ET Podcast on aawaz

Holcim: Cementing an Exit Strategy

Arijit Barman and Kiran Somvanshi April 22, 2022

After 17 years, the world’s largest cement maker is looking at exiting India. The sale of Ambuja Cement & ACC can change the rules of the game. But why would one leave a high growth market? Hosts Kiran Somvanshi & Arijit Barman speak to Rakesh Arora, Former Ambuja Executive and Managing Partner, Go India Advisors & Rajesh Ravi, Vice President, Institutional Equities Research, HDFC Securities to figure out who can gain or lose from the likely $10 billion deal?

Recharging Eveready

Ratna Bhushan April 21, 2022

A brand founded in 1905 whose ‘Give me Red’ tagline took the MTV generation by storm is getting new owners — the Burman family of Dabur. But will the magic of dry cell batteries work now? Host Ratna Bhushan takes a trip back in time to find out how the campaign got created, caught on, and became a cult with the man behind it all Roshan Joseph, Independent Director of Eveready and seasoned marketeer Lloyd Mathias who feels the brand still can pack a punch.

Dealing With Downsizing

Bhavya Dilipkumar April 19, 2022

More than 1,700 people have lost their jobs in the latest round of layoffs announced by startups like Unacademy, Meesho, Furlenco, Lido Learning and Trell. Why are well-funded startups trying to save money? Host Bhavya Dilipkumar speaks to employees who’ve been laid off, Director and CEO, CIEL HR Services, Aditya Narayan Mishra, and ET’s Digbijay Mishra on whether there is a crisis brewing in the startup space and if downsizing is the only way for restructuring and cost cutting in addition to exploring themes of how different these layoffs are from those that happened in 2010-2011 at Flipkart or Snapdeal. Credits: ET Now

Diamonds Ain’t a Tiger’s Best Friend

Arijit Barman April 15, 2022

The Bunder mining project in Madhya Pradesh may be one of Asia’s largest diamond mines but the development versus displacement debate continues to singe Aditya Birla Group after Rio Tinto. Host Arijit Barman connects the dots with Bhavna Menon, programme manager of Last Wilderness Foundation, Hari Krishna Dwivedi, founding chairman of Pehel Foundation and ET’s Anubhuti Vishnoi in this 15-year-long saga that’s still simmering Credits: ANI News, NDTV, Madhya Pradesh Tourism

No Country for Crypto

Anirban Chowdhury April 14, 2022

After Coinbase’s UPI fiasco, other crypto exchanges in India too are facing challenges in accepting deposits, hurting trade volumes. Are high taxes, regulatory ambiguity and an averse central bank choking cryptocurrency to a slow death in India? Host Anirban Chowdhury finds out with Vishwas Patel, chairman, Payments Council of India, ET’s Sugata Ghosh and Apoorva Mittal and Nitin Sharma, co-founder of Antler.

EVs & A Burning Question

Dia Rekhi April 12, 2022

The recent incidents of EVs from brands such a Ola, Okinawa and Pure EV abruptly catching fire raises serious questions about everything from the safety of these vehicles to whether adequate standards are in place to ensure that the EVs that hit the road are ready to ride. What’s going wrong with EV manufacturing in India? Will these incidents derail the EV movement in India? Host Dia Rekhi speaks to Pankaj Sharma, Managing Director and Cofounder of Log 9 Materials and Sumant Banerji, consulting editor at ET Auto to find out what’s at stake. Credits: WION, Business Today, ET Now, CNBC TV-18

Profits Over Patients

Ratna Bhushan April 8, 2022

In a landmark decision, the CCI (Competition Commission of India) has slammed three large private hospitals for overcharging patients unfairly by sending them notices. Will this lead to finally reigning in inflated medical bills at hospitals? Is the overcharging legal? What can the government do to regulate medical costs? Host Ratna Bhushan finds out from Sujatha Rao, Former Bureaucrat with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Teena Thacker, Senior Assistant Editor at the Economic Times, and Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner at KS Legal & Associates. Credits: India Today, Mirror Now, Times of India

Friends, Family, & SEBI

Kiran Somvanshi April 7, 2022

With market regulator Sebi’s changes to the related party transactions (RPT) norms coming into effect from April 1, host Kiran Somvanshi speaks to Hitesh Gajaria, senior partner, KPMG India, Sharad Abhyankar, partner, Khaitan & Co and J N Gupta, who is a former executive director of Sebi and is managing director of Stakeholders Empowerment Services to decode what such transactions entail, their underlying problems, how the regulator wants them to be governed now and what all of this means for corporate India and more importantly, investors. Credits: Bloomberg Quint, HW News English

Stocks, Lies and Fake Tips

Bhavya Dilipkumar April 5, 2022

everal retail investors withdrew from Baba Ramdev-backed Ruchi Soya Industries’ follow on public offer (FPO), after Sebi pulled up the company for the circulation of unsolicited SMSes promising mega returns. Host Bhavya Dilipkumar speaks to leading influencers Rachana Ranade, Aditya Kondawar and lawyer Moin Ladha, Partner at Khaitan & Co, about the growing trend of misinformation on social media, stock manipulation by unscrupulous operators and the safeguards, if any.

Shopee’s Choice

Anirban Chowdhury April 1, 2022

As Shopee shuts shop in India within six months, several questions arise from ease of doing business for MNCs to geopolitics, even as the future of employees hangs in the balance. Host Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET’s Digbijay Mishra, industry experts and a Shopee employee to understand the reasons behind its exit despite having a stellar run.

PVR-Inox: Bigger. Better?

Arijit Barman March 31, 2022

The mega-merger of the two major multiplex operators is expected to create compelling synergies but will it pass the smell test of the competition watchdog? Host Arijit Barman speaks with key stakeholders from the movie trade – Akshaye Rathi, Director at Aashirwad Theatre and Kapil Agarwal, Joint MD, UFO Moviez to understand how the tickets, nee cards, are stacked up. Credits – Mirror Now, NDTV, Moneycontrol, myfootage.com

Sri Lanka’s Crisis, India’s Concerns

Dia Rekhi March 29, 2022

Price hikes, food shortages, and power outages, have become a reality for Sri Lankans who battle the country’s biggest economic collapse since its independence. With some already fleeing the island nation to seek refuge on Indian shores, could we be staring at a refugee crisis? We examine what has caused this upheaval and how India can act to regain its influence in the Sri Lanka. Our Host Dia Rekhi finds out from Dr. M. Ganeshamoorthy, Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Colombo and Akhil Bery, Director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Credits – NDTV