Indulekha Aravind
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Independent journalist | Livelihoods, gender, politics, ecology | ✍🏾 published in @theeconomist I @restofworld I @economictimes I
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Articles by Indulekha Aravind
Youth unemployment crisis at the heart of recent protests | Rosa Abraham interview
The youth protests in Jantar Mantar which spread across the country may have started out as an agitation against leaked entrance exams, particularly NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test). But underlying this is the anxiety of a young generation over what kind of future they will have and what kind of jobs they will find in a country where youth unemployment is a growing crisis.
Modi govt’s PM internship scheme 99% behind target, ad spend rivals stipends
It was the summer of 2025. The advertisements about the Narendra Modi government’s new internship scheme were splashed across newspapers, TV channels and social media. Like lakhs of others, P Adarsh*, 22, noticed them from his hometown Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. After finishing his degree in agricultural engineering a while ago, Adarsh was hunting for an internship that could sharpen his skills, pay some money, and still leave him evenings to prepare for a bank job exam.
Modi govt’s PM internship scheme 99% behind target, ad spend rivals stipends
Indian creator promised to lose 20 kg if Erling Haaland noticed him; footballer's four-word reply goes viral, fans say 'Keep your word' The FIFA 2026 World Cup is over, but football fever continues to be with the fans! Well, what if we tell you manifestation really works...sometimes …
Behind CBSE’s Class 12 evaluation contract, a trail of unanswered questions
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is under scrutiny over the processes it followed while awarding the tender for Class 12 answer sheet scanning and e-evaluation through its on-screen marking (OSM) platform. The selection process for finalising the service provider and the security of the platform are being questioned by students, activists and also Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Company behind CBSE evaluation platform says complaints limited to ‘one or two cases’
Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links. VSN Raju, CEO of Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Teck, the company responsible for CBSE’s digital evaluation platform currently under fire over multiple complaints, told The News Minute that almost nothing had gone wrong and that the complaints only pertained to “one or two cases” which he termed “one of a kind”. Raju said the entire application had run successfully.
Your favourite viral column may have been written by AI. You may never know
First things first. No, I don’t definitively know if that viral column on the “quiet grief of adult friendship” was written using some generative AI, a lot of it or none at all. Yes, I’ve seen the screenshot of the AI detector, which says “100% of this text is AI generated”. Tools like those used by AI detector Pangram Labs claim a high degree of accuracy.
‘Dear LPG customer’ warning SMS on subsidies sparks confusion, queries
“Dear LPG customer, as per available income-tax records, your (or a linked family member’s) gross taxable income exceeds the prescribed limit of Rs 10 lakh… If no response is received within the stipulated period, the LPG subsidy may be discontinued thereafter.” This message, received by multiple domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) customers over the last few days, has sparked some confusion, rumours and many questions.
‘Dear LPG customer’ warning SMS on subsidies sparks confusion, queries
4 hours ago India's welfare politics is not collapsing - but its electoral magic may be fading. Over the past decade, cash transfers, subsidised services and women-focused schemes have become the default grammar of state politics in India, with welfare increasingly used to soften the effects of a growth model …
Vijay scripts real-life blockbuster with TN sweep, all eyes now on alliances
In a cinematic twist that stunned almost every pollster, analyst, and political veteran in the state, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) – three years old, led by a film star, and written off as a romantic long shot – emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu, edging out the incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and pushing All-India Anna DMK (AIADMK) to third place.
Sensationalised snakebite coverage fuelling panic in Kerala: SARPA’s Jose Louies
A recent spate of snakebite deaths in Kerala, including those of two young children, along with an increase in snake sightings, has triggered concern across the state. Despite the government having issued fresh instructions and a special action plan to ensure that adequate treatment is available for snakebite victims, worry still persists.
