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Indicast #79 : Top Indian Stories in 2008

Indicast #79 : Top Indian Stories in 2008

As we get into the new year, we look back at 2008 and talk about the significant events that took place. Sadly, the negative events dominated 2008 and we really had to look for something that cheered us up in the year gone by.

Indicast # 78: A Scar is Born

A wounded tiger is far more dangerous than a hungry one. India has lived this cliche for a long time now, but only to the extent of being hungry and wounded. It is far from dangerous; in fact, if you listen closely, you might hear some whimpering. It has been a fortnight since the terrorists ripped through Mumbai. Since then, the Taj has been rebuilt; Trident announced that it will be reopening soon, the CST is back to being a host to millions of people daily and our politicians do not have a...

Indicast # 77: Spirit of Mumbai can take a walk

It's an epidemic of sorts now. It struck again. It lasted for 60 hours. Mumbai bled. As viewers stitched to the TV set like umbilical chords, it was psychologically draining to watch the footage of Hemant Karkare readying himself to take control before he was shot dead with two other ranking cops Salaskar and Kamte, to see the deserted CST station daubed in red, to stare at the burning Taj as the our men with woefully inadequate infrastructure brought it to an end. Amid the chaos, journalists...

BiziNation # 23: Not Vrooming Anymore...

"They can have it in any colour they want as long as it is black," Henry Ford's arrogance back in the 19th Century was justified when he was selling his cars and telling consumers what they NEEDED because he didn't believe that the customers knew what they wanted. Given a choice, Ford's customers would have demanded a faster horse, but he built the Model T anyway. CUT TO 2008. The swaggar which the auto makers had gotten used to is now reduced to a limp. With people shoving their hard earned ...

Indicast # 76: Not Every Dog has his Day

With companies going bust and countries filing for bankruptcy, newspapers are hunting for less cliched headlines. One story from NYT caught our attention. It claimed that pets are not recession proof. People who cannot afford to pay their rents are now forced to abandon their pets! In Sports, Sachin Tendulkar gave us a reason to celebrate his world record of scoring the highest number of runs in test match cricket. We cheered for Arvind Adiga who won himself the prestigious Man Booker Prize f...

BiziNation # 22: When Politics kills Capitalism

Two years after TATA announced the one lakh car, argubly a revolution of the magnitude of Henry Ford's Model T, the car industry's most binouculared project is yet to lay its foundation stone. After elaborate protests, some violence and lots of confusion, TATA took the painful call of relocating to another state. A week later, all the newspapers carried a picture of Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat shaking hands with Ratan Tata. This podcast is more about our thoughts on how polit...

Indicast # 75: Platinum's here!

It's been about three years now and it has been fun all along. Here's a huge shoutout to all you folks out there from across the world who have stayed with us and helped us through your comments (both nasty and encouraging!). Until this episode, we didn't know how countries could go bankrupt. Back home, Maharashtra government decided to sort of legalise the live in relationship model where the woman will be eligible for limony (conditions apply, of course!). Our beloved dada, Saurav Ganguly h...

Indicast # 74: Free Falling!

The American stock markets are in the mood for some adventure. On their way down the cliff, they brought the Indian Sensex to one of its all time lows in the past two years. While in one news, India is all set to sign the Indo American nuclear agreement, in another, the Government has declared a nationwide smoking ban in India. Mamata Banerjee successfully tests Ratan Tata's patience and gets the better of him. The One lakh car project gets delayed. India which has been known for its religiou...

Point Blank with Andreas Kluth on Hannibal, Success, Failure

It's a tough gig... to work for one of the most acclaimed publications of the century during the day time, work everyday independently towards writing a book in a half lotus position, research like hell so as to get all the facts and the perspectives right, update a book blog almost daily, then come home late at night to crash on the bed! Andreas Kluth, the humble tech correspondent from The Economist joins us to talk about Hannibal, the Carthaginian general from about 200 BC who marched wit...

BiziNation # 21: Going Going Gone!

