The Morning Brief

China and India seem to be moving towards military disengagement at the LAC after a standoff lasting months. Nirupama Rao, Former Indian Foreign Secretary, and ET's Pranab Dhal Samanta tell us what led to this development, whether India can trust China and the impact on bilateral trade relations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Koo, the locally developed microblogging site that allows users to share their thoughts in Indian languages, is gaining ground as Twitter-government standoff continues. But do alt social networks work? Aprameya Radhakrishna, Founder & CEO of Koo, and ET's Surabhi Agarwal and Venkat Anath discuss its strategy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A suspected glacial collapse led to a destructive flash flood in Uttarakhand. What is the impact of global warming and large-scale development projects on ecologically fragile regions, and how can they be mitigated? Farooq Azam, Glaciologist, Anjal Prakash, lead author of a UN report on the issue, and ET's Urmi Goswami discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Social media platforms Twitter and Facebook are at a crossroads over whether to uphold freedom of expression or follow the government’s orders to take down several accounts in the wake of the farmer protests. Apar Gupta, Executive Director of Internet Freedom Foundation and ET’s Anumeha Chaturvedi explain what's happening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bunch of Redditors in the US shook Wall Street by banding together to buy up shares of ailing video game seller GameStop, taking short-sellers by surprise. Nithin Kamath, Co-Founder of Zerodha, and Pravin Palande of ET Prime decode the saga and tell us if a similar frenzy can take place in India. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sensex closed at a record high on Wednesday as the stock markets continued to cheer measures proposed in the budget. Aditya Sood, Fund Manager at InCred Finance, and Nishanth Vasudevan, ET's Markets Editor, discuss the options and precautions for investors riding this bull run. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A year after the Covid-19 outbreak, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a budget aimed at spending and job creation in a bid to spur economic growth. ET's Chief Editor (news) Sugata Ghosh and Consulting Editor Mythili Bhusnurmath tell us why this budget has brought industry and markets cheer, although questions remain on the execution of plans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

It remains an obvious source of funds for the government and the Modi government had even kickstarted big bang privatisation of PSUs. But like always intent has not yet translated into reality. Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and ET's Gulveen Aulakh examine why. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tata Group’s plan to buy BigBasket & 1 mg is considered a stepping stone to creating a one-stop digital service, a super app. ET’s Senior Editor Kala Vijayraghavan and Mumbai Deputy Resident Editor, Arijit Barman tell us why these acquisitions are important for the Tatas and the chances of their super app succeeding in the highly competitive consumer internet space. See omnystudio.com/listener...

The roar of Rafale jets may make up for the absence of a chief guest and fewer spectators at India's 72nd Republic Day parade in New Delhi. ET’s Vikram Doctor and Manu Pubby discuss the history of this annual procession, its appeal among today’s social media-obsessed youth and whether it is truly representative of modern India. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the 46th US President, Joe Biden has a host of challenges awaiting him, senior journalist and ET Columnist, Seema Sirohi and Deputy Executive Editor, Pranab Dhal Samanta discuss how it will affect India on matters such as immigration, trade, climate change and international security. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As India rolled out its massive immunisation drive against Covid-19, we look at the action behind the scenes. Kunal Agarwal, Cofounder of Kool-Ex, tells us about the cold-chain logistics involved, Dr. Swadhina Mohanty gives us her account of getting the jab on the first day, and ET’s Nidhi Sharma explains how the government plans to deal with vaccine hesitancy. Host - Devina Sengupta See omnystudi...

The growing number of unregulated loan apps, many with Chinese links, and the harassment of borrowers has caught the regulator's eye. Srikanth L of advocacy group Cashless Consumer and ET’s Shailesh Menon and Venkat Ananth discuss the modus operandi of these apps, how they proliferated with ease and the red flags to watch out for. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's it like to see Ratan Tata up close and personal? Shantanu Naidu, the 28-year-old personal assistant to one of India's most reclusive tycoons, recently wrote a book about the man behind the mystique. Naidu tells us how he unexpectedly - and delightfully - found a friend, mentor and comrade for life in Tata. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 months of protests, 8 rounds of talks, and one Supreme Court stay order later, the impasse continues. Where do the protesters and government go from here? Jai Kisan Andolan Coordination Committee's Avik Saha and ET's Aman Sharma discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WhatsApp's new policy guidelines have raised questions about data privacy and stirred a storm among users. techARC Founder Faisal Kawoosa and ET Prime’s Tech Policy Editor Sandhya Sharma tell us how safe our data is with WhatsApp and help us make sense of what data privacy is and how to protect it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cinema stardom and politics seem to go hand in hand in many Indian states. Following actor Rajinikanth’s decision to not enter politics, political observers Vaasanthi and Telakapalli Ravi, and ET’s KR Balasubramanyam dissect the reasons behind this move, its ramifications and the relevance of film stars in today’s political landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a year of many lows, cryptocurrency Bitcoin’s value rose 300% in 2020. As investors grapple with the fear of missing out, CEO of Bitbns Gaurav Dahake and ET Prime’s Sidhartha Shukla decode the recent boom in the cryptocurrency market and tell us why Bitcoin is the new digital gold for several investors today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swift approval for Bharat Biotech's indigenous Covid-19 vaccine and Serum Institute of India's version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has raised more doubts than enthusiasm. We talk to Dr. Amar Jesani, Editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, and ET’s Divya Rajagopal to understand the concerns See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indians opened their wallets and hearts to help others in the pandemic, but that left non-Covid programs cash-strapped. Pushpa Aman Singh, CEO Guidestar India, Amit Chandra, MD Bain Capital, and Ashok Kumar ER, President Give India talk about the social service sector. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pandemic, incursions by an aggressive China and a rollercoaster market - 2020 saw all this and more. As we get ready to step into the new year, ET editors Bodhisatva Ganguli, Pranab Dhal Samanta and Sriram Ramakrishnan break down the biggest news developments of 2020 and what 2021 might hold for the economy, the political landscape and the markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Pandemic-led social distancing saw people consume unprecedented levels of content on social media in 2020 to stay connected, updated and entertained ShareChat’s Content Strategy Director, Shashank Shekhar, Co-Founder of Trell App Pulkit Agrawal, Content Creator Niharicka Singh and ET’s Megha Mandavia take us through the social media journey in 2020 and some trends for 2021. See omnystudio.com/list...

First came electronics, then groceries, and now, even your medicines can be ordered online. What's its impact on the neighbourhood chemists, investors, and regulators? Navroz Mahudawala, founder and MD of investment advisory firm Candle Partners and ET's Alnoor Peermohamed discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The use of virtual therapy more than doubled in 2020 as Covid-19 took a toll on people’s mental health. Ramakant Vempati, founder of therapy app Wysa, Ishita Pateria, a counselling psychologist, and ET’s Shephali Bhatt discuss the advantages and challenges that e-therapy has over the therapists’ couch. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India's benchmark stock indices surged during the pandemic even as Covid-19 dented economic growth. Manish Bhandari, Co-founder of Vallum Capital, and ET’s Nishanth Vasudevan bring us an overview of what's driving the rally, common mistakes that retail investors should avoid, and what to expect in 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.