In this FT series people share their stories of this extraordinary time

Resist the temptation to rely on networks. Plus: practical tips for recruiters

Subsidies and freebies to retain cash-strapped users add to sector’s financial burden

Operators grapple with fierce competition in their battle to boost profits

Cable company added Three as a new customer for so-called ‘backhaul’ network

Deal’s architects say it will improve connectivity, choice and value, but consumers have heard that before

Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss the outlook for the UK mortgage market, the reform of India's state-owned banks and leadership changes at UBS. With special guest Darren Cook, Mortgage Analytics Manager at Moneyfacts.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent, Benjamin Parkin, Mumbai correspondent, Alice Ross, wealth correspondent, and Stephen Morris, European banking correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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A new short story for the holidays, from the winner of the 2013 Man Booker International Prize. The reader is Christine Spolar  

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Is the abundance of information in the age of Google and Facebook storing up problems for future generations? Richard Ovenden, who as Bodley's Librarian is responsible for the research libraries of the University of Oxford, talks about the opportunites and concerns of the digitisation of memory with John Thornhill, the FT's innovation editor.  

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How is the crisis changing our reading habits and accelerating the industry’s digital revolution?

Proposed deal would create strong UK competitor to challenge BT

Restrictions in nation that processes 90% of world’s stones upend global industry 

Officials’ barbs come at a precarious time for Latin American country

German media group Axel Springer is seeking to go private with the help of US investor KKR. Katie Martin discusses what both sides stand to gain from the move with Arash Massoudi and Tobias Buck.

Contributors: Suzanne Blumsom, executive editor, Katie Martin, capital markets editor, Arash Massoudi, corporate finance and deals editor, and Tobias Buck, Berlin correspondent.

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In the past decade, some of India’s largest financial groups have made big investments in luxury property, notably an ambitious Mumbai tower that was supposed to set new standards in urban design. But the economic boom they hoped would spur demand failed to materialise. Jyotsna Singh talks to Benjamin Parkin in Mumbai about what went wrong and the resulting debt crisis that is holding back growth.

Contributors: Jyotsna Singh, Delhi reporter, and Benjamin Parkin, Mumbai correspondent. Proucers: Jyotsna Singh and Fiona Symon

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The disputed Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir is in lockdown after India revoked its special status following a long running insurgency that led to thousands of deaths. Jyotsna Singh discusses what India plans to do next, and how neighbouring Pakistan, which also claims the territory, has reacted, with Amy Kazmin the FT's South Asia bureau chief.

Contributors: Jyotsna Singh, Delhi reporter, and Amy Kazmin, South Asia bureau chief. Producers: Jyotsna Singh and Fiona Symon

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Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco is making a high stakes investment in India as the world’s largest crude oil exporter seeks to deepen its ties with the fastest growing energy consumer. Tom O’Sullivan discusses the proposed investment, announced by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, with Benjamin Parkin and Anjli Raval.

Contributors: Tom O’Sullivan, deputy analysis editor, Benjamin Parkin, Mumbai correspondent, and Anjli Raval, senior energy correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist policies have sparked protests and intercommunity violence across India. Against this backdrop, a proposed data protection bill that will allow his government free rein to spy on its citizens is causing particular concern. Madhumita Murgia discusses the bill with Benjamin Parkin in Mumbai.

Contributors: Madhumita Murgia, European technology correspondent, Benjamin Parkin, Mumbai correspondent. Producers: Persis Love and Fiona Symon

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This riveting account of how a piratical corporation subjugated India resonates with today’s global capitalism

LVMH’s $14.5bn bid for Tiffany shows power passing from gem miners to luxury marketers

Business tycoon’s GFG Alliance makes first foray into fast-growing market after long court battle

Endiama chief wants ‘radical change’ in overhaul of country’s scandal-hit gem industry

World’s second-largest diamond miner cites disruption along the supply chain

From Wimbledon to Lord’s, this summer has been a gift that — technology permitting — keeps on giving

The baseball team’s victory in the World Series reflects the city’s wider resurgence

US stocks shake off loan loss warnings from country’s largest banks

O2 and Virgin Media’s £31bn merger is one of the biggest examples of virtual dealmaking during pandemic

WhatsApp, which began testing its mobile payments feature in India two years ago, could offer at least one more financial service to people in its biggest market. In a filing with the local regulator in India, the Facebook -owned messaging platform has listed credit as one of the areas it will pursue in the country. […]

Byju’s, an education learning startup in India that has seen a surge in its popularity in recent weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak, is in talks to raise as much as $400 million in fresh capital at a $10 billion valuation, said three people familiar with the matter. The additional capital would be part of the […]

Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity firm Silver Lake is following suit — and is willing to pay a premium for it. Silver Lake announced on Monday it will be investing 56.56 billion Indian rupees (about $746.8 million) in Jio Platforms for about 1.15% stake in the Indian […]

Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners said on Friday it will invest $1.5 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms, joining social conglomerate Facebook and Silver Lake that have also made bets on the Indian telecom giant in recent weeks. The planned announcement, which would give the U.S.-headquartered software-focused buyout firm Vista Equity Partners a 2.32% stake in […]

Glance, which serves media content, news and casual games on the lock screen of Android -powered smartphones, has amassed 100 million daily active users, it said today. The subsidiary of ad-firm InMobi Group reached the milestone in 21 months in what appears to be the shortest duration for any popular internet service to gain their […]

The regulators said “NO” when Telefonica tried to combine its O2 operations in the UK with rival carrier, Hutchison-owned Three, back in 2015. But Telefonica didn’t let go of the idea of divestment, and five years later, in the middle of a health pandemic with related threats of a global economic depression looming over us, […]

With unemployment growing at a worrying rate, we’re seeing a lot more people finding themselves in hot water when it comes to their finances. Today a startup that’s built a platform to help identify and help those users when they find themselves unable to make payments is announcing a very large growth round of funding […]

Online retailer hopes to avoid fate of non-banks whose value surpassed country’s biggest lender

The Indian government has said that its contact-tracing app Aarogya Setu “by design” fetches the location data of its 90 million users and allows them to view the concentration of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in their vicinity. New Delhi issued the statement after France-based security researcher Baptiste Robert found what he […]

Xiaomi, Vivo, Samsung, Oppo and other smartphone companies have received approval from some state governments in India to partially resume manufacturing and assembling of devices amid the ongoing lockdown in the world’s second largest handset market that completely shut operations at these plants in late March. The companies said that they have secured permission to […]

India said today Zoom is ‘not a safe platform’ and advised government employees to not use it for official work as the video conference service surges in popularity in many nations including the world’s second largest internet market as billions of people remain stuck at home due to the coronavirus crisis. “Zoom is a not a […]

Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity firm Silver Lake is following suit — and is willing to pay a premium for it. Silver Lake announced on Monday it will be investing 56.56 billion Indian rupees (about $746.8 million) in Jio Platforms for about 1.15% stake in the Indian […]

If you're building a large-scale technology startup, sooner or later, you should be having a conversation about the Indian market.

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the last decade, reporting growth each quarter even as handset shipments slowed or declined elsewhere globally. But the world’s second largest smartphone is beginning to feel the coronavirus heat, too. The Indian smartphone market grew by a modest 4% year-over-year in the quarter […]

Nvidia Chief Scientist Bill Dally has released an open-source ventilator hardware design he developed in order to address the shortage resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic. The mechanical ventilator design developed by Dally can be assembled quickly, using off-the-shelf parts with a total cost of around $400 — making it an accessible and affordable alternative […]

Xiaomi today launched a new e-commerce service in India that allows people in the nation to easily browse and order its handsets and other products from nearby physical retail stores as the Chinese giant rushes to kickstart its sales in its biggest overseas market. Dubbed Mi Commerce, the service allows people to locate nearby stores […]

Xiaomi, Vivo, Samsung, Oppo and other smartphone companies have received approval from some state governments in India to partially resume manufacturing and assembling of devices amid the ongoing lockdown in the world’s second largest handset market that completely shut operations at these plants in late March. The companies said that they have secured permission to […]

E-commerce firms Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart, and ride-hailing giants Ola and Uber are partially resuming their services in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government eased some restrictions late last week to revive economic activity that’s been stalled since the stringent stay-at-home orders were imposed across the nation in late March. The companies said in […]

Xiaomi today launched a new e-commerce service in India that allows people in the nation to easily browse and order its handsets and other products from nearby physical retail stores as the Chinese giant rushes to kickstart its sales in its biggest overseas market. Dubbed Mi Commerce, the service allows people to locate nearby stores […]

When I first met Bustle Digital Group’s Jason Wagenheim, New York City was just beginning to go into lockdown. The BDG offices were empty thanks to the company’s newly instituted work-from-home policy, but it still seemed reasonable to meet in-person to learn more about BDG’s broader vision. At the time, Wagenheim — a former Fusion […]

The Indian government has said that its contact-tracing app Aarogya Setu “by design” fetches the location data of its 90 million users and allows them to view the concentration of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in their vicinity. New Delhi issued the statement after France-based security researcher Baptiste Robert found what he […]

US asset manager apologises following comments by company’s president over debt rules

Prices fall as farmers struggle to sell fruit seen as national delicacy