The Morning Brief

The Reliance-Disney creates a $8.5 billion media behemoth that will have the lion’s share of every business segment: broadcasting, streaming, content, sports and advertisements. How will the entity reshape India’s media landscape? And isn’t the competition watchdog concerned? Host Anirban Chowdhury analyses with: 1) Daoud Jackson , Senior Analyst - Omdia 2) Shreevardhan Sinha , Senior Partner - De...

Join us in a rivetting conversation with rhythm legend Ustad Zakir Hussain, fresh from his historic triple Grammy win. From his days as a young, wildly innovative table player in the US to his enduring musical relationships with maestros and rockstars across the world;  from the spiritual genesis of Shakti to their latest album; from the rich legacy of Hindustani classical music to AI in music; fr...

AI-generated misinformation is a major threat to elections, warns the World Economic Forum. Deepfakes can manipulate our perception of reality, cause unrest and erode trust in institutions. As 40+ countries hold elections this year, are platforms and governments equipped to handle this potential "tsunami" of fake content? Tech giants like Google and Meta signed a voluntary accord to develop detect...

India and Qatar signed a $78 billion deal to extend their LNG supply agreement for 25 years. Shortly after, Qatar released eight former Indian Navy personnel who were previously sentenced to death for alleged espionage charges. This was followed by Prime Minister Modi's visit to Qatar. Is there a possible link between these events? Host Arijit Barman and Kalpana Pathak get you all the answers from...

Byju's, once the poster boy of Indian ed tech, stands on the precipice of collapse. Byju Raveendran, the educator turned entrepreneur pushed it to wild limits of growth, with 28 rounds of fundraising that ultimately valued it at $22 billion and a debt-fuelled spree of acquisitions. Now many of the moves have backfired. The company’s cash reserves are razed; it faces legal wrangles; has antagonised...

Roadblocks, barricades, and resolute farmers have transformed Khannauri on the Punjab-Haryana border into a mini village. Around 3 lakh Farmers, mobilized by Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, were expected to reach Delhi but were halted at the border. Now, camped at Shambhu and Khanauri, they demand an MSP guarantee legislation and await a new formula from the government. Team TMB reached their camps to under...

India's young adults are breaking taboos by seeking help for depression, anxiety, and stress.  This is a positive step, but the surge in antidepressant use and "cool" mental health merch raises questions. Are we normalizing panic attacks? What's driving this surge in mental health issues? Academic pressure, social media, or deeper societal issues? Even students as young as 7 are battling depressio...

Democracy in Pakistan hangs by a thread: with rigged elections, a hung parliament, the opposition fighting from a virtual exile, widespread political unrest on the streets, an economic slowdown, international relations in need of urgent repair and a puppeteer military pulling all the strings. Join Anirban Chowdhury as he dissects the messy aftermath of Pakistan's elections. How will India talk to...

Tune in to the latest episode of "The Morning Brief" as host Anupriya Nair , alongside Anubhuti Vishnoi , and Raghav Ohri , delves into the aftermath of the Supreme Court's verdict on the Electoral Bond Scheme in India. With election expenditures skyrocketing to alarming figures, reaching ₹60,000 crores in 2019 as per reports and projected to hit ₹1 lakh cr in 2024, the conversation navigates the...

"Mission Admissions" - a rollercoaster of google searches, frantic form-filling, and the entire fam chasing deadlines. But it is not easy for Gen Z. Hiring slowdowns are adding spice to this already fiery mix. Top colleges, even the IITs and IIMs, are struggling to secure those juicy job offers for their grads. So, what are the options? Fly abroad for a foreign degree? Stay desi and explore privat...

Companies are jumping on the AI (Artificial Intelligence) bandwagon to appear cutting-edge. Some are even scrambling to add ".ai'' to their names, including a tile company. Yes, you read that right. But gone are the days when the suffix ‘AI’ sufficed to impress investors and consumers. And amidst the hype, some crucial questions arise – who's actually doing real AI? And who is merely just jumping...

As Uttarakhand clears it's uniform civil code, it raises questions about whether India needs a Uniform civil code and if so why now and in which form? Is uniformity a camouflage for oppression of religious rights or is the political debate drowning the need for a more modern and progressive civil society in India? Host Kiran Somvanshi gets answers from Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, legal experts...

