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Olina Banerji

Staff Writer - Education, Mobility, Sustainability • India Edition

Based in Delhi, Olina writes about mega-trends in urban mobility, education, skilling and the environment, with a focus on how institutions and innovations can help cities grow sustainably. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics, and has worked previously with India Today and global non-profit Ashoka.

95 Articles published

Top Comments by Olina Banerji

Human resources is a brand-new beast post-Covid. Are HR managers?

Hi Amukta. Thanks for reading the article. Truly sorry to hear about your burnout. I think a lot of us are facing similar issues. The article tries to convey why exactly then there's a need for an evolved HR function. The article's not saying anywhere that HR has figured it out. And its precisely in grappling with these challenges of remote work/WFH and dealing with mental health fallout, that HR needs to up its game. The article is trying to chronicle this unique change in our workplaces. And one of the groups of people most impacted are HR managers. Don't know how that makes it an infomercial.

Olina Banerji

KKR-backed Lighthouse Learning charts a K12 course

Hi Diwakar. Thank you for reading. You're right--the returns come from the cut collected by the education services company, which for all practical purposes acts as a service provider for the trust. There are usually three entities--the owner of the asset, the trust (which is supposed to own/lease the property) and the education services provider. A company like Lighthouse will have reps on the trusts' board, it may even purchase a stake in the company that owns the asset. That way they have more control over the destiny of the school. It's definitely not a simplistic structure :) As for your other question, KKR now owns 95% stake in Lighthouse.

Olina Banerji

The IIM franchise is denting the IIM brand

Hi Charan. Thank you for your comment. I hope you read the piece since the article doesn't convey that the spread of quality education should stop. Or that IIMs are the only islands of excellence. The story ends with pointing to other centres opening up in the private sector. But there is a need for course correction while these newer IIMs are still growing, is what the story argues. The argument isn't mine--you will find several people within the IIM system (and outside) report the same.

Olina Banerji

Stories by Olina Banerji