Contributor

Nilesh Christopher

Nilesh Christopher is a Bangalore-based reporter-researcher for Rest of World. He enjoys writing deeply researched stories about the impact of technology on Indian society. His work has appeared in Wired, BBC, Vice and other places.

A boy leads a camel as buildings stand under construction at Clifton Beach in Karachi, Pakistan, on Monday, July 9, 2018. The Pakistan economy is in distress. How else to describe an emerging market that has seen three currency devaluations since December, depleted its foreign-currency reserves and may soon ask for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, less than two years after its last $6.6 billion emergency cash infusion.

Feature 6 January 2021

How Zameen came to dominate Pakistan’s real estate market

In 15 years, the company went from a bland classified ads site to hosting two-thirds of all real estate transactions.

A technician repairs a smartphone at a Xiaomi corp. service center run by the company in Bengaluru, India, on Thursday, March 30, 2017. Once compared with Apple Inc. for its sleek smartphones and charismatic leadership, Chinese startup Xiaomi is seeking an image makeover as it tries to recover from a sales-growth slide.

Feature 4 December 2020

How Indian is an Indian phone?

Facing a nationalist backlash in India, Xiaomi has rebranded itself as a local manufacturer.

A man uses a smartphone in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok will have to reveal users' identities if Indian government agencies ask them to, according to the countrys controversial new rules for social media companies and messaging apps expected to be published later this month. Photographer:

News 13 November 2020

As WhatsApp Pay enters India, local fintech companies aren’t happy

For Big Tech competitors like Google, the move means competition. For local wallets, it’s just another tech giant in town.

News 30 August 2020

On Zoom, Y Combinator’s foreign startups have a leg up

With its first fully remote Demo Day, the famed startup accelerator has gone global.

The New Market area in the capital Dhaka this July.

Feature 21 July 2020

Want to buy a parrot? Please login via Facebook.

In Bangladesh, there is no Amazon. There is no eBay. If you want to buy a dress or a crested finch from the comfort of your home, you have to use Facebook.

Feature 2 June 2020

The doctor will mislead you now

Amid rapidly growing fear and anxiety, business is booming for India’s quack YouTube doctors.

Feature 19 May 2020

One country, two internets

Within a matter of weeks, two students who returned to their home states find themselves in different positions as a result of unequal internet access.

Feature 12 May 2020

Meet the rising stars of India’s video apps

A new wave of Chinese social-media platforms are changing how Indians interact with technology, and with one another.

NEW DELHI, INDIA - NOVEMBER 4: Scholars celebrate after the 48th Convocation of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), on November 4, 2017 in New Delhi, India. President Ram Nath Kovind urged IIT Delhi alumni to give back to the society by helping the less privileged students of the premier institute by undertaking short teaching stints and sponsoring scholarships. (Photo by Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

News April 2020

How the most prized degree in India became the most worthless

An oversupply of programmers and universities has left thousands without work.