The Conversation Series

29 October 2022:

From Self To Society: The Role Of Active Samaaj For Social Change

Responsible citizenship is a cornerstone of a country that respects fundamental rights. Yet today, Samaaj is known as the third sector. The Sarkaar and Bazaar, which were created over millennia to serve an evolving human society, and the larger public interest, have overpowered Samaaj. When the three sectors do not fulfil their roles and responsibilities, when they do not nurture these partnerships, there can be severe imbalances of power, which eventually affect Samaaj the most. What does it mean to reclaim our role as citizens? What does this 'citizen-first approach' entail? What is the role of citizens in co-creating good governance? Our speaker, an author and a committed philanthropist, strongly believes that we are all citizens first rather than simply subjects of the state or consumers of the markets. She believes in the critical role of an active and engaged citizenry. This conversation will cover her journey from self to society, and her personal stories of how she arrived at this philosophy of a strong Samaaj as the foundational sector.

15 October 2022:

Human History Of Partition: Not Lines On Maps, But Stories, Memories, And Objects

In 1947, as India gained independence, lines were hastily drawn on maps, and millions of lives were uprooted. Tomes have been written on Partition; but traditional means of narration have failed to do justice to the depth of human trauma. The pain of Partition lives on in the hearts of those affected, as personal memory, collective memory, and generational memory.  Personal memories of ordinary people – not the distorted, jingoistic, official histories that we read in textbooks. Oral histories go deeper than maps, and statistics, and rulers, and dates; to bring to life the human suffering, the pain, the regrets. What objects did people take with them when they fled across these new borders? What memories have grown around those mundane objects? What memories have been inherited by the descendants of those who fled? Why do we need to dig into these memories, 75 years after Partition? Our speaker is an artist and oral historian. She has written two books – oral histories of the memories of Partition. She will bring Partition alive through stories of memories and help us understand the personal narratives around the painful migration.

15 October 2022:

Human History Of Partition: Not Lines On Maps, But Stories, Memories, And Objects

In 1947, as India gained independence, lines were hastily drawn on maps, and millions of lives were uprooted. Tomes have been written on Partition; but traditional means of narration have failed to do justice to the depth of human trauma. The pain of Partition lives on in the hearts of those affected, as personal memory, collective memory, and generational memory.  Personal memories of ordinary people – not the distorted, jingoistic, official histories that we read in textbooks. Oral histories go deeper than maps, and statistics, and rulers, and dates; to bring to life the human suffering, the pain, the regrets. What objects did people take with them when they fled across these new borders? What memories have grown around those mundane objects? What memories have been inherited by the descendants of those who fled? Why do we need to dig into these memories, 75 years after Partition? Our speaker is an artist and oral historian. She has written two books – oral histories of the memories of Partition. She will bring Partition alive through stories of memories and help us understand the personal narratives around the painful migration.

17 September 2022:

The Story Of Water: How This Shapeless Substance Has Shaped Society

Water is the ultimate public good – a moving, formless substance that defies private ownership, is hard to contain, and requires collective management. Our planet is habitable because of water – in the sea, on land, in the air. The most important trends that shaped human civilisation were built around water – agriculture, demographics, industrialisation, and the birth of social & political institutions.  The roots of modern society’s relationship with water go far back in time. The rise of the modern civilisation is linked to the central role water has had in society. Humanity's long, complicated relationship with water still shapes today's politics and economics, behind the illusions of technological modernity. Below the visible surface of a society that believes itself separated from nature, the undercurrents of water's agency still flow as powerful as ever. Our speaker, a physicist, climate scientist, and global ambassador for water, will tell us how humanity's relationship to moving water has shaped civilisation, transformed political institutions, and defined people's lives. He will provide an interdisciplinary perspective by bringing cosmology, mythology, archaeology, and history to illustrate how human civilisation is shaped by water.

03 September 2022:

From Data To Insights: Using Numbers To Tell Stories About India and Indians

The world is drowning in data. Yet, we are often clueless about how the world works. The answers are hidden in data. But we cannot see the insights, until we cut and polish this data to unshackle the stories imprisoned within. The future belongs to storytellers; to those who can make data sing; who can paint portraits of real people in their full multicolour 3D glory, not obfuscate with dense spreadsheets. How do data professionals dive into data and emerge with nuggets of insights? How do we arrive at the ‘aha’ moment? How do research professionals churn the ocean of data to distil the elixir of wisdom? Our speaker is a veteran market researcher and consumer insights professional. He looks for stories in data; stories that bring the quirks of India and Indians to the fore, often in amusing and surprising ways. He has written a book, India In Numbers, that tells hundreds of such stories about India. He will show us how researchers take obscure data and shine a light on it to reveal the hidden meaning.

20 August 2022:

Geography, Geology, Geopolitics: The Dynamics In India's Western Neighbourhood

West Asia, or the Middle East, is a strategically important part of the world. The region is the spiritual home of three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is also blessed, and cursed, by its geology, its vast reserves of oil & gas. For India, countries of the West Asian region are of immense strategic, commercial, and cultural importance in terms of energy, trade, investment, logistical connectivity, and the interests of the eight million Indians living in the region. As a new world order emerges after the pandemic and the wars of the region, what will be the role of West Asia in the world? How will regional dynamics impact global energy, trade, and logistical connectivity projects? What is the future of the region’s dominance in energy, given the energy crunch caused by the Ukraine crisis and the longer-term pivot away from fossil fuels? Our speaker is a veteran Indian diplomat and the foremost expert on West Asia. He will provide a comprehensive understanding of the diverse forces shaping the region's political, economic, and energy future, and its consequences for the world order in general, and India in particular.

23 July 2022:

India’s Millennials: Demographic Dividend Or Demographic Disappointment?

India has the largest generation of millennials in the world. The choices and trajectory of this generation have pivotal consequences on local, regional, and global politics and economics. It was believed that with proper education and investment in human capital, India’s millennials would power the country to transform itself like many East Asian success stories. But are our millennials, the country's demographic dividend, paying out for the country the way we had hoped, or are we going to be disappointed? What do Indian millennials want? What are their aspirations, ambitions, and anxieties? What makes them tick? Are the millennials any different from the previous generations? Are they really blazing a new trail, or are they just conforming to the established norms? Our speaker has documented the journeys of young people across 13 Indian states. Combining a comprehensive dataset and personal anecdotes, he will narrate an intimate biography of India's millennials, investigating their attitudes towards sex, marriage, employment, religion, and politics. He will also piece together diverse trends, events, and experiences to provide a roadmap to understanding millennials.

16 July 2022:

In A Man's World: Overcoming Gender Bias In Leadership

Despite some progress, unfortunately the world still revolves around men. Some Indian women have established themselves as leaders, breaking the glass ceiling. They have redefined the work culture and have created inclusive spaces. Many inspiring women have dared to dream big. But this has not been easy. Women in leadership positions are still an exception. How do Indian women overcome gender bias in the corporate world? Bias comes in several shades; from serious harassment, to micro-aggressions, to mansplaining, to unconscious bias – how does a woman leader address these? Are women leaders held to a different standard compared to men who did not have to face gender bias? How are organisations combating gender bias to ensure women get their fair share in leadership? Does work-life balance exist for women leaders? Our speaker, a former CEO and currently a mentor of women entrepreneurs and leaders, will share her inspirational story of grit and determination as a corporate leader. Reflecting on her stint as CEO and growing the organisation inside out, she will recount the difficulties a woman leader faces in creating inclusive and equitable business practices in a sector dominated by a male workforce.

25 June 2022:

Untangling The Russia-Ukrainian War And Its Impact On The World Order

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has destabilised the already volatile world order. This conflict unleashed one of the biggest humanitarian crises in Europe since 1945. More than three million people have fled Ukraine, and innumerable lives have been lost. The United States and the European Union have imposed tough economic sanctions on Russia. Several Western businesses — manufacturers, oil companies, retailers, and fast-food chains — have suspended operations in Russia. But this conflict does not seem to be ending anytime soon. What's behind the Ukraine crisis? Why have several rounds of diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine failed to stop the war? What has happened to the European security structure that has helped keep the peace on the continent? Is this the end of globalisation and peaceful international politics? What is the story behind India's diplomatic response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Our speaker is an analyst on geopolitics and has written about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He will unearth the story behind the conflict and its impact on India. He will also argue why the world lacks a global leadership that can mobilise the international community to bring this conflict to a close. 

