Daybreak

L&T Technology Services is making a big bet on AI to reverse a slide in its profit margins. The engineering services company has sold its Smart World and Communications business at a loss of Rs 350 crore, shifting its focus towards AI-led engineering projects. Meanwhile, AI agents are helping it automate software testing, process complex engineering data and cut project timelines. The shift is also changing how LTTS hires employees, structures teams and charges clients. But with competitors making similar moves and outcome-based billing bringing new risks, can AI deliver the profits LTTS is counting on?Tune in!Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Complan's pitch to Indian parents has long been simple. It helps kids grow taller, faster. Last month, FSSAI asked its maker to show the studies behind it's claim: "clinically proven 2x growth". Nestle got a similar notice for two of its baby formulas. So did several other brands, as the FSSAI swept the industry, hitting products like atta to infant formula. So, why is the regulator going after brands that have been around for so long, so aggressively, and why now?Tune in.This episode was edited by Arnav Prakash. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Eight jewellery companies have listed on India’s main board this year. Many of them are the behind-the-scenes makers who supply to big brands like Malabar, Kalyan, and Senco. Investors have lapped them up. One issue was oversubscribed a hundred times. On paper, it’s easy to see why, because their profits are soaring. But they have to pay for gold upfront and wait months for retailers to pay them. In the end, their bank credit is almost wiped out. So most of what investors handed over is going into repaying loans and buying gold. In this edition of Long and Short from The Ken newsroom written by Debanjali Biswas and read aloud by Snigdha, we look at what exactly investors are buying into.Tune in.This episode was edited by Arnav Prakash.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

This Diwali, gift The Ken!Tenants across India's six biggest metros have handed landlords Rs 1.26 trillion in security deposits, a new NoBroker study estimates. Around $15 billion of tenant money, refundable in name, sits in landlords' accounts earning interest for people it does not belong to.In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma ask what a deposit actually costs a renter, and arrives at a number: nearly a month's rent, every year. The same tenant who pays 2 months' deposit in Mumbai is asked for 10 in Bengaluru, and in Delhi NCR, about 4 in 10 never got their full deposit back.Renting was meant to be a phase. But with home ownership drifting out of reach, tenants may be extending this loan for decades.Tune in.Recommendations:It sucks to be a tenant in Bengaluru right now*This episode was originally published on July 17, 2026.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

India's RDI fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore was launched to give patient capital to deep-tech startups. A year later the cash, is barely flowing. Out of 162 alternate investment funds, only 2 government intermediaries have approved letters, and most of their startups are still waiting. Fund managers say that they've experienced radio silence after applications, allegations of conflict of interests, and return expectations that don't suit R&D focused companies. Meanwhile, overall startup funding is also down.So, why did the fund meant to speed things up end up slowing everything down?Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.