W Power 2024

From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week

Woes of edtech sector, analysis of March quarter, InsuranceDekho's gambit are some of the stories that piqued the interest of our readers this week

Published: Jun 3, 2023 09:13:13 AM IST
Updated: Jun 2, 2023 07:31:04 PM IST

From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the weekImage: Shutterstock

From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week1) Habit of giving
Since his retirement in 2014 from Infosys, Senapathy 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan has been using his personal wealth for a cause—to understand how the brain works so that new treatments and interventions can improve the quality of life of older adults. Brain research, because of its intricacies and the lack of understanding in philanthropic circles, receives very little public and private funding.  “Somebody has to support research. But before I ask my colleagues, not just in the IT industry but across, to increase funding in research, I have to walk the talk, right?” Gopalakrishnan remarks. He has earmarked close to Rs 750 crore towards brain research over the next decade. Lets dissect his bet on a niche. Read here

From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week2) Bare necessities
In 2009, Ankit Agrawal had a cushy job working for investment bank UBS in New York after an MBA in finance from Delhi University. After three years, in August 2013, he quit his job and joined a startup in Bengaluru to test his aptitude for the startup life. Then, before taking the plunge into the insurance sector in 2017, he travelled extensively across smaller towns and villages of Haryana and Rajasthan and met over 3,000 insurance agents to see how he can merge the best of the offline and online worlds for insurtech. The result is InsuranceDekho. With his venture, Agrawal is adding one more item to the bare necessities—roti, kapda, makan—aur [and] bima (insurance). With insurance penetration still dismal in India, Agrawal has a wide canvas waiting to be worked on. Read here 

From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week3) Waiting for monsoon
Peacocks, farmers, and investors in India wait for the monsoon showers with the same intensity. Peacocks would like to dance in the rain, farmers would love a good crop yield, and investors would prefer better margins because of the showers. Speaking of good margins, a good yield depends on consumer demand and consumption, and this consumption right now hinges on a good monsoon. So far, the analysis shows that the aggregate net profit of Nifty companies grew 16 percent while net sales jumped 13 percent in the March quarter. But the worries of a slowdown in consumer demand will only be placated when a good monsoon, combined with easing global supply chain issues and inflationary pressures cooling off will result in better margins. Read here  
 

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From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week1) No one left behind
Now and then, there are talks about taking the benefits of digital classrooms to every corner of Bharat. But very few have been contributing to making that a reality. Schoolnet India is making strides in that direction. It developed an all-in-one plug-and-play device in collaboration with IIT-Bombay that can be used in rural areas of India with little or no internet connectivity. The device is called KYAN (K stands for knowledge and Yan is Sanskrit for vehicle). RCM Reddy, a former IAS officer and CEO of Schoolnet, is in a hurry to bridge India's gaping learning divide by changing the scenario of education, employability, and employment. It's been 25 years since Schoolnet began, but according to Reddy, the work has only just begun. Read here

 
From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week2) Edtech woes
For our new podcast, ToThePoint, our in-house experts on technology and startup discussed the problems of the once-booming edtech sector in India. The context: World's largest asset manager, BlackRock, cut Byju's valuation by 62.7 percent just three months after it first reduced the value of its holdings. Our experts believe this is a season of markdowns, and no sector will be spared. Focusing on the woes of the edtech sector, they discuss the lack of transparency in these startups, the consequences of playing fast and loose with their advertisement in India, and the plain absence of good business sense among some companies that's landed them in a pickle. Read here

From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week
3) What ails Millennials and GenZ?
Deloitte decided to check on two generations that are always at loggerheads over their working style. Their Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey tried to understand the core issues that keep these two generations up at night. For Indian Gen Z and Millennials, there are usual suspects such as climate change, unemployment, and sexual harassment that take the top spots on their list of stuff that gives them anxiety. To know how they feel about economic growth, work-life balance, and prioritising their mental health, take a look at this news by numbers. Watch here  

 From Kris Gopalakrishnan's bet on brain research to QJ Motor SRK 400 review, here are our most-read stories of the week
4) QJ Motor SRK 400 review
QJ Motor's SRK 400 tells two stories at the same time. It is a good-looking street-naked bike that some consider a tough challenger to the reign of the KTM 390 Duke. The 400cc parallel-twin liquid-cooled engine is one of the bests in the segment. But this is not the whole story. While the rider can enjoy the 41hp and 36Nm on straights, SRK 400's gearbox and design niggles can play spoilsport. In this episode of Forbes India Momentum, let's find out if the bike is worth your buck. Watch here

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