Our top reads of the week

Web3 evolution has begun and, this time, Indian talent has been at the forefront of the revolution. From creating blockchain-based technology to trading to creating non-fungible token art, Indian creativity and talent are flourishing. But are they thriving on Indian soil? The answer, sadly, is no. Given the uncertainties shrouding India's crypto ecosystem, many stakeholders are looking at foreign shores. It is not a classic brain drain, but it still hurts India as the government loses out on potential tax collections. What's the impact like? Here's part two of the Indian cryptocurrency trade saga to help you understand. For more

3) Against the odds

"The last 24 months have been like changing all four tyres of a car while driving at 120 km per hour and by the way giving it a new coat of paint," says Sunil D’Souza, the former managing director of Whirlpool India and the PepsiCo veteran who was brought in to lead Tata Consumer Products as it was minted in February 2020. Most of the world went into a Covid-19 induced lockdown in March 2020. Not a promising start for a new business entity just one month into conception. But TCPL doubled down on innovation, revamped distribution, and relied on leveraging one of the most trusted brand names in India—Tata Group. How did Sunil D'Souza & Co do this in the thick of the pandemic? For more

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1) Be the leading lady, not the best friend

Independent directors are entrusted with the responsibility of being the eyes and ears of investors as they are expected to balance the interests of the management and its shareholders in letter and in spirit. They are an integral part of the overarching framework of ethics and transparency in most firms. In recent times, there have been many incidents where the board of directors has evidently failed to do right by their moral obligations. Latest scams at Zilingo, BharatPe, and National Stock Exchange are glaring examples of this neglect as independent directors contain themselves into cameo roles instead of blazing the trail. What's stopping them from taking the lead? For more

2) Uber of last-mile delivery

Sandeep Deshmukh was one of the first few employees of Amazon India. This software engineer was tasked with building last-mile delivery for the American ecommerce giant in India. In the five years with the company, Deshmukh realised, "There was no fulfilment ecosystem in India, especially deep across the hinterland. There was hardly any tech and digitisation." An idea was born the fill this gap—ElasticRun. Deshmukh, Shitiz Bansal, and Saurabh Nigam quit their jobs in 2016 to build a B2B commerce platform and create aggregated logistics network by using the cloud, mobile, and manpower available at local kirana and neighbourhood stores across the length and breadth of the country. In 2022, ElasticRun entered the unicorn club. Now the question is, will ElasticRun improve, maintain or falter this stunning pace. For more

3) Pick performance over looks...

...something BMW X4 would like to ask of you. BMW X4 xDrive 30d M Sport doesn't have the looks to boast of. But it is still a BMW with a 3.0-litre inline-six diesel that makes 265hp and 620Nm. If you ask the question: Is too much of a good thing bad? The answer will be: Not in the case of the BMW X4. Don't judge this car by its bonnet and wider grille! There's more to what meets the eye, and you get to find out what that is in this episode of Forbes India Momentum. For more

4) Heatwaves

Gone are the days when Indian summers were all about enjoying school vacation or fighting the social media war to decide the best variety of mangoes in the subcontinent. The summer of 2022 arrived early because climate change has decided to spare none despite your Earth Hour social media posts. Certain parts of India registered record temperatures in March and April as billions of lives are now put at risk because of the extreme heat. We have not been this hot in 122 years! In this News by Numbers, we break down the causes and effects.