Long Story

Our daily Long Story is a deep dive into a specific contemporary issue, brought to you from the front lines with original reportage by our best journalists. Each story is carefully written, edited, fact checked and published only when we are satisfied that your time will be well spent reading it.

News

Why it’s raining cloudbursts in Jammu & Kashmir

In the midst of rainfall deficits, shrinking rivers and dry winters, the Union Territory has been battered by cloudbursts and intense short-duration rainfall that have wreaked death and destruction.

9 min read07:01 AM IST
Industry

Scale isn’t sexy anymore: How mid-cap IT challengers are winning the AI era

As AI breaks the link between headcount and revenue, nimble mid-tier IT challengers are outgrowing tier-1 giants, and rewriting the tech playbook. Discover why smaller, platform-led players are winning the AI era.

9 min read29 Jul 2026
Industry

How three stubborn men, and $1.5 billion poured in over two decades, put India on the world’s new-drug map

While others made money producing generics by copying foreign discoveries, they bet on drug discovery in India, selling the family silver to fund their dreams. Now, after decades, they are seeing a payoff or within kissing distance of one.

14 min read27 Jul 2026
Economy

Cold stats, warm spirits: Inside the Gen Z protest that redefined India

India’s Gen Z forced a political reckoning over exam leaks, but their protest was also about something deeper: stagnant jobs, weak public education and underutilizing a finite demographic dividend period.

7 min read26 Jul 2026
AI

Inside India’s quest to build robotic machines that can think and pick up objects

For India to succeed in robotics, experts say the country will need what some countries spent decades building: a robotics ecosystem where research labs, universities, manufacturers and startups partnered in innovation.

12 min read23 Jul 2026
Auto News

Delhi’s EV gamble: Has India finally reached the tipping point where mandates can work?

Globally, combining incentives with mandates has proven to be more effective in boosting electric vehicle adoption. Has India’s EV market matured enough for this approach?

9 min read22 Jul 2026
Industry

From roots to riches: How Kerala-based Synthite quietly became a $500 million global supplier of natural ingredients

Synthite isn’t a name you hear every day. Yet, its products reach millions worldwide, in perfumes and snacks. That has helped it reach $500 million in revenue. Now, with an eye on the next $500 million, Synthite is diversifying in a move that could reshape its future.

13 min read20 Jul 2026
News

Stolen growth: why 2-year-old Bhagat Singh may never run

In a land of agricultural plenty, a silent crisis is stealing the future of the next generation before they can even walk. A look inside the economic shifts and broken safety nets failing India’s vulnerable children.

9 min read19 Jul 2026
AI

Mad Street Den built the future of AI. Then its founders walked away.

They built AI long before it became fashionable. But being ahead of time and a deal they couldn’t accept left Mad Street Den’s founders with a painful choice. This is a story of ambition, vision, failure, and resilience—and why their biggest success may still lie ahead.

13 min read16 Jul 2026
Economy

The silent labour strike: How a worker shortage is threatening India’s industrial leap

Labour shortages are quietly crippling factory floors across India. For a country betting its economic future on an industrial boom, the reality is stark. Why are both skilled and low-skilled workers turning their backs on manufacturing? We find out.

9 min read14 Jul 2026