Indicast - All Podcasts

BiziNation #55: Petrol Prices in Fifth Gear

Normal is boring. That is the tenet that India seems to be working on in the wake of the biggest petrol price hike of all time. A record 32 per cent year on year and 8 per cent overnight increase has caused some discontent among the middle class. Akhilesh joins us in this episode and we talk about the hike and more. A Rs. 3000 crore subsidy package is being made ready for BSNL and MTNL with the hope of pulling them back into profits. Royal Enfield, the bike company which has a cult following ...

Indicast #142: A deadly episode

The weekend Royal wedding festivities continued in some parts of the world when a confident, and emotionless Barack Obama declared that US had killed Osama in Pakistan. The incident has left Pakistan red faced since it always maintained that Osama was not in Pakistan. Some see this military operation as a blatant disregrad to Pakistan' sovereignty. As soon as the news hit India, Chidabaram was on it asking Pakistan to now hand over Dawood and Saeed Hafiz (26/11 strategist). But this seems far...

BiziNation #54: Kamath Cometh at Infy

K V Kamath has been appointed as the Chairman of Infosys Inc while Mohandas Pai, the HR director of Infy quits. In this podcast, we also cover a bit about the business impact of the royal wedding. In other news, Air India has multiplied its self inflicted problems with more than 1000 pilots going on strike. This episode is unexpectedly all over the place. Hope you like it nevertheless. Ritika is back in this one.

BiziNation #53: Cardless Banking in India

India may soon have cardless banking if Nandan Nilekani and his team working on the Unique Identification Number can complete the project in time. After the initial testing among a sample size of 58,000 people, the project looks like it's in the right direction. In this podcast, we talk about this new way of exchanging cash from the technology as well as the consumer perspective. With an influx of 3G ads on television, we cover a few ads which have been successful in breaking the clutter, if ...

Indicast #141: The Lokpat Bill

Anna Hazare waited for a few days before he broke his fast. The Congress relented. In this podcast, we try and bring you what the Lokmat Bill means and why did Hazare press for it. In Sports, Sachin Tendulkar has been declared the Wisdens Leading Cricketer of the year. Pakistan plans to bring their own version of IPL amidst their captain Afridi making some interesting comments on India.

Indicast #140: Anna Hazare, Take a Bow

Sanjeev Agarwal, the Joint CEO of Big Bazaar joins us to talk about his experience of watching India play at Mohali, Ahmedabad and finally at Mumbai where India lifted the World Cup trophy after 28 years. Anna Hazares fast unto death has finally succeeded in moving people in the parliament to come up with the Lokpal bill after a longer wait of 42 years. Aditya brings up a puberty related topic where our adolescents are getting bolder by the era.

Point Blank with Nitin Chandrakant Desai

In our film industry, what Amitabh Bachchan or Dilip Kumar is to acting, Nitin Chandrakant Desai is to art direction. The winner of four national awards and many successful movies such as Lagaan, Devdas, Jodha Akbar, Hum Dil Dechuke Sanam, Munnabhai, etc talks about his craft and the challenges of his everyday job. He takes us through his experiece of working with directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansai, Danny Boyle and Ashutosh Gowarikar. His job demands him to think on his f...

Indicast #139: India Vs Pakistan

India takes on Pakistan in the second semi final later today at Mohali. In the universal set of India and Pakistan, if set A were cricket and Set B were politics, then A intersection B is confusion, tension and a false sense of security. But we do rely on hope. In this podcast, we talk about this and more. Warren Buffet is in India. The DGCA spanking continues on pilots who have forged their way into the service. And Adityas better half makes her debut in a film titled Bal Gandharva which is ...

BiziNation #52: Japan Shaken but Not Stirred

Even by Japans standards, the crisis is of enormous proportions. In this podcast, we try to cover the economic impact of the earthquake and the tsunami that followed. The radiation leaks in the nuclear reactor only added to the problems. Quite a few Indian IT companies have their operations in Japan and in turn Japan happens to be Indias third largest investor. While it may not affect India gravely, it is definitely not decoupled from this crisis. In other news, Rajat Gupta resigns from ISB a...