When they asked Tom about his occupation, he balked. He wanted to keep that as a secret. But they persisted wanting to know about what Tom does for a living. He finally relented, "I work as a piano man in a brothel." He had lied. He was too ashamed to admit that he was an investment banker. This podcast is dedicated to all the innocent Toms from the unsinkable 'Titanic' like industry in the US called Investment banking where the lifeboats are afloat with people who's jobs and families are on ...

Indicast # 73: It's a Gold!

China can make cheap goods. We all know that. What we did not know was that China could host the biggest event on he face of the earth in the grandest form ever imagined. We are of course talking about the Olympics which brought us all good news. Heck India won the first individual Olymipic Gold medal in 108 years. Abhinav Bindra, Vijendar Kumar, Sushil Kumar and Akhil Kumar covered the front pages. This podcast is dedicated to all sport lovers. Er we also digressed just a wee bit to talk abo...

Point Blank with Kanu Doshi on Taxation

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Prof Kanu Doshi is back. This time he fires away on India's convoluted tax structure in a user friendly manner that makes a technical subject like taxation lnteresting and entertaining. All our finance ministers from Chanakya to Chidambaram have steered India through a very eventful journey in the field of taxation and Kanu bhai pulls out fascinati...

BiziNation # 20: Mergers Galore

We are back after getting stuck in a rather unhealthy habit of not being on time. The last month was plump with a number of mergers and acquisitions on a national and an international scale. Spice married Idea in the telecom sector. On the global front, Anil bhais ADAG and MTN, the South African telecom giant are contemplating a merger of sorts, but Mukesh Ambani comes in his younger bro's way yet again. Ranbaxy, the Indian pharmaceutical major has been acquired by its Japanese Counterpart, D...

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Review

Though I have huge complaints in most departments, I cant deny that it's perfect packaging for kids in the 3-12 age group. With hardly any sad moments, the characters are mostly colorful and chirpy. But, given my reservations, should I actually encourage my kids to watch this when not too long ago Taare Zameen Par was around? Oh, why not? There's enough room for everybody.

Indicast # 72: Of book worms and crazy politicians

While India battles double digit inflation, our politicians find a unique way to protest against the increasing fuel prices, but the plan hilariously backfires! While in one story, a small time waiter works his ass off to clear the UPSE exams, another intelligent kid tops the IIT entrance test only to flee his hometown due to the paparazzi pressure. Shiv sena now wants to enter the hearts of the ordinary Mumbaikar by selling vada pavs. Aditya is not too happy with the air hostesses from Delta...

BiziNation # 19: Theres a hole in your pocket

The epidemic is back. It is called inflation. USA, India, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Haiti, Egypt are searching for the medicine to cure themselves. The medicine itself is not only bitter, but sometimes fatal! Among the developing economies, India leads the pack. In this podcast, we talk about how relavent is this whole issue to the common man or the housewife who buys vegetables on the street in a city in India. We recorded this episode when the inflation was around 7 per cent. Two weeks...

Indicast # 71: Big B Blog

Big B has a new meaning now. Amitabh has a blog now and he receiving a response similar to Aamir Khan's Blog . Moving on, Who say's money cant buy happiness? With the growing affluence, atleast in the urban areas, a lot of single women have cut the middle man. The sex toy business in brazil is taking off and the same business in India is seeing a surge too. Although, the goods are legally not allowed to be sold but are easily accessible in grey market. Also, while "researching" Abhishek found...

Point Blank with Economics Editor of The Economist

It is said that having a good conversation is one of the great joys of being human. When Zanny Minton Beddoes, the Economics Editor of The Economist ruthlessly dismembers jargons like foreclosures, sub prime crisis, inter bank rates, etc, all I can say is that I enjoyed every bit of it. Economics is a fascinating field and Zanny makes it palatable for all of us who do not have a background in the subject. In the first few minutes, she lays a solid foundation giving us the whole build up to t...

Indicast # 70: Want a gun license

We cover the awesome stories submitted by our beloved listener, Anuj and encourage you to send us stories too using this page (needs you to be logged in). The episode starts with Gujrat being a dry state and then we spent sometime talking about the great indian pot belly followed by how Shivpuri district is giving out gun licenses for people who agree to get a vasectomy done. Believe it or not but its true. Abhishek and I talk about our mixed feeling for the IPL. I believe it's all money and ...

