The Core Report

India’s ₹1.5 Lakh Crore DARPA Moment For Deep Tech could reshape India’s R&D, startup funding and innovation economy. In this special episode of The Core Report, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO of ANRF, on India’s biggest push yet to fund deep tech, research and development, and future technologies. Dr. Kalyanaraman explains how the Anusandhan National Research Fo...

On Episode 885 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Vishwas Chitale, fellow at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) as well as Amol Bansal, Founder and CEO at BK Saraf Jewellers. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:31) India falls behind Taiwan in market capitalisation (05:22) Coal-fired power plants are running dangerously short on coal (07:06)...

On Episode 884 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Vikash Halan, Managing Director, Corporate Finance at Moody's Ratings; K. Ravichandran, Executive Vice President & Chief Rating Officer at ICRA ltd; and Poorvi Chothani, Founder and Managing Partner at LawQuest. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:52) Why oil markets are now nearing minimum operating l...

On Episode 883 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Prasanna Tantri, Associate Professor of Finance and Executive Director - Centre for Analytical Finance (CAF) at ISB as well as Yogesh Rawat, Chief Business Officer - Student Lending International at Avanse financial services. SHOW NOTES (00:00) The Take (05:00) Why your SIPs are bringing the rupee down against the d...

In this episode of The Core Report Special Edition, Financial Journalist Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Rishi Agrawal of TeamLease Regtech and Dr Rajeswari Sengupta on why the Indian rupee is under pressure, why foreign investors are pulling money out, and why India’s business rules still make growth harder than it should be. Dr. Rajeswari Sengupta, Associate Professor of Economics, Indira Gandhi I...

Is India’s economy facing a temporary shock or a deeper crisis? In this episode of The Core Report Weekend Edition, economist and author, Surjit Bhalla joins Govindraj Ethiraj to go beyond the headlines around the falling rupee, oil prices, West Asia tensions, and global uncertainty. He argues that the real problem with the Indian economy may not be the immediate currency pressure alone, but a lon...

On Episode 880 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Pratik Gupta, CEO and Co-Head, Institutional Equities at Kotak Securities Ltd. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:00) Why markets are bracing for RBI moves on depreciating rupee (03:01) Why oil markets could enter the red zone very soon (07:18) Fuel price hikes are necessary but not sufficient (24:11) The glo...

On Episode 879 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Abhishek Bisen, Head- Fixed Income at Kotak Mahindra AMC as well as Yashwant Deshmukh, Founder-Director of C-Voter. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (00:50) Could there be curbs on dollar outflows? (06:01) The markets look up as the rupee hits fresh low (06:56) US Treasury yields are in the danger zone, what th...

On Episode 878 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Raian N. Karanjawala, Managing Partner at Karanjawala & Company as well as Sahil Kapoor, Head of Products and Market Strategist at DSP Mutual Fund. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (00:50) Markets struggle to hold ground against a falling rupee (03:10) Microsoft to roll out largest data center in India (04:...

On Episode 877 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Prashant Vashisht, Senior Vice President and Co-Group Head at ICRA as well as Shantanu Sahai, Executive Director & Head - Private Credit at ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (00:50) Markets steady as rupee falls again (05:05) The GCC flow continues as big brands expan...

On Episode 876 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Sanjay Lazar, aviation and regulatory expert as well as Chitra Rentala, Partner at Trilegal. SHOW NOTES (00:00) The Take (04:31) Markets continue to grapple with oil price, rupee pressures (07:54) Indian airlines are cutting back capacity, what does that mean for passengers and airlines (16:26) A bribery charge agai...

As the West Asia crisis pushes up oil prices and adds pressure on the rupee, India faces a crucial question. How should the government, RBI, businesses and investors respond to a fast-changing global economy? In this episode of The Core Report Special Edition, Dr Rakesh Mohan, President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress joins Financial Journalist Govindraj...