18 June 2022:

Communication Policy Of The Reserve Bank Of India: RBI Kehta Hai But Do We Understand?

Most think of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the entity that prints currency notes and sets interest rates. While these two are RBI's significant functions, communication has become a primary function of a modern central bank. The objective of central bank communication is to shape inflationary expectations and guide financial markets in future policy actions. RBI has been running a financial literacy campaign titled, RBI Kehta Hai. Is the RBI's communication policy relevant, transparent, clear, comprehensive, and timely? Does it improve public understanding of the domains under its ambit? Does it manage the expectations of all economic agents? Does it enhance the efficacy of monetary policy and minimise undue speculation? Does RBI deepen its engagement with the multilingual and multicultural Indian society through its publications? Our speaker, an economist and expert on monetary policy communication of the RBI, will discuss the global evolution of central bank communications in monetary policy. Beyond lessons from global best practices, the discussion will assess RBI's communication and what is needed to make people understand it better. We will seek an answer to the question "RBI kehta hai, but do we understand". 

28 May 2022:

Nationalism, Modernity, And The Maharajahs: Indian Identity In The Late Nineteenth Century

Though the princely states covered forty per cent of the Indian subcontinent and governed twenty-five per cent of its population, they have traditionally been portrayed as petty despots, consumed by lust and luxury – bejewelled parasites, who cared more for elephants and palaces than for schools and public works. The British propagated the myth that brown royalty needed to be ‘enlightened’. Many Indians, too, bought into the stereotype, viewing the princes as imperial stooges. Even today, the princes are either remembered with frothy nostalgia or dismissed as greedy fools. Did the princely states play any role in the making of contemporary India? Were they puppets in the hands of the British? Did the princely states work towards a constitutional mode of governance based on laws and not just royal whimsy? What was their role in the emergence of nationalism in late-Victorian India? Our speaker, author of False Allies and other books on this topic, will explore the vanished world of princely India. He will explore how India’s princely states and their rulers negotiated their political identities and ideas of kingship, both while facing pressures from the British Raj, as well as while resisting it. 

14 May 2022:

Leadership Lessons From Nehru: A Colossus With Feet Of Clay?

Political leadership is a prerequisite for a vibrant democracy. We have a surfeit of petty politicians, and a dearth of political leaders. Great leaders have a clear vision of the long-term goals, while navigating the day-to-day mundanity; deftly balancing lofty strategy and messy execution. Nehru was more than a political leader. A statesman, a larger-than-life hegemon, deified and vilified in equal measure, he shaped the destiny of independent India, for good and for bad.   What leadership traits helped Nehru fashion the destiny of the nation? What were the drawbacks of Nehru’s style? Was he a great leader for his charisma and personality? Or for his ideas and vision? Nehru’s shadow looms over India, even six decades after his passing. What leadership lessons should leaders – political and business – learn or not learn from Nehru?   Our speaker, a historian of modern South Asia with a keen interest in the birth of Indian democracy and the Nehruvian era of the mid-20th century, will answer some of these questions. He will use Nehru as a case study to elucidate the various facets of political leadership, and whether the ultimate proof of great leadership lies in character, vision, or action.

07 May 2022:

Ratta versus Reasoning: Writing And The Development Of Critical Thought In Indian Education

The method of imparting education in India focuses on memorisation and repetition. The formal schooling experience often does not inspire the pursuit of higher-order objectives such as creation and evaluation. The curriculum design, the content, and the assessment do not offer much scope for critical thinking and a creative mindset because it favours ratta (rote memorisation) instead of reasoning and argumentation.  How can Indian students hone their reasoning skills while leaving room for the poetic and the unreasonable? How can students learn to weigh arguments and counterarguments while writing a piece? What are effective ways of providing support for writing pedagogy? How can students enhance their writing acumen and acuity? How do writing practices differ across educational contexts, disciplines, and geographies?  Our speaker, a scholar of writing pedagogy, anthropology, and critical thinking, will argue that the culture of ratta has wrought havoc on the ability for reasoning, one that has pernicious societal effects. She will address the benefits of creative, ‘out-of-syllabus’ approaches to teaching writing.  She will also discuss the writing practices in college education and the widespread problem of plagiarism in India.

30 April 2022:

A Unique Case Of Silent Voters: The Missing Women In Indian Democracy

India is a singular case in the history of democracy that turned its people into voters before they became citizens. This was not an easy task in the context of the horrors of partition, illiteracy, gender inequality, and acute poverty. A group of bureaucrats began establishing the practices of electoral democracy much before the first Indian election of 1951.  Why then does India still rank low in women's representation in the legislature despite having had women as its president, prime minister, and chief ministers? Why are there so few women in Indian politics? Do women leaders and women voters matter in Indian democracy? How will the world’s largest democracy, without adequate female representation, deliver policies that promote women's welfare? Our speaker, an eminent economist with a keen interest in development challenges in India, will discuss the factors behind ‘missing women’ and ‘silent voters’ of Indian democracy? And what happens when there is a better representation of women in the electoral process and Parliament. She will argue why a greater female force in Indian society is critical even when it happens for electoral compulsions.

23 April 2022:

The Making Of A Digital Nation: The Miracle Story Of The Indian IT Sector

The growth of the Indian IT sector has been a remarkable success story. The export-led private sector growth, with a flexible labour market and a limited role for the state, boosted the nation's confidence. The country saw an increase in sectors such as business process outsourcing, significant rise in wage premium, the growth in private education, and entrepreneurs as new role models. The IT sector growth contributed to the development of IT clusters that led to the new wave of e-commerce.   What factors led to the growth of the sector? Who were the key entrepreneurs who led this transformation? Why did India miss the hardware bus? Is the growth attained so far sustainable? Is it possible for India to retain its competitive edge in this industry?    Our speaker, a regular columnist with a journalism career spanning thirty years, will chart the growth story of the Indian IT sector. He will highlight the story behind two significant factors – one technological and another policy-related – and how they shaped the growth of the sector. He will look at the development of the Indian IT sector through the lens of one of the pioneers, Azim Premji.

09 April 2022:

The Next Billion Users: What Got Us Here Won’t Get Us There

The internet, in its early days, was largely a rich world and Western phenomenon. The rules of the game were set in the West. It was assumed that when the Global South becomes a significant player, they will play the game by the rules set by those in the Global North. The myopic mindset was that the ‘developing’ world will use the internet to ‘better itself’, for utilitarian applications – education, employment, health care. This notion is being turned on its head. Users in the poor world are using the new technology for dominantly entertainment and gaming. Are the western projections and assumptions on how the internet should be used matched by how the internet is actually used in the emergent markets? Is it time to debunk some widely held myths about internet usage amongst those living in the Global South? Our speaker, a digital anthropologist, will argue against this popular western narrative. The next billion users will not be like the previous billion, and our speaker will tell us why. She will dig into her deep study of the online lives of the global poor, to arrive at a new perspective on the future of the internet.

19 March 2022:

The SRK Mythos: Men, Money, Misogyny, and the Struggles of the Indian Woman

Shah Rukh Khan has been the bellwether for romantic aspirations and lived realities of millions of Indian women who grew up being entranced by his films. His movies and his public persona have inspired women from varied backgrounds to dream big and transcend the drudgery of their mundane lives. Is the hero worship of Shah Rukh Khan by Indian women just fandom or is it a rebellion against social customs and norms? How has the actor shaped the lives and loves, and the interior as well as the circumscribed public lives of women? Is the desire for intimacy, and the dreams of female independence, metaphorically pinned on posters of Shah Rukh Khan’s movies? Has Shah Rukh Khan inspired fan-women to attain social mobility and financial autonomy?  Our speaker, an economist at the World Bank and an author, has extensively researched the economic and personal trajectories of India’s women. She uses the sisterhood of SRK fandom as a device to delve into deep social, cultural, and gender issues. Integrating anthropology, sociology, and economics, she will discuss how women with different social identities survive at the intersection of power and patriarchy.

19 February 2022:

Entering The Brain Of The Consumer – Building Brands That Connect

Today, consumers are overwhelmed with information and choice. How do marketers cut through the clutter and ensure that their brand gets chosen? It is more important than ever for brands to connect at a deep level. Cognitive Brands get inside the minds of their consumers, understand how the brain works, and unlock long-lasting brand relationships. What are the best ways to build a brand? Is it good to emotionalise the brand? Emotional brands can make one laugh and cry – but does that enhance the value of the brand? Should we communicate the rational benefits of the brand? Do consumers make brand choices consciously or subconsciously? Do consumers buy a brand because it makes them feel good at an instinctive level, or do they buy because the brand stands up to rational deliberation? Our speaker, a marketing visionary, a strategy consultant, and an author, has done extensive research on Cognitive Branding, He integrates the latest advances in cognitive neuroscience, social anthropology, behavioural economics, and psychology. He will discuss alternative methods of developing modern power brands which have the potential of making lasting connections.

