for FY24 is 6.6%. In contrast, the global economy is expected to grow by just 1.7% during 2023.
ETtech Opinion | This year, businesses will rethink what it means to be efficient: Arundhati Bhattacharya
Customers, partners and employees remain our best indicators of how businesses can prepare for a variety of scenarios that may unfold over the next year, separating companies that will adapt and win from those that will be left behind.
ETtech Opinion | Budget will help catalyse efforts to promote digitally inclusive India: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
The budget outlines the importance of startups. Allowing carry-forward of losses for longer will strengthen their books and enable focus on building the larger ecosystem.
Growth for good, good for all: A mantra for sustainability
Profitability and sustainability need not be mutually exclusive or opposing outcomes. So, how can we steer business towards a sustainable, inclusive, and growth-driven future?
ETtech Opinion | Hybrid learning will gain more momentum in 2023: Byju Raveendran
Hybrid learning will gain momentum as the efficiency of tech-enabled learning meets the empathy of student-driven classrooms
ETtech Opinion | India Stack: are we there yet?
The coming year should see Aadhaar 2.0 kicking in with increased voluntary adoption in the private sector, privacy preserving decentralised authentication on the m-Aadhaar app, and full rollout of face authentication due to massive smartphone adoption, eliminating the need for fingerprint devices.
ETtech Opinion | India on right track to be global EV hub: Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal
It’s in India’s destiny to build world class products in electric mobility segment.
ETtech Opinion: What 2023 holds for startup funding in India
Clearly, there is plenty of dry powder in the market and solid companies are getting a great reception, but the bar to invest is higher. Investors are eager to put money in companies that are either profitable or close to break-even.
ETtech Opinion: Why journey should be the destination for founders, investors
We as a startup nation seem to have chosen fund raise as destination, secondary sales as the prize, and high spends as the path. Any slump sale along the way is due to market failure.
ETtech Opinion: The necessity of edtech
The pandemic reversed decades of progress in learning, especially in developing countries like India, but more than 600 million children worldwide were affected.
ETtech Opinion: Alpha Founders, VC Greed
In India, where the technology startup ecosystem is really only a decade old, with the big slug of VC capital coming post-2014, the lure of repeat entrepreneurs is already starting to be lapped up by Indian VCs.
ETtech Opinion: The way we evaluate startups needs to change
The ecosystem needs to start valuing revenues and profitability. VCs must stand up and deliver tough messages to erring founders early on, not after things go haywire.
ETtech Opinion | Are 10-minute deliveries a passing fad or the next big thing?
Zomato was spot-on in its assessment that 10-minute delivery firms could indeed disrupt their business if they didn’t act. If someone can scale enough to solve the cost problem, this could end up being a fairly large mode of commerce, writes Aviral Bharnagar.
View: Financial irregularities are easy to uncover if diligent auditors are put on the job and held accountable
Financial irregularities are easy to uncover if diligent auditors are put on the job and held accountable, and if the directors on the board ask the right questions. Historically, most malpractices fester because someone with a radar to spot aberrations looks the other way.
ETtech Opinion: Growth at what cost? Demystifying the customer acquisition cost riddle
We would all like to believe that CAC is going up because of too much competition and too much money being invested by investors in similar companies. While that is likely true, there are three underlying issues that are at the heart of the problem
ETtech Opinion | Scripting India’s techade: Digital talent, digital deals key
It's hard to think of any other sector that is at this scale yet growing at this pace. FY22 has been a milestone year for Indian IT, says Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh.
ETtech Opinion: Let’s redefine unicorns
What if we redefine the term ‘unicorn’ to mean a company that is a market leader in its segment, is growing rapidly, has very healthy net margins, and has revenues of at least $50 million (SaaS firms), $100 million (D2C firms) or $300 million (marketplaces)?
ETtech Opinion: Digital-first mindset steers education reforms
There has been a substantial increase in allocation towards education in this budget, with many policy announcements that will make learning more accessible, equitable and affordable in India.
ETtech Opinion: Implications of India’s tax rules for crypto
Crypto is an asset class and an investment product. Trading crypto requires specific skills and cannot be compared to gambling.
ETtech Opinion: ‘Digital India Budget’ delivers for startups but some issues remain
Overall, Budget 2022-23 showed the government’s commitment to Indian startups and must be lauded for supporting innovation and setting the tone for the next 25 years of India’s journey.
ETtech Opinion | The five rules for building a winning direct-to-consumer brand
For early-stage brands to be ambitious and seek the unicorn tag is natural. But that shouldn't be a goal in and of itself. Brands that play the long game and constantly evolve will be able to stay ahead of the curve and scale unimaginable heights.
ETtech Opinion: Charting innovations that business leaders need to prioritise
Many themes from 2020 and 2021 will mature and extend to 2022. Business leaders need to prioritise and build on their core purpose as they move forward.
ETtech Opinion: Dear founders, it’s ok to give yourself a break
In an era of fast cars and shenanigans, is this the only way to stand out as an entrepreneur? The more committed you are, the more pressure you feel to sacrifice your body and soul. One shudders to think how much tougher it is for women founders.
ETtech Opinion: Startups, stay sharp, but grow up
What founders need to do is strike a balance between staying agile and being ‘growth-alive’ as they move into the more traditional public market. This balance isn’t easy to strike but that’s what startups will need to work towards.
View: How creators and NFTs are fuelling the Digital Renaissance
Those who give creators the shovels for their careers will be part of the “creator economy”. The gold that the creators will find with these shovels will very likely be in the form of NFTs.
View: How tech IPOs differ from those of traditional firms
Zomato’s successful listing signaled to all other startups that the Indian markets have matured and are ready for new-age companies. The current market euphoria has also helped as companies are tapping the markets at astronomical — and sometimes illogical — valuations.
Regulation of digital platforms: Let’s not bungle in the jungle
The regulator’s dilemmas may vary as per mandate, but the key is that the concerns are significant, issues are complex, and there is no absolute right.
ETtech Opinion: Inside the life of a VC
Entrepreneurs come to VCs because they want to change how things are done, somewhere. This "somewhere" is usually a potentially large market. The trouble usually is that they don't have any customers but need to build a team to bring change.
Traceability vs Privacy: The real issue is of collective security
Collective security is essential to make people feel safe & allow them to enjoy privacy protections. The new IT Rules seek to achieve this larger social good
ETtech Opinion: Sixth Sense strategies: keys to the future of business
Traditional Indian businesses have depended on the good old supply chain and market reach to get things to every nook and corner of the country. Many large conglomerates that operate in the FMCG space have been market leaders... until now.
ETtech Catalyst: How to win new categories in the multi-trillion-dollar SaaS market
Pioneered by Salesforce, Concur, and the likes in the early 2000s, Software as a Service (SaaS) has been on a strong uptrend ever since. Today, it is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity and still growing quickly.
