What This Means

Professor Prasanna Tantri, Associate Professor of Finance at ISB speaks with Swarajya on the following: —How serious is India's economic situation — and how to read Modi's appeal on fuel, gold, and work from home —Is this worse than COVID, or different in kind? —Why the rupee at 96 isn't the crisis it looks like —The real long-term threat: state government borrowing and money printing...

Venu Gopal Narayanan, independent upstream petroleum consultant, discusses energy wars, the Iran ceasefire, and shifting geopolitics in the latest episode of WTM: Key takeaways Why Washington's real motive is LNG market share, not Iranian nukes America as Europe's primary energy supplier, replacing Russia Iran pummelled but not defeated — and what that means militarily Gulf states' vul...

Kanika Pasricha, Chief Economic Advisor at Union Bank of India discusses the new GDP series in the latest episode of WTM with Diksha Yadav: Key takeaways Broad-basing of growth toward manufacturing Nominal GDP shrinking, real GDP rising How double deflation fixes the deflator problem IMF's C grade and alignment with global standards Was India's GDP growth overstated? Better capture of informal sec...

The Chief Economic Adviser speaks to Swarajya on the thinking behind the Survey's 17 chapters, the risks that keep policymakers alert, why delayed gratification is an economic imperative, and the hard institutional choices India faces in a fractured world.

Prof. Prasanna Tantri speaks with Diksha Yadav on the Union Budget 2026 on the following: —Government Expenditure Falling to One of the Lowest Ratios in the World —Defence Budget Finally Crosses 2% of GDP —Why Major Schemes Missed Spending Targets —The Capex Ideology: Not All Capital Expenditure Is Good —Centre Cuts Deficit, States Adds—Net Debt Still Rising —The Dangers of the Freebie Cycle —RBI...

Political commentator from UP, Amit Yadav, explains: Why Pankaj Chaudhary? The Strategy Behind BJP's New UP Chief The Kurmi Factor: Can BJP Win Back Lost Ground? Voter List Fiasco: 4 Crore Names Deleted, 80% BJP Supporters, Cadre Remains Inactive on the Ground Inactive Cadre Crisis: How Ground-Level Apathy Cost BJP in 2024 The Need for Cabinet Reshuffle and Organisational Overhaul 2027 Battle...

Recorded on 1 December 2025 with Prof Prasanna Tantri, Associate Professor of Finance and Executive Director at the Centre for Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business. In this episode: -Q2 GDP key takeaways and beyond the number hype -RBI Rate Cut Strategy: Should the central bank go for repo rate cuts? -India's Innovation Crisis: The talent drain problem and why we're stuck at...

Read Dr Shamika Ravi's paper on Female Labour Force Participation Rate: https://eacpm.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EACPM-WP-Female-LFPR-India.pdf Read Dr Shamika Ravi's paper on Time Spent on Employment-Related Activities in India: https://eacpm.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Working-Hours_SRavi2025.pdf Topics: - The Bihar Paradox: Growth Without Revenue - The Migration Question - The Yout...

"Zohran Mamdani has claimed every identity, whatever little bit he could claim – African, South Asian, Muslim – but he has not claimed what his genetic makeup of 50% actually is, which is Hindu." Political commentator and columnist Sunanda Vashisht joins us to discuss: -Why everyone's discussing Zohran Mamdani -What's behind his hate for the BJP & PM Modi -The centre void: Wi...

The good and the bad of RBI's recent banking and capital reforms with Dr Prasanna Tantri. Prof Tantri is an Associate Professor of Finance and Executive Director at the Centre for Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business.

"In 18 years I couldn’t manage to do it, but Dr Bhyrappa did in one — he got four of my books translated into Kannada within a year.” Dr Vikram Sampath joins us to discuss the life and works of legendary author Dr Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa, who departed the mortal realm on 24 September 2025. This episode was recorded on 25 September 2025.

India's Chief Economic Advisor, Dr V Anantha Nageswaran speaks with us on the possibility of the country entering a higher GDP growth orbit; why India's economic data is not biased; why policy-makers ought to consider the dangers social media poses for youth, and much more. Read: https://swarajyamag.com/economy/interview-possible-that-successive-gdp-numbers-continue-to-surprise-on-positive...