Apple's walled garden crumbles! Apple has announced changes to its App Store and iOS ecosystem in compliance with the European Union’s new Digital Markets Act which now allows users to download apps on rival app stores and pay outside their system. This could have been huge for users, developers, and the future of tech but developers didn't seem to think so. Why were developers up in arms? Will th...

Paytm's regulatory snag feels like a never-ending nightmare. Other payment companies under the scanner should definitely be sweating! Even as Paytm is scrambling to fix compliance issues, will it be enough to appease the RBI gods? The clock is ticking on new user growth, and rivals are circling like sharks. So, what's next? Anirban Chowdhury gets into the details of this hot potato with ET’s finte...

What is the conflict between Burmans and the board of Religare that took just one knight to push through an open offer to get a seat at the table? Why did the board, amid questions of compensations and ESOP, back the CEO and sideline the single largest shareholder? Tune in as Arijit Barman and Kiran Somvanshi break down a corporate takeover that has become a full-blown, all-out war between a docto...

Paytm Payments Bank is set to come to a grinding halt as the RBI halts almost all services, citing persistent non-compliance and ongoing supervisory concerns. Late into the night at 1:30 am, One97 issues a press release, pivoting away from the payments bank arm. However, can the company pivot from the punishment imposed by the RBI? What will happen to the 330 million+ customers at Vijay Shekhar Sh...

As India eagerly awaits the 2024 budget announcement, Host Shambhavi Anand sits with Dr. Seth Meyer, Chief Economist, United States Department of Agriculture to discuss the concerns about the potential impact of climate change on global food security. The conversation delves into challenges faced by farmers in adapting to extreme weather, the necessity for climate-resilient policies, and the impli...

The insurance industry comes together to ease the cashless chaos with a new punchline “cashless everywhere”. As the restrictions of empanelment are lifted will it really ease the pain or is it a cosmetic catchphrase? ET’s Shilpy Sinha speaks to Anuj Tyagi , Joint MD - HDFC ERGO General Insurance to understand how it will be implemented and gets a ground reality check Dr Sudhir Naik, Past President...

Craving caffeine? Ditch the chai, reach for the wings! The energy drink game in India just got affordable. Sting & Charged are shaking things up, offering the same kick as Red Bull at one-fourth the price. But is this just a fad, or is India finally embracing the energy rush? Energy drinks are not the most regulated consumer category, by any food or beverage authorization up until now, and are...

Hundreds of Indian blue collar workers are seeking jobs in Israel. Workers in Haryana and UP are queueing up for ongoing govt-driven recruitment campaigns. They are lured by salaries 12 times higher than what they earn at home, despite the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. But why send workers to a country at war? What are the laws that will keep them safe? Does it dilute India’s stance on the co...

Get ready for a 2024 IPO rush! Unicorns like Ola Electric & Firstcry lead the charge, with Oyo, Mobikwik, and more set to join the party. Kotak predicts 15-20 unicorns going public, but are they just chasing hype? Shaky finances and inflated valuations raise red flags. Will investors bite? Or will a market correction leave them holding the bag? Can shaky startups survive public scrutiny? Spott...

An Indophile who doesn't hesitate to speak his mind, Henry Kravis, 80, is astounded by India's economic development, making him want to know more about the economy, meet young entrepreneurs, and mingle with policymakers every time he visits. One of the three founders of KKR & Co. , Kravis was on a whirlwind tour of the country, meeting over 50 founders and CEOs in five days. In this exclusive...

Letting your child play with educational apps while you finish chores seems like a win-win. But what if those ‘fun’ & ‘entertaining’ games were secretly collecting your private information? That's the unsettling truth behind BabyBus, a popular Chinese app developer among kids, as a recent data privacy report highlighted. BabyBus apps have been labelled as among the most "data hungry" in the wo...

Be it a “financial revolution” or a “delusion,” Bitcoins seem to be getting more and more acceptance. The US securities regulator giving green light for the first Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is being seen as a turning point in the short history of cryptocurrencies. ETFs poured in from giants like BlackRock,Fidelity, Franklin  Invesco. With institutions stepping in, will Bitcoin finally f...

Zee's diverse content and Sony's global muscle promised a Bollywood blockbuster of a merger. But the highly romanticised story takes a dramatic turn! Rumours are swirling that the $10 billion mega-merger might be off. What are the hurdles? And what went wrong in the two years? Host Anupriya Nair tries to connect the dots with legal expert Vikram Raghani , Co-Chair of the Corporate Law Practice at...