From defence dreams of TASL to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, here are our most-read stories of the week

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1) Dreaming big
When one hears the name Tata Group, the brain immediately thinks of the salt-to-steel conglomerate. Therefore it takes a while to comprehend that Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) started as a startup within a corporate. It began with a piece of paper with only Tata's name written. In 2006, the group's HQ, Bombay House, was buzzing with discussions about entering into the largely government-controlled defence and aerospace manufacturing sector. At the time, their expertise in those areas was limited to manufacturing trucks for defence and operating an airline, Air India and 'Make In India' was not en vogue. Since then, TASL has come a long way and here's its exciting story. Read more

2) Desi defence
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is India's oldest aircraft manufacturer. It has been making in India for over eighty years and has experience building aircrafts ranging from the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI to the MiG-21 and MiG-27 under a licenced program. HAL is the country's largest manufacturer of aircrafts, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aerostructures, with a market cap of Rs1.1 lakh crore. With a change in the Indian government's defence procurement strategy and push for greater indigenisation, HAL wants to ramp up aircraft manufacturing, but it comes with certain challenges. Read more

3) Defence blueprint
This week's focus, you guessed it, is on the defence manufacturing sector in India. Next up is L&T Defence—the defence arm of the engineering and construction major. It is one of the larger players covering everything from ships and submarines to land combat vehicles. The company has also adopted Industry 4.0 across its engineering and manufacturing plants in India. In this story, we explore what happens when defence meets digitalisation. Read more

Discover

1) Second innings
For his first innings, Ajay Mariwala built VKL Seasoning Pvt Ltd as an important player in India's food industry. It is one of the country's biggest seasonings and flavours companies, which reportedly had Yum! India, Domino's Pizza, McDonald's India and Burger King among its QSR clients. Mariwala has begun his second innings with Food Services India which offers standardised products to hotels, restaurants, cafes (HoReCa) and even commercial kitchens in India and abroad. For this next game, Mariwala has changed the play. Find out why a 100 percent stake and slow progress are playing a crucial role in Mariwala's business. Read more 

2) How safe is your personal data?
This week started with a piece of bad news about the alleged data leak from the government's CoWIN portal. The platform was launched in January 2021 and touched over a billion lives in less than 18 months. Therefore, when journalists accessed the hacked data—reportedly available for sale at $400 on the dark web—through a Telegram bot, the incident grabbed headlines and sounded alarms about data safety and privacy one more time. The government has denied the leak, but experts see this as an opportunity to call for stringent rules and compliance. Read more

3) What's cooking, chef?
Chef Manu Chandra cooked for five straight days at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year. Then took a ridiculously long flight with a prolonged layover in Mumbai. He dropped his bags and left for work almost immediately to clear up some pending stuff. Next on the calendar was a premium event serviced by his bespoke catering company, Single Thread. He jumped on the line to fix a few items that needed perfecting. The next morning he was sitting down for an interview with Forbes India. This is the itinerary of a chef who has stepped into the shoes of an entrepreneur. Manu Chandra Ventures is gathering steam. Let's see how it is reaching the sustainable, multi-brand portfolio station. Read more

4) diversity, equity and inclusion
Pride Month focuses on celebrating and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights. But the work towards equality and inclusion is ongoing. A 2022 study by Randstad India reveals that 53 percent of Indian companies do not have career-development opportunities for queer people, and only 9.5 percent of the surveyed organisations have made extremely significant efforts to be LGBTQ+ inclusive. While decriminalising Section 377 was a milestone in the journey for equal rights for the Indian queer community, discrimination, harassment, and prejudice in the workplace are still rampant. Inclusion policies and initiatives for the LGBTQ+ community are a nuanced area, and here we discuss how it needs to be addressed in Indian organisations. Read more