‘Will AI replace me?’: Anxiety grips tech workers amid mass layoffs, slowing recruitment
When Akanksha woke up in her flat in Bengaluru around 7 am on March 31, the first thing she did was check her email. This had become a routine ever since the 24-year-old, who requested that only her first name be used, started working with a US-based team at Oracle. But instead of the usual exchanges, there was an email from the company saying there would be an important update. Within an hour, her access to the company Slack channel was cut.
Will AI replace me? Huge swathes of job cuts in tech spark concern
When Akanksha woke up in her flat in Bengaluru around 7 am on March 31, the first thing she did was check her email. This had become a routine ever since the 24-year-old, who requested that only her first name be used, started working with a US-based team at Oracle. But instead of the usual exchanges, there was an email from the company saying there would be an important update. Within an hour, her access to the company Slack channel was cut.
The Indian scientist couple history forgot — and the new study bringing their ‘Jeewanu’ back to life
It was early 2023. In a ground-floor laboratory at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in north Bengaluru, Ph.D candidate Nayan Chakraborty was readying to examine the results of another iteration of an experiment he had been attempting for three months. There was no reason to believe this trial, nearly his 1,000th, would be any different.
Off Script: The promise and collapse of Bollywood’s #MeToo
By 2018, things were finally looking up for Arya Menon. Originally from Kerala, Arya had spent nearly a decade carving out space for herself in the Hindi film industry. She had acted in a few roles, including alongside Shah Rukh Khan in Chak De! India, experimented with costume design, and eventually turned to production. In 2016, she produced Famous in Ahmedabad, which won the National Award.
Sexual assault survivors are waiving anonymity, but the system still holds them back
“I am Dr Asha Achy Joseph; a woman who has survived sexual assault at the workplace.” These were the opening lines of a powerful column by documentary filmmaker and academic Asha Achy Joseph, in which she publicly identified as the complainant in the sexual assault case against former MLA and producer PT Kunju Muhammed. Through the column, published in Malayala Manorama in February, she was waiving the right to anonymity accorded to sexual assault complainants by law.
‘I must speak for myself, will not rest till I get justice’ says Sister Ranit, nun who accused Bishop Franco of rape
After years of isolation and struggle, Sister Ranit recently decided to publicly reveal her identity. “Till now, it was my allies who spoke for me. But now there’s no point in me keeping quiet. I must come out and speak for myself,” said Ranit, a senior Catholic nun living in Kuravilangadu, Kerala. In 2018, she filed a police complaint against Franco Mulakkal, the then bishop of Jalandhar, accusing him of repeatedly raping her between 2014 and 2016.
Decoding Zoho's Sridhar Vembu: The software czar who became the Sangh's Swadeshi mascot
An ace technologist and businessman, an adept storyteller, a “simple” man who talks about family values but faces accusations of abandoning his family and concealing financial transactions, a figure moving ever closer to the BJP – Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu has many faces.
Decoding Zoho's Sridhar Vembu: The software czar who became the Sangh's Swadeshi mascot
Rs 150000000000: India’s most expensive divorce? Court asks Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu to pay bond worth Rs…, his first wife is…2r Sridhar Vembu, the owner and co-founder of Zoho, is once again making headlines, this time due to his divorce case in the US. If the court’s orders …
Decoding Zoho's Sridhar Vembu: The software czar who became the Sangh's Swadeshi mascot
PROLOGUE The opening paragraph of a January 2021 article in the Organiser, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mouthpiece, is striking in its effusiveness: “Blessed are these people by the entry of Sridhar Vembu with his IT behemoth ZOHO with a determination to transform the scenario.
Vembu’s lawyer claims $1.7 billion bond order ‘invalid’, Pramila’s lawyer says it remains in force
On January 8, 2026 The News Minute published an exclusive story reporting a California court’s order directing Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu to post a $1.7 billion to protect his ex-wife Pramila Srinivasan’s rights in their ongoing divorce case.
