D RACHEL CHITRA
Summary
With a career spanning nearly two decades, I am a finance reporter who has broken multiple exclusives and been at the top of her beat. I've worked for top media outlets such as Reuters, Forbes, and Times of India. As generative-AI takes over many domains, I'm also consulting with tech firm TrueInfo Labs to create gen-AI tools for newsrooms and journalists to enhance workflow and to combat misinformation. I also was a Reuters fellow in 2021, sponsored by Oxford University and the Reuters Institute. While I've covered US, Asia and MENA economy, business and politics, over the last three years my focus has been Southeast Asia and I've worked at outlets including Khmer Times and DealStreetAsia.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Consultant
TRUEINFO LABS
05.2023 - Current
- Worked on identifying news APIs that best monitor news for Indian, US clients as the source feed for one of our products
- Product reviewed a pagination tool given my journalism experience as an end user
- Worked with the programming team for creating better prompts so that AI gets context and nuance
- Helped in broader review of AI tools so that they meet compliance and ethical standards of newsrooms in India and US
Associate Editor
Federal
Chennai, India
03.2025 - 12.2025
- Reported and edited stories for the business desk. Focus areas were banking, insurance, stock markets and aviation.
- Also produced shows, reels and hosted live debates on politics, economy, defense and aviation.
- Mentored juniors, interns with reporting, assigning stories
Financial Journalist
KHMER TIMES
Phnom Penh
01.2024 - 09.2024
- I was on top of my beat and broke many exclusives in insurance and banking industry
- I reported on the downturn of the banking industry with the real estate crash in Cambodia, and the subsequent fallout on the life insurance industry which largely relied on banks as bancassurance partners
- I have reported on the emergence of fintech solutions like Bakong, which like India's UPI has seen stellar success and been used by nearly 80% of Cambodians
- I have also managed to get sources with the Insurance Regulator of Cambodia and National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) despite me reporting on controversial topics like the country's cryptocurrency ban
Freelance Journalist
TECH IN ASIA
Singapore
05.2023 - 10.2023
- I did stories on gen-AI and SaaS with the highest viewership for the Singapore based news website
- Some of my stories had a unique twist - like for instance when I explored how India's flagship UPI platform actually sought the help of Singapore's MAS when it came to solving a tricky technical issues; it was interesting to see how governments are now using sandboxes to come up with solutions that would not otherwise not be possible given regulations in each jurisdiction
- I wrote stories on how generative AI is transforming Asian banks helping them with tasks from chat bots to back-end coding
- I also wrote on interesting topics like "Is your bank checking your social media?" - the story looked at how your Facebook or Instagram post can get you your next loan based on how you fare in the bank's algorithms
Freelance Journalist
DEAL STREET ASIA
10.2022 - 02.2023
- I covered private-equity and venture capital and wrote stories like how with the funding winter in India, revenue based financing is picking up
- I got exclusives on deals like the fund raise with BluSmart, an Indian e-vehicle startup
- I got interviews with VC firms like Fireside Ventures who were betting on micro-niche consumer firms to become the next $100m businesses
- I also got to speak to alternative-protein backing VC firms like Lever VC and web-3 backers to explore funding in outlier sectors
Freelance journalist
THE KEN
06.2022 - 10.2022
- My stories have made it to Ken's top 10 most read articles for 2022 - like the one I wrote on TikTok Shop and how it's changing the e-commerce game in Southeast Asia
- I also wrote about the advent of Zalora in India's crowded retail space and on Southeast Asia digital banks like ANT
Freelance journalist
FORBES MIDDLE EAST
10.2021 - 02.2022
- As Asia correspondent, I covered key business and economic trends in China, India & South-East Asia
- Working for a short-staffed burea I've also written stories on MENA and Centra Asia for the outlet
- Wrote on regional economic trends, such as the impact of rising oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s mining investment focus, and the growth of startups in the Middle East.
- Developed strong networks with industry leaders, CEOs, analysts, and government officials in sectors such as finance, oil & gas, tech, and aviation.
Freelance Journalist
WEETRACKER AFRICA
07.2021 - 10.2021
- Developed a strong network of sources across MENA and African regions, covering key stories on mobile money trends in Kenya and the growing funeral insurance market in Africa.
- Reported on impactful socio-economic trends, including how stricter lockdowns in South Africa led to a surge in app downloads across the continent
Fellow
REUTERS FELLOWSHIP
Oxford
01.2021 - 07.2021
- Authored a research paper titled "How to Cover Hate Crimes and Violence When Government Sources Fail," which was republished by the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN).
