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10 interesting Forbes India reads for the weekend

A compilation of the best stories our writers wrote so you need to look no further.

Ruchika Shah
Published: Aug 4, 2017 07:16:19 PM IST
Updated: Aug 4, 2017 07:38:00 PM IST

 
10 interesting Forbes India reads for the weekend

Image (From top left-clockwise): Joshua Navalkar; Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India; Amit Verma (Collage-R), Vikas Khot (Collage-L); Joshua Navalkar

This weekend, we bring to you a wide range of stories ranging from bootstrapped companies, the businessmen who dared to make it big without external funding; to Dewan Housing Finance Limited's bet on affordable housing, IndiGo's play for Air India, a photo feature on co-working spaces in India, and an in-depth profile of the National Stock Exchange's new CEO and managing director, Vikram Limaye. So sit back and enjoy these long reads. The weekend has just begun!


1) Freedom from Funding: Bootstrapped Bosses
For our Independence Day issue, Forbes India decided to dig deep into bootstrapping to celebrate entrepreneurs who dared to build large and successful businesses without the help of and lure of external equity. VC and funding are the buzz words of the startup world but our editor Sourav Majumdar says, "many will secretly tell you how they would have loved to have been free of the shackles of external funding". This list includes bootstrapped companies that dared to make it big on their own dime. They range from shrimp exporters to oncology drug makers and road builders. Click here to read

2) Why some businessmen choose to be masters of their own destiny
This column by Crisil Research's-our Knowledge Partner for the 'Bootstrapped Bosses' package-senior director and business head Nagarajan Narasimhan, takes you through the process that the analytics and ratings major deployed to sift through over 25,000 small, medium and large companies on the basis of predetermined criteria, to make up the final list of bootstrapped companies that made it big, banking on their own (and family and friends') funds. Click here to read

3) DHFL: Building on current enthusiasm around affordable housing
Our Senior Assistant Editor Salil Panchal sits down with DHFL's chairman and managing director Kapil Wadhawan for this story. Wadhawan tells Forbes India that the Narendra Modi government's push for affordable housing for all by 2020 under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) has landed the company that helps low-income clients secure housing finance, in a sweet spot. DHFL entered the affordable housing segment when it was not popular, Panchal writes. Wadhawan takes us through his company's journey, the differentiating strategies that have poised it to be ahead of its competitors, and some important lessons he learnt along the way. Click here to read

4) IndiGo buyout may mean end of the road for Air India brand
IndiGo was the first domestic airline to evince interest in Air India's international operations after the government in-principle approved the plan to sell the debt-ridden national carrier. If IndiGo's bid fructifies, it will "pave the way for the airline’s entry into long-haul international routes, where AI is the current leader with a 17 percent share of passenger traffic," Anshul Dhamija, our assistant editor, writes in his piece. However, this also means that there could be no room for brand AI going ahead, as IndiGo plans to keep its long-haul flight plans low-cost. Click here to read

5) One Belt, one road but not all onboard
The story takes you through the ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative by China which is going to attempt to connect 68 nations across Asia, Europe and Africa. While this is touted as a infrastructural and economy synergy by China, the article explores if it could actually be a bid by China to make the play to become the superpower of Asia. "No matter how attractive the project might appear to some of the countries involved, not everyone is convinced," Ishaan Chakraborthy, our intern writes. As it stands, Japan, India and the US are against the initiative, each with reasons of their own. Is India right in being on the other side of the fence with China or does it reek of an opportunity for India to make a play for power alongside the most populous nation? Click here to read

6) Bajaj Finance-MobiKwik deal: synergies real, customers gain
Bajaj Finance announced it is picking up a 10.83% stake in mobile wallet MobiKwik, making this the second such deal in a week. Last week, Axis Bank bought FreeCharge from Snapdeal for Rs 385 crore. Our Senior Assistant Editor Salil Panchal and Editor (Technology) Harichandan Arakali decode the Bajaj Finance-MobiKwik deal for you. What will it mean for the two parties involved? What does the timing of the deal indicate? What does it mean for the customers of both the companies, and more. Click here to read

7) Who moved my office? Some popular co-working spaces in India
Co-working spaces are the rage these days. A trend that possibly started from the humble Cafe Coffee Day, and went on to become a Starbucks' thing, co-working spaces are now the rage and a money making avenue for many. Cashing into the rising popularity of startups and entrepreneurship, co-working spaces have cropped up around the country, especially metros, and are going all out to be an end-to-end solution for people building a company ground up. Madhu Kapparath has a photo feature of 17 such co-working spaces. Click here to see

8) Despite waning popularity, Facebook is the king of social media
Our intern Mashad Arora has complied a few graphs and charts to tell you about the extent of Facebook's popularity in India, a huge audience base for the social media giant. He says Facebook is still number 1. Who are number two and three for India's social network savvy? Click here to see

9) Artificial intelligence: What's so artificial about it?
Artificial intelligence is here to stay and is only going to permeate deeper into our lives, personal or professional. While the masses merit it with making lives easier but also taking our jobs, is there a need to worry? This piece by Mindtree's Senior Vice President - Chief Technology Officer, Madhusudhan KM, takes us through responsible AI and the fact that while, like every new technology, AI may take away some jobs, it will, in fact, create many more. Click here to read

10) Vikram Limaye: The problem solver
It's déjà vu for Vikram Limaye, moving from the Executive Director's office at IDFC to become the CEO and managing director of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Limaye is tasked with solving credibility issues at NSE which is facing an ongoing investigation from markets regulator Sebi and has recently seen high profile exits. The task is nothing Limaye hasn't seen before, and it doesn't daunt him. While at the policy advisory turned infrastructure finance and universal bank IDFC, Limaye drove the company from being a small player with a Rs 4,000 crore balance sheet to being a mega corporation with a loan book size in excess of Rs 117,000 crore. Forbes India's Senior Assistant Editor Salil Panchal and Senior Associate Editor Pravin Palande speak to Limaye soon after he took office at the NSE. Click here to read

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