TSB Special: Sudhir Naik, the curator of Wankhede speaks

Sudhir Naik, the ground incharge and the curator at Wankhede joins us to talk about the efforts that went behind making the pitch, the outfield and the stadium which will soon host the finals of the World Cup on April 2, 2011. As a former test cricketer and Mumbai Ranji captain, Sudhirji speaks passionately about his role and how he kept his head when all about him were losing theirs. He along with his team made it possible to get the ground up and running for the three matches of this World ...

Indicast #138: Wiki Leaks aims at India

Wiki Leaks has found a new market. It is India. After tying up with The Hindu, it has released a few cables which accuse some of our politicians of selling votes for cash. Japan is still recovering from one of its worst nightmares after suffering from one of the biggest earthquakes of the century. Back home in India, Jairam Ramesh, our Environment Minister is gearing up to carry out a security check across all of Indias 20 nuclear plants. In other news, Vidharbha is the new Tiger capital of I...

Indicast #137: When will Aruna Shanbaug RIP?

Did you know that there were 18,000 Indians holed up in Libya about a week back. The Indian government is going all out to evacuate all Indians in the region as Col Gaddafi refuses to let go of his assumed control over Libya. Back home, Aruna Shanbaug lies in a vegetative state for 37 years running but sees a glimmer of hope as the court allows passive euthanasia in her case. We would love to know your views on euthanasia. Have you heard of a state stocking up on blood in anticipation of stat...

BiziNation #51: The World Cup Moolah

Scarcity makes things invaluable and that is what makes the World Cup cricket a mouth watering proposition for advertisers. All India Radio is slated to earn around Rs. 7 crore from the 45 day long event. Others like Pepsi, Castrol, Hyundai, Amul have bet their best buck hoping to capture minds and eye balls. In other news, Indigo plans to hire 1,500 employees this year with aviation sector grappling the effects of rise in the Aviation Turbine Fuel price. And scooters are back.

BiziNation #50: Cloud Computing in India

The Indian IT industry has a new concept to deal with and TCS has pounced onto it. It is called Cloud Computing. With a revenue projection of 1 billion USD, TCS will focus on Small and Medium Enterprises which total to a whopping 38 million. Many are calling this move as the Nano of the IT world where TATA hopes to replicate its success by tapping not the Fortune 500 companies but the smaller ones who can avail of this interesting concept. Rolls Royce, the British car maker announced record s...

Indicast #136: The JPC Jugaad

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh woke up to the din surrounding him and ordered a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the corruption scandals that have rocked the government in the past few months. The High Court has upheld its death penalty sentence on Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist who was involved in the 26th November attacks. The Cricket World Cup 2011 is here and the the official website entrusted with selling tickets to fans was overwhelmed when 10 million hits landed on the website in ...

TSB Cricket # 6 - Can it be a World Cup of Upsets

The World Cup is peaking with Ireland recording the first upset of the tournament by beating England. However, Ayaz is vocal about whether they can sustain this success and that there should be a better way of inducting the minnows in the world cup by having a more rigourous selection process. Ayaz and Minal take us through the bowling strengths of all teams. The surprise package is Shahid Afridi who has already bagged two 5 fors in three matches. Imran Tahir from South Africa made a dream de...

Indicast #135: Can India have a Jasmine Revolution

Egypt showed the world how the common man can wake up and throw everything hes got against an oppressive regime. Aditya feels that India has reached its inflection point too. I beg to differ and the argument continues... In our neighbouring country, not all is well. Former president Musharraf has been accused of murdering Bhutto. In sports, the Cricket World Cup 2011 has begun. Who are you betting on

Point Blank with Viren Rasquinha

Its hard to believe that a fearless competitor who would charge at lightning speed towards his opponents to tackle a ball which can sometimes fly at 150 miles per hour can be so modest and down to earth with his words. Viren Rasquinha talks about his experience as Indian hockey team captain, the challenges plaguing Indian hockey and the demands of playing an international sport. As a merit ranker in school and an international level sportsman, Viren had the pick of jobs at the Indian School o...

Indicast #134: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi RIP

The legendary artist, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away and Aditya recounts some of his experiences of watching Pandits live concerts. This week saw high profile exits of top CEOs from India as well as the US hopefully for the best. In some good news, India set up its first tidal plant in Gujarat. In politics, the Ekta Yatra orchestrated by BJP was predictably stopped in Jammu and Kashmir. In sports, Coke has poached Sachin from Pepsi and Gary Kirsten, argubaly India's best coach will call it ...