TKM # 9: Digital Nomadism

Our first guest, Andreas Kluth from The Economist is back. The man closest to all the action at the Silicon Valley switches gears to talk about the social and charming side of technology rather than the geeky one. His Special Report on Mobility published in the April 12 issue of The Economist is circled around how the internet mobile telephony has changed the way we interact with our friends, loved ones, colleagues and strangers and has an Indian connection too. The podcast was recorded at mi...

TKM # 8: Tom Standage on Potatoes and Technology

Tom Standage, the Business Editor of The Economist is back... Here is a little behind the scene story. I ask him in my email whether he would want to talk about anything beyond our main topic of discussion of the eventful 2007 that Google, Apple and Facebook have had. His two word reply to my mail reads, Potatoes perhaps... In this podcast, Tom fires away on the technological implications of the potato and how it led to the industrial revolution. As a keen baker and roaster of potatoes, Toms ...

Indicast # 69: Sixth Pay Commission

Episode number 69 is here with lot of stories from India as well as a few weird stories from the UK. The sixth pay commission report dominates the episode after the stories about the rising divorce rates and then make a segway into US wanting hindi teacher. The railway cops have got a new revenue stream and are coning people into getting them to pay for having porn on their cell phone which is not illegal.

TKM # 7 : Slackers, you are fired!

The first TKM with as many as four participants discussing the latest arguements and happenings taking place on the internet. The participants leanding their voice in this episode include Gaurav Mishra , Aditya Mishra , and Veer Chand Bothra. I had more than 5 topics for this episodes but we managed to cover only 2 which is an indicastion how much these people have to contribute.

BiziNation # 18: From IPOs to Mega Mergers

Richard Branson does a James Bond like stunt again. To announce his tie up with Tata Teleservices, he jumped from some high rise building to get to the front pages of all leading publications here in India. He made a bigger splash when he experimented flying one of his planes on Alternative fuel. VISA has announced its intensions for the world's biggest IPO and in another news, the Indian Banking industry boasted of the biggest deal ever.

BiziNation # 17: The Union Budget 2008 Highlights

Every year, on the last day of February, all the guns are out aiming at two men, the Railway Minister and the Finance Minister of India. This year was no different. We attempt to give you a run down of the Railway Budget presented by the flamboyant Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Union Budget announced by the calm and composed Chidambaram, the CFO of India. Everything from the huge Rs. 60,000 crore agricultural debt waiver to increasing the income tax slabs unabashedly knocked the voter's doors to ...

Siddharth Movie Review

Its dark and it's abstract and it'll make you think. What is it that will liberate you from the trappings of life? An outstanding performance by Rajat Kapoor and some thoughtful yet simple background music keep you company in this extremely slow-paced film.

Point Blank with Adam Roberts, News Editor of Economist

Adam Roberts, the News Editor of economist.com is fresh from having penned a brilliant Special Report (published at least once a month) on 'Migration' and its impact on the lives of billions from across the planet. His report estimates that there are around 200 million migrants across the world which make up 3 per cent of the population. This number will only grow and so will the xenophobia surrounding it. Adam opens up 4 minutes into his candid talk and we end up talking about the lighter si...

Indicast # 68: Shame on Mumbai

The episode starts with us being proud of a countryman who gave his life just a day after getting sena medal and then how Mumbai was ashmed over the actions of a Mumbai based political party lead by Raj Thackeray. Cabbies, bhelpuriwallas were brutally beaten up by MNS party worker for being norh Indian! Then to make matters worse for the reputation of gurgaon, a 100 cr Kidney scam has been unearthed. We thought these heavy topics were enough for this episodes and moved on to some lighter topics

BiziNation # 16: Honey, Who Shrunk the Stock Markets?

The stock markets around the world tumble as America faces prospects of recession. It does not help when banks like Societe General face losses due to rogue trading. Starbucks sees the back of its CEO as competition with McDonalds heats up. Meg Whitman passes on the baton to Danahoe. In another news, HPCL answers natures call rather literally and we wnder whether the Indian Premier league has got bigger than the game?

