'Metaverse' is the latest buzzword dominating Boardroom conversations. Web 3.0 (Web3) and the metaverse are seen, with some justification, as the future of the internet due to their diverse potential applications spanning industries. This podcast explores the emerging meta-landscape, the opportunities it presents and some challenges that may get in the way of its wide-scale adoption. 

Recent attention has been focused on the reversing interest rate cycle as central banks across the world have hiked rates. While this has significant implications by itself, there is a secondary instrument that monetary authorities, starting with the US Federal Reserve, have only just begun to deploy: quantitate tightening. This will magnify the impact of rate hikes and create a new worry for businesses. The attached paper explains.

Budget 2023-24 marked the NDA’s tenth budget and also the last ‘full’ one of the current government. (By convention, election-year budgets are meant to be interim ones.)
At a recent joint session of the India CEO and CFO Forums in Chennai, Ketan Dalal, Managing Director of Katalyst Advisors, decoded the Union Finance Budget in the context of India’s economic trajectory and took stock of its main ‘hits’ and ‘misses’. This podcast summarises the discussion 

Risk management is one of the top priorities for any CFO. Given the rapid changes in the business environment globally, both the nature and scope of risks is changing. At a recent India CFO Forum session in Hyderabad, Monish Chatrath, Managing Partner of MGC Global, discussed the broad principles of risk management, the imperatives for 2023, and the practices CFOs need to adopt in a post-Covid world. This podcast summarises the discussion. 

The reasons for adopting ESG compliance go beyond regulatory compliance or simply ‘looking nice’. Proactively becoming ESG compliant can improve a company’s reputation, access to funding and support for growth. CEOs have an essential role in driving the sustainability transformation of the company. 

At a recent IMA India CEO session in Hyderabad, Anirban Ghosh, the Chief Sustainability Officer of Mahindra Group, drew upon his experience to understand and examine the CEO’s leadership approaches in driving ESG initiatives and achieving successful outcomes. This podcast summarises the discussion.

India’s recent state elections emphasise the extent to which the country’s political landscape is changing. Amidst growing political polarisation, parties are playing on identity issues to further their electoral goals ahead of the 2024 election. Despite the entry of young blood in politics, and the increasing role of ‘merit’ in winning elections, dynastic representation is still alive and well at significant levels.
At a recent India CEO and CFO Forum session, Jaiveer Shergill, a practicing lawyer at the Supreme Court of India and the National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), shared his insights on India’s political future in light of the aforementioned trends. This podcast  summarises the discussion.

Having tracked top management compensation for almost three decades, IMA’s research indicated that over the last many years, CEO compensation has outpaced inflation by about 1% a year. This is a reasonable trend, suggesting fair remuneration, and should be considered economically sustainable. Our latest report on the subject, based on published data for Board compensation in the financial year 2021-22, shows that top management salaries have recovered after a sharp drop in FY21 but that variability in pay has increased across the Board.
This podcast provides a brief summary. Interested readers may purchase the full report.

Launched in 2015, Moglix is a B2B eCommerce platform the industrial sector. Within just six years, the company entered the coveted Indian unicorn club. This sole founder-driven company offers many lessons and learning for business leaders on building the right business model, growth strategy, and entrepreneurial culture.
At a recent India CEO Forum session, we had Rahul Garg, founder and CEO of Moglix share his journey building the first an eCommerce platform for the manufacturing sector. This podcast summarises the discussion.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDP), 2022 was released by the government and recently closed for public comments. This is the 4th version of the bill aimed at protecting data privacy after undergoing multiple iterations. The previous bills drafted by the government were larger in scope whereas, the latest bill is concise and regulates specific parts of data privacy. The new bill would undoubtedly require businesses to re-examine their compliance structure given the changing framework. This podcast examines the propositions put forth by the DPDP in comparison to the previous bill. It further discusses the potential implications of the new regulations for Indian businesses. 

Compensation is a critical factor in an individual’s choice of career path, particularly at the junior level. As the year starts, HR professionals worldwide are united in facing compensation-related quandaries, particularly in terms of increments for the coming year. At the same time, with attrition rates still elevated across sectors, companies struggle to hire new talent and retain existing employees. 
A recent India CHRO Forum session in Mumbai, organised as a free-wheeling peer-to-peer exchange, brought out learnings, perspectives and best practices. This podcast summarises these discussions.