businessline's State of the Economy Podcast

In this episode of the State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Subramani Ra Mancombu talks to Suhas Baxi, Co-founder & CEO, BiofuelCircle, about the critical role that biomass plays in India's energy transition and the challenges in harnessing bioenergy resources.  The podcast also touches on the larger context of biofuels in India, including the government’s initiatives to blend ethanol with...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's Janaki Krishnan speaks with Bhavesh Shah , Managing Director, and Head - Investment Banking of Equirus Group. In this episode , Shah breaks down the complexities of the economic landscape with real-world insights and thought-provoking discussions.  The episode starts with discussing pressing economic issues—from private equity’s role...

In this State of the Economy Year-End Podcast, businessline’s K Ram Kumar is joined by Karthik Srinivasan, Senior Vice President and Group Head of Financial Sector Ratings at ICRA, to discuss the current state of the Indian banking sector, its performance over the past year, and expectations for the upcoming financial year.  Against the backdrop of a slowing economy and a revision in the RBI’s GDP...

In this episode of the State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Amiti Sen talks to Biswajit Dhar, former Professor, JNU, and Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development, about the dynamic challenges and opportunities shaping India’s trade landscape as 2024 draws to a close. The discussion navigates through geopolitical turbulence, export performance, and the outlook for 2025.  Dhar...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's  Shishir Kumar Sinha speaks with Sonal Varma, Managing Director and Chief Economist at Nomura, who shares her expert analysis on India’s economic landscape and insights on navigating the complexities of India’s economic recovery and policy challenges.  The episode starts with Varma discussing some of the major disappointments of 2024,...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's  Subramani Ra Mancombhu speaks with Mayur Karmarkar, Managing Director of the International Copper Association India.  In this episode, we focus on the rapidly growing demand for copper in India, driven by several key sectors including construction, infrastructure, and the electrification of transportation.  The episode starts with di...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's Rishi Ranjan Kala speaks with Prashanth Nutula, Partner, Deloitte India. He discusses the future of SAF(Sustainable Aviation Fuel) in India, its growth prospects, and its role in decarbonising the aviation industry. He highlights Deloitte India's latest report, which suggests that India could produce 8 to 10 million tons of SAF annual...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's Dalip Singh speaks with Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), Director General of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), who shares valuable insights into India's evolving space defence strategies. With the militarisation of space accelerating globally, General Bhatt discusses how space is no longer just a domain for peaceful exploration but a vital...

In this episode of the State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Shishir Sinha talks to Upasna Bhardwaj , Chief Economist with Kotak Mahindra Bank, discussing recent economic data and the broader economic outlook for India. The conversation centers around some key high-frequency economic indicators, such as the GDP growth rate, GST collections, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), and inflatio...

In this episode of the State of the Economy Podcast, businessline’s Subramani Ra Mancombu talks to Akshay Gupta, Head of Bulk Export at KRBL, as they dive into the evolving landscape of India’s rice industry.   The podcast begins with a look back at the challenges faced by the Indian rice industry over the past few years, primarily due to weather disruptions that impacted rice production. In respo...

 In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Vaibhav Anant, founder of Bambrew, a company working on green-tech sustainable packaging. The episode discusses about the critical issue of plastic waste in India, the largest plastic waste generator in the world, producing about 26,000 tons of plastic waste every day.  India's plastic waste generati...

In this episode of the State of the Economy podcast, host S. Ronendra Singh discusses the performance of automobile sales during the 2024 festive season with CS Vigneshwar, President of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Vigneshwar offers insights into the growing role of electric vehicles, challenges related to inventory levels, and the outlook for the coming months as the...

In this State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Sanjana B talks to Neha Singh, Co-Founder, Tracxn and Rishi Batra, Chief Operating Officer & Co-founder, TWID, about the future of India’s fintech industry. The podcast explores the rapid growth and emerging trends within the Indian fintech sector, which had a market size of $584 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025. T...