Indicast # 67: Republic day honours

India celebrates another Republic Day. It was a marathon day with eminent personalities like being showered with Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan. An NGO finds another innovative way to fight corruption in India. Adam Gilchrist, the prolific entertainer and a great sportsman retires from Test match cricket. And in this era of reality shows, lets get ready for a reality sex show as well!

BiziNation # 15: Indias Meaningful Car Mania

This episode was recorded a couple of days before the Auto Expo at Delhi which unveiled the one lakh car from TATA after a long long wait of two years. The Indian car industry is going great guns with some nitro boosting mergers and joint ventures. TATA Motors has bagged the Land Rover and Jaguar deal from Ford Motors and we discuss a string of tie ups that the Indian companies have been involved with. And there is some good News for Non Resident Indians who feel home sick and God sick. A uni...

Indicast # 66: Wedding Bells Ring at Indicast

Hello and welcome to a whole New Year! The last few days of the last year were eventful and Aditya gives us a run down of he getting married in phool to Maharashtrian istyle! How different was his wedding from that of his elder brother? How many hours of poojas did he clock? Aditya willingly answers many more questions like these. The previous year belonged to women like Pratibha Patil, Shilpa Shetty and Rakhee Sawant. This episode is a special one is dedicated to all you guys for being there...

BiziNation # 14: Indian Art Market on Steroids

If the Indian stock market is galloping, the Indian Art Market is on LSD. It is swaying to a mood swing that is helping it grow by 50 per cent year on year. And buying expensive paintings is seen as a very intelligent investment option. As the marriage season hits India, people are ensuring their marriages! In HCL, you can rate your bosses and what more, the results will be displayed on the Intranet. Vikram Pandit has been named as the CEO of Citigroup and this time India can pat its back sin...

Indicast #65: Scary Modi

This week the Bollywood Movie Aaja Nachale was banned because it hurt the sentiments of a few people. So nothing new there! Mumbai is jumping on to the energy conservation bandwagon as it declares a black out on Dec 15. We urge all those who are in Mumbai to join in. And in some intimidating news, the Gujrat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi is blunt with his words and scares us all with his speeches. Aditya is all set to start his family and he has a few questions for all you guys at the fag end...

TKM # 6: The Facebook Bubble?

Andreas Kluth from The Economist joins me to talk about the big deal with Facebook. His articles are a result of research which includes interviewing people like Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. In this 20 odd minute chat, we talk about the $15 billion valuation of Facebook and what it means to the Silicon Valley. In this rather high octane topic on which almost everyone and their big brother have an opinion, Andreas lends a lot of rationality in explaining his take on it. He dismemb...

Indicast # 64: The Taslima Nasreen Saga

Aditya mourns the loss of his Apple Mac laptop which was stolen in broad day light! He takes us through an interesting journey of filing the complaint with the humble Mumbai Police. Bada Bhai, Anil Kumble wins his first test captaining India. Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi author currently in exile in New Delhi has nowhere to go and we talked about what the big deal about it is. We would like to know your take on it as well. Mumbai Marshals have taken the onus onto themselves and the slogan...

BiziNation # 13: CEOs of the same feather flock together

Chuck Prince of Citigroup and Stan O'Neal quit admist the sup prime crisis, but, their exit packages are getting more eye balls! We feel that they deserve the millions that they beget even after goofing up big time! Another CEO, Rick Wagoner stands strong among the ruins at General Motors as it wrote off $38 billion. Petrochina rocks the corporate world by being the most valuable company beating Exxon Mobil. Two Indian wine companies, Sula Wines and Champagne Indage are on an expansion spree....

Indicast #63 : Is Benazir available?

This diwali, the fireworks industry had to do some rebrandig. Govt said no more cracker named after gods. Diwali also brought with it 2 big super hyped movies and both of them failed to impress the masses. Also, did you know About Actor's Day? We also touched upon the things happening in Pakistan and the destruction of cultural relics in the Swat district. As usual we digressed and somehow started discussing Bhutto's marital status!! Dont know how we got there!! Listen to know more..