5 February 2022:

India And Its Numbers: Seeing Modern India Through Data

In the modern world, we are drowning in data and statistics on everything, but we are not always clear about the context behind the data. Data is just the raw material; the real value is in the stories, the insights, and the wisdom that lies hidden in data. But, something gets lost in translation between the data and the story. India’s statistical architecture is massive, consisting of governmental organisations like Census, NSO, NCRB, NFHS, etc. and private organisations like NCAER, CMIE, etc. Even then, people build incorrect narratives around the data masquerading as facts. Is it because statistics in India remains inscrutable, inaccessible, and difficult to communicate? What does the data mean in terms of the actual lived experiences of the people of India? What do the numbers succeed and fail in capturing about the social, political, and economic issues in India? Our speaker, an independent data journalist, author, and recipient of the Likho Award for Excellence in Media in 2019 has extensively researched descriptive data on India. She will discuss the myriad complex socio-political truths of India through her data stories.

29 January 2022:

Gandhi, The Economist: Shining A New Light On The Mahatma

Numerous weighty tomes have been written about Mahatma Gandhi’s views on ethics, religion, human nature, education, and society. A lawyer, a political leader, a spiritual leader, a philosopher, the man was multi-faceted. But not much has been written about Gandhi, the economist. He frequently advocated trusteeship as a means of morally transforming the Indian society. Gandhi’s doctrine of trusteeship needs further examination: beyond morality and socialism. Could Gandhi’s ideas have capitalist roots too?   Would it be unorthodox to call Gandhi a ‘Capitalist’? Did Gandhi’s ideas signal his acceptance of business and prosperity? Would it be scientific to tag Mahatma Gandhi with tropes of capitalism, trade, and wealth because he was a self-described vanika putra – the son of a bania? Can we make an intellectual connection between Mahatma Gandhi and Adam Smith? Could Gandhi share the podium with Smith, Keynes, and Ricardo in an economics classroom?   Our speaker, an entrepreneur and an author, has extensively researched the writings of and about Mahatma Gandhi. He will share a refreshing take on Gandhi’s ideas and will suggest a rethink of our understanding of the Father of the Nation.

22 January 2022:

Infrastructure Development In India: Are We There Yet?

Infrastructure is the foundation of economic development. No country has achieved economic prosperity without investing in modern infrastructure assets. Since independence, successive Indian governments have focused on building rails, roads, ports, bridges, and highways, but there is still a gap between what is achieved and needed. Recent initiatives such as National Infrastructure Pipeline, NaBFID, AMRUT, etc., are aimed at fast-tracking India’s infrastructure development. However, executing these ambitious plans is a herculean task that leaves many questions unanswered. How will India deal with the budgetary issues and commitment of large funds to a single sector? How will the creation of NaBFID contribute to strong infrastructure? How are Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks mitigated in large-scale infrastructure projects? Is the private sector adequately leveraged in infrastructure development? Our speaker, a public policy expert, will discuss the prerequisites for India to develop a world-class infrastructure. He has been extensively vocal about the future of infrastructure development in India on various media forums. He will critically evaluate India’s execution capacity for infrastructure development. We will discuss the potential outcomes of initiatives undertaken by the government in a pandemic-stricken economy.

15 January 2022:

Repeal Of the Farm Bills: Good Riddance or A Lost Opportunity?

The introduction of three farm bills in the Parliament of India in September 2020 was followed by sustained protests from a section of the farmers. The farm bills, among other things, proposed to facilitate barrier-free trade and permit farmers to sell grain outside designated state-regulated mandis. On 19 November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address to the nation, announced that the government will repeal the farm bills, as it could not convince farmers on the merits of the bills. What went wrong? Were the bills inherently flawed or was the process of passing the bills botched? Was it, as is often the case in public policy, good intentions, and poor implementation? Has India lost an opportunity to reform the agriculture sector and bring it into the 21st century? What is the future of the agriculture sector in India?

10 December 2021:

Inside Story of the 1991 Economic Reforms: The Genesis and the Legacy

24 July 1991: The day that changed India. The budget speech on that day set in motion reforms that have changed the face of India. Growth-centred economic reforms helped India break the shackles of a socialist economy. For the first time since independence, India observed sustained average GDP growth of 7% for two decades. What circumstances led to the cascade of reforms in 1991? Had the reforms been brewing in the corridors of power since much before 1991? Were these reforms bold, deep, and decisive? Why have the reforms run out of steam in the past decade? Any lessons for contemporary India dealing with the post-pandemic economic crisis? Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a leading architect of the 1991 reforms, has been a key protagonist in the story of India's economic transformation for over four decades. He was in the room where it happened. Marking the 30th anniversary year of the momentous economic liberalisation, he will share an insider’s view on what led to the fateful budget speech of July 1991, and the events it set in motion.

20 November 2021:

Looking Through The Feminist Lens: Redefining Programme Evaluation

Evaluation of development programmes is the process of professional assessment of a programme, often guided by evaluative thinking, to arrive at a judgement about its value. Programme evaluations usually adopt an inclusive development approach rather than a transformative approach. Feminist evaluation is a fresh approach that identifies a wide range of stakeholders, and engages the larger community, to encourage the programme to challenge social norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. Gender transformative change cannot happen through the actions of one group alone. Should development programme evaluations adopt a lens of intersectionality? Are there more comprehensive ways to evaluate gender empowerment programmes? What is feminist evaluation and how is it different from a women-in-development approach? Who should be the focal point in these evaluations and which parameters should be evaluated? Our speakers are scholars in gender and development and have collaborated extensively to identify holistic ways for impact assessment of gender equality programmes. They have recently co-edited a book titled "Recognizing Connectedness: The Practice of Feminist Evaluation" which assimilates a diverse set of scholarly work questioning gender-blind practices in programme evaluation. The speakers will talk about the book, and explain the concept and practice of feminist evaluation.

13 November 2021:

The Graveyard of Empires: Geopolitics of the Afghanistan Crisis

The Afghans have been known for their indomitable spirit. For centuries, Afghanistan has thwarted the colonial machinations of global powers. Almost all efforts ended badly – from the British colonial escapades of the 19th century to the Soviet invasion, to the recent dismal end of the 20-year American attempt. Earning Afghanistan the sinister epithet, the graveyard of empires. The recent unruly scenes at Kabul airport, the hasty withdrawal of American forces, and Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover shook the world. The swift Taliban victory negated two decades of America's ‘nation-building’ efforts. What does this mean for India's national interest? What can India do to safeguard regional security & stability? Will the quad partnership be helpful to combat the security threats? How and when should India formally recognise the Taliban regime? Our speaker, a decorated army veteran with distinguished service awards and a deep scholar of strategy and statecraft, will discuss the possible consequences of the Afghan crisis for India and the world. With his vast experience in military affairs and national security, he will share views on the geopolitical fallout of the situation, and suggest possible ways forward

30 October 2021:

Smith, Marx, and Keynes Walk into a Classroom: Re-Thinking Economic Thought

Economics research takes place within the classical, neoclassical, Marxian, and Keynesian schools of thought. However, we are primarily only exposed to neoclassical economics. And while mainstream economic theories are used to guide economic policy, the latter is more flexible, goes beyond assumptions, and demands inclusion of socio-cultural-political factors as well. How do we resolve this age-old gap between economic theory and policy? Do we need to transition from a singular thought in economics to a critical and pluralistic approach? How does the history of economic thought affect policies in contemporary times? What could be the implications of pluralism in economic thought for India? What role can universities and academics play in making the history of economic thought relevant and interesting for students? Our speaker, an author and a professor, propounds the idea of understanding economics through certain alternative modes. He will decipher economics from the lens of pluralism and share insights on alternative thinking in economic thought from his latest book.

23 October 2021:

Are Cooperatives a Relic of the Past? Will the Rivers of Milk Flow Again?

