Sunday edition 19 April, 2026 National edition · A

The Broadsheet

Est. MMXVII  ·  New Delhi, IN  ·  ₹0 — Free forever
Weather: mostly writing Circulation: one reader at a time Editor: Aarav Menon
Front page  ·  Exclusive portfolio

Aarav Menon,
on the record.

Monetary policy, labour markets, and the Indian household balance sheet. Filed from New Delhi, IN.

By Aarav Menon  ·  Economics Correspondent  ·  Economics & Labour
BeatEconomics & Labour
Filed fromNew Delhi, IN
Contactaarav.menon@thebroadsheet.in
Archivehttps://aaravmenon.press
Turn the page
•RBI holds repo rate for fifth straight meeting•PMGKAY probe enters parliamentary review•Household debt at 5-year high, RBI warns•Balance Sheet crosses 3,100 paid subscribers•HarperCollins acquires rights to “The Household Book”•MNREGA wage arrears cleared after court PIL •RBI holds repo rate for fifth straight meeting•PMGKAY probe enters parliamentary review•Household debt at 5-year high, RBI warns•Balance Sheet crosses 3,100 paid subscribers•HarperCollins acquires rights to “The Household Book”•MNREGA wage arrears cleared after court PIL
I.

The correspondent's note

Page A2  ·  ≈ 1.2M words filed

Economics correspondent covering monetary policy, labour markets, and the Indian household balance sheet for The Broadsheet. Nine years on the beat, four of them at the country desk.

Reports on the RBI, the Finance Ministry, and the quiet arithmetic inside ration shops.

Currently filing the weekly Balance Sheet podcast and finishing a book on the Indian household balance sheet under contract with HarperCollins India. Due autumn 2026.

The interesting story is never in the macro number. It is in the ration-card queue, three states away from where the number was calculated.

Trained as an economist at Delhi School, briefly an associate at NIPFP, then left research for reporting in 2017. Keeps a running ledger of every FOI filed since.

Currently reporting on

The 2025 monetary easing cycle and its uneven reach into small-town credit.

Available for

Longform commissions, teaching, public-interest speaking, peer review.

Languages

English  ·  Hindi  ·  Malayalam  ·  Bengali (reading)  · 

9
Years on the beat
1.2M
Words filed
68
Podcast episodes
14
FOI investigations
II.

A career in dispatches

From the city desk
01
Senior Correspondent  ·  Economics desk

The Broadsheet, New Delhi

Lead the economics desk. Four front-page investigations in 2024 including a six-month reconstruction of the PMGKAY subsidy chain. Co-host the weekly Balance Sheet podcast (avg. 42K listens per episode).

Monetary policyLongformData reportingPodcastingFOI requests
Jan 2022 – Present
Lead byline
≈ 180K words filed
RedInk finalist 2024
1
Correspondent  ·  Labour desk

Scroll.in, Mumbai

Labour and informal economy beat. Broke the series on MNREGA wage delays during the 2020 lockdown that triggered a parliamentary review. Bylined 142 pieces over the tenure.

Labour marketsMNREGAField reportingPolicy
Mar 2019 – Dec 2021
Solo byline
142 features
Parliamentary review
2
Staff Reporter  ·  Banking desk

Mint, New Delhi

Covered the RBI beat and the 2018 NBFC crisis. Early reporting on the IL&FS collapse. Developed the paper's household-debt explainer series.

RBINBFCExplainersMarkets
Jun 2017 – Feb 2019
Shared byline
Daily filer
Series commissioned
3
Associate  ·  Research

NIPFP, New Delhi

Research associate on the fiscal federalism team. Co-authored two working papers on GST compensation and state-level debt. Left to write for a broader audience.

Fiscal policyGSTPublic financeWorking papers
Aug 2015 – May 2017
Co-author
2 working papers
Cited by 14 Comm. Fin.
III.

Selected filings

Classifieds  ·  Longform
No. 01  ·  Investigation · The Broadsheet Jan–Jul 2024

The Missing Grain

Six-month investigation into the PMGKAY subsidy chain across Bihar and Jharkhand. Twelve FOI requests, 84 interviews, 14,000 words.

Front page · 3 partsRedInk finalist
No. 11  ·  Audio · Weekly Since 2023

Balance Sheet, the podcast

Weekly 40-minute show decoding the Indian household balance sheet. 68 episodes, 42K avg. listens, 3,100 paid subscribers on the Substack companion.

Spotify · Apple · Substack₹25L ARR
No. 21  ·  Series · Scroll.in Apr–Aug 2020

Wages Withheld

Four-part investigation on MNREGA wage delays during the 2020 lockdown. Triggered a parliamentary review and a Supreme Court PIL.

Scroll featurePolicy change
No. 31  ·  Longform · In progress Delivery 2026

The Household Book

Forthcoming book on the Indian household balance sheet, under contract with HarperCollins India. Field reporting across eight states.

HarperCollins INAdvance paid
IV.

The register of skills

Craft  ·  Method
Investigative reportingData journalismFOI requestsLongform narrativeMonetary policyLabour economicsPodcast productionInterviewing Investigative reportingData journalismFOI requestsLongform narrativeMonetary policyLabour economicsPodcast productionInterviewing
Investigative reporting9 yrs
Data journalism6 yrs
Longform narrative7 yrs
Monetary policy9 yrs
Labour economics8 yrs
Podcast production3 yrs
V.

Letters to the editor

Reader correspondence
“Mr. Menon's reporting on the PMGKAY subsidy chain is the finest piece of public-finance journalism I have read in India this decade. The newsroom is lucky to have him.”
— N. Ramachandran, Former Deputy Governor, RBI, Mumbai
“He sends a draft on a Tuesday and a follow-up question on Thursday. Relentless. Fair. The kind of reporter you are glad exists.”
— Priya Varadarajan, Deputy Editor, The Broadsheet, New Delhi
“The Balance Sheet podcast is the only economics show my parents and my students both listen to. Aarav writes for the whole household.”
— Dr. Shreya Kulkarni, Asst. Prof., IIM Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad
“His 2020 MNREGA series pulled 1,800 crore of arrears out of the cold. Reporting that does that is rare.”
— Advocate T. Basu, PIL counsel, Patna
VI.

A matter of training

Degrees  ·  Fellowships
2015
Delhi School of Economics

M.A. Economics

First class · Gold Medal

2015
2013
St. Stephen's College, Delhi

B.A. (Hons.) Economics

Distinction · Dept. rank 2

2013
Write to the editor.

Tips, commissions, teaching invitations. The line is open, and the coffee, reliably bad.

Emailaarav.menon@thebroadsheet.in LinkedInhttps://linkedin.com/in/aaravmenon Archivehttps://aaravmenon.press