The Morning Context at 2.5

The Morning Context has been selected to join the International Center for Journalists or ICFJ’s News Business Hub. In 2020, we were one of the recipients of the Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge for the Asia Pacific region and in 2021, we received an investment from the Media Development Investment Fund. Two and half years since we published our first story behind a paywall, we stand committed to our objective of free and fair journalism. 

This is a good time to take stock of some of our best work so far. While each and every word that we write holds significance in our eyes, we have curated a list showcasing a mix of some of our best and most-read stories. 

We have written extensively about some of the major Internet companies in India. 

Do read this piece where we took a hard look at Paytm’s founder.

One of our most-read pieces is our breakdown of Paytm’s story, its business metrics and its impending IPO.

This brings us to another good read. Paytm has seen so many twists and turns that it can be easy to miss how the company actually makes its money.

One of our best coverages has been examining toxic work cultures inside companies. We took a look at Ola and found out why Bhavish Aggarwal’s cab-hailing giant is in the doldrums, while his EV venture is off to a shaky start. Insiders blame a toxic culture and a distrustful CEO who can’t let go.

Another company on our radar has been Zomato. We wrote about how even after a decade of being in business, Zomato is still selling investors a distant dream where it will somehow become a viable business.

After the IPO bling, we took a hard look at Zomato numbers. The food-delivery company’s third-quarter results were poor. But beyond the obvious weakness, there’s even more that is concerning.

We were the first to break the news about what is going on at Netflix India. While Netflix maintained it is doing alright, a spate of top level exits and disappointed content partners told a vastly different story.

Another major breakthrough from us was on how Amazon looked into the conduct of its legal representatives in India after allegations of corruption come to light.

Our edtech coverage has always been top-notch. Do read our piece on how there is a lot of hyperbole in Byju’s story.

We were also the first to break the news on Unacademy shutting its K-12 business. The exit made K-12 a two-horse race and raised an important question—if Unacademy, with all its might, can’t build a sustainable business in the segment, who can?

We take pride in the tough questions that we have asked about listed companies. Shares of Adani Group have continued to surge while its founder himself has hit a net worth of $100 billion. 

We have done a considerable amount of coverage on tracking Adani Group’s rise.

We also broke the news on how several Mauritius-based investment funds have Gautam Adani-led companies as over 90% of their portfolios. We asked why.

Another story that we will point your attention towards is Adani group's mountain of debt. We questioned whether it will prove to be a burden or a boon.

Also, read our superb coverage of what the Indian aviation industry has been up to. Here we broke the news on what has been going on at SpiceJet.

We also examined how Gautam Adani has been relentless in his pursuit to become India’s largest airport operator. 

Some of our favourite coverage has been putting together the missing pieces on corporate defaulters. Here we wrote about Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot whose culpability has received scant attention.

Let me also lay out one of our superb banking stories. We wrote about the frenetic pace set by Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhry triggered an exodus of 61,734 employees.

Now is also a time to take a look at all that we have written beyond tech and business. Another one of our most-read pieces has been on what goes on inside the Indian wrestling fraternity.

We also wrote a super piece about the data black hole India has created.

Our environment coverage has been excellent where we have laid out the loopholes in India's policies. Here we broke the story on how one official helped Tata Steel and Vedanta get away with flouting an environment law.

We have also written some mind-blowing data stories. Do read this one where we take a look at how India’s passport doesn't open too many doors. 

We have also spent a long time tracking the intersection of hate speech, politics and religion in India. Do also read this superb piece where we examined the prime accused in the Dharam Sansad hate speech case.

The list is long. Take your pick or save it for the weekend. 

Note: We offer 100 starter credits to every user who signs up with us to sample our stories. This curation is added to our Starter stories collection for the duration of a week. Go ahead and make full use.