Cooperatives are often seen as an anachronism, operating in the liminal space between socialism and capitalism. Dwarfed behind the towering heights of modern-day businesses, cooperatives appear slow-paced and backward; denigrated for their snail-paced technology adoption, lack of profit-focus, and inefficient governance. Despite this, the cooperative movement in India has survived in sectors like dairy, agriculture, banking, and housing. Does the recent restructuring in banking cooperatives set the pace for reform across the sector? Will the cooperatives be able to break free from the shackles of century-old organisation structures? Why is there a tussle between the centre and the states to control the cooperatives? Will the cooperatives be able to defy the false dichotomy between automation and employment? Our speaker, an academic and thought leader on cooperatives, will share his insights on the cooperative movement: how did we get here, and where are the cooperatives headed? In this year of the birth centenary of Dr Verghese Kurien, the milkman of India, this webinar will have a special focus on dairy cooperatives, and the legacy of the father of the white revolution.

09 October 2021:

Degree, Employment, Lifelong Learning? Whither Indian Higher Education

Higher education has some serious long term goals – to foster the joy of learning, to develop a research mindset, to set students up to be lifelong learners. The reality on the ground is that these often don't get realised. Much of higher education is focussed on the inputs: lectures, teaching, textbooks, attendance, rote learning, exams; and on the immediate outputs: grades, degrees, jobs. The exalted outcome – learning for life – is often lost. Higher education has become dispersed and complicated – with new EdTech suppliers joining long-established brick-and-mortar universities in creating a complex environment for a student. Can à la carte unbundled courses compete with a holistic 4-year on-campus degree? Can a pick & choose piecemeal collection of courses be called education? What are the pros and cons of bundled university degrees versus standalone online courses? Has the pandemic caused permanent tectonic shifts in the hitherto solid education terra firma? What is the future of higher education? Our speaker, a blogger and a professor will decode the state of higher education in India. He will share his insights on the perils and pitfalls of this sector and what lies ahead. He will also share his experiences as a blogger and a teacher in making learning exciting and fun.

25 September 2021:

Neighbours, Strangers, Adversaries, Friends? The Complexities of India-China Relations

It is a cliché in geopolitics that neighbouring countries cannot be friends. Relations between India and China over millennia have been far too complex to fit into any super cliché. Perceptions have swung wildly from centuries of high regard for each other’s culture, and cordial maritime trade, to the recent disdain fuelled by jingoism on both sides. Border disputes over the years have exacerbated the fault lines. Moreover, India and China often find themselves on different sides of global alliances, accentuating suspicions. Finally, in recent decades, china’s economy has leapfrogged far ahead of India, leading to feelings of resentment in India and derision in china. This is the so-called Asian century. India and China need to find common ground if they are to lead the world rather than remain embroiled in conflict. Can we go back to history, when relations were not as fraught, and find inspiration to achieve a joint destiny? Our speaker is a scholar of India's foreign policy and has just published India versus china: why they are not friends (2021). He will provide a perspective on how we arrived here and ideas on how India and China can together build a future that reflects their combined stature.

18 September 2021:

Good Bank, Bad Bank: A balancing Act for the Indian Banking System

The Indian banking system has been on a roller coaster ride since the fateful nationalisation of banks in 1969. The public sector banks (PSBs) have ever since been torn between chasing development goals and political goals. The asset quality of PSBs has been affected by the pressures to support infrastructure-related sectors. Loans to these stressed sectors have led to PSBs being burdened with a much higher load of NPAs than private sector banks. Is there a long-term solution to this ownership dilemma for banks? How can we leverage the benefits provided by PSBs without the strings that come attached with them? What lessons can be learnt from the history of banking? What is the legacy of 1969? How did the reforms of 1991 change the outlook for the Indian banking sector? How can banks design better protocols to keep NPAs under control? In this session of The Conversation Series, our speaker Professor Amartya Lahiri, Royal Bank Faculty Research Professor, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, will discuss the missteps and triumphs of the banking sector and provide insights on the road ahead for the banking system. He has intensively researched the macro and microeconomic developments in India over the last three decades.

4 September 2021:

SiliconPolitik: The Geopolitics of the Semiconductor Industry

Modern electronic devices run everything from communication to transportation to health care to national security. Semiconductors are the brains of modern electronics. No wonder an industry as strategic as semiconductors has become a front for geopolitical contestation today. How did this nanoscopic product manage to cast such a looming shadow over international relations? How has this hyper-globalised industry developed chokepoints? What is the future of this tech corner of geopolitics? Will the four quad countries pool together their competitive strengths in this sector? Where do India's strengths lie? Our speaker, an expert in the geopolitics of technology, will shed light on the history, the geopolitics, and the likely future of the semiconductor industry. He will talk about india’s strategic position in the war of the chips.

21 August 2021:

A New Paradigm for Development: Economic Growth and Social Wellbeing

GDP growth is a critical measure of economic performance. However, the single-minded pursuit of economic growth loses sight of the wider view of the wellbeing of the community. Growth needs to be inclusive, sustainable, and equitable. A booming economy for the few, while the many languish at the bottom of the pyramid, undermines the logic of development. Amidst this, the pandemic has further widened the chasm between the rich and the poor. We need a wider lens that transcends GDP: material growth and social wellbeing. 20th century geopolitics had created a dichotomy, either an unbridled free market economy or a centrally controlled socialist economy. In this century, we need to break free of this false binary. How do we ensure growth that benefits all stakeholders, not just shareholders? How do we move beyond economic reforms to social reforms? Which underlying ideas of capitalism need to evolve to ensure prosperity and welfare? Our speaker, a multifaceted leader who has donned various hats in the private sector and government, will challenge the current ideas of economic growth. He will present a multipronged approach to inclusive economic growth, tempered by ethics and wellbeing.

14 August 2021:

Journalism is Dead, Long live Journalism: Quest for a new Business-Model

Since the birth of the internet, people have been predicting the demise of journalism. But it keeps rising from the ashes, in ever new forms. A surge in free, digital-only news platforms and information democratisation through social media is hurting legacy media organisations. The old advertising-supported model of journalism is dying. A quest for better business models has led to customer-centric, multi-product, paywall journalism. Reader-revenue supported journalism remains a black box. Are subscriptions and paywalls just another fad? Can journalism be a product? The news versus views dichotomy has surfaced again. While many expect news to be free, some are still willing to pay for the views of well-informed journalists. How is subscriber-centric journalism designed? Except for a few erudite loyal readers, who will pay for content? What about podcasts, should they continue to be free? What are the business processes in such subscription-based organisations? Our speaker leads an organisation that has pioneered subscription-based online journalism in Asia over a span of five years. He will speak on the challenges and strategies for monetising content and give a brief overview of the evolution of the ken.

7 August 2021:

Transforming Digital Startups into Market Leaders

The internet is ubiquitous. Its diffusion has revolutionised every facet of our lives - from e-commerce to manufacturing, to media, to education, and beyond. This digital revolution has created abundant opportunities for new-age entrepreneurs. Swift changes in the business landscape, a hunt for investors, extensive competition due to low entry barriers, collapsing industry boundaries, evolving regulatory environment, and the pandemic have added roadblocks in every entrepreneur's journey. How do entrepreneurs navigate through a dynamic business environment? How to deal with failures and identify opportunities? How to stay motivated while dealing with angel investors, IPOs, and scaling up a business in the current times? What new challenges and opportunities does the pandemic bring for new-age entrepreneurs? How conducive is the Indian regulatory environment for startups and job creation? Our speaker, India's finest entrepreneur, who successfully navigated the choppy waters of the dot-com bubble, will share his inspirational journey of building India's earliest tech businesses. He will trace the trials and tribulations of tech entrepreneurship over the past two decades. He will have numerous lessons for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

31 July 2021:

First Among Equals: Reimagining Leadership in Knowledge-Based Organisations

The stereotype of a quintessential leader – the larger-than-life authoritarian figure marshalling an army of followers – is fast crumbling. Leadership structures, at least in knowledge organisations, are fast becoming flatter and more democratic. It is no longer hierarchical, top-down, boss-and-minions. Organisations today demand accountable, adaptive, and humanistic leaders who are ready to step off the pedestal and empower their team. But the question remains: how to lead effectively, especially when followers are often as knowledgeable as the leader? How to lead when chains of command are changing to chains of collaboration? Is a flat structure organisation structure a myth in high power distance cultures like India? How can leaders use technology to augment their leadership styles? How is the nature of leadership in knowledge-based organisations changing in contemporary times of remote and hybrid work? Our speaker, an academic and author, will discuss a novel framework on leadership, based on his extensive research on knowledge-based organisations across India. As a professor, he will also autoethnographically reflect on the framework’s applicability in a higher-education setting which is evolving from instructor-driven top-down pedagogical style to student-driven equitable interaction-based learning.

