Empty desks inside an office. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
When Apurva Mankad decided to shift his software firm to a smaller office in Mumbai after the pandemic decimated demand, his landlord made him an offer he couldn't reject: to slash the rent by more than a third.“My landlord asked us to stay back,” said Mankad, 47, whose 40-employee-strong WebXpress operates out of a Grade B office space in suburban Marol. He was also promised that the rent would rise 5% after a year—against the stand...