Today’s episode is the third in our series on women’s participation in the workforce in India. Every year, class XII grades show girls outperforming boys in science subjects. A McKinsey study, shows that in India women make up 43% of those graduating but only 25% of those in entry level jobs. That is a huge drop. There... more
One of the reasons women drop out of the workforce is childbirth. Troubling as that is, even today, many women lose their lives during pregnancy and childbirth. A key indicator of maternal mortality is the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). Recently, the Government of India published MMR for 2016-18 which stood at 113. To... more
India ranks pretty low in female labor participation. In 2019, female labor participation stood at a meagre 27% in comparison to China’s female labor participation at 60%. In India, over 60% of those who are employed are in agriculture, resulting effectively, in 11% female labor participation in services and manufactur... more
In a low cost, labour intensive market like India, autonomous vehicles seem counter intuitive. What is the story here? Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as I chat with Saurabh Chandra, co-founder of Ati Motors, one of the coolest startups in India that makes autonomous cargo vehicles based in Bangalore. Cool for many reason... more
Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as we return with a brand new season and more stories of phenomenal ideas and committed guests. This season we have stories on innovation, grit, gumption and the role of serendipity, and our stories take us crisscrossing across India from Shillong in the North East to Hyderabad and Bangalor... more
For billions of children across the world, schooling and education has taken a new meaning. Bedrooms, kitchen counters, dining tables, a mat on the floor became the new classroom and the noise around EdTech rose to a crescendo. Amidst the din, it is easy to forget that in 1937, Gandhiji conceptualised Nai Talim, an alt... more
We can choose to stay away from politics, but politics will not stay away from us. Those are the prophetic words from Srikanth Narsimhan, the co-founder and general secretary of Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP). In an earlier episode on housing societies during the Covid-19 lockdown, a management committee member told... more
Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as I chat with Arun D’Silva, co-founder & CEO of Retail Interface Pvt Ltd and the India brand representative for Frederique Constant among other luxury watches. Getting fired from your job finds you at a momentous fork in your life that leads you down one of two paths – you can either let ... more
Today’s story is all heart. It is the wonderful and sweet story of Pavitra Chalam, an award-winning documentary film maker and founder of Curley Street Media with a master’s degree in film making from New York Film Academy. Seven years ago, Pavitra became obsessed with telling the story of Baby Roona Begum, a child bor... more
The discourse on public policy is relatively new in India and the Takshashila Institution is a pioneer in this field having set up in 2010. I caught up with Nitin Pai, co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy, to understand the mandate of... more
If you are mid-career and reflecting on the first half of your career, you have probably asked yourself – What impact have the actions of the past years had on my life (personally and professionally) and what have I contributed to the community around me. How many leaps of faith have I taken and how many have taken tho... more
My guest is Viren Rasquinha, former captain of the Indian hockey team, an Olympian and CEO of Olympic Gold Quest. During his playing career, Viren has represented India in 180 international matches including competing at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is an Arjuna Awardee and has been a member of the PMO Task Force in 20... more
My guest today is Savio John Pereira, award winning celebrity hairstylist and founder of a chain of upscale salons and the Savio John Pereira academy in Mumbai. Savio’s story is one of coming in from the outside and building a personal brand, a story filled with glamour, gloss, high drama, and a never give up attitude.... more
My guest today is Manish Gupta, co-founder, and CEO of Indegene, a 3000 member global health solutions company specializing in research, content and data solutions to the pharma industry worldwide leveraging analytics and AI. The pharma industry, a highly regulated one, lends itself to the use of AI and digital capabil... more
Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as I chat with Ayon Banerjee, author of “As you Life it - Work as usual, Life as unusual”. We talk about overlapping boundaries of work and life, of successes and failure, of time, of youth, of dreams and relationships – all of it captured as a Work-Life tool kit.Today’s conversation is pe... more
This episode is a Masterclass in entrepreneurship. At the same time, it is a fantastic story of a husband-wife team who were partners in business and are partners for life. I am delighted to share the inspiring story of Hema & Ashok Hattangady who turned a small family owned energy metering company into one of India’s ... more
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” In India, all of us have been asked this question by assorted aunts and uncles. Most common responses include - Doctor, Engineer, Lawyer, Chartered Accountant, sometimes vet and nowadays, YouTuber. Growing up, did you ever want to be a politician? You think I’m crazy. My guest... more
A life without risk, a life without real pain, a life without real joys. This is existing. Not living. Pretty much sums up Mohit Oberoi's philosophy. Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as I catch up with Mohit, a professional rock climber, open water swimmer and tri-athlon athlete. He is also the man who introduced artifici... more
Continuation of the conversation with Steve Correa, author of The Indian Boss at Work: Thinking Global, Acting Indian. If you missed Part I, listen here. In today’s episode, we continue our conversation focusing on the Indian affinity to communities, balancing a multi-generational workforce, gender fluidity in the In... more
What is Indian-ness? Is it jugaad? What are the facets of the Indian boss? Who is a DESI LEADER? I am joined by Steve Correa, author of The Indian Boss at Work: Thinking Global, Acting Indian.In this two part series, we explore how well leaders understand ‘Indian-ness’ and the contextual cultural codes. In this epis... more
"The right man at the right place is a devastating weapon”, motto of the US Special Forces, aptly summed up the LTTE says Abhay Sapru in his second combat novel, The Beckoning Isle. We discuss the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) in Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers, the paucity of war stories in India and the lack of reade... more
"Sense and soldiering often don’t go hand in hand; in fact, in a Special Forces unit, it is taught that it is bad weather that is ideal for surprise and one often hears the remark that a dark night and inclement weather is a commando’s best friend”. Those are the opening lines of Abhay Sapru’s combat novel, In the Vall... more
What should I pay and what is my market worth are top-of-mind questions for any CEO and employee. The fact is rewards are personal, complicated and difficult to measure. Or are they? Join me as I chat with one of Asia's top experts on reward, Tzeitel Fernandes, Partner at Aon. In this conversation, we cover: - How on... more