Rama Bijapurkar

Why is India Inc dragging its feet on investments despite strong optimism?

A closer look at demand visibility, firm strategy, and the role of long-term FDI shows why private investment remains slow even in a strong economy

Navigating 'we are like that only' India: Complex, curious, and delightful

Our new infrastructure is a definite physical upgrade over the old, but it seems to come with its own challenges

Reading the tea leaves on consumption: Rural strong, urban to follow

Urban consumer perceptions on the economic situation are still in the negative zone, though getting progressively less negative from January 2025

Unlocking India's mass market potential needs creative policy push

Strengthening domestic consumption needs creative policies encouraging new economy business models that can develop and deepen India's mass markets comprising small consumers and small suppliers

From aspirational to exhausted: Rethinking India's middle class story

A fragmented, fatigued population can't fuel economic growth the old way

Customer-centric or customer-obsessed? Companies must choose to be former

Bulky feedback forms and tying up CEO bonus to net promoter scores is not customer centricity

Directions in household consumption: Two sharply diverging narratives

In another narrative, since 2024 main street watchers have been flagging slower consumption growth

Nose in, fingers out: The board's mandate to avoid governance lapses

It is fundamentally bad governance to be on both the "buy" and "sell" sides at the same time

Field reports on gender inclusion: Feminism takes different shapes

From doing away with some gender-friendly courtesies to choosing to be called Chairman, there's no one-size-fits-all way to serve the cause of feminism

'Virasat aur Vikas' in clothes and food: Embracing global and desi vibes

How we've shifted from loving all things Western to embracing global, desi, and global desi vibes -- with fewer value judgments

India's consumption conundrum: How not to talk about it in the year 2025

Conflicting data, fragmented markets, and outdated metrics: Here's why reframing the narrative on India's consumption is essential to address the diverse realities of 2025

Viksit Bharat focuses on potential of all Indians, not just global ranks

Our world rankings are, without question, a stunning achievement that calls for monumental pride

Evaluating corporate results: Don't confuse sales data with consumer trends

Evaluating corporate results through the lens of factors affecting consumer demand makes more sense than the reverse

Raising the skilling bar: Young India needs reimagined vocational education

Nation-building education is the govt's job. It should do it with the same might it used for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Aadhaar linking, Covid vaccination drive, and financial inclusion initiative

Big firms don't connect with the masses

The idea that large companies need demand visibility to invest, so lower-income demand needs to be stimulated, does not hold water

The new tale of two Indias

There are two distinct political narratives in the country today--one giving voice to an "aspiring India" and the other to a "hopeless India". Both factions have their work cut out

How young India views jobs and work

Despite the fatigue of having to find work gigs , there is hopefulness and striving, and little anger

How young India views the world and polls

The ethnographic study findings suggest that politics is not on the radar of 18-21 year old Indians

Why this fuss about income inequality?

Most Indians do not care about the income gap between the top 1 per cent and the rest. They have their own logic that merits listening

Accepting our income demographics

With the blurring urban-rural income divide and the diminishing mental and physical distinctions, large mass markets with modest-income consumers are finally emerging