TSB Cricket # 4 - WC 2011 Countdown Begins

Ayaz and Minal start the podcast by taking us through the recently concluded India and South Africa ODI series and the gains that both countries can look forward to carry in the world cup 2011. While Virat Kohli and Pathan Seniors form gives our selectors some pleasant worry as they will have to drop at least one batsman, Ayaz reckons that Raina may have to bear the brunt of their splendid run. This podcast also covers teams from the Group A with special focus on Pakistan cricket which has su...

Indicast #133: The IPL Monty

With the World Cup only a month away, one would have thought that all TV ad spots would start advertising the biggest spectacle which is played once in four years, but IPL auctions stole the wind out of the World Cup with players being bought and sold in an open English auction. In other news, India is undertaking the biggest operation in the decade census and this time the transgenders have been recognised under the others category.

Indicast #132: The Year That was and what will be

2010 came and went. Aditya dubs it as the year of scams and names such as A Raja, Swami Nityananda, Nira Radia, Kalmadi, Chavan come to mind. But ironically, one man who made a tremendous mark on India is from the world of politics Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar. India probably had one of its best years in sports. In this episode, we celebrate our 5 years of tormenting and entertaining each one of you. Thanks for sticking with us. Spread the word.

BiziNation # 49: The Onion Factor

Thanks all you guys for sticking with us all throughout the 50 episodes. This one is dedicated to each one of you. We start this one by talking about the unforeseen increase in the onion prices and how it is affecting the common man. Akhilesh brings in Baba Ramdev in a business podcast because Akhi reckons that the Baba could give the MNCs a run for their money for competing with Ramdevs line of products.

Point Blank with Swanand Kirkire

It was a big surprise when I found out that the lyricist for 3 Idiots and Lage Raho Munnbhai was the same person. Now, in the list of the above two movies, add Parineeta, Khoya Khoya Chand, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and the reason to have Swanand Kirkire on Point Blank is obvious. His abilities are not restricted to song writing. He has been an Assistant director, dialogue writer, music director, and an accomplished singer (think Baanwara Mann). I got a chance to spend some time and record a v...

TKM #43 - Indian internet completes 15 years

In this longish episode of Indicast, Manan and I talk about the 15 long years that India has had internet and we did get a bit nostalgic sharing our personal dial up internet stories. India ranks 4th in the world with 81 million users and 1 million domain names registered however, the stats dont consider the quality of internet service which has been a huge problem in India. We hope that the upcoming 3G launches brings respite to us. In other topics, we discuss about mobile app stores hitting...

TKM #44: Want a GfE?

Another 40 mins of Tech Ka Masala is here for you. Manan and I talk about Infbeams 2000 crore MoU with Gujarat Govt to e-nable rural Gujarat and help them set up their stores online. The sheer value of the MoU is staggering from an e-commerce point of view in India. They obviously see something that Manan and I cant. We also spend enough time talking about Microsofts seriousness about the Windows Phone 7 Platform given the mishaps and lack of updates to the platform and also, about LinkedIn r...

Indicast #131: JPC demystified, sort of

It has been 2 weeks since our honorable members of Parliaments havent done anything productive. Parliament continues to be in suspended mode. Why? Opposition is asking for a JPC. What is a JPC? We had the same question, so we decided to dig deeper. In other stories, we talk about Arundhati Roy and Geelani to be arrested for Sedition (we explain Sedition too), Indian ranked 6th in terms of nuclear power generation capabilities and 600,000 dying due to passive smoking.

Indicast # 130: The Corruption Continues

When an IAS officer is caught for corruption, it isn't a big deal, but when he uses encrypted language in his telephone conversations to cover up, we also get a trailer of the hilarious side of such crimes. Listen to know what we mean! The 2G license scam has banks having withdrawal symptoms. While Dalai Lama contemplates retirement, the pope approves selective condom use. In sports, Kumble and Srinath become the new face of Karnataka cricket.

Indicast #129 - 2G, What an Idea, Sir ji

The episode covers the opinions on the 2G spam that has been reported in the CAG. Adding fuel to the fire, OPEN magazine leaked telephone taps which reveals the level of lobbying that happened while the cabinet portfolios were distributed. While politics dominated this episode, we managed to squeeze in cricket, BCCI contracts, and the latest American of Indian origin to make the news.