Exclusive: US court orders Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu to post $1.7 billion bond in divorce case
He’s the billionaire tech entrepreneur who gave up life in California to live and work from a small village in Tamil Nadu. He speaks and tweets about the importance of doing his duty and dharma, his mission to develop rural India, and how he no longer needs more money. It is not surprising then that Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and chief scientist of software products company Zoho, is held up publicly as a role model – someone with “simple living and high thinking,” as one interviewer put it.
Exclusive: US court orders Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu to post $1.7 billion bond in divorce case
2 hours ago The Last Thing He Told Me actress and the actor-director were married from 2005 until their split was finalised in October 2018. The former couple share three children: Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 13. Reflecting on the breakup in a cover interview for Marie Claire magazine, Jennifer offered some insight into the "hard" experience. "You have to be smart about what you can and can't handle, and I could not handle what was out there.
Exclusive: US court orders Sridhar Vembu to post $1.7 billion bond in divorce case
He’s the billionaire tech entrepreneur who gave up life in California to live and work from a small village in Tamil Nadu. He speaks and tweets about the importance of doing his duty and dharma, his mission to develop rural India, and how he no longer needs more money. It is not surprising then that Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and chief scientist of software products company Zoho, is held up publicly as a role model – someone with “simple living and high thinking,” as one interviewer put it.
How will we now remember Mary Roy?
I started writing this on September 1, after I devoured Arundhati Roy’s memoir. And then paused because I had to race to first write, then rewrite, an 8,000+-word profile of billionaire-podcaster-entrepreneur-investor Nikhil Kamath for Newslaundry and The News Minute. Once that was done and dusted, I mulled over whether I’d have anything different to say from the countless reviews published in the interim and the many discussions around it, online and offline.
'A benevolent dictator': How a former student remembers Mary Roy
10 most read (and most beautiful) homes in October in AD India From a duplex in Bengaluru that is steeped in memories to a maximalist dreamhouse in Juhu, here are the most beautiful homes featured in AD in …
WTF Is: Inside Nikhil Kamath’s networks, narratives and new ambitions
Nikhil Kamath, from call centre employee to billionaire podcaster, has built not just companies but a powerful public persona — one that blurs the line between entrepreneurship, influence, and image-making.Illustration: Manjul “If you want to portray an accurate picture of me to your audience, you shouldn’t care about if I get offended, right?
Watch: Snakebite capital | What India must get right
How do you know that a Russell’s viper is knocked out from the anaesthetic it has been given, since snakes don’t have eyelids that would helpfully close? You monitor the tail, always the last to stop moving, explains Lisa Gonsalves, curator at Karnataka-based The Liana Trust, a non-profit working on human-snake co-existence. She calmly strokes the sedated, highly venomous snake stretched out on a white table, its top half in a transparent tube.
Snakebite capital | What India must get right
How do you know that a Russell’s viper is knocked out from the anaesthetic it has been given, since snakes don’t have eyelids that would helpfully close? You monitor the tail, always the last to stop moving, explains Lisa Gonsalves, curator at Karnataka-based The Liana Trust, a non-profit working on human-snake co-existence. She calmly strokes the sedated, highly venomous snake stretched out on a white table, its top half in a transparent tube.
Snakebite capital | What India must get right
5 hours ago The Western Indian town of Kolhapur has found itself in an unlikely global spotlight, as thousands of local artisans who hand-craft traditional leather footwear are mounting a collective attack on luxury fashion label Prada for plagiarising their designs without credit. The rhythmic pounding of the …
Learning to ride a bicycle as an adult
Unlike driving, formalised avenues for adults to learn cycling are not aplenty. Online searches led me to Bangalore Bicycling School (BBS), a completely volunteer-led effort to teach adults how to cycle for free. It was an initiative which, I learnt later, was completing a decade this year. I messaged the phone number mentioned on the Facebook page, filled up a Google form and showed up at 8am on a Sunday at the designated spot in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park.