- The paper was widely cited in academic studies as the rise of hate crimes in India is an issue that is of increasing concern to citizens
Journalist
TIMES OF INDIA
12.2015 - 12.2020
- My stint with the Times of India as their banking and insurance reporter still remains one of the best parts of my reporting career
- Authored viral stories with over 1 million views, including high-impact pieces like “Less than 4% of Covid-19 patients have insurance in India” and “Education loan market in India shrinks 25% in 4 years”, featured on the front page of all editions of Times of India.
- Investigated and reported exclusive stories such as “PM Cares Fund corpus crosses $1.4 billion”, creating a database from corporate filings and PIB releases. The figure was later validated by a government report two years later.
- Did data-driven investigative journalism on government policies, with stories like “Before CAA, a string of govt orders made it impossible for Muslims to gain citizenship”, which contributed to public discourse and was cited in Parliament and Supreme Court hearings.
- Broke important stories on national security and finance, including “Bank KYC forms may seek details on clients' religion”, prompting official clarification from the Finance Ministry.
- I love working with data, excel sheets and trying to spot trends in a flux of number. And I have good sources in the industry and have broken many exclusives
Journalist
REUTERS
Bangalore
04.2010 - 12.2015
- Covered insurers, mid-cap banks, and payment processors as part of the U.S. Finance team at Reuters, producing high-impact, initiative-driven stories.
- Broke major news, including the potential share buyback relaunch at Primerica, the bankruptcy of MF Global, and Genworth Financial’s exit from underperforming units.
- Collaborated with reporters in London and New York for earnings previews, analyzing the impact of the hurricane season and policy changes affecting tax havens.
Journalist
RTT NEWS
03.2009 - 03.2010
- At RTT I was snapping North American equity research and writing updates on company results, analysts’ forecasts
Journalist
PREMIUM
02.2008 - 03.2009
- At Premium, I was responsible for reporting on the life and general insurance industry
- As part of my reporting, I was also able to interview leading figures in the insurance industry and members of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
Senior Sub-editor
DECCAN CHRONICLE
02.2007 - 01.2008
- At Deccan Chronicle, I started out as a senior sub-editor with my role including editing, page-making, lay-out for the state pages and supplement issues
- Within a couple of months, I was allowed to work on Page 1 and used to edit and design layout for the national pages
- With shortage of manpower - following the launch of Times of India's Chennai edition - I was soon working on other national and international pages too
Sub-editor
NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
06.2005 - 02.2007
- I worked with the New Indian Express as a sub-editor
- Initially, I used to work on mostly state pages - Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
- Later I started working on the late city edition as I have always been able to work fast under pressure and edition deadlines
Education
P.G.Diploma - Journalism & Mass Communication
Madras Christian College
Chennai01.2005
Bachelor of Science - Chemistry
Madras Christian College
Chennai01.2004
Skills
- Copy-editing
- Proof-reading
- Writing
- Blogging
- Media management
- Microsoft Office
- Quarkxpress
- Adobe Pagemaker
- Adobe Photoshop
Personal Information
Date of birth: 10/21/84
Awards
- Listed in the Madras Christian College Achievers’ List 2005
- Anchored several shows for India Interacts
References
- Rohit Saran, Executive Editor, Times of India, New Delhi
- Phil Smith, Former South Asia Manager, Reuters
- T N Gopalan, Senior Journalist, BBC
Timeline
Associate Editor
Federal
03.2025 - 12.2025
Financial Journalist
KHMER TIMES
01.2024 - 09.2024
Consultant
TRUEINFO LABS
05.2023 - Current
Freelance Journalist
TECH IN ASIA
05.2023 - 10.2023
Freelance Journalist
DEAL STREET ASIA
10.2022 - 02.2023
Freelance journalist
THE KEN
06.2022 - 10.2022
Freelance journalist
FORBES MIDDLE EAST
10.2021 - 02.2022
Freelance Journalist
WEETRACKER AFRICA
07.2021 - 10.2021
Fellow
REUTERS FELLOWSHIP
01.2021 - 07.2021
Journalist
TIMES OF INDIA
12.2015 - 12.2020
Journalist
REUTERS
04.2010 - 12.2015
Journalist
RTT NEWS
03.2009 - 03.2010
Journalist
PREMIUM
02.2008 - 03.2009
Senior Sub-editor
DECCAN CHRONICLE
02.2007 - 01.2008
Sub-editor
NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
06.2005 - 02.2007
P.G.Diploma - Journalism & Mass Communication
Madras Christian College
Bachelor of Science - Chemistry
Madras Christian College