10 July 2021:

Beyond Covid-19: Envisioning Better Healthcare Systems in India

The behaviour of sars COV-2 has puzzled doctors, scientists, and public health experts. Critical gaps in healthcare systems added to the woes during the second wave. While the country is still recovering from the distress of the second wave, fear of the third wave looms ahead. Amidst this, many questions remain unanswered. Why was the second wave so devastating for India? How do we decode the excess mortality rate? What healthcare reforms should be undertaken in India after the pandemic? The pandemic is not just a healthcare problem. There is a need for an interdisciplinary approach to tackling the pandemic. How can healthcare work in tandem with public health, engineering, biological sciences, psychology, behavioural science, law, economics, etc. To find a long-term solution? Can we enhance equity in healthcare in India? Our speaker, a public health expert, will not only elaborate and explain sars-cov-2 patterns but also address the shortcomings in india’s healthcare systems and public health infrastructure. This conversation will indicate the way forward towards preventing the third wave and developing better healthcare systems for india in the long run.

26 June 2021:

Humanising Organisations: A Journey to the Future of Work

Work-life balance is old school. The pandemic has unleashed organisational practices that facilitate work-life integration. Are the workforce, the organisations, and the society ready for this tectonic shift? While some silicon valley tech giants are nudging employees to return to work, employees are demanding an option to stay remote. In India, many organisations are pushing for remote work to reduce real estate costs, but the workforce lacks digital infrastructure and a conducive work-from-home environment. While remote working has created opportunities, additional family care responsibilities in the pandemic have discouraged many women from taking up jobs, exacerbating gender inequality. Digital adoption has proliferated in the pandemic, but do we have the infrastructure to upskill workers? For workers in the unorganised sector, work from home is not an option – what is the future of work for them? Our speaker will help navigate through these complex questions on the future of work. A thought leader, who laid the foundation of the Indian BPO industry, he was an early pioneer of work from home in the early 2000s. The conversation will bring us closer to predicting the post-pandemic future of work.

12 June 2021:

The Art and Science of Policy Making: At the Intersection of Economics and Politics

A glib cliché: that government is best which governs least; markets will sort it out. Often true. But there are occasional market failures, and the government does need to intervene. Many such interventions falter because they are either of the wrong kind, or politically motivated, or lack adequate state capacity to implement. Several stumbling blocks bedevil Indian policy making. What areas should the government play in? Should the government be in production (E.g., government running schools), regulation (E.g., setting curriculum for schools), and financing (E.g., school vouchers for kids to attend private schools)? Are some of these functions better left to the markets? Does government intervention add value? Our speaker is a scholar of the art and science of public policy – at the intersection of economics, law, and public administration. He will discuss how the government should design effective policy to avoid such pitfalls. He will use his deep analysis of two recent interventions by the Indian government – the botched rollout of the farm laws and the inefficient procurement & distribution of Covid-19 vaccines – as case studies to explain what went wrong and what we can learn.

29 May 2021:

Evidence in the Era of Misinformation: Using Science to Combat COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is biological, but it is also social. It is economic, but it is also political. Experts have warned that sars-cov-2, the coronavirus that causes this disease, might never go away. The more that the virus spreads and replicates, the more opportunity it has to mutate. New variants can arise in any part of the world and, with modern travel, spread anywhere rapidly. We know that the biological pandemic will end one day; we must also ensure an end to the social one. How can we bring an end to this social pandemic of misinformation, unproven treatments, and pseudoscientific approaches? What can we learn from evidence-based science to save lives and save the economy? Our speaker, a trained microbiologist, and the author of COVID-19: separating fact from fiction, will address key questions on this health crisis. How do variants arise? Will vaccines work against the variants? What does the current situation mean for India and the rest of the world? This discussion will cover preventative and treatment approaches in the near term and solutions for the medium and long-term to navigate living in a covid world.

22 May 2021:

Lives and Livelihoods: Strategies Beyond Binary Actions to Curb India's COVID Crisis

India is in the grip of a severe second wave of the pandemic. With the alarming rate of increase both in the daily number of new cases and daily deaths, the healthcare infrastructure is under severe pressure. There is a dearth of hospital beds and oxygen supply; cremation and burial grounds are running out of space. Scholars and policymakers agree that human interaction must be curtailed to check the contagion. Though there have been several interventions to prevent the spread in India, including quarantine, case and contact isolation, hand hygiene, face masks, public education about personal protection, they all seem to have largely failed. How to reduce the rise in new cases? Is it the right time for India to go into complete lockdown? Is there a strategy beyond the binary choices of lockdown or no lockdown? Our experts will discuss containment choices beyond binaries, including medical preparedness, physical distancing, accelerated vaccinations, scaled-up testing, closure of indoor spaces, contact tracing & isolation, and beyond. We will also discuss why real-time, reliable, credible data is essential for a comprehensive strategy to defeat the pandemic.

15 May 2021:

A Tale of Two Cities: The Making & Remaking of Bombay and Ahmedabad through Pandemics

Throughout history, pandemics have shaped the way of life, the planning, and the governance of cities. The ongoing covid-19 pandemic invokes memories of the bubonic plague of 1896 and the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 in India. These outbreaks affected cities like Bombay and Ahmedabad. Each of these public health crises prompted significant civic initiatives in improving sanitation and legislation like improvement trust acts, which laid the foundations for town planning in India. Each pandemic has transformed urban societies. Covid-19, too, will surely leave its impact on the future growth and planning of cities. However, every pandemic is different, and covid-19 will require different responses from policymakers, civil society, and the public. By examining the responses to the 19th and the 20th-century pandemics, this discussion will offer insights on the possible impacts of the current pandemic on sustainable urban life. Our speakers, experts in history, urban planning, and population studies, will examine the response to the pandemics of a century ago and trace the throughline on urban planning, city development, public health, and overall urban life, specifically in Bombay and Ahmedabad.

08 May 2021:

National Education Policy: Transforming Schooling from Selecting & Sorting to Human Development

The education system in India has an excessive focus on inputs (Infrastructure, teacher salaries, textbooks, attendance) and not enough focus on the outcome – student learning. It has been more about sorting and selection rather than human development. Our procrustean education system is all about standardisation not about encouraging creativity and innovation. The National Education Policy (nep) 2020 is the first major reform of the education system in over three decades. Will the new nep redress this imbalance and improve learning outcomes? Will the nep help education move away from rote learning to deep understanding? From one-way delivery of teaching to two-way enhancement of learning? From the focus on passing exams to learning for life? From churning out graduates to nurturing talent? Will there be a culture shift from narrow intradisciplinary silos to an interdisciplinary mindset? Our speaker is a scholar of development economics, with a special interest in education, health, social protection, measuring the quality of public service delivery, and programme evaluation. He will address issues with our education systems, and whether the nep can help transform gains in schooling into gains in learning.

24 April 2021:

Connection and Conflict: The History of China-India Interactions and the Long-Awaited Asian Century

Away from screaming headlines of the latest border skirmishes between China and India, the two countries have had centuries of social, cultural, political, and trade contact: not just state-to-state, but at population levels. There is a rich history of cultural influence – from art to literature to Buddhism. Chinese and Indian traders were exchanging goods, ideas, and technologies long before the British brought tea and opium into the picture. What can this connected history tell us about the benefits of the two giants working together? The history of China and India over the 20th century – and their influence on the rest of Asia – points to a bright future for the Asian continent if the joint strengths of the dragon and the elephant are harnessed. Our speaker – Scholar of China, India, and their connected history – will discuss what the 20th-century history of interactions between these two nations means for Asia's future. How do China and India impact the continent and the world? Does their connected history provide a model for conflict-free economic development in Asia? Can China and India together nudge the world towards an Asian century?

10 April 2021:

Making And Influencing Policy In India: Federalism, Governance, Legitimacy, Transparency, And Accountability

The federal structure, an integral part of india's economic and political system, has faced challenges over the decades. Overbearing control from the centre may lead to the post office paradox – where local level administrators become disempowered cogs in a hierarchical administrative culture, used simply for doing the bidding of higher authorities and ferrying messages between the top and bottom. India is still struggling with the strong-centre-weak-state phenomenon. Issues like how central transfers are made to the states remain unresolved. Why are there still many inconsistencies in the internal dynamics of the indian state? Why are faultlines emerging in its architecture – particularly the political economy of centre-state-local government relations? Our speaker – a scholar of accountability, decentralisation, and administrative reforms – will discuss the issues of legitimacy, transparency, accountability, and the role of regional parties. They will also look at the realities of policymaking in india, and debate the role of independent, objective research in shaping policy. Finally, they will assess the roles and functions of the centre for policy research and similar think tanks, and what a career in public policy and think tanks may involve.

