Harish Damodaran
Harish Damodaran is National Rural Affairs & Agriculture Editor of The Indian Express. A journalist with over 33 years of experience in agri-business and macroeconomic policy reporting and analysis, he has previously worked with the Press Trust of India (1991-94) and The Hindu Business Line (1994-2014)....Read More
Harish Damodaran is National Rural Affairs & Agriculture Editor of The Indian Express. A journalist with over 33 years of experience in agri-business and macroeconomic policy reporting and analysis, he has previously worked with the Press Trust of India (1991-94) and The Hindu Business Line (1994-2014).

- Years of experience: 33+
- Previous experience: Harish has previously worked with the Press Trust of India (1991-94) and The Hindu Business Line (1994-2014).
- Published works: Damodaran is also the author of two books, India’s New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation (Hachette) and Broke to Breakthrough: The Rise of India’s Largest Private Dairy Company (Penguin). Damodaran is currently working on a third book, which is a business biography of the founder of India's third largest industrial house at the time of Independence.
- Awards and Recognition: His book 'India’s New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation' won the ‘Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award’ under (Books-Non-Fiction) category in 2008 Broke to Breakthrough: The Rise of India’s Largest Private Dairy Company won the ‘Gaja Capital Business Book Prize’ in 2022.
Articles by Harish Damodaran

Explained: The scramble for fertilisers
Sep 01, 2025 06:00 IST
A good monsoon has meant farmers planting more kharif crops, pushing up fertiliser demand. This,...
Mon, Sep 01, 2025
USDA welcomes govt decision to remove import duty on cotton
Aug 28, 2025 04:20 IST
The Finance Ministry, on August 18, had issued a notification doing away with the 11% tariff on...
Thu, Aug 28, 2025
India’s unique dairying model, and the challenges it faces
Aug 25, 2025 07:00 IST
India remains a relatively low-cost milk producer. But that global price competitiveness, based...
Mon, Aug 25, 2025
Amid monsoon bounty for farmers, lower urea stocks play spoilsport
Aug 21, 2025 04:20 IST
While shortages of DAP — a fertiliser with 46% P that is essential for root development and early...
Thu, Aug 21, 2025
US trade truce with China: What is the agri trump card that Beijing holdsSubscriber Only
Aug 13, 2025 06:45 IST
Trump has extended his trade truce with China. Apart from its control over the rare-earth elements...
Wed, Aug 13, 2025
How India’s farm exports are faring better than overall goods exportsSubscriber Only
Aug 11, 2025 07:30 IST
The country’s merchandise exports are flat, if not declining, while agri exports are set to touch...
Mon, Aug 11, 2025
Why PM Modi spoke of farmers, livestock rearers & fisherfolk amid US trade talksSubscriber Only
Aug 08, 2025 10:57 IST
What are the concerns specific to the three primary agricultural producer-stakeholders that have...
Fri, Aug 08, 2025
Agriculture a stumbling block in talks, but India-US trade in sector sees surgeSubscriber Only
Aug 07, 2025 05:10 IST
During January-June 2025, India’s imports of agricultural products from the US were, at $1,693.2...
Thu, Aug 07, 2025
How India’s pesticide market is changingSubscriber Only
Aug 04, 2025 06:30 IST
The growth is now coming not from insecticides or fungicides, but herbicides. And the driver for...
Mon, Aug 04, 2025
Three times the price of other cooking oils: Here’s why coconut oil is on fireSubscriber Only
Jul 25, 2025 18:36 IST
A tight global supply, the result of lower production in the Philippines and Indonesia, plus...
Sat, Jul 26, 2025
Explained: Why food inflation may remain lowSubscriber Only
Jul 21, 2025 06:30 IST
A second successive good monsoon, combined with the government allowing imports of pulses and...
Mon, Jul 21, 2025
New Delhi has chance to repay Green Revolution debt: Why doing so is in India’s interestSubscriber Only
Jul 14, 2025 08:16 IST
The bodies that helped seed India’s Green Revolution are looking at New Delhi for help after...
Mon, Jul 14, 2025
With USAID shut, Norman Borlaug’s institute knocks on India’s doorsSubscriber Only
Jul 11, 2025 06:56 IST
The Mexico-headquartered centre, responsible for India’s Wheat Revolution, faces acute global...
Fri, Jul 11, 2025
Explained: ‘Invisible hand’ in India’s foreign tradeSubscriber Only
Jul 07, 2025 07:30 IST
India’s foreign exchange earnings from services and private remittance transfers today exceed...
Mon, Jul 07, 2025
4 red lines in India-US trade talks: Corn, ethanol, soyabean & dairySubscriber Only
Jul 03, 2025 04:20 IST
India has maintained that agriculture and dairy are its “red lines” in its ongoing negotiations...
Thu, Jul 03, 2025
Explained: How China has caused a DAP supply squeezeSubscriber Only
Jun 30, 2025 07:30 IST
From being India’s top supplier to stopping exports, China has triggered a shortage of the key...
Mon, Jun 30, 2025
Why these two agri industries are wary about India-US trade dealSubscriber Only
Jun 23, 2025 07:03 IST
Given the US’s high stakes in corn, ethanol and soyabean and the imperative to find a big...
Mon, Jun 23, 2025
Explained: The cost of rising importsSubscriber Only
Jun 14, 2025 18:27 IST
Imports of pulses and edible oils have scaled new highs, even as cultivation of these crops have...
Mon, Jun 16, 2025
How IMF has forced Pakistan to reform its farm sectorSubscriber Only
May 30, 2025 12:03 IST
Pakistan has dispensed with MSP procurement, decided to wind up its FCI-equivalent state agency and...
Sat, May 31, 2025
How FTAs with US, EU, UK will impact India’s farm tradeSubscriber Only
May 26, 2025 06:33 IST
India’s agriculture exports are currently higher than its imports. But that trade surplus could...
Thu, May 29, 2025
The ‘core’ of inflation, and RBI’s rate cutting decisionsSubscriber Only
May 19, 2025 06:55 IST
For long, inflation was being driven by food prices. It led to demands for RBI to focus on...
Tue, May 20, 2025
Explained: Why farmers prefer growing rice and wheatSubscriber Only
May 12, 2025 06:30 IST
The reason isn’t assured MSP procurement alone. It is also because of the two cereal crops...
Mon, May 12, 2025
Explained: How ethanol from maize has ignited a Fuel vs. Feed debateSubscriber Only
May 05, 2025 06:45 IST
Diversion of maize for biofuel has turned India from a surplus producer and exporter to an importer...
Mon, May 05, 2025
At a Haryana farmstead, cows, cars and a plea for conserving indigenous breedsSubscriber Only
May 05, 2025 04:20 IST
Haryana Indigenous cattle conservation: Farmers cannot make much money from the sale of milk or...
Mon, May 05, 2025
ICAR marks a first, develops two genome-edited varieties of riceSubscriber Only
May 05, 2025 04:20 IST
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the two rice...
Mon, May 05, 2025a better experience