Indicast #128: Obamania in Bombay

One of the biggest scams of 2010 unravel as the Adarsh Housing Colony in Colaba finds itself occupied by certain politicians and their kins. Obama visits India and the preparations are in full swing; Aditya who works in the heart of Bombay feels that we have added one more reason to the traffic jams - the Obama visit. In some good news, India comes tantalizingly close to eradicating polio. In Sports, Venkateshwara Hatcheries is betting big on an English Premier League team.

BiziNation # 47: Coal is the New Gold!

Coal India, the world's largest coal mining company offered itself to be devoured on the stock market making it India's biggest Initial Public Offering (IPO) till date. In this episode, we try to cover the modalities of the offer, the effect it will have on the dollar and rupee relationship and a lot more. In other news, Vodafone has set itself up for the 3G roll out. In celebrity business news, Mukesh Ambani moves into his billion dollar apartment.

Indicast #127 - India in UN Security Council

The Navratri and Durga festivals have ended along with the Common Wealth Games but, the action surrounding CWG seems to be heating up. CBI, Enforcement Directorate and several other investigation bodies are readying themselves for games. In other top news stories of the week, India got elected as a non permanent to the UN Security Council after 20 long years, Kerala police bust a gang of telemarketers, and Nirmohi Akhara and Muslim law board decide to take the Ayodhya issue to the supreme court.

Indicast #126 - Get your Aadhar

After a lot of negative press leading upto CWG, the opening ceremony has a bit hit. The jugaad worked, again. India has had a successful CWG campaign so far and are ranked 2nd in the medal tally behind Australia. The other topics discussed include Sachins and Laxmans exploit against Australia, launch of Project Aadhaar, and Indias billionaire list.

TKM #39: Windows Phone 7 is here

It's a big day for Microsoft and Manan was there to witness it. Microsoft announced the Windows Phone 7 and, according to Manan, they have got it right this time. The hardware and software are completely redesigned to be a worthy contender for your money. Manan dropped off after talking Windows phone but Rati Chaudhary, Principal Science & Technology Correspondent at CNN IBN, kept me company to discuss DRDO's attempt to create an OS for India, Microsoft and Adobe getting cozy, and a few other...

Indicast #125 - Kalmadi steps up

Kalmadi, finally, stepped up and owned up to his responsibility with a few caveats about the money spent by the organizing committee but the bad press for CWG continues. The Ayodhya verdict is expected today and the government has taken the security concerns very seriously. Offices and schools plan to remain closed in anticipation of problems but does the Ayodhya issue really matter any anymore? In other topics, we discuss the unfortunate incident that killed 7 elephants, visa requirements f...

Indicast #124 - CWG mess

We might have missed the pakistan "spot fixing" saga and then the Gokulashtami celebration but are back in time for Ganpati. The recent Jama Masjid firing might just cause a dip in the collections at Mumbai's largest Ganesh mandal. The other stories include waiting for the decision on Ayodhya, CWG mess, Sania's faux pas, Mahesh Bhupathi's innovative tax planning and China making me thank for being an Indian. In the interest of avoiding further delays, we recorded the episode via cell phone so...

BiziNation #46: Crackberries get Nervous in India

Research in Motion, the Canadian company which manufactures the world famous business device Blackberry is in a fix. It is running against a tight deadline set by the Indian government. Like other countries where Blackberry operates, India demands that Blackberry mails and SMSs be allowed to be scanned for security reasons. In other news, Nokia entered the dual SIM market in India. Google's Youtube has opened up a pay per view for 5USD where you can rent movies online.

BiziNation #46: Crackberries get Nervous in India

Indicast #123: Rebuilding Leh and Pakistan

This episode of Indicast starts on a rather sad note with the flood situation in Leh and Pakistan. The rescue efforts are in full swing in both places, but like most desperate situations the aid is still far from sufficient. The rest of the world is also facing a lot of heat due to climate change. The magnitude of news that the Commonwealth Games is churning has reaching new proportions with new scams and cases misappropriation of funds showing up.

TKM #37: 1024 Cores of Annapurna

We have a lot of hardware oriented stories ranging from tablet PC devices, mobiles phone to even "Made-in-India" super computer called Annapurna developed by the Institute of Mathetical Sciences.Other stories include Make My Trip IPO, Blackberry getting into trouble with several countries, Yahoo Japan signing up with Google and Google shutting down Wave. Manan Kakkar joins in as a guest contributor for this podcast.