05 April 2021:

Framing of Farming: An Interdisciplinary Exploration Into Agriculture, Farmers, Markets, & Reforms

India’s agricultural sector is in turmoil. In the early years of independent india, to achieve self-sufficiency in food, several policies were enacted to reform the sector. Many of those early policies are now coming home to roost. How did we get here? How did we manage to make great strides in agriculture and food security, and yet ended up failing our farmers? Are we too focussed on the business of agriculture and not on the farmers? Trying to impose one set of central regulations on variegated agricultural markets across the country is a complex and thankless task. Even the most well-intentioned reforms are bound to offend some segments of the multifarious stakeholders who eye a slice of this large pie. Our speaker brings an interdisciplinary perspective – cutting across sociology, anthropology, economics, and politics – on agricultural markets and reforms. She will address the why and the how of where we are on agriculture policy, farm laws, and farmer protests. We will delve into the situation of agriculture and farmers, the recent laws and, more importantly, how does the agricultural sector dig itself out of the current impasse.

27 March 2021:

The Business of the News: Turmoil, Tribulations and Triumphs in the Media Industry

Every industry in the world is going through turmoil and transformation. The media industry is no different. The entire value chain of media – from content creation to delivery platforms to media consumption – has changed. Social media platforms have made news a commodity. Journalism has had to move up the ladder from news to views. We all know what happened; journalists need to tell us why it happened. The business of views is far more prone to polarisation than the business of news. The media world is more virulently partisan than ever before; there is no middle ground. How does journalism retain credibility in a world where information is fast and free, where platforms have more power than traditional media, and the dissemination of information – or disinformation – is easier than ever before? Our speaker, a seasoned leader of media businesses, will address these issues and more. We will discuss if there is still a future for the traditional media business model. In an age of citizen journalism, do we still need professional journalists? If so, how do media businesses and journalists evolve to remain relevant?

20 March 2021:

The World on a Plate: How Food reflects Culture, Migration, Assimilation, Identity, and Gobalisation

The world has been on the move for several decades. Migration is at an all-time high. Almost 300 million people today live in countries other than where they were born. In london and new york, more than a third of the residents are foreign-born. When people move, cultures and customs move. And food travels with people. As migrants get caught in politics of migration, identity, and assimilation, food becomes political too. How did indian food travel the earth? Has it provided an identity to indian immigrants? How does ‘ethnic’ food climb the status ladder? For example, italian food in the usa started at the bottom, but as italian-americans prospered, and outgrew their hyphenated status, so did italian food. Have indian migrants, too, made that transition? Has indian food assimilated into the local cultures? Or is it still ‘ethnic’? Our speaker, who works at the intersection of food and culture, will address these questions and more. He will address the process, the politics, and the roadblocks, on the route to food becoming the vehicle for immigrants’ assimilation in their adopted countries.

13 March 2021:

Pandemics, Panic, And Preparedness: Decoding The Past To Decipher The Present And Delineate The Future

In early 2020, when the world health organization declared covid-19 a pandemic, the world descended into pandemonium. The ensuing months were a mix of heightened panic and ill-preparedness. Amid the chaos, we tried to find a method in the madness, pausing to ponder over the handling of past public health crises. History may not repeat itself, but it swings around in a perennial loop. We forget history at our own peril. As it turned out, India had a case of mass amnesia about its own experiences with pandemics. Why did we not learn from the past, to predict and prepare for future portentous calamities? Our speaker, who works at the intersection of economics and history, probed into previous public health disasters, culminating in the book, ‘the age of pandemics';. It describes how the world at large, and India in particular, endured three other pandemics over a century ago. He will explain how these experiences changed people’s lives and livelihoods, and lessons for the present and inevitable similar crises in the future. He will answer questions about what could have done better if we had not forgotten the past.

27 February 2021:

The Machines Are Coming, Should We Run For The Hills? Is Artificial Intelligence A Friend Or Foe?

The transformative power of artificial intelligence has changed everything. Driven by ai-based algorithms, gafa rules the world. A retailer knows more about what we want than we do; a social media platform creates echo chambers and influences world politics; a search engine reads our mind. This has changed how we connect, learn, work, shop, and live. How do we celebrate and enhance the upsides of ai – to transform industries from retail to banking to stock markets to healthcare delivery to manufacturing to education? And how do we mitigate the downsides – issues of privacy and ethical use of data? The manipulative intents of some social media platforms? Can we trust the machines’? Is the predictive power of machines too strong? Is it time for social media platforms to be declared a public good? Our speaker, a leading researcher on artificial intelligence, and a data scientist, will address these questions and more: how do these technologies impact our work, health, emotional well-being, government, democracy, and freedom? How do we get the best out of ai, while circumventing the pitfalls? How do we make artificial intelligence complement and augment human intelligence, not replace it?

6 February 2021:

Human Rights : Why Is It So Difficult For Businesses To Get This Right?

As the name suggests, human rights should be inalienable for every human being, beyond the remit of any employer or government. But in reality, human rights have often been denied on the basis of race, religion, gender, caste or sexual orientation. As the world moves increasingly into the digital realm, due considerations on the right to data privacy, data security and the right to personal data protection are becoming increasingly pertinent. For corporate leaders, the intersection of human rights and business has raised several critical questions. Companies need to respect Human Rights, not only because it is the ethical thing to do, but because it is the smart thing to do; avoid lawsuits, reputational damage, and losing the business of conscientious customers, suppliers and partners.  Our speaker will address some urgent questions about human rights in the business world emphasising how businesses need to ethically interact with employees, suppliers, partners and society. He will discuss issues like treatment of labour, working conditions in supply chains, data privacy on social media, and more. In addition to being a renowed human rights campaigner, he is an accomplished journalist and poet. He might regale us with some of his acebric incisive poetry. 

30 January 2021:

Feeding 10 Billion : How Smart Protein Can Transform Food Systems For A Bold New World

The World will have 10 Billion Inhabitants by 2050. How can we feed this growing population, through systems that do not negatively impact climate, biodiversity and scarce natural resources? The current food systems has led to food insecurity, zoonotic diseases, pressure on rainforests, water scarcity, and climate crisis. The world needs a more sustainable food system; a radical rethink of legacy systems.  Meat as the dominant source of protein, and the industrial system for meat production, is an ecological disaster happening in slow motion. Alternative 'Smart' protein sources are needed. 'A - Faster - Horse' model of thinking would not have moved the world from the horse-carriage to the automobile. Similarly, smart innovation is needed to replace conventional unsustainable animal agriculture, to provide abundant protein to the growing population, without destroying the planet. Our Speaker is an expert in bringing together the science, the financing, the poilitics and the marketing of smart protein - aimed at building a world of abundance from the ground up. He will address questions about How to Feed the 10 Bilion without further degradation of the planet.

16 January 2021:

The Future of the Industrial Public Sector: Is It In The Public Good?

Is there a reason why Governments get into Industrial Production? Shouldn't Governments govern and leave Industrial Production to the private sector? Why did the Indian Government invest in the public sector and why is it now disinvesting? In the last few years, we have seen significant shifts in how the Government deals with the Industrial and Public sectors. There has been heightened policy movement around privatisation, worker retrenchment, disinvestment, greater dividends and the state assets sale. Meanwhile, select well-performing psus are being used as vehicles of countercyclical capital investment, employment expansion, national tecnology choice vehicles through mass procurement, and much more. Our speaker, an expert in the public sector's evolution and future, will address many crucial questions. With the grand design of state-led growth of the early decades of Independent India waning, What is India's Industrial PSUS' role going forward? Do the social contracts and aspirations of commanding heights forged in the first few decades after India's independence have relevance today? What kind of balance should India be aiming for between the public and private sectors?

