Veteran journalist Sundeep Khanna covered the key milestones in the history of corporate India in his lecture at the Asian College of Journalism.

The author of ‘Azim Premji: The Man Beyond The Billions’ chronicled the evolution of Indian trade and businesses, and highlighted how understanding the past equips a journalist to observe patterns, report on conflicts, identify clues and write strong leads.

The lecture was divided into two parts, each covering a separate timeline from the Indus Valley civilisation to the current business landscape in the country.

The former executive editor of Mint also discussed how commodities and other asset classes follow cycles that can be traced back to various timelines in history. This makes understanding their previous performances crucial to a journalist.

He also touched upon the history of family-owned businesses, their contribution to the Indian economy and how some of them managed to stand the test of time.

“Business journalists covering a particular beat need to be informed regarding the various business families operating in that industry,” Khanna said on August 18.

The lecture helped ACJ’s financial journalism students understand the impact of economic and political events on Indian businesses, policies, and legislative actions.