Saurabh Mukherjea, investor, author & founder & CIO of Marcellus Investment Managers, joins us in the latest episode of What This Means. In this episode we discuss: -tax cuts, GST reforms, US tariffs, -the reason behind Indian market resilience in times of uncertainties, -the challenges facing the middle class, -the decline of white-collar jobs, -the rise of gig jobs, -saving tips in curre...

"The three tax cuts have been very clean. The corporate tax cut, along with the individual tax cut and GST reforms, has been substantial enough to make a real difference... I believe this will spur growth, and that’s why I remain very optimistic." Prof Prasanna Tantri, in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav, shares his takeaways on Q1 GDP numbers, GST reforms, and other ref...

'There is a stench of a regime change operation here. There are three names which are coming up, who are being projected as perhaps heading the interim government now. ' Jaideep Mazumdar join us on Nepal Crisis to discuss: -The reasons behind protest, when did it all began -Why it's being called as GenZ protest -What next for Nepal, who will take charge -Who benefits the most from regi...

"The GST has moved from a politically negotiated framework to one driven by economics and rationale. The earlier four slabs were transitional, not permanent, and I’m glad we have corrected that." Tax expert and founder and CEO of Tax Compaas, Ajay Rotti, joins us to discuss GST reforms and what more needs to be done on GST.

Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist at Axis Bank, Head of Global Research at Axis Capital and member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, decodes the Trump administration's tariff policies and their implications for India. (Recorded on 25 August 2025) In this episode: - Impact of Trump's tariffs on Indian and average Indians - The Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the past - The tran...

Tax expert and founder and CEO of Tax Compaas, Ajay Rotti, helps us decode 3 things: problems that the existing GST solved, problems that the GST reforms will solve, and the problems that will still remain, in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. -Why GST Was Brought In -How GST Changed Indian Taxation -What GST Fixed And What It Didn't -What GST 2.0 Is Trying To Fix -The Two-Sla...

TS Krishnan, writer, historian and author, debunks the false Dravidian narratives on the latest episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. In this episode: 📜 Vairamuthu’s Claim on Kamban & Shri Ram — Fact vs. Misinterpretation 🗡 Vali Vadha in Valmiki & Kamban 🏰 Rajendra Chola’s Northern Expedition — Sanctifying Capital, Not Expanding Empire ⚖ Ethics of Dharmic Kings in War vs. Foreign...

'In terms of narrative games, BJP is on the back foot in Bihar—not because of SIR, but due to anti-incumbency heat. However, the Opposition’s credibility in systemic issues is so low, they can’t effectively question the incumbent.' says Adarsh Pandit on What This Means with Diksha Yadav. 'In Bihar, BJP’s main bug right now is that they have the message and the machine, but no messenger...

"Maharashtra has never had a pan-state Marathi Asmita like Tamil Nadu’s Tamil identity. Here, your regional identity and caste identity precede your linguistic identity." "Maharashtra has always looked towards Delhi. From Shivaji to the Peshwas, the ambition was national, not regional — which is why linguistic chauvinism has never found a full home here." -Can BMC Elections be...

"India’s biggest reform, in my opinion, was the Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) — and it was also the cheapest. Reform isn’t about spending more." "Though late, the RBI has now done everything it could on the monetary policy front to boost growth." "In my view, GDP growth for the current fiscal year will exceed 6.5%, but that’s still not something we should be satisfied with," says Professor Prasanna Tant...

“The moment Western funding and arms and ammunition stop flowing into Ukraine, the war is over,” says Sudharshan Garg. In this episode, we discuss: — Takeaways from Ukraine's Operation Spider Web — Is the future of warfare now drone-driven? — Is internal security as important as border security in modern warfare? — As much as Trump has been taking credit for peace and warning both Russia and Ukrai...

This is all you need to know about the Indus Water Treaty suspension! Rohit Pathania, in this episode with Diksha Yadav, explains (Recorded on 28 April 2025): - Why was the decision for IWT abeyance not taken earlier when heinous attacks happened? - How long can the IWT suspension last? - How IWT abeyance by India impacts Pakistan's economy and politics - How does it benefit India? - Can Pakis...

"I'm not impressed with your (locals) candle marches. I am not impressed with you going on television and saying that we are sorry. I am not impressed with all those. We don't need your apologies. "Do you, in your dealings, say that 'this is it; enough is enough,' do you tell them (terrorists) 'you do not get support from us,' like locals said to the terrorist Kha...