Bizination #12 : Microfinance goes viral

Mukesh Ambani is not the richest man after all. Ever heard of peer to peer microfinance? Ask eBay about it! Also, a Microsoft former employee starts a networking site for the unorganised sector; so, you can find yourself a driver or a household maid on the web! Yuvraj Singh has pulled off a coup! He is slated to earn a 100 cr contract, but, there is more to it than just the money. The mobile telephony has too many cooks which might just spoil the broth and Bharati's Mittal is livid! GAP and s...

Point Blank With Harsha Bhogle

Harsha Bhogle is a man with multiple personalities. When he is not in the commentary box, he contributes as a columnst in The Indian Express and writes on espnstar. While he has an art to draw opinions from the experts in the commentary box, he is forthright and calls spade a spade in his writings. Its a 30 MB download but worth it.

Bizination #11: Mukeshbhai the worlds richest?

The SENSEX has crossed the 20000 mark and Mukesh Ambani is the richest man! Well, not quite. Like everyone we got this news wrong! We discuss how Participatory Notes is acting as the LSD to the big spike in the market cap of companies on the BSE. Ritika brings in a political angle to the mercurial nature of the stock market! On another flight, Singapore Airlines has flown the worlds largest aircraft. Vijay Mallay's Kingfisher will fly the super Jumbo soon. While BBC plans laying off a huge ch...

Indicast #62: Spiritual Business and Commercial Politics

The podcast begins with our favourite topic- cricket and then we get into how Sri Sri Ravi shankar was present at ET awards and also about the growing trend about political leader signing book deals.

Indicast #61: Pay your debts

Talking on a cell phone can now land yu behind bars in Mumbai. Also recently the loan recovery agents have been in the news for the wrong reasons and did you know that you will have ATMs on trains too. What for? Dont ask.

TKM :Afraid of google?

Andreas Kluth , the author of the story was kind enough to join us for a quick chat. Andreas thinks that Google is far from threatening. He compares Google to the banking industry which acts like the custodian of our money. While Google is not as regulated as the latter, it will soon be, but, the founders whom Andreas had a chance to interact with on a few occassions are innocently idealistic; or they were to begin with...In this episode, we also talk about how Google is seeping in our DNA ra...

Point Blank with Gurcharan Das

In this podcast, he is his modest self, describing his early life and his time as a the VP and MD of P and G Worldwide and more. An unabashed supporter of capitalism, he believes that the business of the Government is not to be in business. We recorded this over the phone when the evening celebrations of Ganapati had just kicked off. So, the background score comes with the package. So, please bear with that and I hope you will have something more to add to what Mr.Gurcharan has to say about ...

Bizination #10 : Celebrity Endorsements

SRK, Salman, Govinda, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra... the list is endless. All these celebs have successfully endorsed apparels and we feel that such endorsements work well in the Apparel industry than in any other. In entertainment, I and B Ministry has some good news for all of us with the Entertainment tax being pared down Also, you can watch a movie on a petrol pump. Ask BPCL about it. In another common NEWS, Vodafone has taken over Hutch and has painted t...

Indicast # 60: Succession Planning

The story that got buried by the India team's victory was about the succession planning by congress. Abhishek believes that congress has made their move by giving more responsibilities to Rahul Gandhi who will most probably be ready to take on the Indian Prime ministership in the next term. We also discuss about a landmark in space history, launch of the Sputnik , completing 50 years. A race that the Soviet Union won hands down by sending a beeping ball like satellite around the world. In oth...

Indicst #59: India relives 1983

I didn't think I would live to tell this tale to my grandchildren, said a 73 year old from Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Cricket kindles interest among all classes and cuts through all castes here in India. The youngest and the most inexperienced team of the tournament won it. While Pakistan put a brave effort, India won it in the end! In hockey, the players have finally spoken up against the mistreatment meted out to them for years! In Nepal, they have found a novel way to fix their Boeing's tech...

BiziNation # 9: When the US economy sneezes

The US financial market is like an avalanche. When things go wrong out there, they bring the world economy down to an extent. Ritika gives a user friendly description of what is the big deal with the sub prime markets crisis! This week, while Anita Roddick of Body Shop passed away, her legacy of eco-friendly practice still lives on. In another news, Starbucks opened shop in Russia, it is contemplating for the nth time to enter India. And SRK's 'Om Shanti Om' is the biggest financial hit of In...