In this State of the Economy Podcast, host PT Jyothi Datta speaks to Amit Chhabra, Chief Business Officer of General Insurance at Policybazaar.com, about the evolving health insurance landscape for senior citizens in India.   Recent policy changes, such as the extension of Ayushman Bharat to individuals aged 70 and above, and the removal of the 65-year age cap by the Insurance Regulatory and Devel...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's Rishi Ranjan Kala speaks with Dr. Amar Rao, an Associate Professor at the School of Management at BML Munjal University, about the growing intersection of traditional energy markets and green energy, and how financial institutions can better manage climate-related risks.  Rao's work has been instrumental in examining how climate-relat...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline's Abhishek Law speaks with Ahmed Al Khatib, the Chief Development and Delivery Officer of Expo City Dubai, about the real estate developments in Dubai.    The podcast starts with Al Khatib highlighting the unique investment opportunities available in Expo City, which include residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors.  He explains...

In this State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Sanjana B talks to Abilash Soundararajan, Founder & CEO, Privasapien, Aditi Balbir, Founder, EcoRatings, Naganand Doraswamy - Managing Partner & Founder, Ideaspring Capital and Ramkumar Narayan, Immediate past chair, nasscom Deeptech council, about the specific hurdles deep tech start-ups encounters when attempting to expand into international m...

In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, Amiti Sen speaks with Professor Biswajit Dhar, a distinguished economist and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, about the potential economic impact of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency, particularly for India. As the world closely watches Trump’s second term unfold, there are pressing questions about how his policies will shap...

In the latest episode of businessline’s State of the Economy Podcast, Parvatha Vardhini C, Editor of bl.portfolio, discusses the markets, current valuations, risks and opportunities for investors with Nimesh Chandan, Chief Investment Officer at Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Company.  Although Bajaj Finserv AMC has been a late entrant, Nimesh says that the fund house has a “ late mover advantage”,...

In the latest episode of the State of Economy podcast. Chitra Narayanan speaks to Shiv Shivakumar, Chief Operating Partner at Advent International, and Rajesh Shukla, Co-founder of PRICE on the changing dynamics of consumption among India’s middle class, particularly considering recent comments from Nestlé India’s Suresh Narayanan.   Middle class dynamics  Shukla argues that the narrative suggesti...

In this episode of the State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Jyothi Datta talks to Rishi Agrawal, CEO and Co-founder of TeamLease RegTech, about the Indian pharmaceutical industry, sparked by a recent report from the National Drug Regulator revealing a concerning number of substandard-quality drugs.  India's pharmaceutical landscape is a double-edged sword. On one side, it boasts a vast eco...

In this State of the Economy Podcast, Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks to Pushan Sharma, Director of Research at Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, to discuss the innovative Roti Rice Rate (RRR), a vital tool for understanding the monthly fluctuations in food prices, the issue of inflation, and its direct impact on the cost of food in India.  The discussion highlights the need for relatable met...

In this State of the Economy podcast, Host S Ronendra Singh speaks to Shailesh Chandra, President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited on the automobile market. The sector saw a robust 12% year-on-year growth in overall vehicle sales, with two-wheelers leading the charge...

In this State of the Economy podcast, businessline’s Subramani Ra Mancombu talks to Nityananda Dhal, The Lead, Centre of Excellence - Sustainable Agriculture, PRADAN, about the urgent need for transformative agricultural practices, particularly regenerative agriculture, which aims to heal our planet’s ecosystems while enhancing farmers’ livelihoods. The episode discusses the principles and benefit...

In this State of the Economy podcast ,KV Kurmanath talks to Mohammed Shoeb Ali, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Transition VC, who shares insights on the opportunities and challenges in the energy transition sector.  As the world shifts towards a low-carbon future, India faces the challenge of meeting rising energy demands while reducing its carbon footprint. Our guest today is   Ali highlights...