https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ Notes from the battlefield. Short essays from inside Edible Factor, Plate, and Scouter. Opinionated. Specific. Won. en © Nikhil Ballal reachnikhilballal@gmail.com (Nikhil Ballal) reachnikhilballal@gmail.com (Nikhil Ballal) Hand-rolled static Thu, 15 Oct 2026 10:30:00 +0530 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 10:30:00 +0530 1440 https://nikhilballal.com/favicon.svg https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/mckinsey-ai-mayor-interview/https://nikhilballal.com/blog/mckinsey-ai-mayor-interview/ McKinsey is reportedly testing job candidates with an AI mayor. Here’s what the unusual recruitment experiment reveals about the future of hiring.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 10:30:00 +0530Nikhil BallalTechnology / Future of Work https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fssai-food-complaint-licence-suspension/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fssai-food-complaint-licence-suspension/ A consumer complaint about an online food order led to an FSSAI inspection of TCF Chocolates & Gifts. Here is what inspectors reported and what happened next. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil BallalFood https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fake-remote-job-candidates/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fake-remote-job-candidates/ A DOJ case involving more than 100 companies shows why remote hiring needs consistent identity controls without suspicion theatre. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:30:00 +0530 Nikhil BallalTalent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ontario-ghost-job-law/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ontario-ghost-job-law/ Ontario now requires covered employers to disclose whether a public job posting is for an existing vacancy. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:20:00 +0530 Nikhil BallalTalent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ai-skills-hiring-advantage/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ai-skills-hiring-advantage/ An experiment with about 1,700 recruiters suggests AI skills can widen interview access, but a resume signal still needs verification. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:10:00 +0530 Nikhil BallalTalent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/federal-ai-job-interviews-tech-force/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/federal-ai-job-interviews-tech-force/ The reported Tech Force pilot will use CodeSignal AI interviews for federal applicants. OPM's own rules reveal where human accountability must remain. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:30:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Talent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ai-hiring-quality-signal/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ai-hiring-quality-signal/ LinkedIn's 110-million-member analysis suggests AI recruiting should be judged by quality of hire, not just workflow speed. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:15:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Talent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ai-bot-job-interview-2026/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ai-bot-job-interview-2026/ A candidate let ChatGPT answer an AI recruiter. The bot-on-bot interview reveals why automated hiring still needs human accountability. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:30:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Talent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fssai-100-percent-food-claims/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fssai-100-percent-food-claims/ FSSAI challenged 100%, Energy Drink and immunity claims used by food brands. Absolute packaging promises are finally being asked for evidence. Sat, 29 Aug 2026 22:30:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Food https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fssai-ghee-adulteration-ban/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/fssai-ghee-adulteration-ban/ FSSAI prohibited ghee variants from SDP Industries after tests found beta-sitosterol and a non-compliant fatty-acid profile. Sat, 29 Aug 2026 22:15:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Food https://nikhilballal.com/blog/karnataka-analogue-paneer-ban/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/karnataka-analogue-paneer-ban/ Karnataka banned analogue paneer for one year. The substitute replaces milk components with vegetable fat or other non-dairy ingredients. Sat, 29 Aug 2026 22:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Food https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ferrero-rocher-ingredients-scandal/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/ferrero-rocher-ingredients-scandal/ Ferrero Rocher contains 30% milk chocolate, 28.5% hazelnuts, sugar, palm oil and vanillin. Here is what the ingredient scandal gets right and wrong. Wed, 26 Aug 2026 22:30:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Food https://nikhilballal.com/blog/india-sugar-price-rise-2026/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/india-sugar-price-rise-2026/ India's retail sugar price rose from ₹48.18 to ₹55.70 per kg in one month. Lower production, crop damage, festival demand, global pressure and speculation explain why. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Food https://nikhilballal.com/blog/us-army-gta-vi-recruitment/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/us-army-gta-vi-recruitment/ The U.S. Army is offering eligible soldiers four days off around GTA VI’s launch if they reenlist. A simple, funny lesson in recruitment innovation and employee retention incentives. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Talent https://nikhilballal.com/blog/lindt-two-lawsuits/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/lindt-two-lawsuits/ The internet combined Lindt’s ended heavy metals class action with a current ethical sourcing lawsuit. Different cases, different facts and one shared question about what a premium brand promise owes the buyer. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:45:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal https://nikhilballal.com/blog/betting-app-broke-the-news/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/betting-app-broke-the-news/ A US AI-safety chief resigned three months in. Axios and Reuters broke it. But most people saw it as a "BREAKING" post from Polymarket, a betting app that amplified someone else's scoop and won the reach. In 2026 the messenger is the story. Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Media https://nikhilballal.com/blog/truffles-free-ad/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/truffles-free-ad/ Truffles on St. Mark's Road told a food creator to stop filming his meal, calling it not a public place. That reel was free advertising at zero acquisition cost. Refusing it, then going viral for the fight, is the expensive mistake. Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Marketing https://nikhilballal.com/blog/innovation-from-necessity/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/innovation-from-necessity/ I built Co-Director for myself. A few weeks later it had become a business conversation. Mon, 25 May 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Essay https://nikhilballal.com/blog/not-a-pioneer-but/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/not-a-pioneer-but/ Two months ago I changed the font on every product I ship. A month later YouTube Music updated to the same typeface. A month after that, Anthropic's Claude courses on Skilljar did too. Coincidence? Probably. I notice the rhythm. Sun, 31 May 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Notes https://nikhilballal.com/blog/two-bars-on-a-rooftop/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/two-bars-on-a-rooftop/ The WiFi would not connect. Two hours on choppy mobile data. Not one screen failed. Mon, 18 May 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal War story https://nikhilballal.com/blog/netlify-vercel-cloudflare/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/netlify-vercel-cloudflare/ An honest, unbiased reading of three deploy platforms across three products. Cloudflare did not feel like a deploy platform. It felt like the internet, exposed as primitives. Fri, 22 May 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Wisdom https://nikhilballal.com/blog/moved-off-supabase/ https://nikhilballal.com/blog/moved-off-supabase/ Supabase got Plate to a working v1 in an afternoon. Two months later we moved the database to a more robust non-relational store because the shape of our data wanted to live differently. The reason was fit, not platform. Tue, 12 May 2026 10:00:00 +0530 Nikhil Ballal Engineering