Indicast #122: Women in Bihar defy biology

We are back after a break and you might be getting a bit tired of us saying that over and over again. We missed a few important events like the world cup, and the pakistan peace talks breaking down for the nth time. However, we start with the new Indian rupee symbol, Bihar women fast tracking their pregnancies, Ministers by passing the gag order by Congress by taking to twitter and the active sports sections - Saina is #2 and Murli reached ends his test cricket with 800 wickets.

Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai Movie Review

A lovely take on arranged marriage though the me better, me better competition between Mumbai and Pune gets overbearing after the first few times. Yet, there is enough to take away from the film. Besides the basic one line concept, the dialogue between two complete strangers is written really well and delivered in a decent manner too. The chemistry shared between people who have just met but for some reason or the other end up spending a day together is beautifully directed and enacted.

Football World Cup 2010 - Post League Stage Review

The league stage of the Football World Cup 2010 is over. France and Italy faile dto make it through. Now, start the knowout phase, where one bad game and the effort put into over two years in the qualification will bite the dust. The tournament has already thrown enough surprises in the form of Slovakia and Serbia. No team can be taken for granted. Arunava joins in to discuss the Pre-quater stage and the big matches to watch out for in the Pre- Quarter final stage is the England vs Germany an...

Raavan Movie Review

It's so confusing when seriousness is dealt with song and dance. Wish the film was advertised as modern Ram Leela performed in a tribal theater. That expectation would have prepped me to deal with the over-dramatization a lot better. We also briefly touched upon a very well made- Jhing Chik Jhing. It defintely is a worth a watch, preferably in the theaters to support the producers who have made an honest and decent effort.

TKM #34: iPhone 4 in India

Its been quiet a week in the technology world with a mix of product announcements - Apple iPhone 4, India's 3G auction completion, Google sniffing its into trouble, and Hotmail releasing a new feature for India to enable access hotmail via SMS. Need less to say that Apple iPhone 4 stole the limelight this week. Saket is impressed by the display and I like the front facing camera for FaceTime. We also talk about iPhone coming to India. Things are a bit hazy and we discuss the expected pricing.

TKM #35 - Indias own EPIC moment

Recently, India's Internet had its own Epic moment when Hidden Reflex, a Bangalore based software startup, has launched a browser targeted at Indian audiences. Saket downloaded it and gave it a quick test drive and shares his experiences. The other stories include muslims planning to quit facebook, Apple iPhone 4 rejected by Consumer Reports, XXX to be a TLD, and Maharashtras DTE website turns into rubbish.

Football World Cup 2010 - Group E Review

In this episode, we review Group E consisting of Netherlands, Denmark, Cameroon, and Japan. Jan Roskott joins us as a special guest and long with Vikram, our resident contributor. Jan is the chief blogger at the NEtherlands World Cup Blog. He was also fortunate to be present behind the nets when Netherlands won the Euro 88. While Netherlands seems to be favourite to move on from this group, but the second spot is still up for grabs with Cameroon, Denmark and Japan vying for it.

Indicast #121 - Its Mamata Didi All the Way

Abhijit Dasgupta, the Deputy Editor of India Today Magazine was kind enough to join us on a Skype call from the beautiful city of Kolkata which is lately the cynosure of all Indian political news. Mamata Banerjee helped get WB on the front pages by winning the civic polls and two days before her landslide victory she made some rather controversial remarks about the Gyaneshwari Express train derailment. Abhijit, very eloquently talks about his experience of interviewing and covering the colour...

Sports Bench - Football WC 2010 - Group B Review

In this episode, we review Group B consisting of Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece. Nani calls this group of indiscipline. All teams, ecept South Korea are still figuring out their match strategies, including Argentina. Argentina is having problems with selecting their final 11, Nigeria's got a new coach just a week back and Greece has never won a world cup match. The group could see South Korea causing some havoc once again.

Sports Bench - Football WC 2010 - Group A Review

In this episode, we review Group A consisting of South Africa, Argentia, Mexico and Uruguay. But even before getting into the podcast with the group discussion, guess how was the Soccer City Stadium inaugrated? to say the least, it was a bit different. Group A is very close to being the Group of Death and Nani tells us why.