The investigation into the death of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode is examining competing allegations and evidence. But beyond the immediate case lies a broader question: what are India’s premier institutions really preparing students for?

On The Morning Brief, host Anirban Chowdhury speaks to BITS Pilani Group Vice Chancellor V Ramgopal Rao, former JNU professor Rajeev Kumar and ET’s Rashmi Rajput about the intense pressure surrounding IIT admissions, the limitations of using exam performance as a measure of intellectual ability, and the challenges students face once they enter these highly competitive institutions.

The discussion also looks at AI and education: when should students be allowed to use AI, what should examinations test, and does the JEE system need to evolve as machines become increasingly capable of solving the very tests students compete to clear?

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes some CEOs and founders successful? At The Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Cheryl Lim, Partner at McKinsey & Company, joins ET’s Anirban Chowdhury to explore the mindsets and behaviours that drive long-term value creation, how leaders balance big ambitions with disciplined execution, and what it takes to build organisations that can sustain growth.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India’s IPO market has hit the accelerator. After just 27 mainboard IPOs in the first half of 2026, July-September alone is seeing 61 issues worth roughly ₹88,000 crore. And the pipeline is staggering: 148 companies with SEBI approvals worth ₹2.8 lakh crore are waiting to tap the market.  Anirban Chowdhury speaks with ET markets editor Nishanth Vasudevan about what triggered the boom, whether Jio could suck liquidity from other issues, why smaller IPOs are still finding buyers, whether mega listings signal a market top, and whether foreign investors could finally return to India.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India is scaling its semiconductor ecosystem as AI development accelerates—and both are raising new questions around technology, investment and regulation. In this Corner Office Conversation, Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks to ET’s tech editor Surabhi Agarwal about Semicon 2.0, global investment in India, electronics manufacturing and the country’s value-addition journey. He also lays out his views on AI risks, company responsibility, techno-legal safeguards and global cooperation on AI regulation.

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You can follow Surabhi Agarwal on her Linkedin, X profiles and read her Newspaper Articles. 

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta has agreed to report child sexual abuse material directly to Indian authorities, rather than routing alerts through America's NCMEC. But does reporting stop algorithms amplifying such content in the first place? On the Morning Brief, lawyer Sajan Poovayya explains why Meta had little choice under POCSO and its 2020 Rules, why reporting is neither an admission of guilt nor a privacy breach, and what platforms must do beyond reporting: purge content and build checks into their algorithms. He argues India's law is adequate, but enforcement lacks the urgency shown by NCMEC. The episode opens with a clip from Sajan's July interview.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India has opened insurance to 100% foreign ownership. But Sun Life CEO Kevin Strain says ownership is less important than building the right business—and that the company currently works better alongside the Aditya Birla Group than alone. In this conversation from the Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Strain explains to ET’s banking editor Sangita Mehta why Sun Life’s India insurance business is growing 25% annually, where its $100-billion asset manager goes next, and how private credit and infrastructure could power its expansion. He also discusses bancassurance, AI’s inability to replace empathy, and a stark longevity challenge: 40 working years may now need to finance 40 years of retirement.
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You can follow Sangita Mehta on her social media: Twitter and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every morning in Mahim, Vijay Raut sold cutting chai to taxi drivers, construction workers and bank staff, until the BMC's pavement drive took away his stall. Now he serves from a flask. He's not alone: across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram, street vendors are caught between clean-city drives and a system that never gave them secure space. In this episode, we look at India's Rs 8,000 crore-a-day street food economy, the real hygiene risks, why regulation without infrastructure backfires, and what Singapore's hawker centres might teach us about keeping street food safe and visible. Lijee Philip and Nirmal John report, Anirban Chowdhury narrates for audio

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 Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest carmakers, yet has less than 2% of India’s passenger vehicle market. Its proposed partnership with JSW could mark a striking reversal: JSW may own 51% of the venture, leaving the German giant as the junior partner. Anirban Chowdhury speaks to ET’s Arijit Barman and Shally Seth Mohile about what each side gains, why JSW wants European technology alongside its Chinese partnerships, and whether the deal can accelerate Volkswagen’s painfully slow India journey. They also examine JSW’s audacious automotive ambitions—and the risk that its three ventures could eventually compete with one another.
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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UPI is no longer entirely free. From October 15, merchant payments above ₹2,000 will attract a 0.4% MDR, while smaller transactions and person-to-person transfers remain exempt. But if merchants cannot surcharge customers directly, where does that cost go? IIT Bombay’s Professor Ashish Das tells The Morning Brief why businesses may quietly fold it into prices, forcing small-ticket shoppers to subsidise larger purchases. He also explains why online platforms are different, whether high-value payments could drift back to cash, and the policy question: should UPI be treated as commercial infrastructure—or as a public good funded by the government?

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The multinational is giving way to the multi-local, as tariffs, geopolitics and supply-chain risk force companies to rebuild around regional roots rather than one global blueprint. In the latest Corner Office Conversation from The Economic Times World Leaders Forum Bain & Company Global Chairman Manny Maceda tells Anirban Chowdhury what this fragmentation means for India's shot at becoming the world's factory, why AI's payoff still eludes most companies deploying it, and whether costlier capital is quietly forcing private equity to build better businesses instead of just cheaper deals. He closes with a leadership lesson for this moment: companies that lose their talent will eventually lose their customers too.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.