Why Ola and Uber are copying India’s new ride-hailing app
This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West. A three-year-old homegrown startup has upended India’s ride-hailing sector. Namma Yatri, launched in 2022 as an auto-rickshaw aggregator, has changed how drivers earn from ride-hailing platforms.
Uber and Ola are copying India’s fast-growing ride-hailing app
A 3-year-old homegrown startup has upended India’s ride-hailing sector. Namma Yatri, launched in 2022 as an auto-rickshaw aggregator, has changed how drivers earn from ride-hailing platforms. The app, developed in consultation with a drivers’ union in Bengaluru, discarded the dominant commission-based model and pioneered a subscription-based system where drivers pay the platform a nominal fee and get to keep the entire fare charged from customers.
The Indian company forcing Uber to change its business model
Now May 2, 2025, 6:01 a.m. ET The government’s monthly employment report is set to be released Friday morning, with tensions high among consumers and businesses now bracing for the financial impact of the Trump administration’s worldwide tariff campaign. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the data …
‘I Am on the Hit List’: A deep dive into Gauri Lankesh's murder
Lounge Summary An excellent work of investigative journalism, Rollo Romig's book is a keen reminder of the changes in Indian society over the years This is a Mint Premium article gifted to you. Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A journalistic investigation into the murder of Gauri Lankesh in September 2017 and the many questions that swirled around it, which doubles up as a frank but sensitive biography of the journalist and activist.
‘Digital arrests are an effective scam globally; people need to know their info is widely available online & harvested at scale’
Increasing number of Indians are becoming victims of ‘digital arrest’, a cyber-enabled scam. A recent analysis by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (SE Asia and the Pacific) shows that these types of cyber-enabled fraud are now run as a professionalised industry, mostly from SE Asia.
Hema Committee report: Kerala must provide women with a safe and equitable workspace
Among the many disturbing revelations cascading out of the recent breach in Malayalam cinema's male dominance caused by the Justice K Hema Committee report, a poignant section stands out. Narrating her experience, a junior artist describes incidents of male actors harassing her. Apart from the acting parts, she lost out when she rejected sexual propositioning. She also mentions how she worked on a script for the big screen, pouring her heart into it every night after a long day's work.
Why women need more and better jobs and why core problems like lack of safety, mobility need to be addressed
Two years ago, when Rashmi R was selected from her college to work in a new electronics manufacturing company in Kolar, Karnataka, she became one of the first women in her family and neighbourhood to take up a job outside home. The task of assembling high-end phones involved working eight-hour shifts that could stretch late into the night or start very early in the morning. But her parents were on board, says the 21-yearold, because the company cab would pick up and drop her home.
Why women need more and better jobs and why core problems like lack of safety, mobility need to be addressed
Two years ago, when Rashmi R was selected from her college to work in a new electronics manufacturing company in Kolar, Karnataka, she became one of the first women in her family and neighbourhood to take up a job outside home. The task of assembling high-end phones involved working eighthour shifts that could stretch late into the night or start very early in the morning. But her parents were on board, says the 21-yearold, because the company cab would pick up and drop her home.
Private philanthropy must step up to push innovation, say science historian Jahnavi Phalkey and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani Original
It almost became one of those dreams that died in the pandemic. After science historian Jahnavi Phalkey moved to Bengaluru in 2018 to set up Science Gallery Bengaluru , she, along with professor Mukund Thattai of National Centre for Biological Sciences and Rajesh Gopakumar, director of International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, hit upon organising a mega science festival in the city, similar to those in New York and Europe.
You can’t stop a landslide, the only thing you can do is save lives: M Rajeevan
The consecutive landslides in the early hours of July 30 in Wayanad will go down in Kerala ’s history as one of the worst natural disasters the state has faced. It’s a calamity that has claimed over 200 lives, as per official data on Saturday morning, with the final figure expected to be much higher, razed homes and traumatised a society that still carries the scars of past disasters.