9 January 2021:

Conversation With Dr C Rangarajan: Reflections Of An Academic Turned Policy Maker

India achieved independence in 1947 and embarked on building a new and prosperous nation, following a Fabian socialist model, with an emphasis on self-reliance. In 1991 the country made a dramatic turn, and gradually opened up its economy to global trade, freed local industry from many constraints, and initiated a series of reforms in the financial sector. The rest, as they say, is history, or in this case, economics. These economic reforms included allowing free convertibility of the Indian rupee for current account transactions, prescribing a limit to annual budget deficits, abolishing the automatic monetisation of government debt, modifying the control on gold imports, and dismantling the Licence Raj. This was a different vision of economic development: an open economy with the state relinquishing control of the commanding heights of the economy. The road was rough; the transformation had its critics. Our speaker Dr C Rangarajan was at the epicentre of the economic reforms, and at the pinnacle of academia. In this conversation with Dr Raghavan Rangarajan, he will discuss the challenges and accomplishments of the economic reforms, and his personal journey from academia to policy making.

5 December 2020:

Digging India Out Of A Hole: Role Of Institutions In Post-Crisis Recovery

The current pandemic started as a health crisis, but has turned into an economic calamity. In its recent World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund projects a severe economic recession in 2020. Although governments around the world are providing extraordinary policy support, much still needs to be done. However, the case of the Indian economy is different. 'The Great Slowdown' had hit the nation much before the pandemic. Most indicators of economic health were in decline or had gone into negative territory. Post-lockdown, India has become the fastest contracting large economy in the world. The cracks in the Indian banking and economic institutional framework that had appeared before the pandemic have now widened into chasms. More than ever before, the country now needs a greater systemic response and not fragmented ad hoc policy support. Our expert speaker, who is a former Chief Statistician of India, will review the current economic condition of the country and suggest policy initiatives to help revive the economy. What role can corporates and industry associations play in the recovery? He will also discuss the role that institutions at the heart of government policy can play in this precarious situation.

28 November 2020:

Perish First, Perform Later: Radical Business Transformation For Organisational Success

For centuries, businesses have seen disruptions: a new technology, an aggressive nimble-footed competitor, a sudden change in business regulations, and many more. Despite our familiarity with extreme changes in business ecosystems, today's business environment is unique in many ways. First, the velocity of change is unprecedented: one year in today's digital world is like a decade in the past. Second, the scale of change is truly unparalleled. In today's connected world, one sneeze in a remote village in India can make the whole world catch a cold. What should business leaders do to succeed in this increasingly complex and fast-changing business environment? Can they afford to continue seeing the new world through old glasses? Is there a new way to develop strategy, which can help businesses thrive in this firestorm of changes? Our speaker - who has co-authored the book The Phoenix Encounter Method - proposes a radical business model transformation process for success in the post-COVID world. We will discuss the key elements of this transformation process and its significance in today's world.

21 November 2020:

Muscles, Masculinity, Mobility: Marketing To The New Indian Middle Class

Since economic liberalisation in India in the 1990s, hitherto rigid class boundaries are being constantly redefined. Emerging professions at the crossroads of class intersections - fitness trainers at western-style gyms, baristas at modern cafés, or shop attendants at high-end malls from vernacular-educated lower middle-class backgrounds - encounter English-speaking upper middle-class clients. This facilitates upward class mobility, and the redrawing of the map of the Great Indian Middle Class. There is no one Indian middle class; there are several. Wealth is not the only qualification. It is easy to transcend the economic barrier; the social and cultural transition is far more evanescent. The 300-million-strong middle class of India is a mirage that foreign brands get attracted to and then disappointed by; the promised markets are ephemeral. Our speaker, who recently wrote a book on the topic - Muscular India - is an anthropologist. He studies fitness trainers and others inhabiting the borderlands of class divides. He will share his observations on the changing landscape of the middle class. We will go back to the history of this transition, and forward to the future of this ever-changing class in India.

7 November 2020:

Why India's Bad Loans Problem is Not Just About Bad Boy Billionaires

Bad loans of Indian banks peaked at around INR 10 lakh crore in 2018. In the popular imagination, fuelled by sensationalist media, a few flamboyant fugitive businessmen, the so-called 'bad boy billionaires', are the villains. The problem is often blamed on crony capitalism. But these poster boys of bad loans are only the visible manifestation of a more insidious problem. The real villains are a large number of businessmen who most people have never heard of. To revive the economy after the financial crisis of 2008, the banks, urged by the ministry of finance, went overboard giving loans to businessmen who couldn't get their projects going, and defaulted. These bad loans continue to hold India's economy back. In this conversation, the speaker, who recently wrote a book on this topic, will address issues around the bad loan crisis in India. What is the problem? Why were the businesses unable to repay these loans? How do bad loans impact individuals and society? And what are the solutions?

31 October 2020:

Is It Time Now For The Long-Awaited 'Indian Century'? India’s Role In The New Post-COVID World

To say that the world today is in turmoil is a gross understatement. The old order has broken down. There is no clear leader in this turbulent world. We went from two superpowers to one superpower to the current state of flux, where there is no undisputed superpower. The world, and India, is seeing a rise in populism, nationalism, and deglobalisation. Multilateral organisations - UN, WHO, NATO, EU - are also losing their shine. With China on the back foot, is it time for India to shine? Is the mythical 'Indian Century' finally about to become a reality? When the dust settles, and the new world order emerges from the current shambles, will India find itself holding a dominant position in the new world, or even in its own backyard? In this conversation, our eminent speaker will focus on the external challenges India faces in a Post-COVID World - at a time of internal turmoil within India. The conversation will discuss the complex interrelationship between foreign and domestic policy in an uncertain world.

21 October 2020:

Hacking Cricket and Decoding IPL: Using The Discipline Of Economics To Rewire Cricketing Strategy

In this session of The Conversation Series, Mr Amit Varma, author, podcaster, and journalist; former Managing Editor, Cricinfo; and Former Consulting Editor, Yahoo India, and Professor Sudhir Pandey, Senior Lecturer, Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad University, discuss the economics of cricket, the strategies needed, and the business of cricket, which are particularly topical in these IPL times. Mr Varma also discusses how he uses the tools of economics to arrive at a new strategic understanding of the game.

17 October 2020:

The Long Road To A Cashless Society

At this session of The Conversation Series, Mr B. Sambamurthy, Independent Director, National Securities Depository Limited, Governing Council Member, Insurance Information Bureau of India, and Former Chairman of National Payments Corporation of India as RBI Nominee, and Professor Amol Agrawal, Assistant Professor, Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad University, look at the history, the present situation, and the likely future of digital payments in India. They also discuss whether the issuance of a CBDC from the RBI will take us towards a cashless society.

10 October 2020:

Interdisciplinarity: How Ethics, Law, Regulations, and Emerging Technologies Intersect

Over millennia, the world had arrived at an equilibrium, albeit precarious, in terms of an agreed set of ethical norms, laws, and regulations to govern most aspects of life and business. However, many emerging technologies are leaping ahead too fast for law and regulation to catch up. Who is responsible if an autonomous car crashes: the car owner, the car maker, or the software maker? What are the ethical bounds of human genome editing? What laws, if any, govern the development of AI? Governments struggle to make laws fast enough. Philosophers are left scrambling to resolve ethical dilemmas posed by emerging technology. In biotechnology, blockchain, robotics, nanotechnology, autonomous driving, cybersecurity, data privacy and beyond, there is an urgent need for governance. It is the wild west all over again. Where are the sheriffs of this new cowboy country? The speakers will explore areas of intersection between ethics, law, and technology: new and innovative models needed to bridge the widening gap between emerging technologies and governance.

26 September 2020:

Why Are There No Customers In The Boardroom? Approach Towards A Customer-Centric Business Strategy

Despite the rhetoric on customer centricity, most companies do not bring the customer into their business strategy development process. The focus is inside-out: on the company's products, capabilities, competition, and tunnel-vision definition of the market. Supply side, rather than the demand side, is what often drives strategy - excessive talk of competitive advantage, market share, and gaining a larger slice of the pie, rather than growing the pie. Companies will achieve their full potential only when they start looking outside-in; looking at customer need as the starting point; and designing products and services to cater to that need - rather than fighting competition to sell existing products to the narrowly defined target group. How can companies break out from the crowded competitive red ocean and explore possibilities in the blue ocean? Our speakers, thought leaders on market strategy and consumer insight, will discuss what can be done to bring analyses and insights from the world of the customer into the business strategy development process.

19 September 2020:

How A Cooperative Of Dairy Farmers Kept The Rivers Of Milk Flowing In Uncertain Times?

