Economy Archives

Chennai budget raises many questions, but whom should we ask?

March 28, 2018 Mahesh Kumar S T

For the second year in a row, a bare-bones statement of accounts was passed through a secretive exercise. While the figures themselves raise many questions, more alarming is the fact that there is no elected body of representatives for citizens to approach.

TASMAC vs residents: Proposed Chromepet shop stirs up protests

February 28, 2018 Bhavani Prabhakar

State excise authorities have been trying every means to keep the TASMAC cash registers ringing. Downgrading roads. Relocating shops to residential areas. Citizens meanwhile continue the long fight.

Internationally famous Anakaputhur weavers waiting for assistance in their home state

January 30, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Their handlooms, made from completely natural fibre and dyes, have found takers across the world, but the traditional weaving community has been in deep economic distress since the 2015 Chennai floods.

“Want organic? Grow your own food”: Chennai IT-professional-turned-farmer

January 16, 2018 Athher Ahmed

A city-bred professional who has turned to full-fledged farming feels there can be no organic food without integrated natural farming and relates his personal story to underline why.

How a Chennai initiative is helping differently-abled people acquire economic independence

January 12, 2018 Bhavani Prabhakar

It’s a ‘fair’ with a difference. Kasim Basith’s initiative, ‘We Are Your Voice’ organises an annual job fair for persons with disability and has successfully placed many of them in reputed organisations.

Underpaid, shunned: The sad plight of Chennai’s burial ground workers

December 7, 2017 Laasya Shekhar

Workers in Chennai’s 38 burial grounds struggle to make their ends meet and battle social stigma, as the Corporation dithers over regularisation of their employment.

Co-working spaces in Chennai a smart choice for start-ups

November 16, 2017 Laasya Shekhar

For starting entrepreneurs in Chennai, the emergence of shared office spaces means significant savings of time, space and money; not surprising therefore that the trend is catching on fast.

What Chennai should know about the IT industry shake-up

July 26, 2017 V Sriram

As the country’s second largest exporter of software, the city must wake up to the realities of the current phase that Indian IT is going through, and ‘downturn’ may not be the right word for it.

Jallikattu’s back, but can it revive our native cattle breeds?

March 7, 2017 Bhavani Prabhakar

MBA turned cattle-conservationist and organic farmer Raja Marthandan talks about how the revocation of the Jallikattu ban could help indigenous cattle breeds.

How Jaya turned sleepy Madras into vibrant Chennai

December 12, 2016 Kalyan N Arun

K.N. Arun looks back upon the life and times of an unforgettable leader and her impact on the city