The Core

About The Core

The Core is a financial journalism platform covering business, economy and markets from Mumbai at thecore.in. Founded and edited by veteran financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj, it describes itself as a multi-platform business news venture focused primarily on the traditional economy and financial markets. Its flagship product is The Core Report, a daily podcast published Monday to Friday in which Ethiraj takes listeners through the most pressing topics in business and technology. Ethiraj — previously the founder-editor-in-chief of Bloomberg TV India, founder of the data-journalism initiative IndiaSpend and the fact-checking platform BOOM — brings decades of business journalism experience to the venture. The platform's coverage spans markets, companies, the economy, technology and policy, aimed at entrepreneurs, executives and aspirants.

Founding by Govindraj Ethiraj

The Core was launched by Govindraj Ethiraj, one of India's most experienced business journalists, who serves as its editor. The launch — with The Core Report podcast debuting in June 2023 — came after Ethiraj's long career across Indian business media: founder-editor-in-chief of Bloomberg TV India, the 24-hour business news channel launched from Mumbai in 2008; Editor (New Media) at Business Standard, where he integrated the newspaper's operations with its digital platform; and stints of around five years each at CNBC-TV18 and The Economic Times. He also founded IndiaSpend, the pioneering data-journalism initiative, and BOOM (boomlive.in), the fact-checking platform — ventures that established his credentials in innovative, public-interest journalism.

Govindraj Ethiraj's credentials

Ethiraj's standing in journalism is reflected in his honours: Fellow of the Aspen Institute in Colorado, McNulty Prize Laureate 2018, winner of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leadership Award 2014, and member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Information Integrity (2025). These recognitions span leadership, social impact and the fight against misinformation — themes that run through his ventures. His career arc, from television and print business journalism to data journalism, fact-checking and now an independent business news platform, traces the evolution of Indian financial journalism itself.

The Core Report podcast

The Core Report is the platform's signature product: a daily podcast, published Monday to Friday, in which Ethiraj guides listeners through the day's most pressing and trend-setting topics in business and technology. The show's pitch is practical — keeping listeners "up-to-date and in-the-know on subjects and themes that will keep you ahead of the pack" — and its audience is defined as entrepreneurs, corner-suite executives and aspirants to both. In India's growing business-podcast market, the show leverages Ethiraj's authority and network to deliver a concise, expert-led briefing for decision-makers.

Multi-platform approach

The Core describes itself as a multi-platform business news venture: alongside the podcast, it publishes articles, analysis and interviews on its website, distributing across audio, text and social channels. The multi-platform design recognises that business audiences consume information differently — the morning podcast for the commute, articles for the desk, social clips for discovery. This integrated approach, which Ethiraj pioneered at Business Standard's digital integration, treats the story as platform-agnostic and the audience's habits as the organising principle.

Coverage areas

The platform's coverage focuses on the traditional economy and financial markets: companies, markets, banking, the broader economy, technology's business impact and the policies shaping commerce. Its writers cover beats including retail, real estate, media and entertainment — with contributors such as Anjali Palod, previously a podcast producer at The Quint — alongside investigative reporting on environment, political economy, public policy, business, law and regulatory affairs from reporters like Akshay Deshmane, formerly with HuffPost India. The mix of markets coverage and investigative depth reflects Ethiraj's own range.

Editorial philosophy

The Core's editorial philosophy carries the imprint of its founder's ventures: data-driven where possible, independent in outlook, and oriented toward the real economy rather than market noise. IndiaSpend's legacy — using data to illuminate public policy — and BOOM's fact-checking rigour inform a business journalism that values evidence over hype. In a business-media landscape often dominated by market cheerleading and corporate access journalism, The Core positions itself as a venue for substantive, independent analysis of how the Indian economy actually works.

The site's own about page states the philosophy in operational terms: "fresh perspectives on the world of business, primarily traditional business and the listed universe, through insights, on-ground reports, immersive shop floor walk-throughs, and visits to R&D laboratories." Delivery spans a daily newsletter, a daily podcast, website reports and video. The intended audience is stated plainly — CEOs, managers and aspiring entrepreneurs — and the page notes that the publication is being ramped up "in small doses" so the team can absorb reader feedback and tailor its output. It describes Ethiraj as a financial journalist who has reported and written on Indian business for over 25 years, and as the founder and editor of BOOM and IndiaSpend.

Team and contributors

The platform's team combines Ethiraj's leadership with reporters and writers covering its beats, alongside expert contributors — including voices like Captain Aditya Vinay Heble on aviation and CA Nimish Maheshwari, co-founder of the financial-markets platform Beat The Street, on markets and the economy. This blend of staff journalists and practitioner-contributors gives the coverage both reporting depth and domain expertise. The lean, expert-led newsroom model reflects the economics of independent digital business journalism.

Key editorial names are listed on the site's author pages. Dinesh Narayanan serves as managing editor of The Core and its sibling publication The Signal — an award-winning journalist formerly with The Economic Times and the economy and policy editor at Forbes India magazine. Anjali Palod writes on retail, real estate and media and entertainment, having previously been a podcast producer at The Quint. Ethiraj's own author biography describes The Core as "a multi-platform business news venture focussed primarily on traditional economy and financial markets" — a deliberate emphasis on the real economy and markets rather than the startup-and-tech coverage that dominates much of Indian business media.

Audience

The Core targets the business decision-maker and the aspirant: entrepreneurs building companies, executives running them, investors allocating capital, and young professionals seeking to understand the economy. This is a high-value but demanding audience — time-pressed, sophisticated and allergic to fluff. The daily podcast format serves it directly: a concise, authoritative briefing that respects the listener's time. The platform's focus on the "traditional economy" — manufacturing, services, markets — rather than startup hype alone distinguishes its audience proposition.

Business model

As an independent business news venture, The Core monetises through advertising, sponsorships — particularly around its podcast, where host-read and sponsored segments command premium rates — and branded content for business audiences. The B2B orientation of its audience makes it attractive to financial services, consulting, technology and professional-services advertisers seeking decision-makers. The podcast-first strategy also opens subscription and membership possibilities common to successful independent audio ventures, while the B2B audience lends itself to events and executive-education extensions.

Place in Indian business media

The Core represents the veteran-journalist-led independent venture in Indian business media: a platform built on its founder's credibility, focused on substance over scale, and designed for the audio age. In a business-media market dominated by large television networks and newspaper groups, it offers an independent alternative with a distinctive voice — Ethiraj's — and a distinctive format — the daily briefing podcast. For business readers and listeners seeking informed, independent coverage of the Indian economy, it has quickly become a noteworthy destination. Its official website is thecore.in.

Outlook

As of October 2026, The Core continues to publish business journalism from Mumbai at thecore.in, with The Core Report podcast delivering its daily briefing to the platform's audience of entrepreneurs, executives and aspirants. The independent business-media space in India remains challenging — competing for attention and advertising against much larger incumbents — but The Core's assets are distinctive: a founder with unmatched credibility in Indian business journalism, a podcast-first format suited to busy decision-makers, and an editorial philosophy rooted in data and independence. As India's economy continues its growth trajectory and its business stories grow more complex, the demand for the kind of substantive, trustworthy coverage The Core offers is unlikely to diminish. Its podcast-first strategy — unusual among Indian business publications at launch — has proven well-judged as audio consumption has grown, giving The Core a format advantage with the time-pressed executives it serves — and a model other business publishers now emulate.