Will a controversial nativist push and competition dull Brand Bengaluru’s sheen in years ahead?
Going by recent events, Brand Bengaluru , it would seem, can’t get a break. In the past two weeks, the Karnataka government managed to rile entrepreneurs and employees in quick succession. First, it cleared a bill to reserve at least half the jobs in the private sector for locals, triggering a furore from industry leaders and resulting in a hurried shelving of the proposal.
Will a controversial nativist push and competition dull Brand Bengaluru’s sheen in years ahead?
Going by recent events, Brand Bengaluru , it would seem, can’t get a break. In the past two weeks, the Karnataka government managed to rile entrepreneurs and employees in quick succession. First, it cleared a bill to reserve at least half the jobs in the private sector for locals, triggering a furore from industry leaders and resulting in a hurried shelving of the proposal.
After world domination, a smooth shift: Long single, rare malt finds love back home
Exclusive collector's editions and rare expressions of Indian single malts , earlier solely targeted at the international market, are increasingly finding space in the bar cabinets of the affluent back home.Diageo India's The Godawan 100, of which only 48 bottles were available for sale in India, was sold out, despite a price tag of close to ₹1 lakh.
Thirst Trap: Water sustainability issues loom over India's booming data centre industry
The data on data centres in India converges on one point: there is no stopping its growth . This January, Adani Enterprises signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government for a Rs 50,000 crore investment to set up a 1 gigawatt (GW) data centre, apart from Rs 5,000 crore for a 100 megawatt (MW) data centre in Telangana. Tech giant Meta, ET reported in April, would open its first data centre in India on a 10-acre campus in Chennai.
India's social welfare schemes don't speak to each other: Andaleeb Rahman, Cornell University academic Original
Among the first decisions Prime Minister Narendra Modi took in his third term were to transfer a new instalment of the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), amounting to about Rs 20,000 crore, and to approve assistance to construct three crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, indicating the priority the new government was according to social welfare schemes In a new book, The Future of India ’s Social Safety Nets,, respectively, at the TataCornell Institute, Cornell University, argue...
India's social welfare schemes don't speak to each other: Andaleeb Rahman, Cornell University academic
India's social welfare schemes don't speak to each other: Andaleeb Rahman, Cornell University academic Among the first decisions Prime Minister Narendra Modi took in his third term were to transfer a new instalment of the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi …
I want to be one of the nicest guys they knew: Titan MD CK Venkataraman
When you are a leader, how do you ensure those around you feel empowered to speak up? How do you deal with those who have strong, sometimes contrary, views? “We are just ordinary people doing some work and it certainly helps to seek advice,” says Titan MD CK Venkataraman, disclaiming that he is a visionary like Xerxes Desai, founding MD of Titan and Tanishq.
The man who escaped the scam rings of Cambodia
In a darkened room in the interiors of Cambodia, as blows landed on him, one after another, hour after hour, and jolts of electric shocks burnt through his body, he kept reminding himself what he had learnt in the navy: “Whatever happens to you, whatever pain you are made to go through, bardasht karo (bear it). Wait for your time.” And so he waited.In Bengaluru, a software engineer gets a call from a person saying there is a courier in her name,
The man who escaped the scam rings of Cambodia
In a darkened room in the interiors of Cambodia, as blows landed on him, one after another, hour after hour, and jolts of electric shocks burnt through his body, he kept reminding himself what he had learnt in the navy: “Whatever happens to you, whatever pain you are made to go through, bardasht karo (bear it). Wait for your time.” And so he waited.
Access to benefits key in retaining women contract workers: Study
While a substantial share of contract workers, both male and female, quit within the first three months of employment, married women receiving provident fund were thrice as likely to remain in their jobs as those without this benefit and single women receiving ESIC benefits are 48% more likely to stay in their jobs compared with peers who don’t, according to a new report. Both single and married women who are paid performance incentives are more likely to retain their jobs than women who don’t.
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