Salman Rushdie once said, ‘one of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable’. This seems more true today than ever before. The first two decades of this century have seen unimaginable events come to pass. Business organisations have struggled to deal with these unpredictable events. one Indian cooperative organisation, Amul, has been able to manage many challenging situations, where even large multinational organisations have stumbled. The multi-layered ownership and accountability structure – from villages to districts to the state – creates the ability to act collectively for the greater good. Procurement, distribution, and logistics are handled with agility and resilience. with this structure of collective ownership and management, Amul ensured the smooth flow of products, even at the height of the lockdown earlier this year.  In this conversation, the experts will discuss some critical questions: how does a grassroots multi-dimensional cooperative system deal with uncertain situations? how does a collaborative organisation stay relevant in this uncertain world? how does it integrate technology and human talent to respond better and faster to change?

5 September 2020:

Is This The End Of The Road For Globalisation?

Kofi Annan once said, 'Arguing against globalisation is like arguing against the law of gravity.' The world was excited about the benefits of globalisation: access to technology, free movement of goods and labour, lower production costs, lower tariff barriers, access to untapped markets, and improvements in living standards. India's liberalisation in the 1990s and China joining the WTO in 2001 were signs that the world was about to turn flat. However, chinks in the shiny armour of globalisation started appearing - the rich became richer; the poor became poorer. Job losses in rich countries; exploitative labour practices in poor countries. The 2008 financial crisis was the first bump on the road; recent China-US trade wars were a speed breaker; and COVID-19 is a roadblock on the path to globalisation. The two thought leaders will discuss important questions: Is this a minor setback for globalisation, or is this the end of the road? Are we in for a world of walls, not bridges? Are the calls for self-reliance and national security just a passing paranoia? Or is the future an Unflat World?

29 August 2020:

Society in The Time of Pandemic: Has COVID-19 Changed Our Social & Business Culture For Ever?

The pandemic has disrupted all aspects of life: most evidently, healthcare, the economy, work, and education. Much has been written about these aspects. However, the impact of COVID induced lockdown on society and culture has perhaps not received enough attention. How is the pandemic impacting our society and culture? Will the impact be short-lived or are we in for a new way of life? What is the impact of the pandemic on family life, relationships, consumption, shopping, working, studying, communicating eating, socialising, doing business, travelling, and other such minutiae of daily life? In this webinar, the experts - who are keen watchers of society and culture - will address several questions to help comprehend this emerging culture: What does this new society and culture look like? What is the impact of work encroaching on our home space? Will physical distancing lead to social distancing? Will we become a less trusting society? How has the use of mask altered our approach to sociability and relationships?

21 August 2020:

The Social Sector - New Approaches to Delivering Tangible Impact

The transformative trends of urbanisation, climate change, and emerging disruptive technologies have pushed us to rethink our models of human welfare. The primary human and social imperatives - such as improving literacy, providing better healthcare facilities at the grassroots level, conserving natural resources, and reducing global poverty - require sustained collaborative efforts by non-profit organisations, businesses, and governments. In this context, social sector organisations have been the forerunners, acting as catalysts to transform vulnerable lives globally. In this conversation, two leading practitioners from the social sector will address two essential questions: what tangible impact do non-governmental social impact organisations deliver, and how the effective use of new technologies and data science can enable them to have a broader impact that empowers individuals. They will also suggest how citizens can contribute to the cause - both individually and collectively.

13 August 2020:

Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India

Beyond the headline-grabbing issues, the Indian economy is struggling to solve a critical problem: how to restore and maintain financial stability on a durable basis. In his book Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India, Dr Viral Acharya addresses the crucial issue of financial stability and offers a plan for sustained improvement. Dr Acharya shares a plan to address the recapitalisation needs of public sector banks, offering solutions on how to improve credit allocation by credit intermediaries and establish viable and efficient capital markets. This book also raises questions about the re-emergence of fiscal dominance in India, not just of monetary policy tools but also of banking regulations. It makes a case for striking the right balance between the government, central bank, private sector, and markets to drive long-run growth of the real economy. In the conversation, Professor Amol Agrawal will elicit Dr Acharya’s views on fiscal policy, monetary policy, and banking regulations. Dr Acharya will also explain the arguments and plans laid out in this book.

8 August 2020:

Crisis within a Crisis: Domestic Migration in India

It is estimated that 122 million jobs were lost during April 2020 alone. A large share of them were migrants. Besides loss of jobs and income, reasons for the exodus of the migrant labour from cities was lack of social protection and immediate support from the government or private sector during this time of crisis. We will discuss the Hotspots of Migration and the geographical flow of domestic migrants in the country. In the current context, and as our speaker is an Economic Historian working on past pandemics such as plague and the Influenza of 1918, we will discuss its impact on the population in India and whether there are any similarities with the current pandemic. How did India respond to the plague and flu back then, and how are we doing it differently this time? Given the already existing economic slowdown, how can this 'crisis within a crisis' be best handled as the return of the migrants to the cities appears crucial? What lessons can we learn regarding the gearing up of the public health system in the country?

25 July 2020:

Democratising Access: Using Technology to Provide Healthcare Services Across India

We will discuss an alternative model of healthcare that has successfully reached remote parts of India to tackle diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer, mental health, palliative care, and liver disease. In this model, referred to as ECHO ModelTM, healthcare providers are connected with specialists to tackle cases in their community. Using video technology, specialists teach and mentor local workers that include doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff. Based in the United States, ECHO has a presence in more than 39 countries. We will also understand how this alternative model of healthcare is seeking to tackle COVID-19 in India. Due to the migration of urban workers into rural areas, we have an emerging problem of the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas and small towns that are not equipped to deal with the problem. The pandemic, although unfortunate, presents an opportunity to develop institutions that can aid in the provision of healthcare across India.

18 July 2020:

The New World of Work and Education

The World of Work is changing: employment is no longer a lifetime contract but a taxicab relationship, and the average life expectancy of a Fortune 500 company is now just 14 years. The World of Education is changing: knowing is useless in a world where Google knows everything, and soft skills matter more than hard skills. The convergence of these two new worlds has important implications for students, universities, employers, and policymakers. We will discuss how to prepare for this New World. How we reinvent education, so it is no longer about knowledge transfer but about teaching students to teach themselves. How employers work with employees who are more like independent contractors. How employees reinvent themselves mid-career as old skills become redundant and hitherto unknown skills become mandatory. How policymakers become nimble and stay relevant in these fast-changing worlds.

11 July 2020:

Can India Unlock Global Export Manufacturing Opportunities?

Can India become an export manufacturing powerhouse? With China getting entangled in trade wars and anti-China sentiments, is there an opportunity to pick up the slack in export manufacturing? Is India prepared to take on more export orders for manufacturing from global customers? Could this be the magic bullet that takes India to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025? What does India need to do to unlock this opportunity? The discussion will review the challenges India faces in attracting export orders in manufacturing. The key focus will be on what we need to do as individuals, as businesses, as educational institutions, and as government agencies to be ready to bring global manufacturing to India.

04 July 2020:

Energy Innovation: Accelerating the Energy Revolution

Innovation is changing the direction of global energy markets. While recent years have seen a growth in alternative forms of energy, the role of government in driving innovation is complex. This webinar will examine how policy at the global level can influence innovation and talk about wider policy objectives, including environmental protection and ensuring a stable and affordable supply of energy.

27 June 2020:

BUSINESS HISTORY: The Discipline and its Relevance for Management Education

26 June 2020:

COVID-19 Crisis and Response by the Indian Government

20 June 2020:

Do We Need A New Approach To Health Systems Design in India

Join Dr Nachiket Mor, Visiting Scientist, The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, and Dr Darshini Mahadevia, Professor, School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University, for a webinar as they discuss the need to develop a full health systems design strategy for India. The focus will be to see if consumer choice and services marketing, in the context of primary healthcare, will take us forward.

13 June 2020:

Do We Need New Supply Chains for the New World?

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted businesses across the world. Restarting operations is the next challenge once we move beyond shutdowns.Industry supply chains are a complex operation even in the best of times. In this new normal with containment zones, restricted working hours, labour non-availability, and health and safety considerations, how will supply chains change and adapt?Join us for an interesting webinar on ‘Do We Need New Supply Chains for the New World?’, which is a part of our Conversation Series. In this webinar, leading academicians and industry experts will discuss implications for global and local supply chains and the optimal way forward once operations resume to full scale. Companies and aspiring managers will get to hear how we can design and execute supply chains in the new normal. Be there for an insightful discussion.