The Insurance Gap Putting Indian Families At Financial Risk is a timely conversation with Financial Journalist Govindraj Ethiraj and Asit Rath, MD and CEO of Aviva India, on why life insurance in India remains misunderstood even as families face rising medical costs, retirement uncertainty, and long-term financial risk. In this episode of The Core Report Weekend Edition, Asit Rath explains why man...

On Episode 873 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Atul Chaturvedi, Chairman of the Asian Palm Oil Alliance as well as Indrani Bagchi, CEO at Ananta Aspen Centre. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (00:50) Markets rise on China-US talks as a sign of possible peace in West Asia (03:19) India’s Whole Sale Price Inflation jumps sharply (06:43) Can India reduce its d...

On Episode 872 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Arvind Chari, Chief Investment Strategist at Quantum Advisors as well as Ramesh Subramaniam, Global Director - Programmes and Strategy at the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:00) Markets recover as sellers take a break (02:37) Rupee hits fresh all time...

On Episode 871 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Neil Atkinson, Senior Fellow at The National Center for Energy Analytics as well as Deep Vadodaria, Managing Director at Nila Spaces. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:00) Markets sink as economic uncertainty and West Asia war fears take hold (02:47) Rupee hits fresh low, as outflows continue (06:16) What is...

On Episode 870 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Ajay Kedia, Director at Kedia Advisory as well as Shyam Kumar, President & Head of International Business at Kotak International. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (00:50) India’s austerity appeal is two months late (06:29) Markets lose ground as friction increases on Iran-US talks (09:57) How are gold marke...

On Episode 869 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to June Goh, Senior Oil Market Analyst at Sparta Commodities as well as Garima Kapoor, Economist & Deputy Head of Research at Elara Securities (India). SHOW NOTES (00:00) The Take (05:38) Markets struggle to make sense of Iran-US talks (06:20) Inflation is creeping up (07:27) Hyundai says sales could grow in double...

From Fraud to Fortune: The CG Power Revival Story explores one of India’s biggest corporate turnaround stories, as Financial Journalist Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Natarajan Srinivasan, author of The Great Revival, about how CG Power went from fraud allegations, debt and shutdown factories to a remarkable comeback under the Murugappa Group. In 2019, a whistleblower disclosure shocked markets. Ba...

On Episode 867 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Pranav Haldea, Managing Director at PRIME Database Group as well as Professor Ram Singh, Director of the Delhi School of Economics and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (00:50) How long will it take for energy supplies to stabilise if the war...

On Episode 866 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Rajesh Nambiar, President at Nasscom as well as Pranav Haldea, Managing Director at PRIME Database Group. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:00) Markets rise on fresh hopes of a deal between Iran and the US (03:49) Law firms appear to give clean chit to HDFC Board on Chairman’s resignation (05:41) Indian midc...

On Episode 865 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Dipti Deshpande, Principal Economist at Crisil as well as Sai Giridhar Raj Kumar, Vice President at the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:00) Ceasefire break down turns markets nervous again, backchannel negotiations appear to be holding (04:40) Kiran Maz...

On Episode 864 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Ambareesh Baliga, Market Expert as well as an excerpt from our extended interview with Neha Agarwal, MD & Head – Equity Capital Markets at JM Financial Institutional Securities. SHOW NOTES (00:00) Stories of the Day (01:00) Markets recover but oil prices are jittery once again. Looking back at the last two month...

On Episode 863 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Captain Sam Thomas, President at ALPA India as well as Garima Kapoor, Economist & Deputy Head of Research at Elara Securities (India). SHOW NOTES (00:00) The Take: India's Next Global Champion Should Be Built, Not Debated (05:38) Markets set for a more stable start as the US and Iran seek off-ramp (07:50) Th...

Why Smart Money Is Betting Big On India IPOs Again In 2026 is a deep dive into India’s IPO market, domestic capital, smart money flows, and the next big themes shaping Indian equities. In this episode of The Core Report Special Edition, Financial Journalist Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with MD & Head – Equity Capital Markets at JM Financial Institutional Securities, on why India’s IPO pipeline cou...